Originally Posted by
NoGodPleaseNo
Erm yes, technically, but they don't think it's bad, the problem is, is what they think people want from an MMORPG isn't what most people want from an MMORPG.
I was lucky enough to be involved in a very good break down in another thread, and what came out of that was some clarity for me on why at least I don't like current wow.
And the break down is as follows:
Rpg's or any game with a role playing element, either table top or digital both solo or mmo, can be broken down into 3 fundamentals.
Narrative
Simulation
(And for lack of a better term) gameism
Narrative and simulation are self explanatory, narrative gameplay elements are the quest systems, and the systems that deliver the narrative of the game, simulation is a bit more nuanced, but its essentially the systems that give immursion, freedoms a realism, so like eso's stealing and bounty systems stuff like that, then there gameism which is the regimenting of the game, its the balance and fostering of competitiveness, the limitations on the system that create fair competition between players.
A good rpg find exactly the right balance of those 3 things, specific to its medium, and usually that's with more emphasis on narrative and simulation as most rpg's on the table top or solo have not much need for the gameist elements except for things to not be too broken that it trivialise's the challenges.
The problem with wow and why Alot of people don't like calling it an rpg anymore is, the dynamic has been flipped, wow is primeraly focused on that gameism, hence the minimal talents, freedom and customization of skills, and the theme park nature of how you are pushed through content, it's become to focused on being fair for every one, with the idea that raiding is a competition between guilds and also between players for top dps, top healing, and pvp and m+ leader boards ofc. The whole game funnels into something competitive. Which doesn't gel well at all with many classical rpg elements of freedom of choice to define your charicture and narrative how you want within the world, because that might make you suboptimal for the competitive side of wow.
And this imo has come about due to brain drain, the guys who origonaly designed wow weren't rpg specialist's but they were avid dnd fans and players so had an instinctual grasp of these concepts, that wow dev team is long dead and gone now, the current head of the dev studio ion is a good guy but he's from the back ground of hardcore raiding, to him wow is all about the gameism, I don't know why any one finds it shocking that wow has shed Alot of the extra stuff to focus on easy balance and end came competitive elements under him, because that's what he and likly Alot of the new devs have been brought to belive makes wow a good game, sadly the community disagrees.