Post by Morreion on Jan 30, 2009 19:50:58 GMT -5
Trembling Hand presents: Ten Ways to Fix MMOs
Hat tip to Oat for finding this article. It has plenty of food for thought. I agree with most of the 10 points, which are as follows, with the occasional quote from the article:
1) Make the worlds more engaging
2) Ditch classes and levels
3) Make combat smarter
4) Don't make me grind
5) Make mobs smarter
There you are, Echo!
6) Encourage grouping
7) Quality of life
8) Make subscriptions cheaper
9) Listen to, and engage with, players
10) Launch when it's finished
What do you think?
Hat tip to Oat for finding this article. It has plenty of food for thought. I agree with most of the 10 points, which are as follows, with the occasional quote from the article:
1) Make the worlds more engaging
2) Ditch classes and levels
You don't need to ditch roles, just classes. You also don't need to ditch character specialisation, just classes.
Finally, don't make items more important than skills. Certainly items should be important - but more for the extra abilities or specialisations they lend rather than the core stats. Or don't have items at all. City of Heroes doesn't, and you don't hear anyone complaining.
Finally, don't make items more important than skills. Certainly items should be important - but more for the extra abilities or specialisations they lend rather than the core stats. Or don't have items at all. City of Heroes doesn't, and you don't hear anyone complaining.
3) Make combat smarter
Now, I'm not necessarily saying all MMOs need be twitch games, just that they aren't battles of attrition. One example mechanic might be reacting to the enemy moves - so when they attack a symbol flashes on screen, and if you click when the symbol appears, you successfully block - or conversely, a symbol appears when there's an opening in their defences, allowing you to strike for a critical blow. This needn't be adversely affected by lag, and it can still have skills contributing to your performance, such as by increasing the window when you can click for a heavier blow. And heck, that's just one mechanic off the top of my head - there must be hundreds more that aren't swing-swing-swing-dead.
4) Don't make me grind
5) Make mobs smarter
Make mobs smart. Make them work as a team. Make them unpredictable. Give them special abilities. Make them a challenge.
6) Encourage grouping
There should be absolutely no reason not to group. Groups should earn more xp, get more loot, fight more mobs, have bigger challenges etc. When a group completes one person's quest, everyone should get the reward as if it was theirs.
Another way to encourage grouping is give every class a group buff. It could be complementary or contrasting to the role.
Another way to encourage grouping is give every class a group buff. It could be complementary or contrasting to the role.
7) Quality of life
8) Make subscriptions cheaper
9) Listen to, and engage with, players
10) Launch when it's finished
What do you think?
