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MMORPG.COM News: Outside the Box: The Future
Dana
Member Posts: 2,415
In the final part of a three part series, Monday columnist Nathan Knaack completes his look at the past, present and future of MMORPGs with article #3: The Future.
 Most people would fill the entire future section of an essay like this with a blueprint rundown of their perfect, or dream MMORPG. Im just going to list the bullet points of features that game designers really need to take a look at if they hope to compete in tomorrows market, because the first game that comes along that truly incorporates all of the following ideas is going to dominate the MMORPG industry. These arent fantastical, far-fetched Ideas I personally conjured up either; theyre the kinds of ideas that have been bouncing around the player community for years now, ranted about and demanded but never properly included in an existing MMORPG. For the sake of what little sanity most developers have left, after working legendarily long hours, usually under absurd deadlines, Ill start with the simplest and/or most straightforward topics.
One word: Immersion. Other than the number of players involved, the biggest difference between a regular computer RPG and an MMORPG is the replayability factor. Nobody plays Fallout, Knights of the Old Republic, or Baldurs Gate for four hours a day, five or six days a week, over the course of three years. The obvious reason is that those games are designed to be played through once, but maybe half a dozen times if you decide to try it using a different character or method. Unfortunately, the same design mentality went into almost all of the modern MMORPGs on the market. Most architecture and geography is static, meaning that no mater how many times you nail that little wooden shack with your super rocket launcher, its never going to budge. An MMORPG might seem completely immersive your first time through (just like Fallout, KoTR, and BG all did), but when you log in for the hundredth time a few months later, seeing the exact same towns, hills, dungeons, grazing horses, floating space stations, and NPCs locked into their paths spoils the immersion. |
You can read the full column here.
Dana Massey
Formerly of MMORPG.com
Currently Lead Designer for Bit Trap Studios
Comments
*Points his finger at Rapid Reality*
If you guys liked the concepts described in this article you should check out The Chronicle.
This guys got everything down pat.
Good summation of where things are going, but I think the tone is a bit harsh on the current games and developers. As noted, these ideas aren't fantastical, they have been thought of before. If it were so easy to implement them, it would have been done already.
The industry will get there, it just isn't as easy as this article may make it seem. Ever tried hosting voice chat for 20,000 concurrent users? Beside the fact that many of us abhor voice chat. It takes away from immersion in the respect that most people won't talk "in character", and those that do might not be the best voice actors in the world. And, no matter how I might try, I'm never going to sound like a sexy elven princess.
With immersion, every little extra takes development time and server resources. A development company's job is to create the top features in respect to $$$. That's where the problems lie right now. Once a few WoWs are in the market, then I think we'll see better immersion, as that will be a differentiator, and therefore worth $$$.
Anyhow, again good article all over, just try not to be so harsh on the developers, eh?
Nathan, I agree with everything except the bit about going to s first person perspective. That perspective leaves me feeling like I have blinders on, and less aware of the world around me. In RL, i can feel the ground beneath my feet. I can quickly glance in any direction and know what's happening around me. There's also a variety of very subtle things that our senses pick up without us thinking about it. These things add to our awareness. Winds allow us to pick up on things blocking that wind, reinforcing in our minds the locations of things around us, like trees and walls. The sounds around us also clue us in, whether it's the sounds on the wind, the ever so slight echoes off of things around us. Smells near us, even brushing against things like foliage, chairs, walls, what ever, all these things hit our senses and give us a refined mental picture of what's around us all the time. Right now, you can feel the back of your chair even if you're leaning forwards, and you know that the chair back is behind you. You don't have to see it to be aware of it. But in a game, if you don't see it, you aren't aware except by memory. But if the back of your chair falls off, in RL you immdeiately know. This is why I much prefer a third person view in my games.
Once upon a time....
I dont like third person view and I agree to nearly all what is said in this article, except FPS-style gaming. I know many would like to see it in an MMORPG, but I dont. There are basically 2 aspects because I dont like FPS-style gaming:
(1) real life reaction skills dominate the avatars in game skills - that is against role play!
