I think Greed ruins all MMO games. They don't try to make the game the most fun it can be which will naturally draw more players + more money. They try to engineer hamster wheels that will keep you running in circles for the rest of your life while you pay the sub and shell out money at the item shops for things that make the actual gameplay bearable.
"I'm not cheap I'm incredibly subconsciously financially optimized" "The worst part of censorship is ------------------"
Releasing too early - You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
Releasing with cutting edge system requirements - If it's choppy and blocky, it's never going to be fun for that person.
Releasing without features that are advertised on the box - This happens FAR too often. People expect one thing and get another.
This is pretty much what I was going to say. I know most MMOs are a constant work in progress, but it seems to me that many companies continue to set their standards rather low.
Vault-Tec analysts have concluded that the odds of worldwide nuclear armaggeddon this decade are 17,143,762... to 1.
For me, an MMO that I cannot understand why the devs decided to make it.
1) Why is it going to be fun, why are people going to play this instead of any other MMO, how is it going to appeal in a unique way, if it is made for this genre how have the strengths been played to and limitations overcome?
It a good sign when a company asks these questions and starts providing answers even before release. The converse is the worst thing about MMOs imo as it's already too late by then!
NO vision or direction.. It appears to me that only vision these devs have anymore is $$$$$.. How fast can we toss out a marketable product to give us the best return on investment.. Quality has taken a back seat in gaming..
NO vision or direction.. It appears to me that only vision these devs have anymore is $$$$$.. How fast can we toss out a marketable product to give us the best return on investment.. Quality has taken a back seat in gaming..
And it all backfired.
Insane amount of money to go for and they thought it would come automatically.
Throw in some fake 3D, a few quests, loot/items,an avatar and a few servers and you raked in the money per month.
History of the last 5 years.
While the first step should have been: design a proper MMORPG engine (count 3 years to find just that).
1. Corporate suits taking control of direction and vision.
2. Games being released too early with little testing.
3. Lack of innovation/poorly implemented innovative ideas
4. Improper advertising/misleading information about the game
5. Games being released too early where the bugs found during tested were not fixed.
6. Lack of focus. Devs making the game only to squeeze out money or devs trying to make a game they want without proper direction.
7. They dont seem to ask themselves "Is this fun?" or "Would I subscribe to this?" before they release and instead focus more on what they think the people would find fun (such as carrot on a 1mile long stick) We wont see the carrot from that far o.o'
8. Constant focus of getting more subscribers. If theyd stop focusing on subscribers and just make a polished and fungame, then the players will subscribe.
9. Know.Your.Target.Audience. <- this. APB was advertised as GTA online. WAR,AOC, etc. Those had all misleading descriptions. Except AoC because hey...Wasnt it breasts they were pointing out? But then again I read somewhere that breasts in AoC got nerfed.
10. Less focus on gameplay and more focus on rewards. <- this is a big big problem I think.
''/\/\'' Posted using Iphone bunni ( o.o) (")(") **This bunny was cloned from bunnies belonging to Gobla and is part of the Quizzical Fanclub and the The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club**
10. Less focus on gameplay and more focus on rewards. <- this is a big big problem I think.
with #10 this is far underrated. i dont care, if i get a title after killing 50 wolves. if they would just implement skills and mobs in a way that i would have to use my brain to kill 1 wolve.
Hubris - see, the classical greek metaphor of the person building a pair of wings, getting excited, flying too close to the sun, wings melting, and crashing.
That was Icarus. And it's not a metaphor, it's a myth.
Simply put, it's the time it takes to accomplish everything in a game. If it takes less than a month for a hardcore player you are in trouble. They will just play their free month, hit max lvl do some endgame and quit. This is why Lineage/Lineage2 were able to retain subscribers for so long and why Aion is still the 2nd top MMORPG to date. Because it takes longer to accomplish things and you are less likely to give it up. If you hit lvl 80 in Age of Conan it won't take long and you won't be so attached to your character, you are more likely to move on. Retaining playerbase is a huge problem.
Hubris - see, the classical greek metaphor of the person building a pair of wings, getting excited, flying too close to the sun, wings melting, and crashing.
That was Icarus. And it's not a metaphor, it's a myth.
Edit: Hubris = excessive confidence. Sorry thought that was a more common word.
"Never met a pack of humans that were any different. Look at the idiots that get elected every couple of years. You really consider those guys more mature than us? The only difference between us and them is, when they gank some noobs and take their stuff, the noobs actually die." - Madimorga
Seems to me, that the companies spend too much time too early, making nice graphics and videos, and generally generating hype.
And that they spend too little time too late to work on concept and mechanics.
I'd rather play a game with stick figures and no textures at launch than I would want to play a 3D stress test that did nothing than make my computer run like crap 10 minutes after I quit the game.
And I would prefer that the mechanics worked at launch and that they were all there. With room to grow ofcourse if someone has a good idea.
And I dont mind that a game starts small and grows slowly at first.
But I recon that we wont see that sort of patience from the big companies. Guess its up to some independants to do it in their own time for the first few years where they figure out the concepts and a basic engine. And then get investors and programmers and artists as they get ready to make a game client.
