Post by Morreion on Jun 7, 2010 7:15:51 GMT -5
Richard Aihoshi's Free Zone: Conventional Thinking
MMORPG.com's Free Zone columnist Richard Aihoshi writes this look at MMO concepts that people often take for granted.
It's funny how these types of standard experiences get codified into the industry. More fresh approaches are needed. For instance, I'd like to see a game with 250 levels that do not take more time to level up than a typical 50-level game- there would be no exponential exp curve, each level would take a brief time. See how that works compared to grinding out the last few levels that take forever in misery!
MMORPG.com's Free Zone columnist Richard Aihoshi writes this look at MMO concepts that people often take for granted.
Why does it seem that so many games developed in this hemisphere launch with their level caps set at 50? Is it some kind of sacred number among designers? In a related vein to this thought, what's the benefit to having each level take more time to reach than the previous one did? I'm talking about for me as a player. Frankly, I don't see how this type of advancement curve can possibly be intended to enhance my enjoyment...
Were I to adopt a somewhat cynical point of view, I could even say that creating a curve is a matter of guessing how much pain players will put up with. In general, they're not as steep as they were back in the day, which is to say around 10 to 12 years ago. But less grinding is still grinding. I'd rather have one wisdom tooth extracted than four, but neither qualifies as fun.
Where am I headed with this? If you're thinking I'm going to propose some kind of answer, that's not it. I'm not a game designer, never have been and never even wanted to be. What I'm hoping for is to see more in the way of possible solutions from the talented, creative people who are members of the profession. My guess is that they get caught in the trap I noted at the beginning of this column. By default, they think conventionally, and thus put little or no time into brainstorming potential alternatives.
Were I to adopt a somewhat cynical point of view, I could even say that creating a curve is a matter of guessing how much pain players will put up with. In general, they're not as steep as they were back in the day, which is to say around 10 to 12 years ago. But less grinding is still grinding. I'd rather have one wisdom tooth extracted than four, but neither qualifies as fun.
Where am I headed with this? If you're thinking I'm going to propose some kind of answer, that's not it. I'm not a game designer, never have been and never even wanted to be. What I'm hoping for is to see more in the way of possible solutions from the talented, creative people who are members of the profession. My guess is that they get caught in the trap I noted at the beginning of this column. By default, they think conventionally, and thus put little or no time into brainstorming potential alternatives.
It's funny how these types of standard experiences get codified into the industry. More fresh approaches are needed. For instance, I'd like to see a game with 250 levels that do not take more time to level up than a typical 50-level game- there would be no exponential exp curve, each level would take a brief time. See how that works compared to grinding out the last few levels that take forever in misery!
