The trouble with MMORPGs: Grinding me down
Nick laments his rapidly declining online life…
If game developers knew about me, they'd try to bottle what I have - I am the equivalent of MMORPG litmus; an acid test. I've played most of the big ones - UO, EQ, AC, DAOC and now SWG, and I've exhibited the same reaction to almost all of them. You see, I'm always the fish that got away.
It always starts so well. I install, register. Spend an age perusing arcane and obscure sites to find the elusive best combination of STR and DXT and INT for that uber nuking mage or damage soaking tank. I make the decision, create a character. I change my mind, re-roll and start again. I do this several times, until everything is just right. But finally, I'm happy. I enter the game world.
And am immediately lost and confused. No MMORPG ever has managed to ease me into a game. Maybe I'm obtuse, but invariably someone takes pity on me and points me in the right direction - the rat/snake/mouse/snail killing fields, where I begin to cut my level 1 teeth with the other "n00bs". In UO and EQ, this was a delight - it was all new, we were all new back then. This was before the days of power levelling and macro'ing your way to level 40 before the game was even out. No. Back then, we ALL did our time in the rat fields. But despite the obvious menial nature of the task, it is still fun. The levels come quickly, new skills are learned and used, new items acquired and the next goal is only just around the corner. This is the MMORPG honeymoon period - the time where the grind is not just bearable, it's actually enjoyable. But like the real thing, the MMORPG honeymoon can't last.
It begins to creep in, almost unnoticed. The levels are further apart. You begin to notice that newly acquired skills are carbon copies of the old ones, with a different coloured icon and a two percent damage increase. You start to get 'class envy' - that feeling that almost every other race/class/profession is better off than you, and that the developers have it in for you and your kind. Suddenly, you find yourself looking for groups because you're bored of soloing, or soloing because you can't find a group, or crafting because you can't be bothered with either. You try out all the little distractions the developers have put in the game to make things 'deep', only to find they're broken, bugged or plain pointless. But you're a trooper. You stiffen that upper lip and press on, certain that if you can only hang in there the good times will arrive and the game will be FUN again.
It is at precisely this point, that me and others like me will part ways with our more determined MMORPG brethren. I, you see, am a quitter. And that's why developers should listen to me, because it is me and those like me who cannot be retained after the free month. Simply put, if I'm paying for it, then it's a winner. And I tell you all honestly, I'm TIRED of quitting. I want to proudly display my level 75 death mage to all and sundry. I want to tell bored "n00bs" of how I acquired my shiny Boots of Relentless Perseverance + 2 after a three day battle with a fire giant. I want to be that guy - I have it in me, to be that sad.
But frankly, and I mean this in the nicest possible sense, all the MMORPGs out there bore me senseless after two or three weeks. So where are they going wrong? Well, if you're still reading at this point, I'm going to tell you. Here follows Nick's list of MMORPGs do's and dont's... so without further ado, and in no particular order...
1) DON'T use me as pest control:
I've killed them all - rats, spiders, snakes, snails, wasps, worms, beetles etc. And more to the point, I've BEEN killed by them all. I'm tired of this crap - I know MMORPGs must have a sense of progression and therefore start small, but can't I start a bit higher up the food chain? For God sake, in real life I could give most decent sized mammals a good hiding and I don't even possess a shock spell or whirlwind attack. Let me fight something bigger.
2) DO allow me to play how I like, when I like:
I keep unusual hours. It's a by product of being socially ignorant, drinking vast amounts of tea and coke and generally preferring to skulk in darkness. That is my right. So if I'm on your server with only three others at four in the morning, please let me do something meaningful with my time, and don't force me to join up with someone as obnoxious as I am to level up. That's just cruel.
Comments
Sorry to everyone experiencing problems with the site at the moment, it appears the entire internet is trying to read Nick's rant at the moment (well, the readership of /. at least).
I've never been one for these games personally, as I'd rather use games as a form of escapism and the idea of still 'working' and struggling to develop in a virtual alternative world isn't my idea of fun.
