Post by Morreion on Apr 26, 2010 6:52:27 GMT -5
Breaking Free of the End-Game (Game By Night)
I agree 100%. Not only is this an issue for game design, but it is an issue for the player base. Enjoy the journey, people! What you are playing IS the game! Don't get wrapped up in the endgame and grind your way there and then be disappointed- enjoy the game!
The big question here is why? Why should we segment the community and make getting to the highest levels a chore?
Simple: MMOs are about the journey more than the destination.
When we focus on the moment, we enjoy ourselves more. Mid-game play means a lusher, better built game world. It means being free from min-maxing. It means being free from the trappings of current MMO design both for the players and for the designers.
Think about how it must be for them. The bulk of your efforts must always go towards creating things for the highest level player. Everyone you design for is at the glass wall. You’re limited into a constant cycle of upward evolution. Since everyone gets to the level cap, your creativity is shoe-horned into a corner. As a business, the smart choice isn’t to flesh out the world and do cool things in the getting there, it’s to make create things to do when they are there.
When you think about it, it’s no wonder the concept of building virtual worlds has disappeared. The world, the leveling, all takes a backseat to the end-game. It all comes down to hitting a middle-ground of acceptableness where players don’t see the questing as crap.
Simple: MMOs are about the journey more than the destination.
When we focus on the moment, we enjoy ourselves more. Mid-game play means a lusher, better built game world. It means being free from min-maxing. It means being free from the trappings of current MMO design both for the players and for the designers.
Think about how it must be for them. The bulk of your efforts must always go towards creating things for the highest level player. Everyone you design for is at the glass wall. You’re limited into a constant cycle of upward evolution. Since everyone gets to the level cap, your creativity is shoe-horned into a corner. As a business, the smart choice isn’t to flesh out the world and do cool things in the getting there, it’s to make create things to do when they are there.
When you think about it, it’s no wonder the concept of building virtual worlds has disappeared. The world, the leveling, all takes a backseat to the end-game. It all comes down to hitting a middle-ground of acceptableness where players don’t see the questing as crap.
I agree 100%. Not only is this an issue for game design, but it is an issue for the player base. Enjoy the journey, people! What you are playing IS the game! Don't get wrapped up in the endgame and grind your way there and then be disappointed- enjoy the game!
