Breaking the MMOuld: Moving on from World of WarCraft

[Deleo]

Not a WoW hater at all. I'm actually enjoying the game but still, I find many points made in this post to be true:

Breaking the MMOuld: Moving on from World of WarCraft

Grinding, dedicated roles and quests are out. We take a look at the new breed of MMOs and say goodbye to the old

As far as my relationship with World of Warcraft is concerned, archaeology was the final nail in the coffin. It was by no means the only nail - daily quests, faction rep and the truly malicious badges/emblems/points system were hammered with just as little enthusiasm. But it was between these things, while surveying dig sites in Kalimdor, that I suddenly appreciated the absolute absurdity of what I was doing.

I was going up and down (and up and down) the bloody continent in the hopes that a site would present itself in Uldum. Why? So that I might have the slightest chance of uncovering an enormous ultramarine dung beetle, which I could then ride majestically through the streets of Stormwind to advertise to other players my superhuman capacity to perform repetitive tasks.

I only wish I'd encapsulated the entire experience in a single paragraph like that sooner, as it's not hard to see just how farcical my relationship with this game had become.

In fairness, WoW is not the only MMO to habitually treat its players like hamsters on a wheel. It merely exemplifies a genre that has well and truly stagnated, that builds time and time again upon the same tired assumptions and principles of design, whether purely out of complacency or for fear of upsetting its own profit margin. And given that MMORPGs, more than any other genre, rely desperately on the currency of longevity, is it any wonder that new titles seem content to peddle the same tried and tested formula in progressively prettier packaging?

But for those of you like myself, ready to get off this joyless carousel of ennui, a new era of MMO gaming may fast be approaching - titles such as Guild Wars 2 (GW2) and The Secret World have already unveiled several new gameplay features that defy some of the most fundamentally accepted mechanics of the genre. Here's but a few to set your rebel hearts ablaze.


NO GRINDING

'Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results,' American novelist Rita Mae Brown once wrote. What she was really describing, however, was 'grinding', one of the most unbearable symptoms of persistent online gaming. Vanilla WoW was a notorious grinding treadmill, and time has done little to discourage the practice; the aforementioned daily quests, justice points and faction rep rewards of Cataclysm are still designed to squeeze that last drop of humanity from players with equal sadism. It's an ugly word for an ugly device, creating the illusion of replayability through sheer mindless repetition, and it's bitter on the tongue of developers like ArenaNet and Funcom, who have both proposed their own radical alternatives to the 'grind to level' model.

ArenaNet has removed the bell-curve traditionally applied to leveling, so that gaining levels from 40 to 50, for example, isn't any more laborious than leveling from 1 to 10. The upshot is that you won't be forced to remain in an environment long after you've worn out its content just to accumulate enough experience to move forward.

Funcom has decided to bypass such a dreary numbers game entirely - The Secret World has no leveling system at all; players simply unlock new abilities and weapons through exploration and achievement and use these to outfit their character. There's a certain elegance to it, especially since character customisation in titles like WoW is now so powerfully determined by the phatness of one's lewt that levels are themselves redundant. Let's face it: when you wield a sword that can cut through the spacetime continuum, a crossbow made of dragons that fires more dragons and a suit of armour forged in the phlegm of a thousand gods, it doesn't really matter whether your baseline agility is 212 or 214.

Grinding is the product of badly structured character progression, where there isn't enough genuinely interesting content to carry players smoothly into the endgame at whatever pace they choose. I for one won't mourn its passing.


NO DEDICATED ROLES

I once played a prot warrior for nine months simply to demonstrate that one could do so without becoming a raving egomaniac. The experiment was largely unsuccessful - I had dreams of stripping off my armour, riding into Stormwind cathedral on the back of an enormous ultramarine dung beetle and declaring myself emperor of mankind, and the rest you already know - but at the very least it reaffirmed the fact that the tank/heal/dps triangle is not an equilateral one.

Picking a class (or, in the case of Rift, patching one together like a quilt) has always meant committing yourself to particular roles at the exclusion of others, and in group situations some roles have always enjoyed greater indispensability. A good tank is just plain better than the rest of us, according to popular myth. It's hardly surprising, then, that dedicated classes have brought about a class system, and it's a hierarchy that ArenaNet is only too eager to topple in Guild Wars 2.


Guild Wars 2 opens class roles up significantly.


