Jay Talbot’s Ramblings

By way of Digg, I found an editorial called “Where’s the RPG in MMORPG?” and it got me thinking. For starters, I never was into the pen and paper RPG’s because I had a bad experience, which left a bad taste in my mouth. I played a few of the old D&D computer games back in the day. As the original article goes, I have to agree with it. The depth of the story line and immersion of each person is what makes a good RPG. So how are we to go about puting the “RPG” into MMORPG?

Any great adventure has an epic beginning. Every adventure has to be on the grander scale than “go collect 10 rat tails.” We’re talking cenematic trailors explaining what the quest is about and the back story. It shouldn’t be “I can’t leave my post right now, so go get my lunch” type of crap that we’ve seen in many of the currently popular MMORPG’s. If you immerse the player, they will be more likely to contribute to the overall enjoyment of the game. Cut out the grind quests, and the tasks become less teadius, while being enjoyed by the whole group. Granted, you can’t please everyone, but instanced quests (as referenced in the linked article) would be a good way to go. In some ways, instancing quests allows the developers ways to tailor make the adventure for the group. The thought of a game like this really sets my mouth watering.

Get rid of the grind. For whatever reason, each game from Everquest to World of Warcraft has what is basically a never ending grind. The premous for such a concept is to keep the monthly fees rolling in each month. The problem with it, of course, is that it gets horribly boring and you begin to get disgruntled. Being disgruntled with a game you can’t stop playing is a recipe for disaster. People start doing things that are a bit amoralistic. I can think of insances in WoW where bored high level Horde would go and raid low level “disputed” zones and kill every low level player they see. We’re talking level 60’s killing level 17’s. This generally happens on the PvP servers, where you are flagged PvP killable in enemy and disputed zones. While it’s within the rules of the game and server, I believe it’s within bad taste. It can over shadow any fun to be had early in the game, and cause some to either move to another server or quit all together. Keep your players interested in content, and boredom will be a seldom seen oddity.

The biggest challenge to a successful MMORPG is keeping the spirit of the game in what is called the “end game.” End game is when you’ve topped out your character levels. Thus far, there has been little to keep the interests of the casual player come the end game. Usually, it’s been more grinding. In WoW, it’s endless 40 man dungeon raids or farming points and faction in the battlegrounds. In Dark Age of Camelot, it’s a never ending realm point (rp) grind, not to mention artifact leveling. In Everquest, you get the wonderful option of sitting around the Plain of Knowledge offering buffs to the up and coming lowbies for a fee or donation, while also trying to get in on raids to get “back flagged” because the guild you’re in isn’t going to help you. So far, end game content has been lack luster, without much reward except for more time sinks and boredom. I think, in order to get rid of this type of “end game blues,” the MMORPG developers need to go outside the box.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Take out the leveling system as you know it. Yes, set goals and “final” battles and quests, but don’t get stuck with an “end game.” Make it a neverending story, adding new quests, new gear, and making each quest an instanced and tailored experience would keep players in awe of a game for a long time.
2. Make each quest as pleasant an experience as possible. Get rid of the grind of “go kill 100 ogres” and replace them with a more epic feeling quest. It will give them a feeling of accomplishment. Show them what happened as a result of their failure to vanquish or triumph over the moderatly hard boss mob.
3. Don’t make it overly difficult to gain items, power, and wealth. 40 man raids are ok, but also make it playable for less people. Instancing makes it much easier to scale quests and mobs.
4. Make the gamer feel like they’ve made a difference in the world they play in. With some cenimatics, the importance of questa can be conveyed in a way you can’t get with a simple dialogue box.
5. Lazy NPC’s suck. Instanced quests can allow for NPC’s to accompany the player in their quest, and allow them to be in a group. Come on, do you really want to work for a guy who’s too lazy to do it himself? No! By allowing interaction with the NPC in this way, you can make it more of a choose your own adventure. Give that NPC a special spell that can make him a cleric, wizard, or warrior to aid the group or solo player.
6. Don’t allow the players to dictate the way the game should go. Many players don’t look at the bigger picture, and their roll in it. All the know is their priest can’t win solo again the rogue, never mind they aren’t supposed to. Be vigulent in your direction, take feedback, but don’t get out the nerf bat. It can ruine the over all experience for the gamers and they’ll quit when something the consider “better” comes along.
7. Think of yourself as the DM. You’re resposible for the gamer’s experience. If they have a bad experience on a quest, it’s your fault. Resolve it, but be aware of the bigger picture and don’t ruine it for others.

This all just touches the tip of it all. RPG’s can be fun, with the right “Dungeon Master.” Maybe MMORPG producers need to start thinking of themselves as DM’s instead of content providers. Then maybe MMORPG’s can have a depth and dimension that single player role playing games (SPRPG’s) can’t give, and a life that AI can’t provide. Allow the gamer to immerse themselves and others in the story line, and feel like they’re apart of the bigger picture, and they’ll keep coming back and rewarding you with a monthly fee or donation. All in all, whoever comes up with the right formulae will also become the next big thing.

Maybe more later….

Tags: Gaming //