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[Column] General: The Problem No Ones Talking About
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
The MMO market is arguable the most crowded it has ever been with each game clamoring for players' attention. But with the notion that the field is a crowded one, comes the revelation that there are two serious issues with MMOs today. In Bill's latest column, he examines those problems. See what he has to say and then leave your ideas in the comments.
The problem is MMOs by their very nature are dependent upon players sticking around in game for months or years at a time. The FPS of the week can get away with ten-hours of gameplay and a box sold. Big AAA online games that are services and not finite experiences cannot. From my vantage point, there is no easy solution to this issue. But there are two culprits that stand out as barriers to the MMO adjusting for a more crowded marketplace: revenue model and content-based design. It’s my belief that an MMORPG can still retain lots of players’ attention, but it’s probably best to avoid the “OMGFailure!” hyperbole by looking towards these two solutions. It’s my belief that a flexible revenue model and non-content reliant design can lead towards a more successful game in the long run; both from a financial standpoint and a community reaction standpoint.
Read more of Bill Murphy's The Problem No One’s Talking About.
Comments
Yes! Systems! Thank you! Finally, someone saying what I've been trying to say for a few years now but more so in the last few months after sinking my teeth into GW2 and realizing it is lack of systems that stops me from playing. The games adding the systems are the ones I'm playing right now. Like Lotro and Rift, heck even WoW(although it could definitely use more focus in this department, but apparently they get this and 5.1 looks interesting with a new Brawler Arena system).
The key to those old games everyone talks about like AC, EQ, FFXI are the sheer volume of systems in those games that keep people logging in. Extra content is awesome and should never stop coming, but MMORPGs are all about adding systems and keeping players in the game. Somewhere along the way, this core idea has become lost and needs to make a reappearance fast.
Thank you........I hadn't even realized how much has been cut out that I enjoyed.......
Quick,someone forward this to SOE for EQNext!
I tend to agree with your points.
I remember Anarchy Online managing to do something close to these points in its' heyday but still suffered from the stigma of a bad launch.
The other biggie, to me, which no company really has control over is the quality of the community. More cohesive and inclusive communities tend to go hand in hand with games that do well.
One of the things we've moved away from in MMO's is the cause for a need to interact with other players. Because player's interaction amongst each other is so much more limited now that it was in older games, communities seem to have become more sterile.
So the tie of community that would once bind players to games long term has effectively gone away.
An MMORPG.Com article which I fully agree with???
My God, its snowing in Hell....
I sort of disagree. I think the time to level should be longer than it is in most games currently, but perhaps not to that extent. I wouldn't mind it taking 3-5+ months to hit a level cap, so long as there is content (player housing, PvP, crafting, exploring, etc) to do along the way, and so long as the leveling process is not a complete borefest.
I've been saying that for a long time. You need SYSTEMS, not one-time content. Perhaps people are finally listening and getting it.
But will the devs finally get it? I won't hold my breath. Until gamers stop buying boxes, that's exactly what they'll focus on, box sales.
"Censorship is never over for those who have experienced it. It is a brand on the imagination that affects the individual who has suffered it, forever." - Noam Chomsky
Great post, Bill. I agree 100%.
IMO, the MMORPG genre needs to spread out again for it to bounce back from the stagnant state it's in currently. Developers need to make quality, original games and stop expecting 5, 10 million subs. That way, people will find their niche games and spread out the revenue, so that companies won't be afraid to step out of the box.
And these companies need to be prepared for a community that's used to game jumping now and isn't interested in paying $15 a month, generally speaking. I'm a WoW player, and I don't mind paying the $15 monthly fee, but I'm excited for the games on the horizon that won't require it (like Planetside 2, for example). That way, I can try what I want without losing anything, stick with what I like, and hand them my money for a game that fits me best. Or play multiple games and hand each a little money here, a little there.
And I loved Galaxies (the NGE aside) because they had story-driven missions that moved me along, but I could also step out of the current to fly my ship, decorate my house, meet up with some people in the cantina... Whatever I wanted to do. Story's great, but it shouldn't be the only thing MMO's let you be involved in.
Game History (the ones that count): Everquest, Everquest 2, Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft, Planetside 2
Hence you get all these wow with a twist games. E.g.
Lotro - wow with rp features
Rift - wow with rifts and free spec switching
Swtor - wow with personal story
War - wow with rvr and pqs
Aoc - wow with action combat and boobies
Tsw - wow with puzzles, story, semi action combat and skill based progression
Tera - wow with action combat and bams
TESO - wow with rvr and open dungeons?
Nw - wow with player made dungeons?
EQ2 is the game that closest resembles what Bill was getting at. No other current MMORPG is even in the same ballpark as EQ2 for this stuff. The most robust housing in MMO history? check (yes, its not open world like UO or SWG. but you can do more with it than even UO). Player made dungeons? check (albeit they still need some work, the framework is there).
SoE is embracing player made content and systems. They even tried player created quests in SWG. However, this is all being done on an existing framework, as opposed to building the game with it. EQNext is going to be built along side this sort of thing.
