MMORPGs seem to be the new ‘it’ game platform. It seems like almost every company is falling all over themselves to try and get a nice piece of that massively multiplayer cake. Subscribers come and go, each one looking for something a little bit different. What sets a certain MMO apart from others depends on the person playing it. For example: Some people hate PVP while others simply can’t get enough of it. With this in mind, most companies strive to make their game something special. Something people will want to play even if the game itself is slightly less than desirable in other areas. What sets an MMORPG apart?

Everyone has different criteria for a perfect MMO. This key issue is likely what keeps any sort of MMO from being considered ‘perfect’ or close to it. What can a successful MMO do to put itself on a higher level than the dozens of others saturating the market? Obviously my opinion is different than Joe Guy McDude Player A, but I’ve compiled a short list of things I love to see in the MMORPGs that I buy. The things that, well, keep me paying my subscription fee.

My list, in no specific order:

1) A decent looking, easy to interact with environment.

Not every world can look picture perfect, especially if you want one that people with older machines can enjoy. But it’s nice to have trees that aren’t square-shaped, or a ground texture flattened to the point of looking like a zamboni just went over it. It’s also very nice to not get stuck on every bush or blade of grass that gets in your character’s way. A small rock shouldn’t be enough of an obstacle to force your character to stop completely in their tracks.

Obviously I don’t expect to scale a nearby mountain just by running towards it, but a pebble is not what I would consider to be a road block. Or it shouldn’t be.

It’s true that the first thing I tend to notice upon logging into an MMO is the environment design. I’m all for stylized games, but there’s a difference between style and feeling like you’re playing the game on the NES. Obviously I wouldn’t stick any of the older, pioneering MMOs into this droopy poopy graphics category.

2) Character classes that are familiar but unique.

I’m aware that sounds like a contradiction. What I mean is that almost every game is going to have a warrior type. The warrior type is likely going to run up and hit things with some kind of weapon. The uniqueness of a character comes with how the game portrays the warrior’s skills. For example:

Hit with axe: The warrior expends energy to strike their enemy with an axe.

Eh, boring. Been there, done that. Add a little pizazz to the warrior class, please. Make me want to play it.

Goremaul: The warrior throws his axe with violent speed, striking the enemy so hard that its head becomes a projectile weapon. The bloody extremity strikes all enemies around it for cone area of effect damage!

Now I want to play a warrior. It’s the same damn class from the hack and slash days. But man, this one is cooler.

As far as races for characters go, if the game has dwarves, elves, humans, and orcs, I’m automatically wary unless there’s a newer, intriguing race to go along with the others. Yes, the game has elves, it fits into their lore like butter fits on plain white bread. I’m tired of playing an elf. Add something new and interesting, like a race of naga or dryads.

3) A dynamic, changing world.

This is the one a lot of developers get hung up on. It’s next to impossible to constantly update an entire game world with every new patch. That’s not what I mean. (Though it would be pretty damn cool.)

Every player wants to feel like their contributions are changing the world somehow. Aion is fitting this into their world by having it shift constantly between dark and light - depending on which race is gathering more resources. Obviously every boar you kill will eventually come back to life. Some games have started integrating a system that causes enemy spawn levels to go down if they’re overly camped. So be careful, someday you really may cause those kobolds to go extinct.

I want the world I play in to feel as real as possible. (Er, for a fantasy land, that is.) NPCs that are static and don’t react to anything are boring. They make the world feel like it’s made of cardboard.

“Welcome to Corneria.”
“Welcome to Corneria.”
“Welcome to Corneria.”

Yeah, we got it, thanks.

Scripted events are absolutely super, even if they only happen once a day or once a month. As long as the NPCs are moving, talking, behaving like actual -characters- rather than scenery.

Weather, day to night transitions, etc. All of this adds a feel to any world setting.

4) A hook.

Oh boy, another grind MMO. This is totally what I want to play. Or not.

Killing fifty badgers is boring. Killing fifty badgers while flying? I’ll do it!

Casting a spell? Boring. Combo spellcasts? I’ll do it!

Even the crappiest of games can be gussied up like a prom queen if it just has an appealing hook. Some kind of new gameplay mechanic, a new dungeon system, something! People may not continue to subscribe after that first month, but at least they’ll have bought the game to experience it. The best hooks are almost always integrated into the main mechanic of the game, somehow. Standalone mounts or flying become exceedingly boring. Combat mounts or airborne battles? Hell freakin’ yes!

5) I want to be included.

Every MMORPG is going to have its elite gamers. But the game itself should not become a system of 17 hour battles that only a few people in the world would be willing to participate in.

If my character is destined to sit on the sidelines constantly and watch as other people triumph in battles that I have no hope of participating in, why should I stick around? I definitely don’t want to be a hardcore raider again, and I appreciate and respect the people who still do it in any game. You all deserve all the spoils you get. But I’d like something to do too. I know I don’t deserve the rewards the people who put more time into it get, but I’d like to be able to do something.

World events, dungeons that require less people or time investment, even something as minuscule as questing can contribute to a feeling of inclusion for every player.

If you’re level twenty, obviously you’re not going to be able to rush out with that group of fifty high-level players and slay the dragon. But maybe you can go out and help slay the dragon’s hatchlings to help the other heroes in battle. It only takes something that simple, and it’s probably one of the biggest contributing factors to subscription renewal.

MMORPGs will come and go. In the end, they’re still games. Hopefully people play them to enjoy them, I know I do. When one doesn’t provide me with the experience I’m looking for, it’s simply a matter of finding another one that does.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 15th, 2008 at 4:25 pm and is filed under Game Design, MMORPGs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.