I still find innovation the most important factor. I want to play in a living, breathing world that reacts to me. I truly am tired of the core design of MMORPGs, many things need to be changed. We need less automation in our games, in all possible senses of the concept. Automation makes the game predictable and unrealistic, we always know what happens next, and that makes the game dull and boring. We need to stop relying so much on NPCs, we need to stop relying so much on a previously written storyline that is the same for every damn character! We need options to create our very own story, we need a world that is composed of real players, not of robots. Simply, MMORPGs should be built, well, as massive games, not single player games. What we have here is massive games with single-player concepts. No matter how well they manage to design the AI, the automated aspects of the game always get predictable to some extent. Humans are not as predictable, however, humans surprise us, real players can surprise us. What we need is to be surprised. What we don't need is Massive Single Player RPGs. What we don't need is more games whose only purpose is comparing how big is your e-peen in relation to others'. We need non-linear gameplay, we need options, alternatives, we need possibilities for building our characters and make them unique, original and diverse. We should also stop relying on numbers. What really is the point of having damage numbers, levels and status points other than for satisfying power-gamers? Power-gaming is nothing but predicting how the game will react to you so that you can take advantage of it the most. Once again, games should be more unpredictable, as real life is. That would make games more believable and realistic, not fancy graphics. And I'm just fine with the subscription model, thank you. I don't really see many benefits coming from the "free to play" model other than destroying several aspects of a MMORPG.
It's exactly as you say. We need unpredictable! It would be more fun having to rely on another human than a NPC because the human can turn his back to you. I totally agree with you. The subscription model, well I don't really care as long as the game is good and the prices won't be too expensive. But I'd rather have a monthly payment than another system where not every player is equal and has equal possibilities. But the best pay-method is ofcourse the Guildwars one ^^ Just pay once, get it all! But I do understand why there's almost none of those games
Good list but I would add to the list: 'Return to the root of MMORPGS'
That is to try and create a virtual world rather than linear, single/multiplayer games where the content is designed for 1-8 players rather than thousands of players, which MMORPGs originally was envisioned to be like.
Eve I think is the only (successful) MMORPG around that is true to the genres root.
I still find innovation the most important factor. I want to play in a living, breathing world that reacts to me. I truly am tired of the core design of MMORPGs, many things need to be changed. We need less automation in our games, in all possible senses of the concept. Automation makes the game predictable and unrealistic, we always know what happens next, and that makes the game dull and boring. We need to stop relying so much on NPCs, we need to stop relying so much on a previously written storyline that is the same for every damn character! We need options to create our very own story, we need a world that is composed of real players, not of robots. Simply, MMORPGs should be built, well, as massive games, not single player games. What we have here is massive games with single-player concepts. No matter how well they manage to design the AI, the automated aspects of the game always get predictable to some extent. Humans are not as predictable, however, humans surprise us, real players can surprise us. What we need is to be surprised. What we don't need is Massive Single Player RPGs. What we don't need is more games whose only purpose is comparing how big is your e-peen in relation to others'. We need non-linear gameplay, we need options, alternatives, we need possibilities for building our characters and make them unique, original and diverse. We should also stop relying on numbers. What really is the point of having damage numbers, levels and status points other than for satisfying power-gamers? Power-gaming is nothing but predicting how the game will react to you so that you can take advantage of it the most. Once again, games should be more unpredictable, as real life is. That would make games more believable and realistic, not fancy graphics. And I'm just fine with the subscription model, thank you. I don't really see many benefits coming from the "free to play" model other than destroying several aspects of a MMORPG.
Very well put. However I dont agree that we dont need fancy gfx. Technology is going forward and so should GFX and sound in MMORPGs, however it must be combined with the gameplay that you suggest. Otherwise you get a pile of garbage like AoC.
Number 5 can go to hell! Are you freaking insane? monthly fee, thats it... nothing else. Dont need more option then that.
edit: You too should edit your article because the majority REALLY DONT WANT NUMBER 5... You are totally wrong about that point, dang, disconnected from his own community... You know what the devs who happen to read that article on this website will think? Thats right, FUCKING free-to-play I pay for items to be better than you type of shit. That have to be the worts freaking possible thing that can happen to a serious MMO.
