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Almost 20 Years of MMO Gaming - A Players Perspective
When I was 32 years old (I am now 55) I had a friend I worked with tell me about this game he was playing called "Everquest". This was in 1999. I was in the computer business, at the time teaching Microsoft Certification courses. I had a decent PC and good Internet (for the time). I never really played PC games, it just wasn't my thing. My friend REALLY liked this game, so I bought it, loaded it up, to see what all the fuss was about.
I was shown this screen, the character creation screen, where I could make my "toon" look anyway I wanted, my first exposure to personalized gaming. After too long personalizing my toon, I entered the game and was shown this amazing make believe world. I learned the controls, found the map key and really got an idea of size of this world I was to embark on. This was amazing.
5000+ hours later, maxing out every possible character, maxing out every single skill, meeting so many great people, playing so late into the night, raiding the Plane of Fear where we had just flat out fantastic FUN, laughing so hard it would make you cry. These were what I call, The Good Ole Days of MMO's. It didn't matter who you were, how much you could play, your skill level, everybody helped everyone else and we had fun.
Oh, how the times have changed. With Everquest, you bought the box and paid a 15 dollar subscription, period. The game at the time was run by Sony. They made a monthly profit, put out expansions to keep revenue going, and bringing in new players, it worked because the competition was really low. It just worked. Then came WoW. WoW changed the whole game...
There were two things that made WoW so popular, the number one thing and still works for them today, is you can play WoW with even the most modest PC/Ram/Internet Connection this leading to number two, Blizzard had reach, global reach they could reach countries which Sony did not do. And due to the very low PC specs and Internet speed needed to play, this brought in millions of players.
When WoW came out, I was really at the end of my Everquest Journey, there just wasn't anything I had not done in Everquest. I was ready for this new challenge. I jumped into WoW the very first second I could. I don't know what I expected, but something felt wrong. For me at least, it seemed the "danger" was gone, I didn't feel the "risk" I did in Everquest. Dying had no real consequences, I mean real painful risk. I stopped playing after a few months and moved on.
So many MMO's have come and gone since then, and I have played them all (or most of them). From DDO to Conan to Lord of The Rings and finally the last I played was Black Desert, I played them all and have had my share of fun and excitement, but for me nothing has grasped me like Everquest did. I am sure this is pretty much like your "first love", it is just different.
Now, these gaming companies are using my love of the MMO against me. They have made these games a competition, pitting player against player, selling "Pixels" for profit. What a fantastic scam this is, items that can be created and lines of code in a game to make them useful, and selling 100's if not 1000's of them to players who are so afraid someone will have an advantage they don't have they psychologically feel they MUST HAVE that item.
These companies have learned, if we see these separate items for sale in their game BEFORE it is released, we will not buy it. So they purposely say during development "We Promise No P2W", and we think oh great, they understand we find this unacceptable. We buy their game, start playing and a few months in, after we are already invested in the game, playing with our friends and having fun, they slowly start to add these small items. A few at first, small items that really don't change the game that much so we ignore them, and play on. Then they add an item that is clearly meant to extract money from those players who already feel left behind in some way or players (usually PVP Types) who thinks if I buy this item, I might get a leg up on my competition. This is simple manipulation, playing on gamers fears or aspirations.
One example I can give, but their are THOUSANDS, is Pets in Black Desert Online. Any BDO player knows, if your even remotely serious about playing BDO you HAVE to have Pets. Looting has always been one of those time consuming things we just do, but when looting 10 to 20 mobs at a time really gets tedious. Time in BDO equals Money and Experience, more time because you have pets equals faster experience and more money. They know, when we see the advantages, we will pay because it just makes sense. This is such a must have item, why don't they just give new players pets? Simple, they know you will PAY even for something that should be included.
For the last 5 years or so I have seen this play out over and over again, companies promising one thing and doing another, most reasonable people call that lying. Why the Bless Online Dev's are "Shocked and Amazed" of the backlash from gamers when they hide the "Cash Shop", and leave out details on what "Premium Service" really means, as well as why the MMO Community is NOT going to take their word their game is not P2W, should just look at the history of the MMO's that came before them and how we the community are sick and tired of being lied to, and would like one simple thing...Be Transparent!!!
I apologize, I needed to vent.
I was shown this screen, the character creation screen, where I could make my "toon" look anyway I wanted, my first exposure to personalized gaming. After too long personalizing my toon, I entered the game and was shown this amazing make believe world. I learned the controls, found the map key and really got an idea of size of this world I was to embark on. This was amazing.
5000+ hours later, maxing out every possible character, maxing out every single skill, meeting so many great people, playing so late into the night, raiding the Plane of Fear where we had just flat out fantastic FUN, laughing so hard it would make you cry. These were what I call, The Good Ole Days of MMO's. It didn't matter who you were, how much you could play, your skill level, everybody helped everyone else and we had fun.