In GW2, every class can heal, but they can also do so much more. They can control the battlefield to lock down enemies ('tanking' without the vulgarity of being a meat shield), throw up barriers to protect others or duck and roll and use cover to protect themselves. It's called 'active combat' (or in other genres, just 'combat'), and it means that a group can effectively take on a dungeon or boss without hiding behind someone dressed like a human battering ram. It means that you can play the class you want without worrying about your potential usefulness to a group. It also encourages a great deal more environmental awareness than WoW's 'don't stand in the fire' approach to raiding - although, admittedly, Blizzard has evolved such mechanics significantly in recent months.

The Secret World, as stated, has no preset classes; everything is customisable. Imagine the Rift-quilt, except there's a lot more fabric and colour choices to work with. Then again, you're gamers. Handicraft metaphors mean nothing to you.


NO QUESTS

Here's a frightening concept. How the hell are we supposed to know where to go unless someone with the necessary qualifications (ie. an exclamation mark) shoves us in the right direction? 'Explore,' whispers the new-wave MMO developer exotically. 'In the persistent worlds of tomorrow, crazy stuff is out there happening every second - villages being razed, armies being amassed, pub brawls being started - and you're just going to have to go out there and see it for yourself.' That's exactly what he says.

GW2 calls this crazy stuff 'dynamic events,' and they're a helluva lot more dynamic than most of the bilge that we've become accustomed to. Dynamic events will unfold tangibly in front of you, and your intervention will change the outcome and create a domino effect with other events across the landscape. Static quests, where an NPC will tell you to murder fifteen trolls standing idly in a paddock because they clearly pose an imminent threat to the entire region, just aren't going to cut it anymore. I'm not going to lift a finger to kill trolls unless I actually see them doing something I object to, like slaughtering the townsfolk or trying to vote.

There's more that could be said, of course. GW2, for example, forgoes the age-old tradition of contorting its races into two neatly divided factions, and The Secret World has selected modern-day Earth as its refreshingly original fantasy setting. It's clear that the bedrock of game design on which the MMORPG has until now remained firmly planted, for better or worse, is about to crumble. Whether either of these intrepid pioneers will actually live up to the exceptional promises they've made to the gaming community remains to be seen but, in any case, an entire genre is being redefined; these are exciting times indeed.

If you haven't been following the development of Guild Wars 2 or The Secret World, either because you hadn't previously heard of them, or because a Blizzard representative has quite literally injected you with a psychoactive chemical or sentient parasite to enforce your submission on a molecular level, now is a good time to educate yourself - or seek restorative medication.

I am not advertising those games. I have not played them or even watched videos of them. But I have to say, the concept of 3 roles and leveling is so fixated on ppl's minds that we can barely see an MMO without those.

Every now and then when a good RPG or adventure game comes out, I jump to it and I have to admit, I enjoy those much more than WoW; but it will only last for few days until I finish the game. It would be great if gaming companies could bring that experience into MMOs instead of doing things over and over again.

Discuss away

[Conscious]

I envision many a tin-foil hat theories as to why IGN now hates Blizzard / WoW.

Good read nonetheless.

[Dragonb]

I only wish people will read the post before posting, had some really good points in it.

[Deleted]

Let's not forget that the game today does not force grinding in the same way it has in the past.

I've not leveled a single primary profession on my main and I haven't spent the hours grinding the Archaeology that this reporter has. Neither have I spent hours upon hours farming gold so that I could buy that one peice of gear from the AH.

And still, I am 12/12 Normal, and 1/13 Heroic in a fairly casual guild.

The game doesn't punish players who don't spend several hours doing the boring stuff any more. Sure, it rewards dedication, but it doesn't limit the "lazy" players as much as it used to.

As for the two other points - I'm intrigued to see how Guild Wars is going to manage this. If they pull it off, I will cheer because I'm sure it will bring about a revolution in how MMO creators will think about player roles.

[Nzo]

Nice read, and i am so looking forward to GW2 like a little child, once that baby hits the market, WoW is removed and forgotten for good ^.^

[Jedi Master]

The problem is: The whole MMO-Genre became completly casual! There will be no Hardcore-MMOs in the future, like DAoC or Vanilla/TBC after Release, so at the end it's all about casual-features like more pets/mounts etc.
The MMO-Genre is dead for hardcore-players.

[Specops]

The game doesn't punish players who don't spend several hours doing the boring stuff any more. Sure, it rewards dedication, but it doesn't limit the "lazy" players as much as it used to.

When did WoW limit lazy players?

[Deleted]

A very very good read and I agree 100%!

