In my last post, a few gamers brought up the widely debated argument that MMORPGs should not have instant gratification, that you should have to work towards your goals, then eventually be rewarded. Allow me to say that this argument is complete BS! Any game that you play should have instant gratification, that’s why they call it a game, cause it’s supposed to be fun.
I challenge any reader to name a game genre that is not fun within the first few hrs (less than 5) of playing. It goes without saying you have to be a fan of the genre, so don’t start arguing about genres you don’t like.
FPS – While you might not get all the cool weapons or gadgets right from the start, FPS are fun from the start. Some might have a 5-10 min tutorial to get you started, but even those can be fun. There’s nothing like your first kill when you start off a FPS and while some do get repetitive, the good ones will keep you on your toes.
RTS – Often they have a slow start as you need to learn the building and unit types, however with a few quick 10-20 min missions early on, you’re into the thick of things in no time.
Platform/3rd Person – Tell me who wasn’t having fun within 10 seconds of Mario or GTA. Platform games are all about instant gratification and that’s why there so successful even though they’ve been around forever. Third person platform games can be hit or miss depending on camera and controls, but again, the good ones are fun as hell.
Sports – Well if you like sport games, you’ll be having fun the second that first whistle blows.
Racing – Although most games start you off if some shitty Civic and you have to work you way up to the cool cars, however racing is racing and even in a slow Civic it’s fun as hell.
Adventure – I never liked adventure games and never played one all the way through, so I can’t really comment here.
Turn-Based Strategy – This genre starts off the slowest of any other, but is nothing when compared to most MMORPGs. While the learning curve is high and the game pace can be slow, once the action gets going a good TBS game can have you at the edge of your seat.
Now lets look at how many MMORPGs treat their gamers. You often start off in a newbie area where you are introduced to many of the gaming system and have to perform a few menial tasks. No problem with me as this is a needed part of any MMORPG. Once you have completed this you are able to start the real game, or so developers would like you to think. Stop me if this sounds familiar.
Start in Area 1, complete 15-20 question, where one of the last ones brings you to a new area where you have to complete another 15-20 quests that are extremely similar to the first round of quests you just did. Complete this area and move on to Area 3 where you have more quests that again are quite similar, move to a new area rinse and repeat.
Now my problem is NOT quests. My problem are shitty quests. No MMORPG should have more than 5 delivery, pickup, gather or find quests TOTAL in the whole game. My problem are quests that offer absolutely no challenge and are just busy work to keep you playing. My problem are quests that a 5 yr old can do with basic reading knowledge. My problem is treating gamers as though they have nothing better to do then spend 15 mins running across a map only to have the quest tell them to go back where they came from to complete it. (Btw, yes my quest book is always full and I complete quests by area, however I’m just making a point here)
I am not a 15 yrs high school kid that has the summer off and it doesn’t matter if I spend 60 hrs/week gaming. I am 28, have a full time job, a girl friend and a active social life (I know you must be shocked). I have maybe, maybe, 6-8 hrs/week to game and to spend most of it completing quests that I can almost train a monkey to do is a waste of my time.
MMORPGs don’t need 5000+ quests, they need maybe 500 tough, challenging quests that give you a sense of accomplishment when you beat them. To have a game like AoC drowned in a sea of crappy quests defeats the whole purpose of creating a supposedly revolutionary PvP system. Give the gamer freedom and they’ll figure out how to have fun with it. GTA is a perfect example, sure the missions are fun, but tell me you don’t have a lot more fun just messing around.
BTW, if you disagree with me your wrong :)
Agreed. But the problem isn’t the quest system, or the loot system, or any other system that commonly rears its head in MMOs. The problem is the fundamental design philosophy that drives the games and is more focused on retaining subscribers than creating fun.
Basically, the problem is that we need MMOs from people who couldn’t give a rat’s ass what current MMO designers are doing. Mythic and SOE are making admirable changes right now, but not enough.
Quoting Aaron:
“Basically, the problem is that we need MMOs from people who couldn’t give a rat’s ass what current MMO designers are doing.”
Exactly!
I had no problems having fun in Ultima Online, EverQuest, ShadowBane or GemStone 3. Those games did not revolve around quests, hell I think EQ was the only game listed there that even had quests.
Since WoW the basic simplicity of entire MMO’s is getting to me as well, not just the quests. Playing up until you make final level without ever talking to another character is just not right. I play an MMO over single player RPG for the social aspect. Not to solo the entire game until raids…
The next generation of MMO needs to use the social aspect of the game much more.
The best example I have is an old MUD originally on AOL, Gemstone III. When you killed something, the EXP went into a ‘bucket’. That bucket can only hold so much EXP. So at some point it becomes full. The bucket slowly drains of exp, into your actual character, like an hourglass. This drain is much slower than it takes to kill things. This lets people go to town, chat, have fun with friends and guild, all while still, technically gaining EXP. So long as you go back out to hunt before the buckets empties, you never stopped gaining exp. Also, in town center’s, and tavern’s, etc, this bucket emptied faster. I see the inherent problem of a graphical MMO having problems with a lot of people gathering together, but there are multiple ways to remedy this. (more taverns/inns, include guildhalls to the list)
Another thing Gemstone did: group buffs. They lasted 15(?) minutes, but they also stacked, so if you cast it 8 times, it lasted 2 hours. Many people made a living out of casting group buffs for entire rooms of up too 100 people thanks too small tips. Its a small thing, but it made you be a little more social. You saw the same people giving buffs, started to learn their names, said “Hello” when you saw them elsewhere.
As teh article, and Aaron both say, MMO’s need to stop being a job (Daily quests? WTF?!), and start being about fun. Actually require some skill, and become social again.
PS GREAT ARTICLE.
No
You’re wrong
Cause you spelled your wrong…it is You’re
Cheers
There’s different levels of instant gratification between genres of gaming.
That there’s MMOs Anonymous, and numerous sites offering ways to tackle MMO addiction, it speaks volumes about this particular genre. Whilst the OP here is not affected, there’s thousands out there battling this very real addiction.
I think we all realise that there’s instant gratification in all games, but to what extent is the question to ask, and how and when does it become a problem.