That is the point. They are marketing mmorpg's and delivering coop pve games.
Players expectations arent too high. That's just another excuse to continue the marketing scams.
For a living world, that means the devs wont have complete control of every aspect of the game. That wont happen anymore.
End.
Economy of description. I like the idea of more wild west in mmos, that would add atmosphere without requiring so much rich content creation to be made by the devs for sure. But maybe lord of the flies is the problem? Even mmos require to make strong solo content...
For me all RPG's need some form of life-likeness. It doesn't have to be state of the art, but a world with life is a lot easier to connect to. I'd like to see an MMO with a NPC scheduling system similar to Oblivion.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
What is a living, breathing world? It's the players in that world, right? So why can't a themepark MMO be a living, breathing world? Heck a chat room can be a living breathing place if it has people in it.
But I'll have to disagree perhaps with your viewpoint about MMO's needing to appeal to a wider range of playstyles, some design choices such as a living world perhaps seems to require creating a number of more mundane tasks that a large majority of consumers either don't want or have the time for, they'd rather get right into "the game" (usually combat, gearing up etc) much as Blizzard did with WOW in streamlining the genre.
Ahhh.... you're kinda going a bit deep into the "over-generalizing" category there.
For the type of player who prefers combat and doesn't care much for anything else, they wouldn't appreciate having other activities to partake in with equal depth. Some go so far as to say they'd rather see more raid dungeons or more combat-related content added, than to have the resources "wasted" on non-combat things they don't care about. So certainly, what you describe applies to a portion of the market... certainly even a large one.
However, you can't speak in such general terms as you do because there are, in fact, those who do prefer having other activities outside of combat that are equally involved. You'll see their posts around on these forums from time to time.
For myself, I love a game that gives me a variety of content to partake in besides combat... on the condition that the content is well-developed and not a cheap token effort thrown in just to say "they have it". SE did a fantastic job with this in FFXI. There are myriad activities in that game that have nothing to do with combat... yet are very involved and detailed systems in themselves. It's something that when I got sick of leveling a job and wanted to work on some other aspect of the game, I could sink myself into those other activities and easily be entertained for several days, 'til I was ready to pick up my weapons and start knocking heads again.
Crafting is one example. Exploration and discovery is another. Some people get really excited at the promise of owning their own plot of virtual land and building their own home, or even city on it.. even moreso when it becomes an element of the world other players can interact with (such as SWG).
Trouble is, there are very few games that bother to go that route to begin with, and those that do don't tend to do a very good job with it. I don't think there's been a new MMO that places equal or at least comparable focus on non-combat gameplay in the past several years. Everyone's been caught up in the WoW model these days... and WoW is certainly not a game that places much emphasis on anything outside of combat related activities.
It's kinda like PvP. There are a number of players out there who consider any MMO without PvP - FFA World PvP at that - to not be a good MMO at all. For yet others, PvP could be absent from the game entirely and it wouldn't phase them. They both enjoy playing in a MMO setting. Each simply prefers a different kind of experience.
It all comes down to preference. And while there are certainly many who prefer the more combat-and-gear focused MMOs with as few side diversions as possible in the mix... there's a good contingent of players who like to have as much as they can to do.
As I put it: in a MMO.. More is More.
To answer the OP simply: If all you're looking for is a "game", then having a vibrant and detailed "living world" is probably not necessary. For me, however, it makes for a very generic and uninteresting experience that may as well be any other of a list of games similarly designed. In my experience, there are many good "games" out there. However, there aren't very many well-conceived virtual worlds.
To me, what makes a MMORPG truly stand out and makes it truly interesting is to have all these activities happen in a world or setting where they have a context beyond the activity itself. I enjoy immersing myself into an alternate setting.. whether it be a book, a movie or a game. The more I can get sucked into the world, the better the experience is to me.
But of course, at the end of the day, it depends on the individual. I don't think there's one "right answer" for that question. It's very subjective.
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
-Many people forget the "RPG", and concentrate on the "MMO" (and some of those interpret that in a vvery narrow way as well). Role Plating Game. It doesn't mean you have to develop a noverl of a background story, have your own guild's GM to create stories for you within the game's framework, and go to Blizzcon dressed as your character, but it does mean that the game is a fully fleshed story and universe - and the players are part of it.
I'd like to see other games developed and sold as something besides "RPG" MMOs, and the MMORPG get back to it's original intent, to express the kind of a gaming universe where the players become some other character and play that character in a pretend world; a place where players choose their race primarily for a concept they have of the character they'd like to play, and not it's racial benefits. I've read players state that there is no reason to choose a race besides racials; that kind of close-mindedness demonstrates to me how much these people don't belong in the game I want to play. They simply have no clue.
It doesn't mean they are bad players; it does mean they are in the wrong game. Give them other options, and I think we'll both be happier. Give them some other kind of MMOG, ansd stop labeling yours as a "MMORPG" when it isn't.
Have played: Everquest, Asheron's Call, Horizons, Everquest2, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Warhammer, Age of Conan, Darkfall
Comments
Economy of description. I like the idea of more wild west in mmos, that would add atmosphere without requiring so much rich content creation to be made by the devs for sure. But maybe lord of the flies is the problem? Even mmos require to make strong solo content...
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014633/Classic-Game-Postmortem
For me all RPG's need some form of life-likeness. It doesn't have to be state of the art, but a world with life is a lot easier to connect to. I'd like to see an MMO with a NPC scheduling system similar to Oblivion.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
What is a living, breathing world? It's the players in that world, right? So why can't a themepark MMO be a living, breathing world? Heck a chat room can be a living breathing place if it has people in it.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
mmoRPGs need a living, evolving universe.
-Many people forget the "RPG", and concentrate on the "MMO" (and some of those interpret that in a vvery narrow way as well). Role Plating Game. It doesn't mean you have to develop a noverl of a background story, have your own guild's GM to create stories for you within the game's framework, and go to Blizzcon dressed as your character, but it does mean that the game is a fully fleshed story and universe - and the players are part of it.
I'd like to see other games developed and sold as something besides "RPG" MMOs, and the MMORPG get back to it's original intent, to express the kind of a gaming universe where the players become some other character and play that character in a pretend world; a place where players choose their race primarily for a concept they have of the character they'd like to play, and not it's racial benefits. I've read players state that there is no reason to choose a race besides racials; that kind of close-mindedness demonstrates to me how much these people don't belong in the game I want to play. They simply have no clue.
It doesn't mean they are bad players; it does mean they are in the wrong game. Give them other options, and I think we'll both be happier. Give them some other kind of MMOG, ansd stop labeling yours as a "MMORPG" when it isn't.
Have played: Everquest, Asheron's Call, Horizons, Everquest2, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Warhammer, Age of Conan, Darkfall