[Noomz]

Not a WoW hater at all. I'm actually enjoying the game but still, I find many points made in this post to be true:

Breaking the MMOuld: Moving on from World of WarCraft



I am not advertising those games. I have not played them or even watched videos of them. But I have to say, the concept of 3 roles and leveling is so fixated on ppl's minds that we can barely see an MMO without those.

Every now and then when a good RPG or adventure game comes out, I jump to it and I have to admit, I enjoy those much more than WoW; but it will only last for few days until I finish the game. It would be great if gaming companies could bring that experience into MMOs instead of doing things over and over again.

Discuss away

I quite like that article, and I agree with it. I'm sick to the stumach of grinding and being forced into repetition.
The article put up a good point though, WoW is not the only MMO doing that by far. Asian MMO's are often far more grindy.

I'm sincerely looking forward to Guild Wars 2.

---------- Post added 2011-06-21 at 09:01 AM ----------

The problem is: The whole MMO-Genre became completly casual! There will be no Hardcore-MMOs in the future, like DAoC or Vanilla/TBC after Release, so at the end it's all about casual-features like more pets/mounts etc.
The MMO-Genre is dead for hardcore-players.

Dedication is never punished and is always more rewarding. Drop the elitist attitude.

[Deleted]

The problem is: The whole MMO-Genre became completly casual! There will be no Hardcore-MMOs in the future, like DAoC or Vanilla/TBC after Release, so at the end it's all about casual-features like more pets/mounts etc.
The MMO-Genre is dead for hardcore-players.

There's always silkroad.

[Asuza]

Ultima Online still is the only MMO to actually show what the term MMORPG really means. An open ended world where you aren't restricted by roles, a game that isn't based around a linear path. Everyone was different.

New MMO's need to learn from the greatest MMO and go back to the original way of creating an MMO, UO style.

[Verazh]

This was a great read, and I think alot of people actually agree with him. I too came to the conclusion he did early cataclysm while levelling the dreadfully boring archaeology (something I had been looking forward to, but it turned out to be a massive fail on a whole new levcel of fail). I think alot more people will reach this conclusion during the time of cata or until a new MMO like SWTOR, GW2, The Secret World or Tera comes out.
I myself arent even playing any MMO atm, but I must say Im anxiously awaiting a breath of fresh.... wait... I mean a gigantic hurricance within the MMO community and industry.

[Drunkenvalley]

So... have we had gameplay from GW2 yet? Does the game have anything but videos made by the developers? It's not that I don't like what I'm hearing... but I'm skeptical to how the game is being praised like the second coming of Christ with so little to actually go on.

*crosses fingers for GW2*

TL;DR - I like the ideas, but worry about praising GW2 already.

[Specops]

There's always silkroad.

/shiver Leveling is horrible in SRO. D:

[Deleted]

/shiver Leveling is horrible in SRO. D:

I thought that was the point for hardcore players like Jedi Master.

[PACOX]

WoW (along with the Asian MMORPG market) has sort of proven MMORPG players like old mechanics otherwise its population would have plateaued a long time ago.

GW2 will play like an action MMORPG. It will bring non-MMORPG gamers to the genre. There will still be enough EQ-style followers after GW2 comes out. Also the article mentioned a class being able to "lock down" mobs. I've played MMOs with similar mechanics and its ridiculous OP and breads gimpy playstyles, Im interest to see how GW2 tackles this problem.

[Specops]

I thought that was the point for hardcore players like Jedi Master.

Must be really hardcore to spend hours a day for months just to reach level cap...

[PACOX]

Ultima Online still is the only MMO to actually show what the term MMORPG really means. An open ended world where you aren't restricted by roles, a game that isn't based around a linear path. Everyone was different.

New MMO's need to learn from the greatest MMO and go back to the original way of creating an MMO, UO style.

Would love to see a sandbox MMORPG.

[Lobstarrr]

Reading the whole thing i could see the author's point, however the last line made me lose all respect for him instantly. No shit newer games seem more exciting and refreshing, has it ever been different? ''But i find archaeology very boring'' Guess what, you don't have to.
''But i also don't want to invest my time so i can become better!'' WoW has already dumbed down 591676% since vanilla with a steady mass of addons and time saving implementations. If you still think you need to spend too much time trying to get somewhere in Cataclysm obviously you have no idea what you are doing, and you won't be missed.

As for ''An entire genre being redifined'', i seriously doubt this. It's what WoW did when it was released. All that has happened since is other companies trying to snatch a piece of mmo-cake, and none of them have come close.

[Deleo]

Thanx for moving it to the right forums.