I second this as well. RMTs are destroying the genre more than WoW clones are. They allow people with more RL cash to get significant advantages and that is just lame in a computer game.
Imagine playing Fifa 2010 and having your team run faster, and shoot better because you spend a bunch of RL money boosting them. Stupid, ridicilous and it has no other point than for the company to bring in more $$.
This is a very interesting article... specifically because of #5.
Things are changing in the online gaming world, and this is where consumers really have the opportunity to speak up, be heard, and get what they want.... but instead what is happening, is people are going with the 'You cant make me' approach.
The one thing you can depend on in life is change. When it happens, you can help to make sure it is the change you want, or you can fight it, and let someone else make the choices for you.
I personally would like to see a combination of Free, Microtransactions, and Monthly Fees... varied by game, but open enough that I can choose what fits me, rather than have to either forgo a game totally, because they dont have an option that suits me.
Let me give some examples.
If I want to checkout a game, I want to download it, and play. I dont want to have to guess if I might like it or pay upfront to find out.
If I buy a game at full price, I dont want to have to wait in login queues for hours to be able to play it. If I could have purchased a discount version of the game, I would have accepted this as reasonable.
If it takes 20 hours of spawn camping to get a drop, and I am tired of sitting at the same spot, I want to be able to buy an item that will decrease the time to 10 hours.
Bottom line is that I want to feel that I get what I paid for.... not that I was forced to pay for something, and am trying to get my moneys worth.
Free trials - I'm not buying a game without trying it first.
Kill off the micro-transaction model. I'm not going to play a game where the difference between me and the top dog on the game is how much cash I'm willing to spend.
Innovation is key. The current crop of damage sponge based games where you have "tank", "dps", and "healer" needs to go. IMHO, everyone should be dps, heals should be done after the fight, and the "tanks" are simply the better armored and more melee skilled fighters that are able to diminish incoming melee damage by avoiding it better than the clothie in the back. Instead of numbers floating over people's heads, have some physical impact repercussions for getting hit.
Did an article on a gaming website just say the most wanted thing in 2010 MMOs is less hype? Hrm, does this mean that MMORPG won't be selling their soles to the highest bidding developers re-theming the site and whatnot leading up to launch?
Uhm pot, this is kettle ... you are black.
Originally posted by Abrahmm
I agree with all of those except for #5. I don't want new ways to pay, I'm perfectly happy with a $15 subscription. Every new way to pay that I have seen only seems to benefit the developer, charging us more money for the same amount of content.
Originally posted by Yamota BOYCOTT ALL MMORPGS WITH RMTS!
Agree, and I find it very suspect that the gaming websites are all pushing RMT when clearly players do not like or want RMT. Payola anyone?
Now that being said, RMT is fine in the case of a F2P game. Free to download, free to play - buy extras and whatnot. BUt the idea of RMT is not F2P with a cash shop it is buy the box, pay a sub, and have a cash shop and any gaming website that argues that is wanted or a good thing has outright sold out to developers and should be ignored. Either you are F2P with RMT or you are subscription based, if you mix the two DEVs will design necessity in to the cash shop items over time screwing those who bought the box and pay the sub - a mentally challenged monkey can see that eventuality.
Originally posted by poopypants
As it turns out, the "Free-2-Play" model is wide open for a wide variety of abuses: 1) once you reach a certain level the grind becomes unbearable and you're forced to use the cash shop to alleviate the pain...or start a new character. 2) PvP is really only viable for cash shop users (unless you like to lose)...I'm really good at PvP and, on top of that, if I'm using the CS to generate vast amounts of in-game cash and super +'ed items, Free player's don't stand a chance against me. Period. For CS users who do want to get involved in PvP you better be ready to out-spend me 'cause if you don't I'll hand you one humiliating defeat after another. I've known people who have spent $10,000+ in CS...in less than a years time! Crazy! 3) Some CS consumable items are on a fairly short timer and if you hit a lag-spike and crash...well, you're just SOL as far as the company is concerned.
Exactly. If they sell a box and collect a sub then the RMT/cash shop becomes a design element to print more profit. Now I am fine with games that are free to get (no box price) and free to play in part with other parts sold as that is honest at least though I would never even try such a game. To me an MMO has to have a fixed price in order to avoid DEVs selling advantages and being incentivized to developed better and better advantages to sell or harder and harder content to push people to buy existing advantages.
