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The MMO Genre has become stale and boring.
Salenger
Member UncommonPosts: 554
Decided to make this post as I am a long time gamer since Ultima Online and Asherons call, I have played pretty much every MMO since then very few of which I stuck with for more than 1-2 months, the few I did were Darkfall, Istaria and SWG.
But after years of following hype for every new game being released spending money on them and learning very quickly that the game design is completely linear and in turn is just a massive time sink without little reward if any at all. When I first started online gaming there was a sense of adventure and accomplishment even with minimal time spent behind the PC, now it seems that every game is a grindfest race to the finish where most dont even care that the content in front of them is identical to what was around ten years ago.
Players now seem content to spend twelve hours a day grinding away to achieve some kind of pixelated reward others can aww at, without realizing they have wasted a big chunk of their day on something completely useless. Basically my main point is that it has been an obvious change for a long time that game companies have gone the timespent we want more of your money route as opposed to quality of product.
The genre for many years has been nothing more than grindfest, a place to waste your braincells and intelligence pacing away to get new gear...or the next skill and certainly gamers cannot find this fun, even ones who state they like grinding...must surely find their lives out of place and seemingly pathetic.
This all being said I have lost my nerve to bother with any current MMO's on the market, none have the immersion one expects when they dive into a game, none have the rewards i expect for the time i wish to put into them and none at all will ever come close to what gaming was before the tab target era of trash grinds.
It does however seem that a few companies are branching out and attempting to go back to the glory days of game where RPG and immersion...and fun actually meant something, but those games are not near a release and some may never actually hit release due to lack of funding.
In conclusion....my time playing MMO's has past, its time to give up on them completely and move on 
, simply not worth my time anymore. But for those that still enjoy grinding and getting new gear for the tenth mmo game straight...then enjoy.
Comments
I can relate to a degree. I still enjoy MMOs, but I get around the "stale and boring" by not playing any single MMO for great periods of time. I'll fire up an MMO that I haven't in a while, see what's new, have some fun (even if it's just nostalgia), and see what holds my interest. I'll cycle around to another one soon enough.
I don't feel that game developers care about immersion very much. They just want to remind you that "for x number of dollars, you can buy.... THIS!" Constantly I feel reminded that I'm playing a game and that they're more interested in my money than my enjoyment.
I'm still waiting for someone with the know-how to take what worked with SWG and bring it along. It wasn't perfect, but I was immersed more then any other MMO. It was huge and made no apologies.
Farewell, and best wishes for whatever future hobby endeavors you embark on.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
That said there are many post on this.
In the same boat. Luckily i started playing EvE in 2004-05ish when SWG starting going down hill.. EvE has kept my fill of sandbox needs decently but its going on almost 10 years of eve now and getting rather bored of it also.
A nice sandbox game to look out for is The Repopulation
Google it and check it out.. thats pretty much the ONLY mmo that peaks my interest at all.. so hopefully it will be decent.
You are probably experiencing something we older folk like to refer to as maturity. You got tired of the childish antics of present day mmorpgs. You probably got tired of flying reindeer and cash shop teddy bear type puppets following folks around in WoW - while they strut in 500 lbs of glowing flashlights and armor pieces.
You probably got tired of playing capture the flag...or the tag your it style of "E-Sport" pvp.
You probably got tired of seeing how races and classes in nearly every mmorpg since Dark Age of Camelot were really just cosmetic, mattering not at all for pvp, or even pve.
You probably wondered why mmorpgs even advertise lore, yet force players to kill each other as elf kills elf, asura kills asura, aquilonian kills aquilonian, paladins kill paladins, shaman kill shaman, and so forth.
The genre is utter crap, and in many cases just appealing to an Asian market while they dum down as much as possible for the stoned western market.
You are correct. It is a sad situation and not worth following until something returns us to the old school days of the mmorpg whne people weren't named after FPS games and body parts being led into a gear raid by an 11 year old paladin named, "Ipeedmypants."
You are expecting to much of the genre IMHO. Computers aren't smart enough to function as real life 'dungeon masters" so you only get scripted static content. Maybe in 50 years you might see the kind of gaming you want - but it will take dramatically smarter AI.
