Warning: EPIC WALL OF TEXT below
MMORPG Manifesto
The idea of a virtual fantasy world, where one can be and do whatever they can imagine, or, at least, do things they can?t do in reality, or where one can go to new and fantastic lands, seems like it could be one of the greatest accomplishments in interactive digital entertainment. However, all attempts to realize this (or all products claiming to try to realize this) have fallen into fatal habits, and have set incredibly hindering standards for the MMORPG genre. Instead of building immersive, interactive, and well-designed worlds, they create labyrinthine and immersion breaking systems of numbers and stats and skills. Instead of epic, exhilarating battles, we are subject to pressing the same 4 or 5 buttons in the same order while watching our characters stand still and go through wooden animations with tacky particle effects. Instead of going on grand adventures or exploring new lands, we are forced to follow a series of floating exclamation marks, with nonsensical and tedious missions with little (mostly none at all) impact on the world. Well, I say that it is time for change. Numbers and calculations are useful abstractions and representations in tabletop RPG?s and board games, where there is no computer to do the calculating, and where your imagination can alter your perceptions more easily, but there is no reason, with modern computing devices, for players to have to see, or even be aware of, such distracting aspects. We do not see the mathematics representing the myriad physical reactions in our daily lives, so we should not see them in an immersive virtual environment. But I am ranting. To organize my thoughts, I offer the following guidelines for the creation of immersive and revolutionary MMORPGs.
1)DO NOT focus on the number crunching aspect. MMORPGs are supposed to take players to fantastic new lands to have epic adventures, not just create math homework and spreadsheets.
a)No ?out of game? (as in, nothing that characters living in the game world could not see) numbers or symbols should be visible to the player, ever. These destroy the illusion of a consistent, believable world.
b)DO NOT use complicated menus for inventory or character skills or anything at all, really. This is for the same reason as the above. When you need to get your car keys, you just reach into your pocket, you don?t have to click through a series of colorful menus and grid squares with item attributes on them.
c)DO NOT utilize stat or level based combat. It is ridiculous in anything but a turn based strategy game, and only serves to remind the player that they are simply pressing keys in some order, not fighting for their lives or homes or causes. Furthermore, even a completely untrained individual could possibly kill even the most masterful warrior, given luck. Working out doesn?t magically make one immune to stabs to the throat.
d)DO NOT utilize ?grinding? in any form not consistent to the world. People do not train in combat by stabbing wild rabbits for 30 hours. If you can?t think of anything better for players to be doing, you have no business in the video game industry.
2)Make the world able to be impacted (or at least seem so) by the players wherever possible. If they complete a major quest to, for example, drive out bandits from a village, the bandits should never be seen by the player in that village again, unless a valid plot reason is given.
a.DO NOT present quests as a string of mundane tasks given by completely stationary NPC?s. If you are recruited by a band of warriors to kill a horde of goblins, they should be at the fight, not just standing in the same place for all eternity. NPC?s should have believable lives outside of the quest giving function they serve.
3)Allow the player to have realistic mobility. A chest high wall should not be a significant obstacle to a fit human being. We have arms, and can use them for more than swinging swords.
4)DO NOT use acronyms like ?PvP?, ?DPS?, ?RvR?, or ?PvE? in game or in advertising. These only encourage the old attitude of MMO games and cause players to focus on the metagaming aspect.
5)Graphics are not the most important thing. Gameplay and immersion is. Graphics can help with immersion, but they can?t save terrible gameplay or design.
6)Gameplay should not be focused on making numbers bigger, leveling up, or getting ph4t lewtz. Do not use cheap skinner box tactics, make the gameplay itself actually fun.
7)DO NOT use enemy encounters with infinite respawns, where players have to literally line up to complete quests. Either instance these things, or implement realistic ways for more enemies to arrive.
a.If a player kills a named character, they should not appear for that character again barring resurrection magic or something similar.
These are admittedly mostly ?Do Not? suggestions, and it is much, much harder to come up with ways TO do things, but I wil suggest some novel ways of tackling these problems. I have little experience on the technical side of thing, so these may be impractical, but may still be useful.