Originally posted by green13
New ways to pay = ways to stick your finger in both the subscription and item mall pie. I for one definitely don't want it and any game developer that tries it can't have my money. The subscription mmo market continues to grow at a healthy rate and most players who like subscriptions would rather chew their arm off than play a game with an item mall. Trying to mix the two is stupid. If a game developer wants to stick their thumb in both pies, they can and should get creative about minor modifications that allow them to offer the game as either/or on different servers. That way they get a bigger potential market and players don't get lumped with mongrel payment models like CO's. But I find it interesting that mmorpg.com continue to push this line. Game developers must be treating you to some seriously good lunches.....
You do realize that mmorpg.com is responsible for a very large part of the hype surrounding unreleased games? Look at all the videos, screen shots, previews and articles you are publishing about STO.
Did this guy not follow the huge outlash against the rumor that SWTOR bij Bioware would have a shop system?
The only people who want F2P models are kiddies with no money.
Seriously, if you can't afford 15 bucks a month, then you really should not game and instead work a bit harder to get promoted above the position of unpaid flunky.
I think in fact that companies would do well to increase the price. Hasn't anybody heard of inflation in this market?
New game model.
EQ2 style trial/tutorial island. A bit larger so you can experience a bit more of the game, including a simplified crafting system so that you can trade some crafted items you need for a quest. But short enough to not make paying players spend ages with free players.
Monthly fee that is say 30-35 a month but in exchange you get decent support. Special servers where you need to pay a deposit, get banned, deposit is gone. No gold farmers, no assholes.
Gamers are getting older and older and most adults are used to the idea that you pay for quality. It is why you got 1st class tickets, 5 star hotels and 3 star restaurants.
Current MMO's all seem to market to the McD market, sorry, some of us can afford to pay more for a better product.
A bit more cynical ? Never gonne happen they all will hype and jump on the bandwagon to play SWTOR will be hyped like crazy by fans and press.
GW2 same will be hyped like crazy.
Wishfull thinking that you think people will learn from past and dont make same mistakes again lol.
Games played:AC1-Darktide'99-2000-AC2-Darktide/dawnsong2003-2005,Lineage2-2005-2006 and now Darkfall-2009..... In between WoW few months AoC few months and some f2p also all very short few weeks.
Imagine playing Fifa 2010 and having your team run faster, and shoot better because you spend a bunch of RL money boosting them.
Yes, imagine if video game soccer was like real soccer where the team with the most resources has the advantages.
Also, it's a bit disingenous for any column on MMORPG to want "less hype". Hype is what gives you daily content that brings in eyeballs that drives your ad revenue. MMORPG interviews with devs could get tougher, I guess, but that might see them pull those ads, so I don't think they will. My prediction for 2010: more hype with amble coverage of it from MMORPG.com.
"Surely the genre's evolving, and as it does we are seeing more and more innovation. But one thing that I'd love to see an end to is the "Kill Ten Rats" sort of quest. I understand it fulfills a basic need of disguised grinding. And honestly, I don't really mind the now cliché quest objective. But what I'd like to see is a developer who can further disguise the grind by making the objective less obvious. Why not develop more quests that involve some greater end being achieved, and to do so the players must fight through their "Ten Rats". This way I can be engaged with obtaining some relic, rescuing some hapless victim, flipping a switch, navigating a maze, or really anything that doesn't have me simply watching a counter on my quest tracker.(William Murphy)"
I think that a game shouldnt have to disguise a grind because no matter what, if it is a grind, it will feel like one. I think you right about putting some things in that will help immersion and keep the players engaged, but what i think really needs to happen is for game developers to eliminate or diminish the grind. MMORPGs of late have put WAY to much focus on the grind an getting to max lvl. Take WoW for instance, the entire game is a massive grind. You grind to max lvl with quests, then once you get there you grind raids all day to get geared. What then? The only alternative to raiding is pvp and grinding dailies. There is no depth. What needs to happen is for the emphasis of games to change from the grind, to dynamic player driven gameplay. A player shouldnt have to spend a month getting to max lvl, no one wants to do that. Make it more or less easier to max out your skills/lvl and give players more things to do and to CONTROL after maxing out. A great model for this concept is EVE, UO, or SWG before sony *fixed* it. Basically i think sandbox games rule and themeparks drool. If i wanna play a themepark ill hop on Guildwars because a thempark game just doesnt merit a subscription fee.