(2) ping is king and ping difference are system immanent - so there is no fairness possible world-wide!
That is why I would not accept FPS controls as the future of MMORPGs - but the comments about the immersion of those controls are true, I have to agree there. If something could be found what eliminates those 2 aspects above, I would think different, but I guess, no one really can.
Ragosch
Have to agree with amaranthar about the FP thing. The reason people are twitchy while playing an FPS is because of the intense gameplay, not the camera view. Besides I want to see my character Ive put so much work into, in the context of the world.
Watch someone play an RTS (which is completely in the third person), its the same thing, even crazier. In fact, try talking to someone playing an RTS... its impossible.
I totally agree with the glowing name above the head thing. Man that drives me nuts. Totally kills the potential for some really fun, sneaky PvP in the forest etc... In WoW half the fun of PvP is trying to get things accomplished while being stalked by a more powerful enemy, there is nothing more satisfying than hiding behind a big tree, watching them run by, and escaping! But you shouldnt need a big tree, you should be able to crouch in the bush, or even just stand still and hope they dont see you...
Dear Dana Massey,<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
I would just like to start by saying your articles were a great read. They were very well written and I have enjoyed thinking about what you believe is right and wrong about MMORPG. But I have to say that I completely disagree with the future part of your MMORPG article. Here are the most important reasons why.
First, we have to agree on the raisons dêtre of a MMORPG. The easiest part of this is the producers point of view. They make games for one single, extremely simple, purpose: to make money. Period. Nothing more, nothing less. They have two ways to achieve maximum profitability: high individual income or massive subscriptions. What you propose to make the ideal game makes the game attractive to such a limited section of the MMORPG population they would have to pay much more then the 15$ a month paid at this moment. You make the assumption that most RPGers thrive on the social aspect of a traditional PnP RPG, the role-playing part. I think you are wrong. Most people enjoy the number crunching of those games. Take away the dice and the sheet of paper and youre left with storytelling, not role-playing as we have known to love.
99.9999999999% of ALL games are about number crunching. Its all about statistical probabilities and games of chance. If it has money in it, its about numbers. If it has luck in it, its about numbers. If theres a goal to accomplish, its about numbers. Its all about numbers. Always. Its part of a field of research in economics called game theory. Games are about ranking, testing ones ability and overcoming obstacle. Its all about comparisons. And without numbers comparisons are useless. A game needs ordinality, not simple cardinality.
If you take away the numbers then the game has no meaning. Actually Im sure if you were to take the numbers out of any mmorpg youd have dozens of sites compiling stats to that game in no time.
So I disagree that the games we call MMORPGs need to become something that most people wouldnt want to play. You are proposing a new kind of game. Not a change in the current way we interpret MMORPGs. Maybe MMOSTG, massively multiplayer online storytelling games. Where it wouldnt be about being better then, but being with.
Most people play todays MMORPG for the tactical aspects, like chess or poker. The story, the setting and the gameplay are only obstacles or tools (what economists call the rules) to accomplish goals or objectives.
I think nowadays the RP in MMORPG means only that we have an alter-ego, an avatar, in a virtual world. It has much less to do with the immersion part of the meaning.
And as long as people dish out 15$ a month to play MMORPGs like we have now (WoW has 5.5 million subscriptions to date!), I dont see them going the role-playing way any more then they do now. Its simply the supply meeting the demand.
Dana Massey
Formerly of MMORPG.com
Currently Lead Designer for Bit Trap Studios
Hi and great read before i say anything else realy agree with most of it.
While reading the part on permadeath i started to think, and came up with a little something.
Why doesn't any RPG reward you for not dieing insted of punishing you for dieing ?
Give char a reputation bonus of xp bonus for not dieing during a mission or even during a lvl.
Is this not a better idea that thinking up how to find ways to put perma death in a game ?
P.S. I would not have a problem woth perma death if there wasn't a chance of excidental death.(lag, disconecting, window popup at the wrong moment or something like that))
"Believe nothing.