Oh, how the times have changed. With Everquest, you bought the box and paid a 15 dollar subscription, period. The game at the time was run by Sony. They made a monthly profit, put out expansions to keep revenue going, and bringing in new players, it worked because the competition was really low. It just worked. Then came WoW. WoW changed the whole game...
There were two things that made WoW so popular, the number one thing and still works for them today, is you can play WoW with even the most modest PC/Ram/Internet Connection this leading to number two, Blizzard had reach, global reach they could reach countries which Sony did not do. And due to the very low PC specs and Internet speed needed to play, this brought in millions of players.
When WoW came out, I was really at the end of my Everquest Journey, there just wasn't anything I had not done in Everquest. I was ready for this new challenge. I jumped into WoW the very first second I could. I don't know what I expected, but something felt wrong. For me at least, it seemed the "danger" was gone, I didn't feel the "risk" I did in Everquest. Dying had no real consequences, I mean real painful risk. I stopped playing after a few months and moved on.
So many MMO's have come and gone since then, and I have played them all (or most of them). From DDO to Conan to Lord of The Rings and finally the last I played was Black Desert, I played them all and have had my share of fun and excitement, but for me nothing has grasped me like Everquest did. I am sure this is pretty much like your "first love", it is just different.
Now, these gaming companies are using my love of the MMO against me. They have made these games a competition, pitting player against player, selling "Pixels" for profit. What a fantastic scam this is, items that can be created and lines of code in a game to make them useful, and selling 100's if not 1000's of them to players who are so afraid someone will have an advantage they don't have they psychologically feel they MUST HAVE that item.
These companies have learned, if we see these separate items for sale in their game BEFORE it is released, we will not buy it. So they purposely say during development "We Promise No P2W", and we think oh great, they understand we find this unacceptable. We buy their game, start playing and a few months in, after we are already invested in the game, playing with our friends and having fun, they slowly start to add these small items. A few at first, small items that really don't change the game that much so we ignore them, and play on. Then they add an item that is clearly meant to extract money from those players who already feel left behind in some way or players (usually PVP Types) who thinks if I buy this item, I might get a leg up on my competition. This is simple manipulation, playing on gamers fears or aspirations.
One example I can give, but their are THOUSANDS, is Pets in Black Desert Online. Any BDO player knows, if your even remotely serious about playing BDO you HAVE to have Pets. Looting has always been one of those time consuming things we just do, but when looting 10 to 20 mobs at a time really gets tedious. Time in BDO equals Money and Experience, more time because you have pets equals faster experience and more money. They know, when we see the advantages, we will pay because it just makes sense. This is such a must have item, why don't they just give new players pets? Simple, they know you will PAY even for something that should be included.
For the last 5 years or so I have seen this play out over and over again, companies promising one thing and doing another, most reasonable people call that lying. Why the Bless Online Dev's are "Shocked and Amazed" of the backlash from gamers when they hide the "Cash Shop", and leave out details on what "Premium Service" really means, as well as why the MMO Community is NOT going to take their word their game is not P2W, should just look at the history of the MMO's that came before them and how we the community are sick and tired of being lied to, and would like one simple thing...Be Transparent!!!
I apologize, I needed to vent.
Comments
I'm pretty sure the noobie login gives a free pet too. Also i'm not 100% but i think they have an achievement that gives a free pet as well.
Be the Ultimate Ninja! Play Billy Vs. SNAKEMAN today!
My SWTOR referral link for those wanting to give the game a try. (Newbies get a welcome package while returning players get a few account upgrades to help with their preferred status.)
https://www.ashesofcreation.com/ref/Callaron/
From a Commodore Amiga to a custom three monitor setup with backup gaming laptop. There will always be positives and negatives if you look hard enough for them. Life is good as far as I'm concerned with the state of gaming. The glass is half full.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
WoW was just generally a perfect storm scenario and it's launch time being when gaming was starting to become a more acceptable mainstream thing as a whole helped them out a lot. I'm sad to see the direction that Blizzard has taken WoW and in general regard the MMORPG genre due to their own behavior and always chasing the lowest common denominator of gamer. We've gone down to systems that are far too streamlined, lack any real depth, any interoperability between stuff is so far gone, crafting is an after thought, the journey is so streamlined to a point that people just don't really care to play the game at all until end game and end game has become the focus of almost every single MMORPG.
I was actually happy to see that a large portion of the bigger companies are pulling back from making MMORPGs and that the indie scene seems to be trying to fill the niches that some of the older player base are still looking for. I'm happy to see companies that are realizing that their game can be a niche and still be profitable without having a parent company looming over their heads expecting WoW like numbers or bust.
The days of P2P aren't necessarily gone either, just we need companies to pull their heads out of their own asses and realize that the MMORPG genre despite the success of WoW and some F2P titles is still a niche genre.
