Serious Implications for the Future of MMO's

[Grimfan]

Just thought I'd leave this here: http://smedsblog.com/

I feel like this is the direction EQ Next and most of the other MMO's coming out in the future really need to go. Eve has such a sustainable formula, but without the PC's the game world really feels lifeless. If they can somehow make the NPC's also feel like they have a true purpose in the world we might be looking at some pretty crazy stuff coming up in the next year or two.

The idea that you have a guild your character belongs to, like a merchant guild or a guild like the Merchants of Qeynos guild we have on this server that patrols a path and keeps the road safe for caravans... the idea that you could have an entirely separate guild that is built around taking those caravans from the previous guild... just imagine the implications and the player decisions.

Really looking forward to the future of MMO's.

[Tradesonred]

All my hopes are pinned on the kickstarters. Only way things are going to shake up is when one of those guys makes a killer game and nobody buying those shitty ass wow clones cash grabs anymore because the bars been set too high.

[dreama1]

It sounds good in theory, but I'm skeptical that it will work out as planned.

I don't have any experience with EVE, but i'm going off several other MMORPGs, and what i've found is that we are creatures of habit; we like having / doing the same thing over and over again, tweaked here and there, but so far, it's hard to imagine a game, similar but totally different. As much as people say everquest is difficult, how often do these same people go google what to do for quests, google the maps etc etc, of course, if you do it over and over again, that knowledge gets incorporated but I think the vast majority of players are actually very impatient - myself included. I think EQnext may be interesting in that vein, but let's see if it won't completely frustrate people after having years and years of something completely different.

Oh and i'm sick of people saying WoW is easy. High ranking pvp has to be one of most laborious and skillful game play I have ever come across in a MMORPG.

[Swish]

Whatever happened to Guild Wars 2? I had a bunch of pals playing that but suddenly its like it all stopped, they don't talk about it anymore... nobody on the forum here talks about it anymore... did it crash big time?

Any developing game with a subscription model will have me interested, as long as there's no cash shop on top.

[Uteunayr]

I am not so skeptical. Player-based content creation has been a huge driving force of PC gaming for well over a decade and a half. Certainly, you get some shit out of it, but you also get Natural Selection, Counter-Strike, DOTA, and numerous other innovations. Now, that may be a bit too far for what EQN is aiming to do, but just look at Team Fortress 2. It is the same type of system except you have hats instead of blueprints. It is a highly successful game as content generation is heavily performed by players. Custom maps, custom hats, custom taunts, all those things create a game that can last almost eternally. Look at Skyrim, and the literal thousands of mods that have added new interesting stuff to do.

In the end, a developer will never, ever out-develop the player base. And players who love a game are going to be very active in trying to build stuff in that game. The best thing a developer can do, as Valve has said, is to give the players the best space, and the best tools, to generate their own content which other players can consume.

If SoE can do it right, it will be a damn good thing not only for MMORPGs to get out of the Quest-Themepark paradigm we're stuck in, but it will be healthy for players who want to do more than exhaust content in a few weeks, as was the case in WoW.

[Grimfan]

Originally Posted by dreama1 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

It sounds good in theory, but I'm skeptical that it will work out as planned.

I don't have any experience with EVE, but i'm going off several other MMORPGs, and what i've found is that we are creatures of habit; we like having / doing the same thing over and over again, tweaked here and there, but so far, it's hard to imagine a game, similar but totally different. As much as people say everquest is difficult, how often do these same people go google what to do for quests, google the maps etc etc, of course, if you do it over and over again, that knowledge gets incorporated but I think the vast majority of players are actually very impatient - myself included. I think EQnext may be interesting in that vein, but let's see if it won't completely frustrate people after having years and years of something completely different.

Oh and i'm sick of people saying WoW is easy. High ranking pvp has to be one of most laborious and skillful game play I have ever come across in a MMORPG.

I feel like it's time for change. Even if you combine all the new ideas that are interesting and have come out in the last few years (public quests being the big one, but dungeon currencies is another example) you just cannot get a unique feeling MMO. The leveling grind is still pretty fun, but once you get to the high end it feels the same as every other MMO out there. FFXIV, Rift, WoW, SWTOR, even ESO/Wildstar/Tera... they all feel the same to me. I'm tired of playing the same game and getting the same result, which for me is a burnout at max level. I know I like ESO, but I am sure it will have similar issues end game that these other games do.

I know we're creatures of habit, but after 10 years of the same crap I'm feeling pretty ready for something new. It doesn't even have to be difficult or challenge whatever skills I have acquired over the years. I just want something different.

[MrSparkle001]

Imagine an MMORPG of a massive city.. and the Rogue’s guild is entirely run by players. Where the city has an entire political system that is populated by players who were elected by the playerbase.

Knowing how people are on the internet and in MMOs I think it would be a nightmare. In theory his ideas are good but in practice they would be ruined by the very players he wants to run MMOs.

It also sounds like he's trying to justify spending less money on development. Just let the players create content right? STO does it and I think Neverwinter. I don't like it myself. I rarely do foundry missions.

[Nuggie]

Originally Posted by MrSparkle001 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Knowing how people are on the internet and in MMOs I think it would be a nightmare. In theory his ideas are good but in practice they would be ruined by the very players he wants to run MMOs.

It also sounds like he's trying to justify spending less money on development. Just let the players create content right? STO does it and I think Neverwinter. I don't like it myself. I rarely do foundry missions.

For those not in the landmark beta: there are a lot of really neat things being built by the playerbase. I think we will see some extraordinary things when they start letting us do community builds. I haven't seen/heard of any trolling going on. Although I'm sure it will come.

[Ahldagor]

Originally Posted by MrSparkle001 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Knowing how people are on the internet and in MMOs I think it would be a nightmare. In theory his ideas are good but in practice they would be ruined by the very players he wants to run MMOs.

It also sounds like he's trying to justify spending less money on development. Just let the players create content right? STO does it and I think Neverwinter. I don't like it myself. I rarely do foundry missions.

remove anonymity of the player then people might think about it more, but you are right in that it would be a nightmare.

Originally Posted by Nuggie [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

For those not in the landmark beta: there are a lot of really neat things being built by the playerbase. I think we will see some extraordinary things when they start letting us do community builds. I haven't seen/heard of any trolling going on. Although I'm sure it will come.

the trolling will come, but not in the beta because the true troll will want to grief as many people as possible.

[MrSparkle001]

Originally Posted by Nuggie [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

For those not in the landmark beta: there are a lot of really neat things being built by the playerbase. I think we will see some extraordinary things when they start letting us do community builds. I haven't seen/heard of any trolling going on. Although I'm sure it will come.

Creating content can be a good thing, I mean I've seen content some players have created that rival or beat the developer's official content. I see it all time in single player mods. Part of the question will be if that content comes in the form of actual content added to the world or if it's available as "outside" content like STO's foundry missions.

The nightmare comes from players being actively involved in the managing of the game.