No matter where you read it,
Or who said it,
Even if I have said it,
Unless it agrees with your own reason
And your own common sense"
- The Buddha, from Dhammapada
I liked what the author said as a collective approach to community thoughts with the exception of teamspeak.
To the above writer:
1. Old static systems eventually must give way to changes for the better. More realistically relying on skill only makes the game more exciting for the players, it makes the game more immersive and (most likely using a hybrid control system) results in players being able to have more of an effect upon the world.
2. As one of the "HPB's or "high-pinging bastards" of first person shooter games, add 200 more for MMO's I can tell you there are two easy solutions.
2. A: Splash damage - I was an amazing Tribes 2 player and a lot of that can be credited to the splash damage of the spinfusor. I didn't have to be dead on target, nor did I suffer a penalty for that.
2. B: Predictable movement. Another reason I was able to excel at tribes 2 as a HPB is because once airborn, a character cannot radically change his movement from one side to another, as in games like Call of Duty (run, jump, crouch) or Unreal Tournament (side jumps, wall jumps). A predictable time allotment was able to be perceived and all you had to do was lead the target a little farther. I wasn't shooting at blank air, as my client would match up with what I had shot, so a realism factor would not be an issue there. This was advantageous for me even with the precise weaponry such as the chaingun and sniper rifle.
These systems can easily be converted into an MMO format - just think of explosions for spells and not being able to dodge randomly. There are solutions. Do not trap yourself into thinking there are none.
The article brings up some VERY good points. I hope developers do keep these things in mind. There are ways that they can be done and many minds spend a lot of time working out the details. I know that MUCH discussion has taken place in DETAIL regarding such things in the 'Developers Corner' forum section of MMORPG.COM and I would encourage anyone who wants to think more deeply about these topics go there and read through it and add to the discussion.
http://mmorpg.com/discussion.cfm/load/forums/loadClass/155/loadforum/472/setstart/1
I hoped more would be said about the possibilities of dynamic worlds in this article, as that is much discussed in the forums. It would truly be a unique experience to know that the game world was created by player actions and not by pre-programmed content, or even randomly generated content, which gets stagnant over time. It would require a VERY good design to work out all the details and obstacles but that is what the open discussion is for.
As for more 'twitch' based combat, it is true that we would need some better technology that made connection speeds negligible, and if it were to be done then a single player's skills in combat should not be the main focus of the design. Especially in large scale warfare. However, those with the specific skills would have their place in certain situations where their skills are superior and they would be highly valued because of this and could base some power, but there are other more important types of power, such as political/economic/etc.
As for getting rid of levels and grinding and showing stats and number crunching, AMEN! These MUST be left in the past where they belong. The genre has so much more potential than that. The complex interactions that can take place between massive numbers of players when given the right tools is truly an amazing possibility. Levels and their ilk are the ONE thing that does the most to hold back the progress of the modern MMORPG.
I do believe that the points mentioned in the article are necessary for inclusion and I sincerely hope that developers will take heed. We should all be appreciative of such people that work hard and have the ambition to bring games to fruition, and we must be grateful for those that supply funds to make it all possible. I would hope that they too would respect us as the gaming community and listen to our ideas and maybe take some time to discuss future topics with those willing to share ideas that they might begin to incorporate these into their plans for the future. The power of many minds working together is great. I have seen a vast quantity of innovative thinking in the above mentioned forums from the minds of many talented and bright individuals. I think we are all working towards the same goal, we are all on the same journey. Let's help one another get there. That would be the greatest adventure! The quest for ideas!
IronOre - Forging the Future
IronOre - Forging the Future
It's human nature to try and measure the unknown. Think about trying to find the age of the universe and how NASA has spent millions and sent spacecraft, both manned and unmanned, into space to try and find it out and also explore planets, stars and solar systems. It's also human nature to compete, whether in friendly competitions or through acts of war. Both these qualities are prevalent in a MMORPG.