New ways to pay eh? Did this guy not follow the huge outlash against the rumor that SWTOR bij Bioware would have a shop system? The only people who want F2P models are kiddies with no money. Seriously, if you can't afford 15 bucks a month, then you really should not game and instead work a bit harder to get promoted above the position of unpaid flunky. I think in fact that companies would do well to increase the price. Hasn't anybody heard of inflation in this market? New game model. EQ2 style trial/tutorial island. A bit larger so you can experience a bit more of the game, including a simplified crafting system so that you can trade some crafted items you need for a quest. But short enough to not make paying players spend ages with free players. Monthly fee that is say 30-35 a month but in exchange you get decent support. Special servers where you need to pay a deposit, get banned, deposit is gone. No gold farmers, no assholes. Gamers are getting older and older and most adults are used to the idea that you pay for quality. It is why you got 1st class tickets, 5 star hotels and 3 star restaurants. Current MMO's all seem to market to the McD market, sorry, some of us can afford to pay more for a better product.
Ignorance is so amusing sometimes. You dont seem to realize that the majority of consistent players in F2P games spend well over what they would spend for a subscription to another game, sometimes just a little more, but the more dedicated players (generally members of the major guilds) spend sometimes hundreds a month (in fact ive done so myself over the years on a few games). Theres a ton of players who play F2P games, not because theyre free and they cant afford P2P, but because we can actually play and experience the entire game for awhile BEFORE deciding if its worth spending money on and if we want to stick with the game. Why shell out $50-75 just to try something you may not even want to play for more than a few days when you could go try several other games out for free? While it does also allow more "kids" into the game, many of them dont stick around long enough to matter. Sure some games offer short term free trials, but they are also usually loaded with restrictions on places you cant go and things you cant do, so you never really get to experience the full potential of the game before being forced to decide if you want to keep playing it or not.
As for your gaming model, i dont know why you would think paying more would either get us better support or prevent assholes from playing. Theres loads of games out there that all cost the same $10-15, yet there is a drastic difference in the quality of support offered. Why is that? When they all start charging $30 a month, whats to stop them from pulling the same crap they do now? Its not a matter of price, its a matter of a company running things they way they should be to maintain a quality product instead of just trying to make a quick buck. And assholes exist everywhere, if you think charging more for a game is going to keep them out, youre extremely naive.
Comments
It's exactly as you say. We need unpredictable! It would be more fun having to rely on another human than a NPC because the human can turn his back to you. I totally agree with you. The subscription model, well I don't really care as long as the game is good and the prices won't be too expensive. But I'd rather have a monthly payment than another system where not every player is equal and has equal possibilities. But the best pay-method is ofcourse the Guildwars one ^^ Just pay once, get it all! But I do understand why there's almost none of those games
Good list but I would add to the list: 'Return to the root of MMORPGS'
That is to try and create a virtual world rather than linear, single/multiplayer games where the content is designed for 1-8 players rather than thousands of players, which MMORPGs originally was envisioned to be like.
Eve I think is the only (successful) MMORPG around that is true to the genres root.
My gaming blog
Very well put. However I dont agree that we dont need fancy gfx. Technology is going forward and so should GFX and sound in MMORPGs, however it must be combined with the gameplay that you suggest. Otherwise you get a pile of garbage like AoC.
My gaming blog
I second this as well. RMTs are destroying the genre more than WoW clones are. They allow people with more RL cash to get significant advantages and that is just lame in a computer game.
Imagine playing Fifa 2010 and having your team run faster, and shoot better because you spend a bunch of RL money boosting them. Stupid, ridicilous and it has no other point than for the company to bring in more $$.
BOYCOTT ALL MMORPGS WITH RMTS!
My gaming blog
This is a very interesting article... specifically because of #5.
Things are changing in the online gaming world, and this is where consumers really have the opportunity to speak up, be heard, and get what they want.... but instead what is happening, is people are going with the 'You cant make me' approach.