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Personally, I laugh or shake my head at people who have such a problem with things "might be P2W". The whole pet thing that was mentioned is laughable to me. It is a time saver, great! Spend money if you like the game and support the developer! I gladly support good games and will happily hand over money to support a good game. If I don't like a game I will not pay and normally quit shortly after. But, I never complain on forums or any other platforms (not talking about anyone on here). To many cheap gamers who feel entitled and want everything given to them easily and for free. These games have cost/ expenses and need revenue just like everyone else.
I will be playing Bless and I am trying to stay optimistic about the game, cash shop, and it's future! Plan on purchasing the collector’s edition to boot.
I find that games today lack a challenge. So I moved over to sand boxes with PVP. Thats where I find my challenge not actually engaging in PVP but just the threat of it makes the games challenging to me. Having to defend yourself at any moment.
Archage was the game that could have been the one, it had so much potential but the developer and Trion destroyed that game with pay to win. Which I could have lived with if they would have spent some of the money and time fixing exploits created by crappy code, and actually went after cheaters that were sniping land, etc.
BDO on the other hand gets a bad wrap, its the least pay to win game out there ( out of the games that are being accused of pay to win), its more of pay to loot or pay for an advantage. That games gives me so much stuff every time i visit for awhile as in millions of Gold, free pets on events and log out for 30 days and I can xp a alt to 56 in 2 hour with 100% xp. I have been given 4 pets so far from the game and I do not have a problem looting even though i dont have tier 5 pets. So on BDO I strongly disagree with you.
I dont miss your point and agree with it mostly. The genre isnt like it used to be, and I think developers are also looking for new ways to make a good game and profit. As of late there does seem to be more shady developers who are looking for a money grab and not wanting to stand by there game by fixing bugs, exploits, and cheats. There are good developers too. I do miss the old days, but at the same time I know the Genie wont go back in the bottle.
If at first you dont succeed, call it version 1.0
I too moved over to WOW after a time in EQ2. I had a great time with friends but feel Blizzard lost their way too; my beloved Warlock being made unrecognizable after "play balancing." I remember Vanilla WOW fondly. I remember some great conversations with friends while we camped a spawn for hours but today I don't have 4 or 5 hours to do that.
I continue to enjoy ESO. I feel the developers are committed to the game and it offers an experience I enjoy but the overall dominant dynamic now for many MMOs is "multiple players playing a game at the same time" vs. playing together (Look at Star Wars the Old Republic) and I find many players toxic. Then there is the crowd that races to "beat the game" first followed by complaining there isn't enough content. Conversely, the Secret World had one of the best story arcs in recent history but the gameplay really didn't pan out. and it launched with game-breaking bugs. The marketing was badly botched and it nearly destroyed the studio with many players exiting for Guild Wars 2; something I never warmed to.
There's a parallel here to the movie industry; more stunts, more of the same, shallow characters; a lack of a desire to innovate for fear of failure, coupled with rising development costs. To me it is a rare find when you find a film with decent character development and story.
Sadly, you are right. We can't put the genie back in the bottle. I continue to enjoy gaming but most often now get my thrills in games like the Witcher 3, X-Com, Pillars of Eternity, Wasteland, or Divinity. The heirs to the original Gold Box games seem to have figured out what made those original titles great so I do hold out some hope that maybe the MMO developers with catch that wave.
I embraced crowdfunding recognizing that given what I have mentioned, there are few developers equipped financially to develop a Class A MMO in the absence of that but by and large this has been a disappointment and I won't purchase a title now until it has been released - fully released.
MMOs as we know them are gone. Here's hoping someone will put out a nre title worth playing more than a couple months but like you, I'm not holding my breath.
Seaspite
Playing ESO on my X-Box
Indeed there is a big chunk of players who do not care about Cash Shops in games.
But there is also a small part that can't play these games and developers are missing a big chance to cater for this niche, which in my opinion is not that small.
Maybe you won't have millions of players but these people generally play the game for much longer than the average Cash Shop user who moves to another game as soon as they "win" the game, which, with the help of the cash shop, happens pretty quickly.
EvE survived for a long time with subscription only, then they decided to embrace the F2P model.
Surely they have a bigger influx of players now, but I am not sure they are better off financially, and I am convinced they upset many veterans by doing so.
In the long term it won't pay off in my opinion.
And by the way, let's not forget that the biggest MMO, WoW, is still subscription based, so I don't understand why people keep saying that subscription is dead.
Maybe if MMORPGs were good enough to warrant a subscription we would see more of them.
But as I suspect, developers stopped putting efforts in making good MMORPGs long time ago and just rely on the huge influx of short term players who play the game for few months and pay hundreds of dollars in their cash shops.
That's the reason why MMORPG quality is so mediocre these days, all you have to do is enough to grab their attention for few months rather than years.
And yes it works.