Take a simple question: how do you know if you are going to die in a game? Most of them tell you the exact number of Hit Points that your avatar has. Once it hits zero (except DDO) you die. If the game doesn't tell you that you only have 23 hp remaining or even have a status bar showing it's getting smaller, how do you give the player feedback? One solution is have more descriptive stages, "Excellent health", "Good health", "Poor health" and so on and to give the player visual feedback that their character is fighting something much more dangerous than previously thought. Their pace could be slower, they could look "beat up". Many offline games have excellent means of showing this, some get very specific with wounds to a particular part of the body affecting the player a certain way. If you are going to hide the mechanics of the game from the player you have to give alternative feedback that something is happening (or not). Having a level-less design also makes PvP less predictable.
I think that so many mmorpgers out there have got so used to levels, hit points, etc that showing them anything else will be quite alien. Take food and drink in EQ2, when released provisioners had to work out for themselves what the items did. Empirical information was sought (not just on food/drink either) and beleive me even if the numbers were hidden someone will have a website up within weeks showing them anyway. Playing MMORPGs will only feel like a maths competition if you make it that way too. How many people playing World of Warcraft use thottbot.com on a regular basis just to get the details on an item? Would a skill-based design or hiding all numbers stop players from powergaming? I doubt it.
EVE is a good game and it uses something we all have to "compare" different players and that is time. Few games out there use time to good effect, if you stopped playing WoW you will miss the sun rising and setting in another game. The sky never seems to change in most games (or there isn't one altogether), when it snows it never piles up, when it rains torches still burn, etc. As for immersive NPCs if John the Blacksmith dies would he be replaced with John_002 the Blacksmith or would all Blacksmithing suddenly stop one day. To create immersion there has to be cause and effect. Everything that happens triggers something else or just continue on normal routine. Take entering a game for the very first time (after character creation) normally you are just plonked into a tutorial with little reason as to why you exist. If I log out and come back to my characer six weeks later, typically he or she is the same. Hasn't aged one second, same amount of hair, same amount of money, identical physical attributes. If you want real immersion why not go the whole hog; although let's not forget this is still a game.
Your idea of awarding for winning is a good one. Guild Wars sort of has this. IF you just choose to PvP you gain XP by winning matches and stuff and once the match is done and you've lost you don't lose anything but u gain all the xp and such that you got from it. (I also believe some people say GW isn't an mmorpg but oh well its a good idea anyways)
on to the article- I thought it was very good. I like the idea of Role-playing in games. I never did any of the pen-paper RPG's or anything, (although ive been thinking of trying it out sometime, just would have to find people) but I think Role-playing should be more focused in games than just levels. To be honest I think levels should just be out of the picture all together. I also enjoy the getting rid of the "math" of the game. I want a game that is an escape from reality, yet could somehow seem as though it is real, and not just a game. If that makes sense at all. Over all id say i agree with all of the article. The only thing I don't enjoy is FPS look of the game. Actually a lot of games do have a way of how u can zoom in so much that ur in first-person view, but I never liked that. I think perma-death is never going to be put into a game, because once you're dead the game is over.
Perma-death idea. I did just know have an idea of how this might work. In a way it could be considered perma-death. What happens is you die. And once you die you get sent into the after-life. To get back into the normal life you would have to do a small quest or some task. It would give you the drive to not die because then you might have to spend most of your time trying to get back to life and all. Just a thought
Anyways, good article.
Permadeath will never, I repeat NEVER, become the norm on a MMORPG except maybe on a specialty server.
The reason is that there is NO possible way for the game to be totally bug free, lag free or even free from being suddenly disconnected.
If I was to buld up a great, well equiped charactor only to loose him due to the technical issues I listed above, then it would be definately game over for me, because I would be unsubscribeing right then and there.
I appreciate that the author has taken on a tough topic, and we would all like to see the things that we personally like the best in our "dream game". The author clearly enjoys FPS and PVP. I don't, nor do many players. However, wonderfully the MMORPG market is very full, and many options are currently available and many more are coming.
