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[Column] General: Will Niche Games Save the Genre?
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
There is a lot of gloom and doom surrounding the longevity of the entire MMO genre. In today's Social Hub, we take a look at the notion that games seem to be trending to niches. See why we think so before leaving your thoughts in the comments.
Where we are today in the MMORPG genre is a certain turning point. Most of us know that how we've gotten to where the genre is today is a mixture of development choice and what gamers have proven they want to play, through play metrics or surveys, focus groups, and more sources. Certainly, there's a significant segment that wishes for more games like the handful we had a decade ago, but there are many more who want a connected play experience without necessarily being super connected. I say that not as a negative, but because the populations are certainly segmented. Barring another lightning in a bottle event like WoW, this segmentation, which gets at the genre itself, is likely permanent. And that is where the promising crop of more niche games might come in to play. While segmentation might sound like a bad thing, or an extension of problems some have had with MMOS, it might actually be for the best.
Read more of Christina Gonzalez's The Social Hub: Will Niche Games Save the Genre?
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Comments
There is a lot of gloom and doom surrounding the longevity of the entire MMO genre, if you consider the small percentage of gloomers & doomers on this forum to be "a lot".
Some posters simply never recovered from the realization that Rock beats Scissors, or that a bishop only moves diagonally, so they will pour vinegar into everyone else's cereal for the remainder of their days.
That doesn't mean the end of the gaming world is near; it means a relatively small portion of this forum's community has a lifetime supply of sourness to share.
I do think that this will start the healing process for the genre, but even with many of the "new" games on the horizon, they're simply re-creating what once was amazing.
The problem, IMO, is that people don't know what they like until they've already liked it. When WoW came out, especially at it's time of release, the notion of a casual game was laughable. Nobody thought it would be enjoyable or fun or anything. People were conditioned to think like hardcore players because hardcore was all anyone ever knew about the genre; there simply was no alternative. WoW's success came from streamlining in players who were curious about the genre by implementing a simple UI, easy-to-learn mechanics, and a strong sense of direction. It's essentially like riding a bike; you hit a few bumps and fall down a few times, and then you "get it" and you enjoy the game. Well.... a decade later, people are quite familiar with the basics of MMORPG's. Hence why the desire for depth is so prevalent in so many posters. The problem is, people aren't offering alternatives. They're sticking with what WAS successful. WoW was king, so people imitate WoW. Except what seemingly no developer can grasp is that if people wanted more WoW, they'd go play WoW.
What people really want is something new, something fresh (myself included). New ideas. Even if I hate the idea, I guarantee you I'll try a game out with some innovation over delving into one that's just a rehash of the past. I loved SWG, I did, but SWG was garbage. Let's be honest. It was a buggy, laggy, sack of trash with balance issues and a terrible performance issue. But they had good ideas. They had *the* best community of any MMO to date (barring MAYBE FFXI). They had different approaches to things than other MMO's on the market, and that's why I subscribed to them for months.
MMOs were always about innovation and community. It's why Eve Online continues to thrive; innovation, and a dedicated community. The stupid gear treadmills, dungeons that you run 1000x, all that garbage? Totally irrelevant. Without the first 2 elements, no one cares about anything else.
My advice to those of you developing new MMORPG's is to focus on:
1) Community development
2) Innovation, especially in your combat, leveling, and development of character.
3) Challenge. Nothing builds community like challenge.
Gear and such should be your absolute last focus, period.
Waiting for something fresh to arrive on the MMO scene...
This, not sure why this site attracts so many melodramatic forum whiners.
Yes, niche games will "save the genre". I'm assuming that by "the genre", you are referring to MMORPG's in the classic definition.
Online gaming in all it's diverse forms does not need saving at all, because it's expanding massively and evolving rapidly.
Nice article.
I am all for more variety in games, I think most people are. And the mood seems to be that there are games on the horizon that offer glimmers of hope for those that have become disenchanted with the current state of AAA games.
The problem though seems to be that niche gamers seem to have become quite a fickle lot. Because they have been deprived of the features they want for so long , it seems many have developed unrealistic expectations for their "perfect MMO"
And that is just it. People expect their niche games to compete with the big AAA MMO's. A game might have great gameplay features but if they cut back on graphics, some will not be happy. The point is something usually has to be sacrificed in making a niche game on a lower budget. And when these niche games come out and don't meet the exacting standards of these "hardcore " players then they generally get trashed in reviews and forums, leading to early pop declines, from which they never recover.
So the bigger question is not whether niche games will invigorate the genre ( I think they would) but whether they can measure up and withstand the high demands that todays niche gamer places on them.
FFA Nonconsentual Full Loot PvP ...You know you want it!!
I think the kind of success we are talking about is not the financial variety or if the games population met expectations.
I think the success the genre needs is something like Minecraft in MMO form. (not literally, but figuratively) A game that comes out of nowhere, is fairly low budget, and attracts unexpectedly large numbers of players. Games like that get noticed by companies as money making opportunities, and then the genre changes as AAA publishers try to cash in on the now popular game model.
So far none of the niche games have come close to equaling EVE in this respect, so my guess is it is going to be a long uphill climb. But one never knows. Anything is possible in gaming I hope!