The one thing you can depend on in life is change. When it happens, you can help to make sure it is the change you want, or you can fight it, and let someone else make the choices for you.
I personally would like to see a combination of Free, Microtransactions, and Monthly Fees... varied by game, but open enough that I can choose what fits me, rather than have to either forgo a game totally, because they dont have an option that suits me.
Let me give some examples.
If I want to checkout a game, I want to download it, and play. I dont want to have to guess if I might like it or pay upfront to find out.
If I buy a game at full price, I dont want to have to wait in login queues for hours to be able to play it. If I could have purchased a discount version of the game, I would have accepted this as reasonable.
If it takes 20 hours of spawn camping to get a drop, and I am tired of sitting at the same spot, I want to be able to buy an item that will decrease the time to 10 hours.
Bottom line is that I want to feel that I get what I paid for.... not that I was forced to pay for something, and am trying to get my moneys worth.
1. Finished and polished game world that will keep people engaged until the first expansion.
2. Stable launch with 0 game breaking bugs and very few minor bugs.
3. Innovative classes,combat,quests,etc.
4. Variety of game settings(space,post apocalyptic,sci fi,etc.
5. Games made to fill a niche even if it means fewer subs instead of watered down crap for the masses.
Free trials - I'm not buying a game without trying it first.
Kill off the micro-transaction model. I'm not going to play a game where the difference between me and the top dog on the game is how much cash I'm willing to spend.
Innovation is key. The current crop of damage sponge based games where you have "tank", "dps", and "healer" needs to go. IMHO, everyone should be dps, heals should be done after the fight, and the "tanks" are simply the better armored and more melee skilled fighters that are able to diminish incoming melee damage by avoiding it better than the clothie in the back. Instead of numbers floating over people's heads, have some physical impact repercussions for getting hit.
Did an article on a gaming website just say the most wanted thing in 2010 MMOs is less hype? Hrm, does this mean that MMORPG won't be selling their soles to the highest bidding developers re-theming the site and whatnot leading up to launch?
Uhm pot, this is kettle ... you are black.
Agree, and I find it very suspect that the gaming websites are all pushing RMT when clearly players do not like or want RMT. Payola anyone?
Now that being said, RMT is fine in the case of a F2P game. Free to download, free to play - buy extras and whatnot. BUt the idea of RMT is not F2P with a cash shop it is buy the box, pay a sub, and have a cash shop and any gaming website that argues that is wanted or a good thing has outright sold out to developers and should be ignored. Either you are F2P with RMT or you are subscription based, if you mix the two DEVs will design necessity in to the cash shop items over time screwing those who bought the box and pay the sub - a mentally challenged monkey can see that eventuality.
Exactly. If they sell a box and collect a sub then the RMT/cash shop becomes a design element to print more profit. Now I am fine with games that are free to get (no box price) and free to play in part with other parts sold as that is honest at least though I would never even try such a game. To me an MMO has to have a fixed price in order to avoid DEVs selling advantages and being incentivized to developed better and better advantages to sell or harder and harder content to push people to buy existing advantages.
Agree 100%
--------------------------------
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You do realize that mmorpg.com is responsible for a very large part of the hype surrounding unreleased games? Look at all the videos, screen shots, previews and articles you are publishing about STO.
New ways to pay eh?
Did this guy not follow the huge outlash against the rumor that SWTOR bij Bioware would have a shop system?
The only people who want F2P models are kiddies with no money.
Seriously, if you can't afford 15 bucks a month, then you really should not game and instead work a bit harder to get promoted above the position of unpaid flunky.
I think in fact that companies would do well to increase the price. Hasn't anybody heard of inflation in this market?
New game model.
EQ2 style trial/tutorial island. A bit larger so you can experience a bit more of the game, including a simplified crafting system so that you can trade some crafted items you need for a quest. But short enough to not make paying players spend ages with free players.
Monthly fee that is say 30-35 a month but in exchange you get decent support. Special servers where you need to pay a deposit, get banned, deposit is gone. No gold farmers, no assholes.
Gamers are getting older and older and most adults are used to the idea that you pay for quality. It is why you got 1st class tickets, 5 star hotels and 3 star restaurants.