What happens when you log off your characters????.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFQhfhnjYMk
Dark Age of Camelot
Or even a system set up with no levels, but a different type of progression.
I was a big fan of the original professions system in Galaxies because it was different and I wasn't defined by a level. Sure, people still found ways of explaining their "class," but it was really what you wanted to make of yourself.
Any type of system that allows you to unlock new skills, abilities, and content by what you've done, been involved in, and discovered in your journeys would catch my eye for sure.
Game History (the ones that count): Everquest, Everquest 2, Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft, Planetside 2
I've played things like Star Wars Online (pre patch) Everquest 1&2 Rift, WoW, LOTRO as well as a host of othe ttitles and inevitably end up quitting for several reasons. One is that it becomes boring. As you indicated, you can only do the same quest a certain number of times before it bores you to tears. The second paying for new game content, promising new dungeons new zones and new classes only to realize that it's the same old zone and classes with some new paint. A third thing is nerfing. Most of these games aren't difficult to begin with. Nerfing them is done to appeal to lazy gamers who have a few bucks to spend. The result is that it makes a boring game even more boring.
Despite all these things, the one thing guaranteed to drive me away from a game is when it switches from a monthly subscription fee to "free" with in game micro-transactions. Aside from generally destroying the in game economy it's a clearest signto me the game is no longer for gamers but investors demanding a return. At that point there's no more interest in providing new and challanging content, only raking in the bucks. And since the game is "free', and people are stupid most end up paying MORE on a monthly basis for a "free" game then they paid for their subscription.
To address your point, yes, the lower level content must be enjoyable to play and plenty of things to do. Exploring, crafting, building, etc. would be more palatable to players if they knew they only had so much experience gain per day. Look at Rift: they kept alot of busy with faction "experience"; after the dailies were done you would do other things with yourself instead.
If main "adventuring" experience was treated the same way (via a daily cap, or using one of the many fatigue systems out there but more aggressive) then players would be more encouraged to do other things, like socialize, craft, explore, etc. Then you could create content that allows players to intereact in a way so that those who are capped or fatigued for the day could somehow provide value to other players (in hub areas) who haven't adventured for the day yet; things like performing special buffs, selling food, healing death penalties, etc.
I can see a complex system set up to make it doable: for example, in a capped system, when you become capped from daily exp. you also become "enlightened"/"resolute"/"inspired" which activates special buff skills you can sell or give away to passers-by. The downside is that when you cast them you suffer a debuff that lasts as long as the buff making you effectively useless in a group or raid. For food items, introduce a system of spoilage: food ingredients must be gathered fresh each day (with the exception of some rare ingredients) because the ingredients spoil within 24 hours and become unusable. The food item you produce is only good for 48 hours before it spoils. Again, this promotes a whole new economic system and keeps everyone busy.
twist games. E.g. ...with Better wow graphics.
<.<
And this premise is based on...?
Really? C'mon now, think this one through...
MMO = Massively Multiplayer Online
"Censorship is never over for those who have experienced it. It is a brand on the imagination that affects the individual who has suffered it, forever." - Noam Chomsky
I'm sorry but rift, swtor and lotro are massive wow clones. Aoc not at launch,but it is now.
The others differ a bit and I wouldn't call them clones.
Great article Bill, I agree wholeheartedly.
The sentiments expressed within are pretty much a dead ringer for the way I've felt for quite some time in regards to what needs to be done to get this industry back to the prosperous state it was once in. The game systems themselves are an exceptionally big deal, and I'd personally love to see the level of complexity that existed a decade ago restablished in the modern day titles that are being released.
Well put chief, a good read.
Well, Bill, you're quite late to the party, welcome anyway.
So, the Problem No One's Talking about? Looks like you never read you own forums. We, the regular posters here, are talking about the very same thing since years. You would have no problems to find 1000s of posts telling you so. The Problem No One's Talking about? Smedley from SOE talks about it, Funcom makes noises in the same general direction, Cryptic as well - it wasn't that no one talked about the problem - it was that no one at MMORPG.com wanted to hear anything about it. You guys rather prefer to praise the longevity of these same games ... wasn't it you who rewarded GW2 with a 9 for longevity a few weeks ago?
From AoC to GW2 games have launched with great fanfare from this website, have sold millions of boxes - and you are talking about "barrier to entry"? Sorry, but talking about a "barrier to entry" when games with a barrier of $60 for you US guys sell millions of boxes (no matter whether the game has a subscription or not, see SWToR and GW2) should tell you that "barrier to entry" is a complete non-issue. None of the big games of the last 5 years had any problem with it. Marketing removes any barrier to entry for an entertainment product.
Anyway, I welcome that you now put same emphasis on non-content design in MMORPGs - apart from that, thanks, I prefer my subscription games, just like Blizzard and CCP and Trion do.
I maintain this List of Sandbox MMORPGs. Please post or send PM for corrections and suggestions.
This is how Bill writes his colums. Reading here in Forum. Its not something he thought about himself. Im not saying its bad what hes doing either. Keep it up Billyboy.