Its not different then any other segment of gaming. Most games if you boil it down are very similar. Shooters are probably the most common kind of 'other game' outside of MOBAs - and they boil down to targeting stuff with a mouse - shooting them - and running for cover..
It's foolish to savage the designers they are doing the best they can for the most part..
Yes. Finish the story content.
I might just be Lucky to enjoy several type of game genre's. Each of them satisfieds different gaming needs.
Yes I want my sandbox MMORPG back, but I also want it to be next-gen and I am not fooling myself in pretending it can be done already. Seeing so many gamecompanie's, with so many experianced developers, with so much budget. They can never compete with the MMORPG we have in our minds.
In our minds? Id be happy if they could compete with what's already been done.
The Football games are out again this year. They are the ones that all have the number 13 in the title.
Stale, yes. But they don't seem to be boring to their fans. I think the MMO genre has suffered from not making what they do well even better. Instead of better combat and content we have mini games and achievements.
Sports, FPS, driving games, they all have that one thing in common. They take the core of the game and make it better. MMO's on the other hand have gone for gimmicks (you have wings and can fly!) or repetitive content like dailies.
Of course comparing solo games to MMOs is not a comparison of equals. Their development is slower simply because they take longer to make. But even taking that into account they seem slow to evolve.
Another thing that differs is taking up the latest form of gameplay and putting it into new games of that genre. So in FPS if one game has a new bit of UI or whatever they all jump on board. In MMOs you have excellent gameplay ideas that are never seen again, it is a genre that sticks to its template religiously.
Which is why many games fail to hold subs.
Ha, I've been very unhappy with the EA football. I've given up on EA football because it's stagnant and they have literally no competition because they alone own the rights to publish NFL football.
Madden is far worst then MMORPGs because EA has a literal monopoly on the genre and legally been allowed to keep it though they gave up the rights college and arena league. The college parts was getting tricky for them anyways because the colleges and EA were profiting of the likeness of unpaid players and former players were suing. But the game is virtually unchanged in years outside rosters and fiddling with making it slightly worst and better.
[quote]Sports, FPS, driving games, they all have that one thing in common. They take the core of the game and make it better. MMO's on the other hand have gone for gimmicks (you have wings and can fly!) or repetitive content like dailies.[/quote]
Agreed. There is room for stronger execution in the mmo genre. I have seen some improvement in Combat (Tera, GW2) and some in graphics. But for the most part they have had problems. The biggest failure - the game that set the Genre back was SWTOR. They used such a bad engine - the graphics are pretty much WoW level with lag and didn't improve combat at all.
I think the game makers feel that they need something 'different' to bring people in - even that that different thing doesn't work well in a MMO. EQ next for example disappoints me. They could do a really good job with a better EQ - better combat and better graphics and leave some of the other stuff intact - and it would be great fun. Instead they are like ' no levels' - "no stats on gear' - 'holy trinity.' ?! Etc etc..
Right now I am hoping that Wildstar puts out an AAA product. I think GW2 did an excellent job in executing their vision - but they were too constrained by their hipster mentality where anything 'old' is 'broken.'
I couldn't agree more with a post I disagree with. While your overall premise is flawed, I agree with most of the contents. My exception is calling your choice the mature one. It has nothing to do with maturity. This point pretty much nullifies itself, as not many completely mature people are going to equate maturity with taste. What you describe is seriousness vs humor. Not mature vs childish.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
I wouldn't rule out MMOs just yet.
There are several projects on the horizon that hope to REINVIGORATE the genre and have the potential to be GAME-CHANGERS. So if something like EQN or ESO doesn't do it, then one of these games certainly will. Did you think of them yet?
I call them the Kickstarted Sandboxes- Pathfinder Online, Shroud of the Avatar, Camelot Unchained, & Star Citizen.
The power of these projects is immense. They seem to address the very concerns you have and are all fresh & exciting. They all have a unique vision and are doing their own thing, not trying to be like others. And the fact that the community is involved early in the development process can only mean good things.
So don't despair yet. There's still hope for the next generation. When the next big thing comes, believe me we will know when we see it.
maybe, maybe not but I don't think these forum boards could handle it if I was able to type out everytime I've seen the words Reinvigorate or game changer and the like in regards to some vapor ware mmo on the horizon. color me cynical till one actually happens. and as long as it's always "the big thing" they've already failed since they are trying exactly what went before.