Man, I agree. You should try EVE tho. It's propably not perfect, but at least several 'quitters' I know are still playing it after 6+ months.
I have pretty much experienced the same thing as the author. However, I usually stick with the game for 3-4 months instead of one. After this, I end up to letting my account lapse.
I wish there was much more to the game then, grab mission kill, kill, kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill, grab mission, kill, kill, kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill,kill, buy supplies repeat, then lvl. I know this is not exactly how the game goes. But change the pattern for the character class and you pretty much have it.
I believe the problem is the same problem with alot of movies. The quality content is just not there. The content is for me what makes or breaks a movie and or game.
I play around with graphics programming, read gamasutra, and game dev. I somewhat have an idea of the time that goes into putting content in a game and then testing it. Let alone the amount of bugs that have to be troubleshot because of the possible number of combinations in a huge MMORPG. Perhaps the problem is that games are to rushed or maybe there are not enough good designers on MMORPGs.
This guy isn't the kind of person who should be playing these games. They aren't Short Attention Span Theater! It's an RPG, if you bothered to actually RP with others and stopped relying on the game to provide your entertainment, this wouldn't be a problem. You're paying for the priviledge to play in the world, not to be entertained. Ofcourse, the companies market to the wrong crowds cause they need to get so many suckers to buy the game in the first place when they know full well that a certain percentage won't enjoy the game past the honeymoon period.
-- Johnny
[b]Stay text, go free, play Sindome[b]
http://www.sindome.org
I couldn't agree more.
My husband is an avid gamer (as am I), but we have very different tastes in games. He has played UO, EQ, AO, DAoC, SWG, Eve, Shadowbane, etc. etc. etc. Essentially every high profile game that has ever come out; but I always joke with him when he insists he must have whatever the newest game out is "because it will be Sooo Cool" that he will have quit it in a month. And in most cases I'm right, some last a little longer, but by the end of the month it's boring and not fun anymore. I've tried a few of those previously mentioned games, on my husband's never ending quest to find a game we can both play together, and not a single one has lasted past lvl 5 (assuming I even make it past the character creation screen).
What do I play then?
A Tale in the Desert (atitd.com) I've been playing it for over a year now, and there is always new and exciting stuff to do, and it has one of the nicest communities I've ever been a part of.
A few pluses to this game:
-there is no violence, and therefore no pest control or mindless leveling treadmills (some may ask well what is there than if not killing things, and I tell you: a real game.);
-it's probably the most casual player friendly game I've played, there are no classes - what you can do is based on actual skill, not the class you picked or the amount of time you spent on a raid trying to get a special item;
-there is a law system, in which players can write and vote on laws, and the developers will implement things that the majority of people vote yes on;
-it's a free download and you get a free 24hr trial (ingame hours).
I very highly recommend checking this game out - it has changed what playing games means to me.
If you're not having fun you're doing something wrong, except in EQ where the most fun you could have was probably fishing. Definately give the muds a try. As far as the MMORPGs you should try socializing and roleplaying if you don't like grinding, but the only way to get that ubercharacter you want in the time that you play is to grind, which isn't going to be fun anywhere. IMHO it sounds like you feel you deserve the elite character on a game that you have no dedication to (in comparison to other players). If you wanna be better than them you have to put more time in, simple as that. If you want to have fun, don't try to become the best in a couple of weeks. What fun would any game be if all the players were as powerful as they could get in less than a month?
Come join us Jenquai in Earth & Beyond. SWG is for yuppies.
I would like to see the entire idea of experience re-worked. This "you need 50 million XP" for the next level stuff has got to stop. How about a sliding scale for each creature and the gap between levels remain the same? Kill 50 kobolds for let's say 35XP each and the 51st only gets you 15XP. This would drive players around the maps better in search of new experiences/creatures. I usually only play a game until I have to make that HUGE jump to the next level. Then I get bored as the rewards of advancement disappear. Sure that dragon may get you tons of XP in the current scheme, but you need to coordinate 25 people just to attack it. I would much rather fight in small friendly groups and search the map for fresh things to kill.
