Post by Morreion on Jun 8, 2010 8:43:40 GMT -5
Where is the Fun in MMOs? (MMORPG.com)
Good list! Some of Garrett's points have to do with player interaction- something the industry seems to be moving away from, which is not good.
From the comments:
I am asking this question because I often think about what would make MMOs better. So here is my take on what is fun in MMOs....
1. Customization - Something WoW lacks tremendously and other MMOs get about 50% right. Making your character your own is all part of the game and one of the biggest things MMOs lack. Thank god for APB and what they will be showing to the world soon. Because MMOs are in serious need of giving players the tools to stand out in a crowd.
2. PvP - Ok this is not for everyone, but this is for me. Fun PvP areas are critical but there also needs to be a reason to PvP. DAOC had its realm pride, something the players created. They had a good system with Relics for players to steal and fight over. They even added in Darkness Falls as a great place to level characters and the end game fights determined who controlled the zone for lower level players...simple question...WHY HASN'T ANYONE BEEN ABLE TO DO THIS AGAIN?
3. FUN quests and boss fights!
4. Socialization - Chat, Guilds, whatever, Yay! Ok great....give something to players that encourage them to help other players. Faction reputation should not be for NPCs....give it to players who help characters lower than them, who help a solo player who is about to die because they took on too many NPCs. These games are epic, heroic, REWARD GOOD DEEDS for God sake. If you gave loot for a faction system that was in the code for helping other players and not something players controlled, that would be so cool. Or, what about evil. Ultima could do it. You were branded a criminal....FUN! You hung out with other criminals. Even more fun! APB does this...why cannot a fantasy MMO do it?
1. Customization - Something WoW lacks tremendously and other MMOs get about 50% right. Making your character your own is all part of the game and one of the biggest things MMOs lack. Thank god for APB and what they will be showing to the world soon. Because MMOs are in serious need of giving players the tools to stand out in a crowd.
2. PvP - Ok this is not for everyone, but this is for me. Fun PvP areas are critical but there also needs to be a reason to PvP. DAOC had its realm pride, something the players created. They had a good system with Relics for players to steal and fight over. They even added in Darkness Falls as a great place to level characters and the end game fights determined who controlled the zone for lower level players...simple question...WHY HASN'T ANYONE BEEN ABLE TO DO THIS AGAIN?
3. FUN quests and boss fights!
4. Socialization - Chat, Guilds, whatever, Yay! Ok great....give something to players that encourage them to help other players. Faction reputation should not be for NPCs....give it to players who help characters lower than them, who help a solo player who is about to die because they took on too many NPCs. These games are epic, heroic, REWARD GOOD DEEDS for God sake. If you gave loot for a faction system that was in the code for helping other players and not something players controlled, that would be so cool. Or, what about evil. Ultima could do it. You were branded a criminal....FUN! You hung out with other criminals. Even more fun! APB does this...why cannot a fantasy MMO do it?
Good list! Some of Garrett's points have to do with player interaction- something the industry seems to be moving away from, which is not good.
From the comments:
Online single player games with co-op features and a chat channel are fine but it would be nice if games companies started making more REAL mmos so that mmorpgs and single player rpgs are more distinct from each other. Then I might actually find some reason to play mmos again. Currently they are just too damn boring.