Comments
Yeah the irony in the quoted post is great. If anyone is guilty of repetition of corporate theft, it's Blizzard.
I think Greed ruins all MMO games. They don't try to make the game the most fun it can be which will naturally draw more players + more money. They try to engineer hamster wheels that will keep you running in circles for the rest of your life while you pay the sub and shell out money at the item shops for things that make the actual gameplay bearable.
"I'm not cheap I'm incredibly subconsciously financially optimized"
"The worst part of censorship is ------------------"
This is pretty much what I was going to say. I know most MMOs are a constant work in progress, but it seems to me that many companies continue to set their standards rather low.
Vault-Tec analysts have concluded that the odds of worldwide nuclear armaggeddon this decade are 17,143,762... to 1.
Aiming for a million subs. If you try to make a game for a million people, it will never have anything unique,innovative or edgy.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO
Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall
Currently Playing: ESO
For me, an MMO that I cannot understand why the devs decided to make it.
1) Why is it going to be fun, why are people going to play this instead of any other MMO, how is it going to appeal in a unique way, if it is made for this genre how have the strengths been played to and limitations overcome?
It a good sign when a company asks these questions and starts providing answers even before release. The converse is the worst thing about MMOs imo as it's already too late by then!
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014633/Classic-Game-Postmortem
NO vision or direction.. It appears to me that only vision these devs have anymore is $$$$$.. How fast can we toss out a marketable product to give us the best return on investment.. Quality has taken a back seat in gaming..
And it all backfired.
Insane amount of money to go for and they thought it would come automatically.
Throw in some fake 3D, a few quests, loot/items,an avatar and a few servers and you raked in the money per month.
History of the last 5 years.
While the first step should have been: design a proper MMORPG engine (count 3 years to find just that).
My reasons would be
1. Corporate suits taking control of direction and vision.
2. Games being released too early with little testing.
3. Lack of innovation/poorly implemented innovative ideas
4. Improper advertising/misleading information about the game
5. Games being released too early where the bugs found during tested were not fixed.
6. Lack of focus. Devs making the game only to squeeze out money or devs trying to make a game they want without proper direction.
7. They dont seem to ask themselves "Is this fun?" or "Would I subscribe to this?" before they release and instead focus more on what they think the people would find fun (such as carrot on a 1mile long stick) We wont see the carrot from that far o.o'
8. Constant focus of getting more subscribers. If theyd stop focusing on subscribers and just make a polished and fungame, then the players will subscribe.
9. Know.Your.Target.Audience. <- this. APB was advertised as GTA online. WAR,AOC, etc. Those had all misleading descriptions. Except AoC because hey...Wasnt it breasts they were pointing out? But then again I read somewhere that breasts in AoC got nerfed.
10. Less focus on gameplay and more focus on rewards. <- this is a big big problem I think.
''/\/\'' Posted using Iphone bunni
( o.o)
(")(")
**This bunny was cloned from bunnies belonging to Gobla and is part of the Quizzical Fanclub and the The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club**
with #10 this is far underrated. i dont care, if i get a title after killing 50 wolves. if they would just implement skills and mobs in a way that i would have to use my brain to kill 1 wolve.
played: Everquest I (6 years), EVE (3 years)
months: EQII, Vanguard, Siedler Online, SWTOR, Guild Wars 2
weeks: WoW, Shaiya, Darkfall, Florensia, Entropia, Aion, Lotro, Fallen Earth, Uncharted Waters
days: DDO, RoM, FFXIV, STO, Atlantica, PotBS, Maestia, WAR, AoC, Gods&Heroes, Cultures, RIFT, Forsaken World, Allodds
That was Icarus. And it's not a metaphor, it's a myth.
Simply put, it's the time it takes to accomplish everything in a game. If it takes less than a month for a hardcore player you are in trouble. They will just play their free month, hit max lvl do some endgame and quit. This is why Lineage/Lineage2 were able to retain subscribers for so long and why Aion is still the 2nd top MMORPG to date. Because it takes longer to accomplish things and you are less likely to give it up. If you hit lvl 80 in Age of Conan it won't take long and you won't be so attached to your character, you are more likely to move on. Retaining playerbase is a huge problem.
Edit: Hubris = excessive confidence. Sorry thought that was a more common word.
"Never met a pack of humans that were any different. Look at the idiots that get elected every couple of years. You really consider those guys more mature than us? The only difference between us and them is, when they gank some noobs and take their stuff, the noobs actually die." - Madimorga
Games that have an in-game store that requires "gold" you can only get by paying real money!
Nuff said.
Seems to me, that the companies spend too much time too early, making nice graphics and videos, and generally generating hype.
And that they spend too little time too late to work on concept and mechanics.
I'd rather play a game with stick figures and no textures at launch than I would want to play a 3D stress test that did nothing than make my computer run like crap 10 minutes after I quit the game.
And I would prefer that the mechanics worked at launch and that they were all there. With room to grow ofcourse if someone has a good idea.
And I dont mind that a game starts small and grows slowly at first.
But I recon that we wont see that sort of patience from the big companies. Guess its up to some independants to do it in their own time for the first few years where they figure out the concepts and a basic engine. And then get investors and programmers and artists as they get ready to make a game client.