It's amazing how reality can ruin our imagination. Like the author, I would have agreed that in game voice chat should have been implemented a long time ago. Then I got to experience it in DDO Beta. Wow, what a lot of foul mouthed people are out there. I have young children in the house, and that language coming over the speakers was a major drag (had to turn it off almost immediately). Besides the childern aspect, to tell you the truth I dont want to hear it either, and it certainly doesnt enhance my roleplaying experience! There is never gonna be a language filter for voice chat, and other than playing only with close friends who you can trust to control thier language, the drawback (foul language) wasnt worth the gain.
I think PVP games are out there (take guild wars for instance) and more are coming and yet it isn't necessary to make an MMORPG enjoyable. I certainly think the twin concepts of permadeath and PVP do not belong together (after playing for 3 months to develop my lvl 30 character, I am ganked 10 times rapidly by a level 40 character (who camps my corpse) and bam I permadead! Yea, thats a game I'm looking forward to playing.
There are better solutions than permadeath. One I've talked about forever, is simply an escalating death penalty. (the more often you die, the more severe death penalty you build up). Ie. die to much and you'll be semi'permanantly playing with DP. (should result in moderate skill penalties). City of Heroes was like this for awhile, and the player base complained so much the developers reduced the death penalty. This leads me to an important conclusion. It's a game! It's supposed to be fun, when it stops being fun people will stop playing (and paying). While these ideas can increase the challenge, its a very fine line to cross from challenging to ouch! this sucks. For players of different skill levels that line lands in entirely different spots. How do you deal with this? Realistically you can't which is why developers haven't gone there. Not because they don't think its a good idea, but because they can't figure out how to do it effectively without alienating a large portion of thier player base. When you figure it out, you let me know, I'll be happy to sell the idea.
Personally I'm looking forward to Fallen Earth and I'll be Playing DDO and Conan over the next year to fill the time until it comes out.
Rigghawk
Rigghawk
How many people do you know where you know nearly no numbers of?- See for example on the forum here, I know several people from their discussion. Am I able to compare them to each other without knowing numbers about them?- Sure, I can. I compare people all the time in real life without using numbers, just because life isnt about numbers and so a role playing game does not need to be about numbers to reflect virtual life ... it is just a matter of game mechanics needed to make things computable for a CPU, there is no need to expose those numbers to players at all.
It is not that way that games will not have numbers, but they do not need to be exposed to players. In real life there are many things that can be expressed in numbers - blood pressure, body temperature, pulse and so on and so on - do I really need this information to live my life?- No, I dont.
Now think of social relationsships - is your wife a set of numbers for you, where you need to know every detail of her in order to love her?- No, you dont, you love here because she is that person she is. And it would not be different if many of her numbers would change (if you would not know about it). Maybe it would ruin your life if you would know too much about her numbers ... and so it is in games also, if I know too much about the numbers of other players, the game is ruined in a way.
Playing a game is not about doing math - this is just an aftereffect of exposing game mechanics. It was needed at table-top times, but it is no longer needed in pc games. If you find another way to express those numbers, you dont need them.
In our game we use comments of the avatars for example ... if you want your avatar to learn something he will tell you what he is thinking about it. Maybe let him try to become better at smithing he may state "Well, last time I had a hard time learning this, but I will do my very best." Then you know it is not the easiest task for him to learn, do you need any numbers here to decide if he should learn it?- We took away most numbers even on items. There are no objective numbers exposed to players, all what a character knows about an item are subjective impressions about its abilities and quality.
In real life when you buy or use things you often do not know about their numbers. If I buy an ice for example, I know that it will be cold and if I buy a cup of coffee I know that it will be hot. I do not know about the exact temperature of it. So it is with many things, I do not know numbers about most things in life, but what I know of are relationships (a cup of coffee is relative hot, but ice cream not very cold), so why should I need exact numbers in a game?- Relative expressions are good enough, just because our brain translate exposed numbers into relative messurements anyway.