For a refreshing take on MMO games, try PlanetSide. I got bored after two-three weeks of EQ, but I'm still on PS after 9 months (I was on closed beta). Granted, it's no RPG, but it does provide instant gratification to noobs (you start with enough cert points to get in a bad ass MAX suit) as well as good, steady reward for experience, and a lot more to aim for than gaining XP (just the fun of the battles)...
For a refreshing take on MMO games, try PlanetSide. I got bored after two-three weeks of EQ, but I'm still on PS after 9 months (I was on closed beta). Granted, it's no RPG, but it does provide instant gratification to noobs (you start with enough cert points to get in a bad ass MAX suit) as well as good, steady reward for experience, and a lot more to aim for than gaining XP (just the fun of the battles)...
Waaaaaaaah! Waaaaaaaah!
WoW will not be the Holy Grail everyone seems to make it out to be
What a big piece of whiny tripe. My entire being has been diminished reading this garbage. Perhaps someday you will mature pass the instant gratification stage and be able to play a game for a period of time. I also take objection that you even posess the knowledge to comment on these games After all, you have admitted to never getting past the free month. Why should developers listen to you anyway? Go hide in a corner and play The Sims. I am pretty sure that it meets your personal criteria of a perfect game.
What I miss in MMORPGs and the reason I have been an MMORPG quitter, is that there is no RPing. Playing in groups is often much more fun than playing solo, but the groups don't RP. Somewhere the meaning of RP has been lost. It no longer means Role Playing; instead it means experience points, leveling and searching for the next piece of equipment or spell. I think there are two reasons for this.
First, the game designs themselves seem to discourage RPing. I don't think the game designers intend for this to happen, it's a natural by product of modern game design. The games work like fancy console games, so they get played like fancy console games. No amount of features will change this. IMHO - It requires an almost completely different sort of underlying game design.
Second, the players in many of these games don't know how to or don't care to RP. So, as the world fills with no RPers, those who would like to RP are overwhelmed by a non-RPing culture and must adapt or abandon the game. But, without the RPing, the grind is just too much to stand - at least for me.
Some times I feel that pen and paper may be the only way to truly RP, but I know in my heart that it must be possible to create a true RPG for online play. I want to create a true RP experience with the great visuals of the modern MMORPGs. It's been a dream of mine since I first played Traveller and AD&D more than 20 years ago - to create a semi-VR like role playing experience. Of course, I think I know how to do it and would if I had the money. But, such a game may never get produced and operated unless someone with a love for RPGing and the cash to self finance it does it. Why? Because even though I have no doubt that it can make money, it likely wouldn't make enough money to satisfy the greedy hands that fund modern game development.
Maybe I'll break down and try a text based MMORPG.........
I played many of the level-treadmill games, and there is only one thing that ever keeps me on any of them. Its not graphics or whos making it, it comes down to lore and felloships. The longest I played any online rpg was 2.5 years (had several last 6 months) the 2.5 years was spent in AC 1. Sure it was a lvling treadmill and there were uber classes and crap ones but it had soemthing few could match. Lore and story, you could actualy be the one to slay the big baddie or have a hand in a epic fight to stop a evil creature asleep for eons. But what kept me was how they ran guilds, I found them binding and entertaining, this may sound cheesy but it gave a sence of family. And for me no game is equal untill they can match this. True WoW looks like it will, I cant wait to play and have fun doing so.
1 game, 2 words: Progress Quest.
I prefer roguelike games, adom (www.adom.de) or nethack. I play adom since 1998 - it's 5 years.
Sadly there is no good roguelike _multiplayer_ game. Hopefully in the future there will be some...
PS: Diablo is crippled roguelike game, with added graphic engine.
The only MMORPG I have ever played for a long period of time is Mankind. Does anyone know of anything similar without such a non-existant dev team?
