The Definition of MMO

[njrob]

Hey whats up I just typed out this post on mmorpg website , if some people want to take a look and give me some feedback on your opinions, im somewhat interested. I see this is a WoW website so i might catch some hate but I have 60 minute level 7 Fire Protection self spells on ok so Flame on WoW elitists!!! Really, some constructive ideas would be nice. and I dont hate WoW but I realize you might not like me arguing that it in fact is not a true MMO, but anyways, let me know what you think

maybe, tons of people on 1 server, does make a game a mmo for you


here is the post. its mostly about SWTOR.






It might not be as simple as you think.. and seems most games are deviating from what a MMO truly is to me. I will get to why SWTOR provoked this borderline rant from me

OK .. so I have a lot of thoughts on this issue and I'm going to type them out quickly here so the grammar and idea structure might not be perfect but I want to share my opinion on this somewhere.

I was first introduced to online PC games by a real life friend when I was 13 or 14 , one of the earliest MMOs, Asherons Call. Until this point I loved video games, I mostly played consoles starting way back with Nintendo and Sega when i was even younger and moving on to PS and N64 with greats like Goldeneye for splitscreen multiplayer. I also really liked Mechwarrior for the PC and playing with a joystick was amazing and immersive.

Asheron's Call took gaming to a whole new level for me. Right from the start , after completing a tutorial that taught you the controls , inventory, and loot management, you were thrown into a truly open, Massive world. You had options on where to go, and the world was brilliantly designed. You could pick from around 9? starting towns from 3 different races, and whether you chose to seek out quests within the town or just pick a direction and go off into the wilderness, you would encounter progressively harder enemies and portals that led to non-instanced dungeons, the skill system , experience, loot, quests, were all amazing and innovative. Don't even get me started on the PvP server - besides Darkfall it is the only true PvP __MMO__ server ever as far as I know.

Now a lot of people would probably disagree with part of that last sentence ... but what does MMO Really mean ? I was talking to someone once and they said, WoW is the Definition of MMO. Honestly, I didn't say much in response, but I felt really bad for them - not that I dont think its a fun game, sure it is, it wasnt exactly my style but I know people who enjoy(ed) it.

Massively Multiplayer Online Game. Tons of people on the same server right? Well, that doesn't do it for me -- I don't think it's that simple.


I'm getting too old and busy for video games but it is still a guilty pleasure hobby of mine.

I did try the PS2 version of EQ1 once and it was closer to a true mmo than anything I have seen recently, and I will get to what I mean by this soon, but it couldnt do it for me for my MMO fix after having tried AC. Eve online is the only good game to have come close, and Darkfall was decent. edited- i forgot about Shadowbane, was also a very fun and interesting game, that fit my description for MMO.

MMOs are almost like virtual worlds. The real world is hard. You dont live your life by walking down a predetermined path. You need to work and figure out problems and seek out what is best for you constantly. This is a bit of a ridiculous comparison but bear with me here. Asheron's Call was a HARD game. Anyone that played - remember original spell research? Seriously?? Even questing.. if you wanted to figure out what to do, sure, you could try exploring and speaking to every NPC on your own, but to be the best you needed to use the tools at your disposal (the internets) and find guides and stuff. Even better - they had an amazing allegiance system that was more than just grouping into guilds and encouraged players to mentor one another, so you could find guidance in the otherwise extremely complex and Truly massive world.

Your adventure was what you made it. Wanted to reach max level and get top tier gear? Find the dungeons you liked and take em over with your crew or try go at it solo, questing to get the good _unique_ (as in, not just a weapon with +50 strength +50 endurance, maybe its a weapon that does bonus damage to other players and ignores shields, bonus damage to certain monster types, or a recall/teleport spell, or a unique piece of armor). Shorter play sessions but full of fun action more like it? For years there was constant action at the starter areas, maybe you would go get a few levels from start and find a crossbow and go kill the noobs who are just starting, until that level 50 rolls through for whatever reason (and the reasons for travel and pvp and competition for the _just right_ number of varied leveling areas always existed). If you werent into PvP, the white servers were still plenty of fun.