Ragosch
Wonderful Article. I think it hit some MAJOR issues that personally i haven't been able to articulate. You've given the community a ray of hope in an otherwise bleak and souless MMORPG market. Some of the high brow games, EQ2, WoW, RF Online, Guild Wars, etc. wouldn't even meet the very basic requirements ( FOR ME) as a Role Playing Game. They are more multiplayer grind-fests.
cado, i think you missed the point of this article. Sure games are about the money, but Gamers would like to believe that the developers that are making the games for the gamers to play actually care what they want. In other words, If the developers understand the gaming community, then build a game around those expectations it would be logical to see the gamers PLAYING and even PAYING for that game. Look at Elder Scrolls, one of the best single player RPGs hailed for multiple awards. They show a fairly good immersion and fun factor, and an open ended skill structure based on use. Could you imagine an Elder Scrolls MMORPG??? Or even an Oblivion MMORPG?
Despite my tangent, i do want cado to know that while gamers understand that companies tha tmake the games are in it for the money, they and I would assume that if a game company built their game around the gamers expectations then they'd pay for that game, and continue to pay for it. What does bottom line thinking mean to me when i'm looking for a game to play that i enjoy? why would i want to play a crappy grind fest when i could be playing something i enjoy? immersion is KEY.
I don't have the answers but that is why i pay other people to play their games. I want to know more about these ideas, and see them implemented.
*Perma death issue. Didn't the article say that having it as a requirement wasn't what they were saying at all? Rather implimenting something where players can CHOOSE to go perma death route and would reap GREAT rewards for that risk. Are you a gambling gamer? Who hasn't played the lotto? I can kill that red mob, i'm a hardass, even though everything in the numbers tells me i can't. Most of the time i lose, but sometimes i win and i win big!
all in all I hope that i see articles like this in the future, they give me hope. It would be nice if some developer over at blizzard, or SOE, and i mean really hoping on a limb here, to look at this article and actually make a good attempt at meeting these very simple expectations....
Innovate... or die.
Nicely timed article! Especially on the heels of the RPG debate with Frank and Garrett.
The author is 90% spot on! For MMORPGs to truly become "the next generation MMORPG", developers should print out this article and discuss ways to implement such features.
Immersion is the key to the kingdom. A good community keeps you in the kingdom.
Hook the players with a sense of uniqueness. Don't tell me I will look more unique as I advance(Shame on you, DDO!). I like Nathan's idea of "templates" to replace the common cookie cuuter professions. However, I propose that specialized professions are hidden and are to be unlocked. Suppose Johnny has invested x amount of skill points in archery, sneaking and tracking. *DING* You have unlocked the secrets of a Ranger! Something draws you southward. "Ranger Rick" is a name in your head now. You jot it in your journal...
Players at this point can either continue their journey as is, or decide to take a more specialized, disciplined path of a Ranger. Benefits of the Ranger are special abilities not found by generalists, but also limiting the player by "charging" more skills points for non ranger skills.
Of course, if a player wants to try another path, he can reinvest in other skill sets, but underutilized skills also should degrade as well. Havent used your bow effectively for a gaming month? Skill points drop. And no casting spells while waiting for a boat over and over counting as training...
Voice chat capability - yes. However, like rigghawk, I am a father with children and if Teamspeak is on and my headphones are not on my head.. From a role playing perspective it hurts, Immersion of my highly intelligent erudite wizard companion spouting obscenities and telling me he is so loaded just isn't there. However, from a strategic perspective, it is priceless.
I am curious - where does Nathan stand on Instancing? Is it part of the future? I think it will always be because it is very immersive. Devs just have to focus on randomization. While the goal may be to Slay the Boss "Naughty", the Boss name, skill sets, drops and spawn point can be randomized. Maybe even rotate the "mission door" location like in COH. Just don't make the entire game instanced. Give the kill tasks and simple common fetch quests for open environment gaming.
My view on the points made:
Immersion - I think this needs to be enhanced greatly. Random events happening throughout the world, NPCs interacting with PCs and other NPCs, NPCs and PCs being able to change the world, and have it gradually change over time. The game world 1 year after the game's release should be noticably different from how it began.
FPS Controls - Love much more interactive combat. Mount & Blade has a combat system that I'm a huge fan of - you control where you attack (left slash, right slash, overhead, thrust) and manually control blocking and dodging attacks. Also helps with immersion, as I feel I'm directly controlling my character's actions.
