Goals in MMOs

[Morreion]

The trouble with goals in MMOs (Massively)

One of the major problems of a game in which you can do anything is that... well, there's not necessarily much of a reason to do anything. That's a Terrible Idea recently had an interesting piece on the difficulty of generating goals and objectives in MMOs, especially in contrast with single-player games where your goals are equally pre-generated. The difference, as the article notes, is that single-player games have individual characters with a large impact on the game world. There's no issue of making quests compatible with a wide variety of characters of different races and classes, until the individual motivations and goals can no longer fit into the equation. You don't have anything but the end of content to shoot for.

So what's the answer? The original post notes that it's not really possible to reconcile anything but achievement-oriented goals within MMOs due to the fact that the character will still inhabit a static world no matter what you do. Certainly, there are attempts to create larger-scale impacts for individual characters, but so long as every character goes through the same content or has the same opportunities, there's less of a sense of distinct accomplishment. Player-generated content in games such as City of Heroes offers an opportunity for a different path for each character, but there's still not much of a difference in the actual process. Procedural generation is also bandied about as a solution to the issue, though it lacks any truly successful implementation at this point. Is there even a solution, or is this simply part of the weakness of the genre?

Goal Generation in MMOs: The Problem (That's A Terrible Idea)

The player’s obvious long-term goal in an MMO: to reach the end of whatever content is provided. Here we see the root of the theme-park model. The player is conditioned to get from the start to the end by society and prior games. Limited linear static goal design is a carry-over from single-player games—it follows directly from single-player game design where game designers and game writers create goals for the player based on the motivations that the player’s character should have. The story (and, perhaps, game mechanics) supply these motivations to the player’s character and these motivations are portrayed to the player through cutscenes, dialog, and character behavior. In great single-player games, the motivations of the player’s character are so well-portrayed that the player’s own motivations in the game align with the character’s. This is rarely the case in MMOs...

Goal generation in theme-park MMOs places the player on a treadmill. This must happen in order to have a world that does not change due to characters’ actions. Goal generation in theme-park MMOs will always be reduced to a grind because it does not demonstrate actual progress. The player maneuvers his character through content to reach whatever advancement goals she might have, but she will ultimately be inhabiting the exact same immutable and unchanging world at every second. When the scenery moves but you’re actually still in the exact same place, the feeling of progress changes to disillusionment. The facade is clear; only our innocence protected us from this understanding when we first entered, wide-eyed, into MMORPG worlds. We can never get our innocence back, regardless of how a game like Aion makes it tantalizing. No matter how fancy a treadmill may be, running on it will never get you to a new destination.

I think that this is one area where sandbox games shine. Being able to set your own goals and having the mechanisms to achieve those goals- a goal that others may or may not have- is superior to the theme park style where everyone does the same thing and everyone is basically carbon copies of each other IMHO.

The problem with the sandbox system is that the theme park system is so prevalent in MMOs that many players would rather visit the theme park because they don't have to think or have goals- everything is laid out for them. Perhaps 'goals' in this setting contribute to what we see all too often- players burning out and moving on in a short period of time. Freedom to achieve your own goals in a sandbox is both more gratifying and difficult to envision at the same time.

[Regolyth]

A friend was telling me that recently WoW added some new mechanic to their game. You can see your impact on the actual world. For instance, when you complete a certain quest, that would have world-changing impacts, your character actually sees the change from his point of view. E.g. the forest is on fire, and your character puts it out. Your character would no longer see the world on fire, but other players, who haven't completed the quest, would still see the forest on fire.

I think this is a step in the right direction. Perhaps quests can be limited in a way. Maybe it takes a group to do a certain quest. Let's say that there are marauders sacking some village, and your group is sent out to stop them. You are sent on a series of chain quests to stop the marauders, and defeat their leader. Once this is complete, in the actual gaming world, all players will see that this is once again a peaceful village.

This "peaceful" version is set on a 24-hour timer. Once 24 hours have passed, a new set of marauders would invade the village, and the quest is open again to other players. An alternative to this is that the village appears peaceful, until someone accepts the quest. Then the marauders show up and pillage the village (setting up the quest). That's one, small way to have world-changing events seen by everyone.

[Morreion]

I remember diplomacy in Vanguard giving fellow players certain buffs in the cities where a critical mass of diplomats actively engaging in diplomacy would activate them. That was a neat thing, interactive with the world and a unique sub-game.

[Regolyth]

Diplomacy was a very interesting concept.