1)Exciting Combat
a)Action Combat:
Try using skill based, real time, direct input/output combat, like many single player RPGs implement. However, keep it as immersive as possible, do not use ?moves?, but fluid options of attack. Try to base it off of realistic sword fighting techniques, at least when it comes to combat animations. Keep all number crunching behind-the-scenes. Damage should be visible in the character model, not floating numbers. If internet issues prevent this, try:
b)Immersive turn based combat:
Try to do something with the flow of a DnD battle, but with no menu navigation or metagaming. Try to keep controls similar to action combat, but allow the player, say, 3 second of action at a time, with pauses between turns. Or, as another alternative:
c)AI based combat:
If you can?t let the player participate in fun combat, you might as well take the reigns completely. Number crunching and metagaming should still be kept to a minimum, but combat would be determined by behind-the-scenes aspects, such as training, equipment, terrain, etc. However, this might alienate many players. Maybe try:
d)Simplified Action/AI Hybrid:
Have the player control the character, but not in real-time. For example, if they press the ?stab? input, the character?s next attack will be a stab, but the character will not respond instantly. Timings would be based either on behind-the-scenes turns or player stats. This should also include movement, which should affect combat, and the player model should still appear dynamic and active, maybe with stock attack/parry/dodge animations playing between player actions to give the illusion of dynamic action. Basically, a more interesting and immersive version of contemporary gameplay, with more focus on movement and animations instead of particle effects and cooldown timers.
2)Immersive Inventory
Since inventories in games are generally inaccessible (or at least not useful) during combat, they should be as immersive as possible. Instead of menu navigation, have the player actually look in their bags and pouches. There should be quick-use items ?slots? that should be visible on the character models, like dedicated keys for different weapons or items, but these should take time (and animation) to actually use. Also, clothing should take time to change (and changing should be animated), and potions, drinks, food, etc. should take time and animation to eat. Look to the 2008 Alone in the Dark game for inspiration, but try to improve on it, and make it less of a hassle. MMORPGs never pause in menus anyway, so it?s main flaws would be minimized.
3)Immersive UI
The in-game UI should be minimal, if it is there at all. At the very least, make it optional. Ideally, it should be diagetic. If the player needs to look at a map, give them an in-game map to pull out. Health status should be visible on character models, not bars. The only out-of-game UI element I can think of as being necessary is perhaps a chat menu, but this should also be optional. Maybe make it a book of contacts and letters or something.
4)Immersive Quests
Quest-givers should not be text-dispensing vending machines, but full NPCs with actual lives and motivations and stuff. They should be dynamic, and should move around and interact with the world. And the quests should be more than just ?kill 30 bears and bring me their hides?. Use some imagination here. Have some caravan escorts, village defenses, maybe even crafting. If this proves to be impossible, consider removing NPCs and quests entirely. A completely player-run game could be interesting. Most people only do quests for loot and XP, and if you eliminate those, you may be able to let them focus on the social aspects.
5)Immersive World Interaction
Make the player character more than a hitbox containing animations. Make them a physical part of the world, able to climb things, pick things up, throw things, stab things, cut things, crouch, crawl, ride, harvest, build, carve, write, open, close, destroy, burn, or as many of these as are possible. DO NOT refer to characters as ?toons?, and not just because it sounds stupid. Characters should not be mere representations of stats and gear, but living, breathing inhabitants of the world.
I realize that this is essentially the ravings of a whining gamer with no qualifications, but these seem to me to be rather common-sense changes to a tired formula that could revolutionize and reinvigorate the MMORPG genre. This topic needs much more thought than this, and by more qualified people, but SOMEONE has to start the conversation, and I don?t see anyone else doing it. MMORPGs can be more than just another game, another grindfest for spreadsheet fetishists. We have the technology to create something really amazing, and it frustrates me that any new MMORPGs follow the WoW method with only minor, insignificant changes.
TL;DR version: MMORPGs need to move past number crunching, grinding, and terrible combat to reach their full potential.