Masked Math - I agree with this as well. Most MMORPGs turn into number-crunching fests, where what people use/do is stictly based on what is "best". I'd like to see a guy using a sword because he thought it looked cool, and it was a gift from a friend, even if it's not the best weapon ever. On a similar note I'd like to see not nearly as huge of a difference between horrible gear and uber gear - gear/levels/stats shouldn't be the deciding factor on how your character acts or can compete - it should be based on skill.
Overhead Names - I agree. I'd like to see a system where you get to know people, and only then will you know their names - and even then they don't show up as neon lights over their head.
PvP - Agree agian. More than just fighting in a battleground, I think PvP should affect the world, and in more than just killing people.
Player-based economy - I'd like to see a system where other players are required for the majority of crafting/trading. Maybe a few low-level/skill merchants to start you off, but most would be player-based.
Voice chat - My first negative. I don't like voice chat, especially with strangers. People are way to immature over the internet, and it destroys immersion. I'd rather see a system more like Guild Wars (you can shift+click an ability to instantly tell your group what you're doing) or a system where you can press certain buttons to say pre-determined messages ("Help me!", "Behind you!", "Thanks", "Attack!", etc...)
Permanent Death - I disagree with this as well. Bugs, lag, disconnection from ISP or the server just make this not work. I don't really like harsh death penalties of any sort - I'd rather have bonuses for not dying.
Overall, I agree with most of what was said, but I started to disagree a little at the end. I can't wait until MMORPGs start incorporating some of these ideas.
A well-thought out article, that summarised, as he says, a great many things that have been bounced about for years. I also think a lot of the replies have a lot to say. One example is the number crunching vs immersion issue. I think the internet plays a big hand here, I agree about the need for immersion but the seeming unfortunate human need to engage in a rat-race, and win, seems to inevitably lead to a host of internet site's posting walkthroughs, stats and hints, that almost negate details like unknown enemy levels etc. It would make the first time playing of a game more interesting, certainly, but a couple of visits to an internet site would soon lessen that effect. In regards to truly dynamic worlds, with shifting seasons and increaded AI for NPCs and variation - totally agree. And whilst some games make a crappy stab at it, like sudden snow storms that neither stick to the ground, that strike in the middle of an otherwise gorgeous sunny day, it actually does very little to add to immersion. Ongoing player created content is surely the future - release the players from their bonds and they'll undoubtedly surprise you. Not everyone can spend all day online thats true, but why not allow the people who can ba able to genuinly enrich the world for those of us who visit occasionally. GMs and developers are usually preoccupied with keeping their servers going and monitoring. Is it any wonder that content is often lacking. Quests are more often than not dull and repetitive anyway, why not allow players the chance to create their own games and rules? The article is right, and the technology is almost there, developers need only in the future provide the tools. On FPS, i understand some people's concers, not everyone has sufficient reflexes to be able to compete (and recent studies have concluded that certain racial types have an advantage is hand-eye coordination, as men do over women in general) obviously dont want to open that can of worms, but its worth making the point. Yes, let combat be skill based, let it have reliance on hand-eye coordination, but provide a level playing field in terms of players natural abilities, otherwise people will grow disillusioned when then continuously get killed by some ten-year-old kid with unnatural mouse control. Voice chat? Maybe, and maybe some controls would make it workable, like restricting it to mutually consenting parties, or groups who wish it. There are games in the pipeline currently trying new things, games like Trials of Ascension. And some by their very nature will have to look at some things a little differently, like Star Trek Online...I'm confident that there are games round the corner that'll break things up a little, change is good!!!
Excellent article, I agree with most of what he suggests. I've felt for years a basic problem involving the design of these games is the fact that their developed as "games", and not with the concept of creating a "virtual world" (which is really what people are looking for). Thats the immersion people are looking for. And I've felt for years that the class systems need to go...
The game "in development" that fits this article to a "T"
www.trialsofascension.com
Permadeath and environmental challenges are the next great step in the evolution of MMORPGs. Only through true adversity will one feel accomplished. Only in truly knowing you can die will true adversity present itself.