FFA Nonconsentual Full Loot PvP ...You know you want it!!
To parrot a phrase from a movie classic". That summarizes my feelings
"your my only hope".
There Is Always Hope!
100 times this
"If I offended you, you needed it" -Corey Taylor
There are more people complaining about people complaining, and telling them they shouldn't. So, if you don't like it, don't complain about it and it will drop in volume to those with actual complaints.
As to the article. Niche is a funny word, it can be applied to anything that does attract the same numbers as the most popular. Niche games like CU wont "save" the genre because CU is trying to recapture the past, which is where the genre is stuck. Now a game like Shroud of the Avatar can...because its actually bringing new ideas and new forms of gameplay which is something the genre desperately needs.
The genre needs to be reinvented, not regressed to pre-WoW days.
I hope we shall crush...in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and bid defiance to the laws of our country." ~Thomes Jefferson
As far as I have heard, "the industry" is booming. There is more money being made than ever before. Games are being made left and right (and in the middle). What genre needs saving?
If you are speaking of MMORPGs, then yes, it needs saving. From what I read, the majority of players want nothing to do with RPGs. I do not see what game developers can do to get players playing that do not want to... Unless they set their sights lower than WoW's millions of players. I don't see that happening anytime soon.
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.- FARGIN_WAR
I have to say that in my humble opinion I think what the genre itself needs, and what devs need to do to make the genre more fun is player based content. I played an MMO SWG that by the standard of the genre was ahead of it's time. I think this game would have had one of the largest player bases on the market if Sony had not chased WOW.
Players could build there own functioning guild cities. Meaning not just a generic every city has the same things that you can merely put in different places i.e. AOC, but an actual city that players could set up the way they wanted with Guild halls and actual player housing that players could decorate as they pleased.
The games economy was basicly driven by player made items( Weapons, armor, and vehicles.) It had by far the most advanced crafting system that i have seen in any MMO. By simply giving resources different characteristics and values it made player made gear and equipment the best you could get in game.
I feel that games can have systems like those in place and still have all the other elements that attract all the different playing styles, PVE, PVP, RP, Raid, Group, Pverp, PVPrp and so on. You just need to have a reward system that works in conjunction with this style of crafting system( i.e. Accessories like jewelry necklaces rings an so on, or attatchment that can be added to existing gear.)
For the hardcore pvp players not having to get multiple sets of gear would be a boost, this also would be a bright spot for the casual pvp player making the gear they have viable in both pvp and pve. There can be other rewards such as buffs and various other things that can be gained solely through pvp to boost the system.
Like I said in my humble opinion having this type of a system would strengthen the genre and help it grow.
Don't worry! The F2P lovers on here keep telling us that the genre is doing fabulously, F2P games never die and we are all going to skip of happily into F2P wonderland.
"Let me preface further comment by saying that I prefer large open worlds, content that takes a good amount of time to get through, lots of social functions, and a healthy population that is open to roleplay."
We have not had one MMO since Lotro that has lived up to those preferences. You could ask do we need that many? Are not a few great MMOs enough? The answer to that question would be yes if they kept up with today's graphics and had not gone F2P/hybrid. The graphics look dated and F2P has engendered the cash shop. Which in turn has introduced P2W and MMO gambling.
I am not sure splitting the population up into niches works, are there enough of such players around? Time will tell.
Graphics don't have to wow me; voice overs, nice but not essential; cut scenes, please no! I'm playing a game, not watching a movie; housing, nope.
Give me a world to explore, stuff to craft, and a good community. I'm so - so on pvp, so long as I'm free to explore without fear of constantly being gang <censored>; I'm ok with it.
When the designers understand that they don't have to make a MMO that everyone will love (because not everyone will), then the genre will be set free again.
to save a genre, it first must be dying.
there are more MMOs now than ever, and always more on the way.
i might not play them anymore, but just because i don't does not mean that the companies are not laughing all the way to the bank, with nearly every release.
the only thing dying is an individual's enjoyment of the genre, not the genre itself.
the doom and gloom is all in your mind, SB.
I agree with this article.
However, the problem of "players consuming content" will not be solved by making lots of cheap niche games. This is because niche games quickly become very similar.
The solution is to enable "player-made content" and to enable limitless variation.
This has not yet been done in an MMORPG setting. The first developer than achieves this will become rich beyond their wildest dreams.
well said.
'Cassandra' Gomez is right, but the big publishers won't be listening, they're already following where the big investors are dictating to them.
I think as much as possible the RPG genre needs to branch out from the main "MMO-" genre and become more niche to thrive. I hope it works out that way for everyone's preference, then we'll really see mmorpgs shine. I think SC and SotA somewhat are helping here.
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014633/Classic-Game-Postmortem
Entertainment can now be sold to the whole world from a single virtual "shop". Even a small percentage of the world's population may be a large enough number to make a profit.
Previously, if stores could not sell several copies at their local outlet, they never put it on their shelves.
It is already happening in browser games. At the moment, the tools do not seem to be available for small companies to go beyond the limitations of flash games and produce game worlds with high definition animations and scenery. All that is needed is a further evolution in the tools available.