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Contest:
3:42 PM on 09.02.2008
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What you need is a set goal in mind when you start the project and allow consumers to help "shape" that goal, not allow them to alter it in a major fashion.
There needs to be a keyframe of content that is unique unto itself.
This right here often fails many companies because if your idea sucks then your screwed from the start. The only thing you can do from here is scrap the project and start over, which is impossible for many companies so instead of doing that they move up with a doomed project. They know who they are and why they failed.
All games will have a peak moment where the buzz and hype hit release. It's within these preview months that are key and the game must carry on with the excelled content at the start to the finish. To many over polish the start and never get to the rest of the game on release. *cough* Warhammer *cough*
This is the reason why MMO's fail because often they do not have the resources be it man power, money, or timeframe.
Community is a HUGE part of the content. Whether it be a central hub in a game as such a city, crafting abilities to get people socializing even if in a market atmosphere.
The three HUGE things that increase your over all profitability:
Community, Content, and Customization.
People must be able to interact in "encouraged" situations even where by your means of obtaining material must come from a player. This increases "chance" encounters, to which players meet someone and then quest with them, otherwise players will often meet under what they assume are forced encounters.
All mechanics in game should help with groups, whether it be increase EXP and/or loot.
You must allow your players to excel and achieve by means of gear and other rewards aka Customization.
You must continually provide content and enough content at start to occupy the masses while they wait.
Simple as that.
You'll always have people who don't like the game, they can fuck off. Can't do anything about them. Treating the people that like your game, and have constructive feedback, like they are important to you... that makes all the difference.
Mythic has done well so far, with tons of transparency, and dev feedback on warhammeralliance.com, release is always a different story though. Wish 'em luck!
To me at least what Jacobs has said makes sense. The continued buginess of AoC and the lack of fixes as well as a lack of a defined endgame has basically led people to question whether the game is worth having or not. The answer of course is a resounding no when the content people really want to get into hasn't been released yet.
Hellgate's problem was slightly different in that the game as a whole was fine, but when the developers repeatedly refused to listen to their playerbase regarding certain issues about itemisation it spelled doom for the game. I can appreciate sticking behind a design you feel is robust but sometimes it's just better to swallow your pride and go with the flow, which is something Blizzard seemed to have mastered even if it does lead to constant ebb and flow in terms of class balance.
Warhammer online seems to look better in this respect, due to its extensive time period in beta to tweak and flatout change parts of the game people didn't like, WoW killer? God no, it's too similar. Decent competitor? Perhaps.
It might cling to life PURELY as an alternative to WoW and a Warhammer fan haven. Which the game to be honest doesn't really lend itself to the fans. I'm a Warhammer lore lover and in no way does it excite me at all.
Just watch in the coming months nothing I say will lend itself to credibility till the game comes out anyway.
I have played most MMOs, although I don't play any now, and I can honestly say the best one released is WoW, simply because the environments are extremely diverse, the world is immersive, it is easy enough for people to get into but the classes have enough depth so you don't get bored.
Community has nothing to do with it - most people will play with their own little guild or even solo - you will get the diehard raiders, but they are a pretty small segment of the player base.
The bugs might contribute to the problem, but the main reason I didn't stick with AoC was because as soon as you leave tortage, it's boring - Tortage sets up an expectation that isnt met, and as a result the subsequent content feels samey and derivative.
Now I know most people here will be all "WoW sucks ZOMG!1!11" but regardless whether you like it or not, most MMORPG players have put the most time into WoW in their gaming careers than anything else, with the possible exception of EQ, depending on how long ago you started MMORPG gaming.
This is simply because there is enough variety in the content to keep you entertained, the grind is there in enough amounts to keep you hooked, and the presentation values and themes are accessible enough that anyone can jump in and play.
If developers keep waving the "Community" and "Player driven content" flags, they are going to fail. 75% of players don't want to be involved in a community or build player cities, they just want to sit there with the pretty music and little elf forests, and help some little goblin find his lost sprockets so they can get a virtual pet to follow them around.
@Capn Birdseye - You definitely pegged on something that I wish I could have extrapolated on. For me, MMOs are all about accessibility and fun. I haven’t a real desire to run around with a clan or take part in dungeon quests for hours on end. I’d much rather relax, grind on some monsters, and fulfill MEANINGFUL story objectives.
If World of Warcraft is that experience, then I have been deceived by its initial gameplay. I haven’t any substantial experience with Everquest, so I can’t really formulate a decent opinion.
