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Why Asymmetry In MMO Design Can Be A Beautiful thing | MMORPG.com
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Why Asymmetry In MMO Design Can Be A Beautiful thing | MMORPG.com
Niklas breaks down MMO game design, specifically why the asymmetry of how some MMOs are built can be, in the end, a very beautiful thing.
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"I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up! Not me!"
I have somewhat the same problem in EQ2 and I had to stop myself from rolling all the different classes since they have so many.
I recall loving my shaman in vanilla WoW bgs it was so much fun. I managed to get stone guard in PvP for her. I always loved the shaman more than the pally but I did roll a bloodelf paladin and stayed in the sub 19 bg for a long time.
I really hate it when they homogenize the classes across the factions it takes away all the purpose of rolling the different factions to access the class differences.
What is sad is that through complex systems, this uniqueness was already provided in MMO (and it is still the case in some games)but then streamlined in the name of balance, but especially in the name of the evil lazy-game-design-fast-cash-grab-appeal-to-the-mass.
The topic only comes up for two reasons,PVP "which is a joke to put into a rpg" and grouping,if a class is not up to par nobody wants it in their group.The latter reason can lead into game design discussions.
Wow gets is ALL wrong ALL of it.Instances are a crap idea and i played the game it's classes are lol weak sauce boring to play.Adding in pvp is again a bad idea you are either online to get along with other players or your not and pvp is NOT and creates a bad community constantly crying for nerfs which Blizzard never needed any encouragement,they love their nerfs.
I played FFXi for 15 years,NEVER a nerf,go figure they get it right the first time?
So when did i see the mention of nerfs next>>Atlas why?Easy >>pvp,it is always pvp causing problems in games.
Know where else i see nerfs ALL th time Hearthstone,guess who makes HS,yep Blizzard.They release content quickly to make money then worry about the quality of their decisions AFTER they get your money.I have seen a hlaf assed studio go downhill big time where now they are even more inept and even more monetization in their games.
Some might argue they lsot a lot of original employees over the years,maybe so but then WHY are people still giving this half assed studio money..NOW?
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
The only thing I found missing in the article is rather an elephant in the room, why have MMOs changed, why is asymmetry so rare now?
For at least 15 years now gaming as been on a journey where one size must fit all, one gameplay template per genre and no room for divergent templates. Symmetry is favoured by designers because you don't get player angst, no player is now allowed to think they have wasted their time levelling when there are better classes in the game. They might quit, no player must be given a reason to quit. Understanding asymmetrical design for PvP requires some homework, today gamers are supposed to be able to play any game without any reading what so ever. This design philosophy has sacrificed so much of what MMOs once were on the altar of similarity and accessibility.
FFXI needs no nerfs because it is so boring that no one really cares there if you are playing op role or not, are you doing everything as you supposed or not. Its playerbase is made of snowflakes who can't even stand if someone points out that they are doing everything wrong and so the devs have to write into ToS that you may not point out others mistake.
Logic, my dear, merely enables one to be wrong with great authority.
I will always regard Vanilla WoW as the best version of WoW, for many reasons, some of which are:
1. Only Alliance could have Paladins and only Horde could have Shamans, this was what made each faction unique and gave it its identity. If anything, there should have been more like those, just like how only Night Elves and Tauren could be Druids, because of their backstory and being very close with nature.
2. There was no stupid flying in the game aside from Griffon taxis. Flying is something that kills the immersion in MMORPGs and makes the world look small and insignificant and why should the developers bother to put in work on the ground, like little details and Easter Eggs, when nobody's going to appreciate their work, because they will be too busy flying in a straight line from point A to point B? Walking on the ground also resulted in people memorizing landmarks and learning the zones and being able to navigate them without the need of a map and that was kind of cool, it also meant having to avoid aggressive mobs.
3. The content was either difficult or tedious, people always argue on that part, but the thing was because it wasn't easy and required some effort, whether that was skill or patience (or both), it made the journey of leveling memorable. The leveling I did in Vanilla WoW was a unique and almost magical experience and no other MMORPG leveling comes close. Now I'm playing LOTRO for the first time and it's pretty predictable and easy, the only thing that keeps me going is that the world, quests and story are new to me, so there are still new things to explore.
4. Class builds were more straightforward for good or ill. Sure you can't make whatever build you want and expect to be viable in group content, but it was also part of the class identity. You can always be Fury Warrior with dual 1-H swords in both hands and that may be fun for you, but in a group if you're not a Protection Warrior wit a 1-H sword in one hand and a shield in the other, you won't get into groups. And that somewhat reflected how things are in real life - the things that are fun are not always effective or practical so if you want to get the job done, you sometimes have to assume roles or do things you don't like.
Very happy Niklas is contributing to MMORPG now. :P
This crowd wants to constantly be catered too at the expense of those of use who enjoyed these games for what they were, living worlds we could exist in. The real world doesn't revolve around you, so it's time to quit trying to make the online gaming world revolve around them instead. They are the true MMO/Online game killers.
On the other hand, even WITH symmetry, Devs have a habit of getting class balance wrong, or giving too much love to one class because they've been in charge of design for it from the start. Anyone remember Aleric from EQ2, the Lead Designer for Assassins specifically?
Well, he was actually supposed to be the Lead Designer for Scouts. But we called him the Lead Designer for Assassins because all he did was funnel resources into making Assassin the pinnacle DPS. Brigand was the next closest, but Brigand always had a sort of built in strength to it (Namely Dispatch). Ranger and Swashbuckler still, to this day, are considered inferior picks from among the Scouts because of how much damage was done in the early phases.
Much of this damage was done back when classes were more unique, and back when Assassin was the Evil Counterpart to Ranger rather than being shared between both sides. Assassin was not bound as heavily by Ammo as Ranger was. Assassin got more benefits from poisons due to Melee uptime unlike Ranger. Assassin's raw damage made and Swashbuckler's lack of debuffs combined to make Assassin pretty much better in every way, even large group situations because back then Swashbuckler didn't have as many AoEs as they do now nor did they have guaranteed AE Auto Attack. Assassin's positional strikes were much easier to pull off even without AAs compared to both Swashbuckler and Dirge specifically, although this changed much later with AAs and some other buffs.
Asymmetry in a sense gave Developers more of a means to do things like what Aleric did with Assassins in Everquest II. It also made content balance rougher when you have to factor in raids and dungeons being tackled by both sides (or on all sides in cases like DAoC). Some raids being hard to beat with a Bruiser versus a Shadowknight is one thing, but when there were debates for Shadowknight versus Paladin, it became a bit of an issue for Good-aligned Guilds for instance, as obviously they would not have as many SK players, if they had any at all.
Probably the only saving grace for EQ 2 is that grouping was not necessarily faction locked on all servers.
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― CD PROJEKT RED
Asymetry can be good if done absolutely right. Like - all classes are unique, no "jacks of all trades" and each boss, each dungeon is designed so that everyone can really contribute.
http://www.mmoblogg.wordpress.com
We do not get asymmetry in gaming (aka world building) because industrialized gaming takes zero risks other than for mass appeal and monetizing pixels. Don't look there. Don't take your argument there. It only exists in indie development and the masses are too consumed by blinky lights and instant gratification to care about genre gaming.
You stay sassy!
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homogenize
That is not the only definition of the word. If you can homogenize curriculum you can homogenize MMOs. It means to
- formalize,
- normalize,
- regularize,
- standardize
At least check a dictionary before trying to snidely correct others.