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Leviothan · 11-02-2009, 07:24 AM

I totally agree with your post, whole heartedly. Being part of a high performance computer gaming company, I am constantly thrown into Betas of different games, mostly MMOs before their release and I can tell the moment I load in some of these games that they will fail. Why? The graphics are too intense. I thought the point of an MMO was to garner a multiplayer experience with an addictive environment in which you can interact and feel like you are a part of. I understand that seeing beads of sweat that show the reflective value of that which is in front of you drip from your character can feel like you are immersed in the world but I would rather be able to punch a door open, fling a car at someone, mount my enemies head on the wall with a lower poly count that needing to constantly upgrade my computer.

I know that World of Warcraft has done well because of their graphics. They spent less time worrying about their character's having a high poly count and more about content, play style, and above anything else, sheer stability. Most MMOs coming out or have come out haven't toppled because of lack of content but rather total shit engines and abusive graphics that push systems to their edge. It is a pain in the ass to force a player, who WANTS to be part of this MMO's world to upgrade their computer just to be able to play it but in the end it fails because no one else could afford to play it because of the need to upgrade.

Regardless of the need to upgrade, most games with high graphics just run like shit and crash. You don't see people knocking games on the Nintendo because of their graphics. People have fun with the DS because of the game play for many of the games are fun. The same could be said about Average Joe who plays with their IPhone's tower defense for hours on end. Graphics don't make a game, its their addictive qualities that allow it. MMO's are the perfect venue to add addiction since a lot of people enjoy playing multiplayer games over single player.

I'm not saying to make an MMO that looks like total shit but do something reasonable where your primary focus won't be about engine stability, blue screen fixes, and patch to fix graphical issues, but to focus more on the content, play style, and innovative substance to the game.

11-02-2009, 07:24 AM	#5 (permalink)
Leviothan Registered User Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 330	I totally agree with your post, whole heartedly. Being part of a high performance computer gaming company, I am constantly thrown into Betas of different games, mostly MMOs before their release and I can tell the moment I load in some of these games that they will fail. Why? The graphics are too intense. I thought the point of an MMO was to garner a multiplayer experience with an addictive environment in which you can interact and feel like you are a part of. I understand that seeing beads of sweat that show the reflective value of that which is in front of you drip from your character can feel like you are immersed in the world but I would rather be able to punch a door open, fling a car at someone, mount my enemies head on the wall with a lower poly count that needing to constantly upgrade my computer. I know that World of Warcraft has done well because of their graphics. They spent less time worrying about their character's having a high poly count and more about content, play style, and above anything else, sheer stability. Most MMOs coming out or have come out haven't toppled because of lack of content but rather total shit engines and abusive graphics that push systems to their edge. It is a pain in the ass to force a player, who WANTS to be part of this MMO's world to upgrade their computer just to be able to play it but in the end it fails because no one else could afford to play it because of the need to upgrade. Regardless of the need to upgrade, most games with high graphics just run like shit and crash. You don't see people knocking games on the Nintendo because of their graphics. People have fun with the DS because of the game play for many of the games are fun. The same could be said about Average Joe who plays with their IPhone's tower defense for hours on end. Graphics don't make a game, its their addictive qualities that allow it. MMO's are the perfect venue to add addiction since a lot of people enjoy playing multiplayer games over single player. I'm not saying to make an MMO that looks like total shit but do something reasonable where your primary focus won't be about engine stability, blue screen fixes, and patch to fix graphical issues, but to focus more on the content, play style, and innovative substance to the game.