SuperFad
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We all know that World of Warcraft (WoW) has forever changed the
industry for massively-multiplayer online games (MMOGs). The
streamlined features have drawn in more MMOG players than ever existed
before, and countless other games have tried to emulate Blizzard's
successful formula. The net effect on the industry, in this gamer's
opinion, is that MMOGs have become a superfad--a trendy thing to
do--and expectations for MMOGs are vastly different now.
Props
Now, before I insanely posit that MMOGs are a fad that will fade in
popularity, I need to backtrack and discuss something that happened
last week. In Nuclear
Winter, I talked about my experiences with Game Update #2 (GU#2)
and noted that it was the first thing to make me feel hopeful about Vanguard in a long time.
Humanavatar
left a comment that called me a fanboy and made brief mention of
BoE changes as a negative I ignored. I dismissed the comment because
the puerile name-calling. But Humanavatar returned and left a
better explanation of the dissatisfaction with my blog--one that
contained carefully crafted thoughts.
Humanavatar. thanks for taking the time to express your ideas. I
completely understand your point of view. Let me throw this out and see
if it makes sense to you. I was writing about my limited experience
with GU#2, which is mostly positive in limited play time (less than 12
hours). Now I have played much more, and...well, my experiences are
still roughly the same. My performance has slightly improved. I have
heard from a lot of people whose results are much worse, including Ten
Ton Hammer's own Machail.
Humanavatar really focused on a couple of hot-button issues: rest XP
and BoE. The issue of rest XP is very sensitive for the Ten Ton Hammer
community. I am perfectly OK with it (more later), but I still asked
Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) to explain the rationale behind it
because much of the community I manage is NOT OK with it. In that way,
I try to serve the interests of the community. BoE changes in GU#2 seem
to be an ill-conceived attempt to devalue gold because of failure to
adequately deal with the horrible gold-duping issues from earlier this
year. I very much hate BoE, but I did not dwell on it last week because
there is little I can do about it. I have also asked SOE to explain
that. So, I am still trying to look out for the consensus view
expressed in our community, but when I speak for myself I do so without
the influences of others--both positive and negative.
As a final note for everyone to see, let me just say that a blog that
constantly criticizes every move SOE makes will be unproductive. While
some of you might view as letting SOE hear my voice, the truth is that
they'd just tune me out. And worse, how do you suppose a company will
react to requests for an interview from a gaming network that always
rips on them? Thus, I try to write in a balanced fashion. I take notes
whenever I have ideas. I have a positive ideas page in my notebook and
a negative ideas page. I collect stuff and write based on ideas I have
had. All of the ideas are the truth from my point of view, I just try
not to load up on one side or the other for too many blogs in a row.
That said, I am mostly positive about Vanguard.
If I weren't, I'd stop playing!
SuperFad Trend #1: Solo Content
For sure, one thing WoW brought to the MMOG genre is an expectation
that gamers should be able to solo to the level cap. Some O.G.
MMOG players ask why anyone would pay to play a social game and then
solo. I used to ask that. Now I realize that responsibilities to
marriage, children, jobs, and bills make it nearly impossible to play
in those 4-6 hour chunks I used to enjoy when I was in college. Sure, I
still prefer to group with some friends, but when I only have 1 hour to
play (which is often the case when my life gets busy), sometimes I just
want to solo. I won't cheat by buying gold or gear (and that is a whole
other issue), but I want to go out and honestly earn some XP and loot.
As the fad of MMOGs has spread to more casual gamers, solo XP becomes
the expectation, and companies have to deliver or miss a huge share of
the market.
SuperFad Trend #2: Rest XP
One of the big draws of WoW for casual gamers is rest XP. When you can
only play once or twice per week and all of your friends blow right
past you in levels, a game loses a lot of its luster. Again, I can
completely understand this sentiment. Hardcore players argue that rest
XP top loads the level distribution by making sure that people who
don't put much effort into their characters can still reach the level
cap. They further note that this puts more pressure on a publisher to
create high end content so that everyone can get a slice of the pie.
Like it or not, there are millions of gamers out there who would be
willing to try MMOGs if they did not feel it was hopeless to try to
exist in the same space with the hardcore or other gamers with way more
free time. Developers see that market, and rest XP is the answer.
SuperFad Trend #3: Consistent Progress
When I talk to people who like WoW, they frequently laud the playing
experience because, "Every time I log off, I can point to something
tangible I accomplished." Whether it's getting cool gear from an
instance, gaining a level, or boosting trade skills, WoW is designed so
that progress comes at a steady pace. Newer MMOGs appear to try
to emulate that. Whether it's reducing the steep curve of crafting or
making sure levels in the 40s don't take much longer to achieve than
levels in the 20s, todays MMOGs see to it that players know what
they've accomplished in a play session.
While older games really stacked the time sinks on the high end, the
games of this generation seem to focus on consistent progress to
prevent players from logging off in frustration to never return.
Parting Thougths
There are other trends to the super fad of MMOGs that I haven't
mentioned, but I thought I should get to the point already. MMOGs are
now driven by a different market--one that wants to achieve results
with less of a time sink. Those of us who played EverQuest (or Ultima
Online before that) and want a more traditional MMOG can bitch and moan
all we want, but game developers are going to cater to the larger
population.
In the case of Vanguard, the
precise reason we chose the game was because of it's departure from the
trends of new MMOGs, its return to our roots. As the game's launch
spiraled into disaster--and I don't see how I can call it anything
else--SOE was forced to look at the most efficient way to restore the
game to a level they could call success. The answer of course, was to
pander to the mass market. Thus, Vanguard
becomes more and more streamlined with each patch.
If you think that's disappointing or crazy, wait until you hear my next
idea. I believe that MMOGs in general are one big SuperFad. We've hit
mass market appeal now, and companies will continue to churn out
products with the common denominator for several years. At some point,
the mass market will grow bored with playing the same game over and
over in different packaging. People will start to turn away from MMOGs,
and the players left will be the dedicated group--the first ones--who
seek a little more challenge and who are willing to devote a little
more time to their gaming. That's when the game Vanguard was supposed to be will be
made.
Just like the Macarena and acid-washed jeans, features like rest XP and
soloing to 50 will reach their saturation points. The market will
fracture, and the MMOG genre will be able to radically change. Until
then, enjoy your rest XP. I Told You So.
Comments? Thoughts? Criticisms? Share them here.
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