Post by Morreion on Jan 7, 2011 12:44:25 GMT -5
When I reflect on playing UO a decade ago compared to playing the typical MMO today, one of the big differences is the amount of things to do in a game.
UO of course was a skill-based sandbox, but I think that a significant part of the fun was that there was a lot to do there. This was a direct result of game mechanics. For instance, if you didn't want to engage in combat (PvE or PvP) or craft, you could have a career as a fisherman, treasure hunter, or beggar. You could be a real estate broker (houses could be placed anywhere in the world outside of towns), a house decorator, a gardener (there was a full-fledged gardening system), write books, play mini-games such as chess or checkers. This attracted a variety of types of players.
Contrast this with today's mainstream MMO- there's combat and maybe a simplified crafting system. That's pretty much it. And it's done in a theme park cattle chute. And often, there's no player housing. You're doing good if your character can actually sit down.
I think the key for me is that there needs to be a variety of things to do in an MMO for me not to feel that it is grindy or want to bail out entirely due to boredom. I don't care about leveling speed if I'm absorbed in the game. There seems to have been a trend post-WoW of making games focused as opposed to having lots of things to do. This probably relates to the fact that on-rails theme parks dominate the industry. The problem with a focused game is that even if the one thing you do is good, it can get old.
Or maybe it's the fact that MMOs used to be magical because we didn't know the script like we do now. It's like watching a magic show- if you know how all the tricks are done, it isn't as interesting. I believe that is a factor, but the trend for less to do in a game is a distressing one.
UO of course was a skill-based sandbox, but I think that a significant part of the fun was that there was a lot to do there. This was a direct result of game mechanics. For instance, if you didn't want to engage in combat (PvE or PvP) or craft, you could have a career as a fisherman, treasure hunter, or beggar. You could be a real estate broker (houses could be placed anywhere in the world outside of towns), a house decorator, a gardener (there was a full-fledged gardening system), write books, play mini-games such as chess or checkers. This attracted a variety of types of players.
Contrast this with today's mainstream MMO- there's combat and maybe a simplified crafting system. That's pretty much it. And it's done in a theme park cattle chute. And often, there's no player housing. You're doing good if your character can actually sit down.
I think the key for me is that there needs to be a variety of things to do in an MMO for me not to feel that it is grindy or want to bail out entirely due to boredom. I don't care about leveling speed if I'm absorbed in the game. There seems to have been a trend post-WoW of making games focused as opposed to having lots of things to do. This probably relates to the fact that on-rails theme parks dominate the industry. The problem with a focused game is that even if the one thing you do is good, it can get old.
Or maybe it's the fact that MMOs used to be magical because we didn't know the script like we do now. It's like watching a magic show- if you know how all the tricks are done, it isn't as interesting. I believe that is a factor, but the trend for less to do in a game is a distressing one.