Current MMO's all seem to market to the McD market, sorry, some of us can afford to pay more for a better product.
A bit more cynical ? Never gonne happen they all will hype and jump on the bandwagon to play SWTOR will be hyped like crazy by fans and press.
GW2 same will be hyped like crazy.
Wishfull thinking that you think people will learn from past and dont make same mistakes again lol.
Games played:AC1-Darktide'99-2000-AC2-Darktide/dawnsong2003-2005,Lineage2-2005-2006 and now Darkfall-2009.....
In between WoW few months AoC few months and some f2p also all very short few weeks.
Yes, imagine if video game soccer was like real soccer where the team with the most resources has the advantages.
Also, it's a bit disingenous for any column on MMORPG to want "less hype". Hype is what gives you daily content that brings in eyeballs that drives your ad revenue. MMORPG interviews with devs could get tougher, I guess, but that might see them pull those ads, so I don't think they will. My prediction for 2010: more hype with amble coverage of it from MMORPG.com.
"#3 INNOVATION"
"Surely the genre's evolving, and as it does we are seeing more and more innovation. But one thing that I'd love to see an end to is the "Kill Ten Rats" sort of quest. I understand it fulfills a basic need of disguised grinding. And honestly, I don't really mind the now cliché quest objective. But what I'd like to see is a developer who can further disguise the grind by making the objective less obvious. Why not develop more quests that involve some greater end being achieved, and to do so the players must fight through their "Ten Rats". This way I can be engaged with obtaining some relic, rescuing some hapless victim, flipping a switch, navigating a maze, or really anything that doesn't have me simply watching a counter on my quest tracker.(William Murphy)"
I think that a game shouldnt have to disguise a grind because no matter what, if it is a grind, it will feel like one. I think you right about putting some things in that will help immersion and keep the players engaged, but what i think really needs to happen is for game developers to eliminate or diminish the grind. MMORPGs of late have put WAY to much focus on the grind an getting to max lvl. Take WoW for instance, the entire game is a massive grind. You grind to max lvl with quests, then once you get there you grind raids all day to get geared. What then? The only alternative to raiding is pvp and grinding dailies. There is no depth. What needs to happen is for the emphasis of games to change from the grind, to dynamic player driven gameplay. A player shouldnt have to spend a month getting to max lvl, no one wants to do that. Make it more or less easier to max out your skills/lvl and give players more things to do and to CONTROL after maxing out. A great model for this concept is EVE, UO, or SWG before sony *fixed* it. Basically i think sandbox games rule and themeparks drool. If i wanna play a themepark ill hop on Guildwars because a thempark game just doesnt merit a subscription fee.
Tried: EvE, DnD Online, LotRO, WAR, AoC,
Played: UO, SWG(pre-cu), GuildWars, FFXI, WoW
Liked: UO, SWG, GuildWars
Disliked: WoW, FFXI
Ignorance is so amusing sometimes. You dont seem to realize that the majority of consistent players in F2P games spend well over what they would spend for a subscription to another game, sometimes just a little more, but the more dedicated players (generally members of the major guilds) spend sometimes hundreds a month (in fact ive done so myself over the years on a few games). Theres a ton of players who play F2P games, not because theyre free and they cant afford P2P, but because we can actually play and experience the entire game for awhile BEFORE deciding if its worth spending money on and if we want to stick with the game. Why shell out $50-75 just to try something you may not even want to play for more than a few days when you could go try several other games out for free? While it does also allow more "kids" into the game, many of them dont stick around long enough to matter. Sure some games offer short term free trials, but they are also usually loaded with restrictions on places you cant go and things you cant do, so you never really get to experience the full potential of the game before being forced to decide if you want to keep playing it or not.
As for your gaming model, i dont know why you would think paying more would either get us better support or prevent assholes from playing. Theres loads of games out there that all cost the same $10-15, yet there is a drastic difference in the quality of support offered. Why is that? When they all start charging $30 a month, whats to stop them from pulling the same crap they do now? Its not a matter of price, its a matter of a company running things they way they should be to maintain a quality product instead of just trying to make a quick buck. And assholes exist everywhere, if you think charging more for a game is going to keep them out, youre extremely naive.