MMORPG Manifesto
The idea of a virtual fantasy world, where one can be and do whatever they can imagine, or, at least, do things they can?t do in reality, or where one can go to new and fantastic lands, seems like it could be one of the greatest accomplishments in interactive digital entertainment. However, all attempts to realize this (or all products claiming to try to realize this) have fallen into fatal habits, and have set incredibly hindering standards for the MMORPG genre. Instead of building immersive, interactive, and well-designed worlds, they create labyrinthine and immersion breaking systems of numbers and stats and skills. Instead of epic, exhilarating battles, we are subject to pressing the same 4 or 5 buttons in the same order while watching our characters stand still and go through wooden animations with tacky particle effects. Instead of going on grand adventures or exploring new lands, we are forced to follow a series of floating exclamation marks, with nonsensical and tedious missions with little (mostly none at all) impact on the world. Well, I say that it is time for change. Numbers and calculations are useful abstractions and representations in tabletop RPG?s and board games, where there is no computer to do the calculating, and where your imagination can alter your perceptions more easily, but there is no reason, with modern computing devices, for players to have to see, or even be aware of, such distracting aspects. We do not see the mathematics representing the myriad physical reactions in our daily lives, so we should not see them in an immersive virtual environment. But I am ranting. To organize my thoughts, I offer the following guidelines for the creation of immersive and revolutionary MMORPGs.
1)DO NOT focus on the number crunching aspect. MMORPGs are supposed to take players to fantastic new lands to have epic adventures, not just create math homework and spreadsheets.
a)No ?out of game? (as in, nothing that characters living in the game world could not see) numbers or symbols should be visible to the player, ever. These destroy the illusion of a consistent, believable world.
b)DO NOT use complicated menus for inventory or character skills or anything at all, really. This is for the same reason as the above. When you need to get your car keys, you just reach into your pocket, you don?t have to click through a series of colorful menus and grid squares with item attributes on them.
c)DO NOT utilize stat or level based combat. It is ridiculous in anything but a turn based strategy game, and only serves to remind the player that they are simply pressing keys in some order, not fighting for their lives or homes or causes. Furthermore, even a completely untrained individual could possibly kill even the most masterful warrior, given luck. Working out doesn?t magically make one immune to stabs to the throat.
d)DO NOT utilize ?grinding? in any form not consistent to the world. People do not train in combat by stabbing wild rabbits for 30 hours. If you can?t think of anything better for players to be doing, you have no business in the video game industry.
2)Make the world able to be impacted (or at least seem so) by the players wherever possible. If they complete a major quest to, for example, drive out bandits from a village, the bandits should never be seen by the player in that village again, unless a valid plot reason is given.
a.DO NOT present quests as a string of mundane tasks given by completely stationary NPC?s. If you are recruited by a band of warriors to kill a horde of goblins, they should be at the fight, not just standing in the same place for all eternity. NPC?s should have believable lives outside of the quest giving function they serve.
3)Allow the player to have realistic mobility. A chest high wall should not be a significant obstacle to a fit human being. We have arms, and can use them for more than swinging swords.
4)DO NOT use acronyms like ?PvP?, ?DPS?, ?RvR?, or ?PvE? in game or in advertising. These only encourage the old attitude of MMO games and cause players to focus on the metagaming aspect.
5)Graphics are not the most important thing. Gameplay and immersion is. Graphics can help with immersion, but they can?t save terrible gameplay or design.
6)Gameplay should not be focused on making numbers bigger, leveling up, or getting ph4t lewtz. Do not use cheap skinner box tactics, make the gameplay itself actually fun.
7)DO NOT use enemy encounters with infinite respawns, where players have to literally line up to complete quests. Either instance these things, or implement realistic ways for more enemies to arrive.
a.If a player kills a named character, they should not appear for that character again barring resurrection magic or something similar.
These are admittedly mostly ?Do Not? suggestions, and it is much, much harder to come up with ways TO do things, but I wil suggest some novel ways of tackling these problems. I have little experience on the technical side of thing, so these may be impractical, but may still be useful.