EDIT
All crowdsourcing means is they couldn't sucker an investor to lay some cash so they are trying to goto the source, does not mean the design is any different
I think part of the problem is that most mmos seem to make you "the" hero, you are the big bad adventure of your vaction.. but after you played through the basic story.. it just stops.
In older mmo's like Everquest and (not discussing all its flaws and downfalls) anarchy online, you where just some random shmuck, who forfilled a random quest or contract for the faction of their choise, you wherent a figther of X, you just "lived"in their teratorion. Which imo led to you making yourself the hero of your own story.
I truely feel that thats what is missing in mmo's right now, they make you feel the hero of THEIR story, but in reality you arent, which leads to a void and shallow feeling in the end.
I beg to differ. These are not your run-of-the mill MMOs. They are not doing the same old things. That's what I was trying to say earlier.
PFO, in addition to crowdforging features, has such well-thought out design decisions - I mean, have you seen the development blogs? http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2pbh0?What-Makes-Pathfinder-Online-Different
CU is taking a big risk doing a niche, open-world PvP game but it may very well end up paying off. Sometimes it's better to be a master of few, then a jack of all trades.
SotA is being made with an RPG focus by RPG legends and draws upon many strengths of UO. It uses a new technology called "selective multiplayer".
Star Citizen, a literally out-of-this world space sim that has not been touched for years by publishers, is breathtaking and is already the largest crowdfunded project ever with over $20 million pledged.
I agree with you to a point. It really isnt as easy as pointing the finger at those evil large companies. The real problem is us.
We have been voting with our wallets. Every time someone publishes a mmo off the standard part we keep on voting it away. We can debate how good or well they tried but at the end of the day it does come down to numbers, the game has to get enough income to be self sustaining with a little extra so they have room to invest in new content and expantions. Not only that we do seem to be far more tollerant with these boring clones when it comes to bugs and flaws then with new/different designs.
Kickstarters do have the potentional to help bring mmos to their former glory, but for them too, it does come down to numbers when too many fall on their face they will eventually go down the very same road we are on right now, going for the more standard working formula.
So again ultimately the problem is us.
By that logic the next crappy mmo I see I and everyone else. should just hand em my bank account info since we all know that will make it all beter.
no, you want to compete in a market fine, but free enterprise = the freedom to fail. if that's too scary to devs/pubs/indies /shrug go make phone apps
I disagree with this as it's a thought I had myself once. After EverQuest all I saw were WoW clones, quest chains, solo focus; I never liked WoW, still don't understand how it became so big, so these copies never did it for me either. With all the MMO's looking the same I questioned whether the genre was for me anymore.
Then came Lord of the Rings Online. While it took some ideas from the clones, such as the quest chains, the feeling of a more open world, of freedom of movement, large open areas, beautiful places, group quests; it reminded me of why I played EverQuest. LOTRO was the first game since EverQuest that I hit the level cap in, then I went on to raiding and that was great too.
But then they jumped in line with all the rest; the group quests became solo quests, book quests that once required help instead gave you a big buff so your Hobbit Thief could go solo 20 trolls on his own. Absolutely ridiculous, even the heroes of the books struggled with trolls, never mind multiples. And so LOTRO became just another clone which made me leave and never look back.
So it's not me that's changed, it's the genre. The hints are still there that things could turn around and become great again, but until they get this solo questing nonsense out of the way, I doubt I'll be subscribing to anything. MMO.. massively multiplayer.. not solo quest grind.
Thats a interesting way to put words in my mouth.
No we shouldnt just put up with what ever they try to feed us, though funny enough, thats precisely what we have been doing.
We try something and are far more willing to put up with flaws and bugs with bugs, flaws and glitches in clones and especially the.. "Original" then with more Original concepts, instead of having a little patience.
You letting the illution and bling bling blind you and expect kickstart to be something its not. Regardless of what these kickstarter projects are trying to do, and they very well may as clearly stated in my Original statement underlined above. But unless they actually show we ARE willing to buy and play newer designs instead of the same old clone-based games, they will fail just and hard and the money will move on.
Stomping your feet doenst change the fact that ultimately its OUR money that makes or breaks the game, which is why most of the small and/or independant companies are now (mosty) gone.