Games nowadays all seem to follow the same path, and honestly, I don't think they are even worthy of bearing the genre name of MMO. They play a lot more like single player adventure games with mediocre graphics where you happen to bounce into other people doing the same exact thing or speaking to NPCs in the same town , you can either group up or not, and maybe you do some trading. Sure, you can play with friends, but that doesnt make it an MMO. I am currently having an absolute BLAST with SWTOR free trial and I might buy the game - but I cant help but think about this one issue im seeing here.. What makes this game an MMO?

I remember when i was a kid i'd be out playing sports with my brother (we shared one pc but both had separate characters) and the friend who introduced me to AC and we would talk about quest items we heard about recently, leveling spots, character template ideas, and just talked about things we planned to do ingame. It was fun to just talk about it because it was so complex you could literally think up so many different ways to play and reach your goals.

To me, this game reminds me a lot of Age of Conan. You start in the starter area, and you progress through some quests that grab your attention with flashing !!s, until you are max level, then maybe you can grind some similar endgame content. I cant help but wonder why SWTOR isnt just a single player game. I realize I am only level 8, but right now I can see this game for exactly what it is.

WoW is not a MMO to me either. Same with AoC. You progress through appropriately leveled zones, alongside other people doing the same exact thing. Sure, there is trading, crafting (almost exactly the same in every game I've seen.. except AC - dont want to sound like a fanboy, but its true)

But what makes these games MMOs?

The Open world PvP is usually terrible and pointless. Queing for Set matches of CTF? I'll play counterstrike , starcraft, the new pvp 'wonder' hit LoL, or another game that actually puts skill to test on an equal playing field, thanks. This is not what True MMO pvp is. Darkfall got it right within the 'medieval' setting and fast paced combat but had its flaws and Eve was close, although a bit skillless. (before you hate on the 'skillless' eve players out there, my pilots pvp records are shamefully experienced and pretty good, probably about 80 bill total destroyed to 2 bill lost, it is mostly about scouting and fore-knowledge, with a bit of fleet composition planning, not twitch skills or spontaneous micromanagement for example. And it takes Way too much time. Just saying)

Raid bosses? Instanced dungeons? These things belong in multiplayer console or possibly PC games but I dont see the obsession with them in MMOs. They are multiplayer, but not massive.


SWTOR is a fun game but what makes it a MMO? What makes most of the games releasing recently MMOs? Do you disagree with me and why?


Personally, I am waiting for the next game that compares to the greatness of the original Asheron's Call. Still one of the best games on the market in my opinion.

---------- Post added 2012-07-18 at 06:09 AM ----------

oh yeah and my flame protection spells are re castable so ill be sure to re up them if its longer than 60 minutes before i check back for replies here

[bals]

i use this definition:

They must be in line with the MMOData.net MMORPG definition :
Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game
- The game should have the capability to support at least 500 concurrent users on a single shard.
- The game must include a graphical common area where players can interact with one another inside of the persistent game world. This excludes lobby and chat room based interaction.
- Combining point 1 and 2 : There must be a graphical common area where in theory 500 players can come together and interact with one another.
- The game must make use of persistent characters or avatars. This means that you should be able to log in after logging out and find your character or avatar as advanced as you left them (or more).
- The game must contain some form of advancement.

http://mmodata.blogspot.com/search/l...%20definitions
you can x out the last one or two points to make it apply to non-rpg mmos

almost none of what you said makes a game an mmo.

[xxxnazzgulxxx]

MMO for most ppl
MUST MAINTAIN OBESITY

[Deleted]

That's not the definition of MMO, that's your definition of MMO. Misleading title. And that wall of text could have been summarised to one point: "I think an MMO should be a sandbox and not a themepark". Good for you. Not sure what the point of the whole post is, but good for you.

The definition of MMO is simply 'Massive Multiplayer Online', so as long as there are (or can be) a lot of people online simultaneously, that can play/interact together, it's an MMO.

[Aerai]

All I could think of when I read this was "When was Everquest on Playstation?" then I remembered that strange EQ:Adventures or whatever it was.

[Deleted]

I've moved this to Video Games, it doesn't seem to belong in wow general.