I just wish there was more context and less filler in MMORPGs. That’s what would keep me playing.
Then maybe I won't get bored after 30 days. I'll try all the classes and fully explore the game content before putting it down.
You make an awesome point about community and player-driven goals. It's not so much fun when you're forced to work together with people you can't stand. From the 8 odd years I've been playing MMOs, I couldn't stand most of the people I've met, aside from the small guilds I'd end up joining. If the comparison wasn't already made, MMOs would become more like the workplace; working with people we can't stand
Another reason why I think MMOs falter is because they focus too much on appeasing the very vocal hardcore minority, than expanding on new ideas that would benefit the game as a whole. Not everyone that subscribes wants to raid Black Temple every other day...
This was the way EQ fell from grace, and WoW seems to be heading in this direction too. WoW started off as a casual MMO player accessible game, but in the end, you spend just as much time in it as any other MMO out there. Pretty soon, you might even see the 20 hour boss battle from FF11 there too.
WoW never takes itself too seriously, however, and at least tries to give you a story based objective that sometimes is meaningful and relevant to the world, or at least humourous and full of (albeit cheap) pop culture references that might get a smile out of you. What's more, there are alot of fun, useless things to do, like engineering, which is an important component that most MMOs neglect.
That's what separates it from the crowd.
I am not much of a hardcore MMO gamer myself. I am the same as you guys, I would rather sit down, put some dubstep on, and just grind out a few quests, maybe have a chat to a few mates while doing so.
@ SourGr8pes - couldn't agree more. I stopped playing WoW because I hit 70 with my druid and wasn't prepared to put the time and effort in to do the big raids or powergame for rep - my fun was over. I am by no means a casual gamer in general - I love gaming, and play games whenever I can - but that doesn't mean I want to spend 20 hours killing a boss, or grinding faction for hours on end.
Most MMOs do end up catering for the hardcore crowd at end game, the people that like participating in player driven events and living for the community, but I have too many other things to do, even if I wanted to.
Devs need to come up with ways to provide new, fresh content at end game, that isn't so player intensive. And, most importantly, is fun.
The cities are still there moron, they just changed the name and rolled the main content into the big citadels. They actually ADDED CONTENT to do this.
Fool.
Guild Wars showed how to do an MMO-esque game without being a true MMO and without charging a monthly fee. Yet, nobody seems to have caught on. They all continue to try and go for the cash grab with monthly fees. I'd buy and play a lot more of these MMO titles if they weren't MMOs.
Free to play + stand alone expansions = successful paradigm. Tabula Rasa and Hellgate were prime candidates for the "Guild Wars" style of design. If a major intellectual property isn't backing your game, you really should reconsider attempting to be a full fledged MMO. Even if one is, you should reconsider. *cough Matrix*
An MMO needs to be expansive enough and have continual content additions to justify that monthly fee. Its a lot of work and effort to continue to keep a group of players satisfied and interested. Unless you are a developer/publisher willing to put in a large amount of money and effort, you aren't going to run a successful lasting MMO.
Not to mention that the degree of polish needed on an MMO release has increased. Players aren't going to sit through a month or more of bug fixes and base content additions. They'll cancel and go back to their polished and functional MMO of choice. I think EA Mythic has recognized this fact with the extra time they have spent fine tuning Warhammer Online. Cutting and trimming dead weight and extra fat isn't a bad thing. Sure some of that fat is probably tasty, but it doesn't prohibit it from being added back in later. Its a lot easier to add extra fat post launch than it is to remove it once its already being used by paying customers. Drastic removal and changes destroy MMO's. *cough SWG* Hopefully, the extra polish time will help WAR pull off a (near) flawless launch.
The scope of an MMO is just so different. MMOs need an expansive wealth of content across several specrtums (casual vs hardcore, pve vs pvp). The audience is much more diverse in there desires. Its very hard to keep all parties happy or at least content enough to continue paying for your game. When it comes down to not only a monetary monthly investment but a time investment as well, there aren't a lot of players that will continue subscibing to multiple MMOs.
There are plenty more MMOs in the works, and a vast number of them are bound to fail. In the end, it will be because at the very core they never had the strength of foundation to exist as an MMO. Yet, they'll still try to forcefully carve out some niche and call it a success.
I beg of you MMO developers: stop trying to milk me for a monthly fee and just focus on providing a meaningful functional solo gaming experience without trying to be some massive community game.