Post by Morreion on Jul 14, 2010 9:38:19 GMT -5
The Emasculation of MMOs: Part 1 – How Convenience Replaced Risk (Wolfshead Online)
The Emasculation of MMOs: Part 2 – Fun is for Children, Adventure is for Adults (Wolfshead Online)
Wolfshead has come up with a provocative pair of essays, and I agree with him.
I also think that there is a link between the current shallow MMO experience and the fact that most MMOs released today lose the majority of their player base in a few months. Short-term thinking reaps short-term results.
It was while reading Keen’s superb series of articles entitled Old MMO Mechanics that I Like and You Probably Hate (which was inspired by an article at We Fly Spitfires) where I fully realized how much this genre has been so utterly devastated by MMO companies eager to pander to new subscribers.
MMOs are dying a death of a thousand cuts as the unintended consequence of meddling game designers eager to “improve” their MMOs by dumbing-down their mechanics has eviscerated the end user experience that made MMOs so unique. The sense of challenge, danger and mystery has been replaced by a feeling of entitlement, security and predictability.
MMOs are dying a death of a thousand cuts as the unintended consequence of meddling game designers eager to “improve” their MMOs by dumbing-down their mechanics has eviscerated the end user experience that made MMOs so unique. The sense of challenge, danger and mystery has been replaced by a feeling of entitlement, security and predictability.
Without any measure of true risk, a rewards become inflationary, commonplace and pedestrian. When failure has little cost, players stop experiencing fear and its wise lessons. Learning to evaluate and mitigate risk also makes us better players as we will do all we can to avoid the consequences of losing.
Risk is the mother of every good and worthwhile aspect of MMORPGs. Challenge, community, camaraderie, player interdependence, socialization, immersion, respect for the world, respect for loot, respect for character progression — all are nourished from the wellspring of risk. Risk is what brings a virtual world to life and gives it immediacy and substance.
Years ago it was common to see debates about the relationship of risk versus reward on MMO discussion forums. Even the players back then rightly understood that you need sufficient amounts of risk to balance out rewards. Those players thrived on danger and even welcomed it. No longer. Rarely do we even speak of such matters as the prevailing game design philosophy seems to be KEEP THE PLAYERS HAPPY and WELL FED by:
* bestowing players with unearned praise and status
* granting easy character progression
* de-emphasizing player ability and skill
* distracting players by showering them with loot
Risk is the mother of every good and worthwhile aspect of MMORPGs. Challenge, community, camaraderie, player interdependence, socialization, immersion, respect for the world, respect for loot, respect for character progression — all are nourished from the wellspring of risk. Risk is what brings a virtual world to life and gives it immediacy and substance.
Years ago it was common to see debates about the relationship of risk versus reward on MMO discussion forums. Even the players back then rightly understood that you need sufficient amounts of risk to balance out rewards. Those players thrived on danger and even welcomed it. No longer. Rarely do we even speak of such matters as the prevailing game design philosophy seems to be KEEP THE PLAYERS HAPPY and WELL FED by:
* bestowing players with unearned praise and status
* granting easy character progression
* de-emphasizing player ability and skill
* distracting players by showering them with loot
The Emasculation of MMOs: Part 2 – Fun is for Children, Adventure is for Adults (Wolfshead Online)
Something has changed about the MMO experience in the past six years. Chances are you probably haven’t even noticed it but you can probably feel it just the same. MMO critics and veteran players all suspect there is something amiss with today’s MMOs but can’t quite put their finger on it.
Part of the answer to this riddle may be that the intentions, goals and objectives of MMO companies have changed from being primarily about creating a world of adventure to creating an amusement park. MMOs have become all about delivering short bursts of “fun”. Making sure you the player is entertained at every moment has become the holy grail of game design.
Design based on delivering instant gratification for the masses has replaced a philosophy of hard won satisfaction gleaned from the rigors and challenges of survival in a dangerous virtual world. This change of design focus has fundamentally altered the MMO experience for the worse.
Part of the answer to this riddle may be that the intentions, goals and objectives of MMO companies have changed from being primarily about creating a world of adventure to creating an amusement park. MMOs have become all about delivering short bursts of “fun”. Making sure you the player is entertained at every moment has become the holy grail of game design.
Design based on delivering instant gratification for the masses has replaced a philosophy of hard won satisfaction gleaned from the rigors and challenges of survival in a dangerous virtual world. This change of design focus has fundamentally altered the MMO experience for the worse.
Real adventure is not scripted, nor is real heroism. When you really stop to think about it, there is something noble and worthwhile about adventure as great deeds and experiences beyond our imagination are possible even if experienced virtually. More importantly, these accomplishments and experiences are our own — not the property of the quest designer.
When one thinks of the memorable feats throughout history, mythology and literature it’s hard to think that any of those heroes had were motivated by the desire for self-gratification otherwise known as “fun”. To heed the call of adventure means to put oneself at great risk and to make sacrifices for some greater good or cause. Frodo and Sam’s quest to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom was not motivated by fun. Instead they were motivated and inspired by a selfless sense of duty and honor.
When one thinks of the memorable feats throughout history, mythology and literature it’s hard to think that any of those heroes had were motivated by the desire for self-gratification otherwise known as “fun”. To heed the call of adventure means to put oneself at great risk and to make sacrifices for some greater good or cause. Frodo and Sam’s quest to destroy the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom was not motivated by fun. Instead they were motivated and inspired by a selfless sense of duty and honor.
Fun is For Children
My problem with using fun as a criteria for designing MMOs is that unlike adventure it lacks the potential to transport the player to a place beyond mere self-gratification. Experiencing fun for its own sake is shallow, meaningless and lacks purpose and possibility.
The production of fun in a video game is all about inducing a sense of unearned euphoria and delight within the player. It’s all about creating highs but with no commensurate lows. It’s a violation of the basic law of the universe that says there can be no pleasure without pain, no light without darkness, no harvest without planting, no reward without risk.
My problem with using fun as a criteria for designing MMOs is that unlike adventure it lacks the potential to transport the player to a place beyond mere self-gratification. Experiencing fun for its own sake is shallow, meaningless and lacks purpose and possibility.
The production of fun in a video game is all about inducing a sense of unearned euphoria and delight within the player. It’s all about creating highs but with no commensurate lows. It’s a violation of the basic law of the universe that says there can be no pleasure without pain, no light without darkness, no harvest without planting, no reward without risk.
Wolfshead has come up with a provocative pair of essays, and I agree with him.
I also think that there is a link between the current shallow MMO experience and the fact that most MMOs released today lose the majority of their player base in a few months. Short-term thinking reaps short-term results.