1)Exciting Combat
a)Action Combat:
Try using skill based, real time, direct input/output combat, like many single player RPGs implement. However, keep it as immersive as possible, do not use ?moves?, but fluid options of attack. Try to base it off of realistic sword fighting techniques, at least when it comes to combat animations. Keep all number crunching behind-the-scenes. Damage should be visible in the character model, not floating numbers. If internet issues prevent this, try:
b)Immersive turn based combat:
Try to do something with the flow of a DnD battle, but with no menu navigation or metagaming. Try to keep controls similar to action combat, but allow the player, say, 3 second of action at a time, with pauses between turns. Or, as another alternative:
c)AI based combat:
If you can?t let the player participate in fun combat, you might as well take the reigns completely. Number crunching and metagaming should still be kept to a minimum, but combat would be determined by behind-the-scenes aspects, such as training, equipment, terrain, etc. However, this might alienate many players. Maybe try:
d)Simplified Action/AI Hybrid:
Have the player control the character, but not in real-time. For example, if they press the ?stab? input, the character?s next attack will be a stab, but the character will not respond instantly. Timings would be based either on behind-the-scenes turns or player stats. This should also include movement, which should affect combat, and the player model should still appear dynamic and active, maybe with stock attack/parry/dodge animations playing between player actions to give the illusion of dynamic action. Basically, a more interesting and immersive version of contemporary gameplay, with more focus on movement and animations instead of particle effects and cooldown timers.
2)Immersive Inventory
Since inventories in games are generally inaccessible (or at least not useful) during combat, they should be as immersive as possible. Instead of menu navigation, have the player actually look in their bags and pouches. There should be quick-use items ?slots? that should be visible on the character models, like dedicated keys for different weapons or items, but these should take time (and animation) to actually use. Also, clothing should take time to change (and changing should be animated), and potions, drinks, food, etc. should take time and animation to eat. Look to the 2008 Alone in the Dark game for inspiration, but try to improve on it, and make it less of a hassle. MMORPGs never pause in menus anyway, so it?s main flaws would be minimized.
3)Immersive UI
The in-game UI should be minimal, if it is there at all. At the very least, make it optional. Ideally, it should be diagetic. If the player needs to look at a map, give them an in-game map to pull out. Health status should be visible on character models, not bars. The only out-of-game UI element I can think of as being necessary is perhaps a chat menu, but this should also be optional. Maybe make it a book of contacts and letters or something.
4)Immersive Quests
Quest-givers should not be text-dispensing vending machines, but full NPCs with actual lives and motivations and stuff. They should be dynamic, and should move around and interact with the world. And the quests should be more than just ?kill 30 bears and bring me their hides?. Use some imagination here. Have some caravan escorts, village defenses, maybe even crafting. If this proves to be impossible, consider removing NPCs and quests entirely. A completely player-run game could be interesting. Most people only do quests for loot and XP, and if you eliminate those, you may be able to let them focus on the social aspects.
5)Immersive World Interaction
Make the player character more than a hitbox containing animations. Make them a physical part of the world, able to climb things, pick things up, throw things, stab things, cut things, crouch, crawl, ride, harvest, build, carve, write, open, close, destroy, burn, or as many of these as are possible. DO NOT refer to characters as ?toons?, and not just because it sounds stupid. Characters should not be mere representations of stats and gear, but living, breathing inhabitants of the world.
I realize that this is essentially the ravings of a whining gamer with no qualifications, but these seem to me to be rather common-sense changes to a tired formula that could revolutionize and reinvigorate the MMORPG genre. This topic needs much more thought than this, and by more qualified people, but SOMEONE has to start the conversation, and I don?t see anyone else doing it. MMORPGs can be more than just another game, another grindfest for spreadsheet fetishists. We have the technology to create something really amazing, and it frustrates me that any new MMORPGs follow the WoW method with only minor, insignificant changes.
TL;DR version: MMORPGs need to move past number crunching, grinding, and terrible combat to reach their full potential.