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Old Vs New and the MMO industry
Xciser
Member UncommonPosts: 102
It has been seen and heard numerous times that MMOs and the gaming industry are going downhill and that the companies themselves are just looking for more cash. Once upon a time games were an art, though it seems that the companies are not the only thing to point fingers at. The consumer is at fault just as much as the company... I think the main impact in this is that we want better and different games.... but with the abilities of MMOs the rules and things we want could be endless. The main difference seems to be that many young MMO players differ in style and play then old MMO players. Younger MMO players are use to games that lack story and depth, they seem to feel the need to stomp other plays or just have a multiplayer competitive field. While it seems that older MMO players are more keen for story and singleplayer aspects though they too love multiplayer gameplay.
*just one opinion or idea, curious to see how others feel
so..... What do you think is the key layout in the variation of age and game mechanics and what do MMO companies need to be successful in making a game that all consumers will play?
Comments
To not try to make a game that all consumers will play, just something innovative and fun.
Chins
honestly i think the games have just gotten to easy. instead of being thrown into a huge world to explore, games now hold your hand right when you log in and walk you step by step threw panzy land.
hell the games pretty much do your quest for you all you have to do is talk to a NPC with a big yellow flashy thing above his head, press next a bunch of times because you dont need to actually read anything, open your mini map and look for the big red area were the boars are you need to kill push a couple buttons kill the same boars over and over and turn in your quest. then move to the next area and instead of boars now your killing spiders go kill 10 of them then turn in your quest.
then later you can do whats called a instanced dungeon were you meet up with a bunch of people make a little group and go clear a dungeon that you have all to yourself with no respawns. ( LAME )
hell i remember back in the days going into a dungeon and there was people in there running for their lives from respawns or to many mobs and you could help them out or laugh as they pulled the pain train towards other players looking for help lol.
i dunno i could go on for ever with how stupid and easy todays games are compared to the old days, but in the end its all about makeing money and these companys cater to the dumb people who cant figure things out on their own or want everything right now right now right now. so they make the games easy.
I hate that mmo's have become multiplayer race to max level and best gear games rather than worlds.
I can count on one hand the number of online worlds. Player driven economy, skills > levels, non-linear gameplay these are concepts thrown away by the industry and many people on this site.
Started with EQ in 1999. Then...they were a new genre (along with UO) and dazzled most players because prior to them...it was pen and paper. Or simply console single player games...or simple PC games like Merdidian 59, etc.
EQ and UO were very large open worlds to explore with TONS of content. It took me a year to get to lvl 65 in EQ...mainly because you could almost never reach end game...at least not easily. Especially with the rate Sony kept releasing expansions, etc. Although their were some idiots even present in EQ/UO, it doesn't even match the sheer amount found in almost all MMO's today. However, then, those people were scolded or treated as outcasts and quickly changed their tune or simply never got groups/Guilds, or moved on to another server to start over.
Now? Most MMO's (Or so called MMO's anyways) you can get to cap (Without really trying even) within a month. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Content is incomplete or lacking, and multiplayer interaction rarely is seen. These players now seem to think everything has to be a race...just so they can get to cap then complain about the lack of content to keep them busy...or harass low levels to entertain themselves...there for ruining others gaming experience. Players are seriously immature, unhelpful towards fellow players...and RUDE in most cases.
As someone else said...although the gaming companies #1 goal was obviously profit...in the early stages, they seemed to also take pride in their work and used much more imagination and creativity than most do now a days. It is apparent the companies now focus on profit solely.
Just my take on the whole thing as a long time gamer. Quickly losing hope.
none of the old games lack story or depth. they simply don't hand them to you on a silver platter.
LFD tools are great for cramming people into content, but quality > quantity.
I am, usually on the sandbox .. more "hardcore" side of things, but I also do just want to have fun. So lighten up already
Most games now have built in quest GPS. What ever happened to giving a story, but giving hints or vague location descriptions to truly make them quests to discover on your own?
Changing is not the same as going downhill and companies always made them in hopes of making profits. The difference now is they are made more for a newer gen of people. Just like MMO;s where first made for a new gen of consumers. Times change for better or worse in opinions. I dont really have to much problems with the change as level and having the best gear means nothign to me. As long as i have a fun world to splore dont much care about the rest. Though i would say a lot of mmos have boring worlds.
Also its only a race if you make it one. Sure msot people seem to race to max level and all but since when does that mean you have too?
Game is Art. That's absolutely right! But only the best games are art, there're too many stupid games. The companies want to earn money, more and faster. So their game can't be good. If some companies can still develop a game for 5 or 6 years, it won't be worse than WoW.
Lots of different angles to this but here's just one you could mention out of those that has some relevance is if you take a modern mmo eg WoW and you have the analytics of those who try the trial and those who then continue on with the sub, even those that continue in WoW are a small proportion (I read the number somewhere and it's surprising). So I think what devs have done is really concentrate on the "Starter Experience" in perhaps a lot of MMOs and breadcrumb this up through the later levels to ensure more players try and then buy and drop off rates at each level are reduced.
Once you go down that road of working out the numbers and perfecting the MMO, it may turn out to be successful at improving retention rates and total subs but the gameplay might be strikingly different experience also? Eg There's no room for making the player experience: "Fck! What the hell do I do, now?!" sort of challenge upon entering a game world way out of your comfort zone; it's more, "Ok, I just need a bit more xp and my power level and instead of killing 3 of these hobgoblins in 3 minutes I'll start killing 30 in 3 seconds, alright I'm getting the hang of this now... ."
Suddenly the wise, old monk's words of warning and helpful advise at the start: "Be careful young hero!" are reduced to lip service only, and he's probably slowing you down anyway!
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014633/Classic-Game-Postmortem