I am a 65 Cleric of Tunare on Quellious and have been playing Everquest for about four years now. You hit the nail on the head. Excellent article, thank you.
Loral
You say that you've played them all... but you left out one of the games that solves the majority of your problems, and is a fairly big game.
AC2.
I think it has things that need to be fixed, but it definetly is a step in the right direction in terms of "the means not the ends" as opposed to the "end and not the means". Progression is fun and doesn't seem to ever be just "killing rats to get to level 5", there is content all the way through.
I see the bunny rabbits!
to the contrary, i played EVE and could not believe i paid any money for that. so dull and boring!
to the contrary, i played EVE and could not believe i paid any money for that. so dull and boring!
If I were a developer, I would disregard no less then 95% of this article. First, he states he is an obnoxious antisocial who plays odd hours. No one wants to cater their game to such a player. Then he states he wants to feel important almost instantly (I don't like pest control) but contradicts himself by saying he thinks bigger quest are pretentious since he can't effect the game world...that pretty much sums the author up: someone you probably can't please no matter what you do, but if you do please him, the game will have no staying power to cover the cost of development.
Games are created to make money. SWG is dying because of its many mistakes, but if any developer followed the whims of this author, they would have a spectacular flop the likes of which the industry never saw before.
EVE Online sucks just like all the rest of the lameass MMORPGS, though it sucks in some original ways. Other MMORPGS make you sick by putting through a treadmill. You need to play more and more hours a day to advance. EVE makes you sick by doing the opposite: the higher in level you get you do less and less until you feel like a sucker for paying $13 a month to log in for 15 minutes and do absolutely nothing. The further along in EVE you go the less and less you have to do. Eventually I found myself logging in for 10 minutes every 3-4 days. Had achieved wealth beyond my wildest dreams. Had seen every single part of the universe (the sad thing is that every part of the universe looks exactly the same as every other part ... ). You dont even have to log in to train skills. You can log out for 30 days and miss absolutely nothing. What a sorry excuse for an overpriced chatroom that game was. Bleh.
May I suggest www.puzzlepirates.com then.
I've played several MMORPGs and this one has managed to keep my interest.
Instead of leveling and practicing skills where the computer determines if you succeed or not, your actions are a series of puzzles.
The better you do at the puzzles, the better you do at your action. Puzzles run from sailing, carpentry, bilging, gunnery, etc. And there are a several other puzzles to simulate swordfights and drinking contests.
However, it's not an immersive type of game, using a 3rd person instead of a 1st person view...
In any case, a lot of the problems I've seen and experienced on other MMORPGs aren't are prevalent there...
Just throwing this out as another option for the frustrated masses.
I have trouble believing "Dude" as well. I quit beofre my month was up. EVE is, by far, the most boring mmorpg to date.
Yep, I played AC1 longer than any other game because of the continuing story line and the fact that there was always something new to do in the game. Unfortunately, I got sidetracked by "the Next Big Thing" and never went back. AC2, unfortunately failed to uphold the good name of AC.
Even better, try WWII Online - www.wwiionline.com
Did someone mention AC2? Does that game have 1000 subscribers yet? No seriously. I remember playing that game when it was first released. I stuck around until when about 80% of their subscriber base quit the game in disgust. Now I hear that they have shut down the majority of their servers because there are no players left to populate them. How sad.
The first thing you did when logging into AC2 was kill RATS. Yes rats to level 5. Even rats to level 10 if you had that much patience. There was content all the way through. All the way through to about level 25. Crafting was broken in the most annoying way. PvP was a joke. The devs telling players that there was no content because "the world was completely devestated" did not fool most for long. By the time you made it to "Ice Land" you wanted to claw my eyes out from boredom. From there things only got worse. AC2 was the worst executed MMORPG that I have ever played. At least AO developers got CHAT to work properly! I'm assuming that most of the current subscribers joined the game recently (I hear they added a lot of new content) but who knows. And who cares. Turbine would have to pay me to even consider coming back to that train wreck of a MMORPG game to see what new stuff has been added. Bleh.