How do you feel about the current state of MMO Gaming?

Zyphria · 08-09-2004, 04:55 PM

It seems on this forum there is a considerable variance in how people feel about MMOG's, from the deeply cynical and pessamistic, to the over-the-top diehard types.

For me, the concept of MMORPG's, the vision (dare I use that term) is that of the ideal gaming experience. It is always the implementation, and the long-game that often fails to pan out for me. So while I'm wildly optimistic about Everquest 2 (and no I'm not being a hypocrit given my previous threads), a big part of me has doubts that seem to quitely rise to balance it out.

One big thing to keep in mind is that we're at the very beginning of experiencing a gaming system that will be around for the rest of our lives. They will become even more detailed, with greater depth, and increasingly immersive. Also extremely complicated and prone to overwhelming all but the best minds in the industry when it comes to ensuring it remains balanced and fun.

So yay or nay?

Samus Aran · 08-09-2004, 05:14 PM

I voted that it isn't going anywhere atm. The genre is still too niche, and even with it being a rather small slice of the gaming pie, there are too many shitty games being made. ME:O, Matrix Online are the ones that come to my mind instantly, but I'm sure there are other equally shitty ideas going down.

I think in about 3-5 years, people will start realizing that 10 bucks/month isn't bad at all for the hours of entertainment provided. Hopefully we'll start to see actual games being made, instead of cashcows being made to feed off of the 'flavor of the month'.

I dunno... I'm prolly speaking out of my ass.

Sorran · 08-09-2004, 05:56 PM

I think EQ2, WoW and probably Vanguard (I haven't been following that one at all, so I don't know very much about what kind of gameplay it will have) have a good chance to give the MMOG industry a much needed "shot in the arm", at least as far as fantasy MMORGPs go. I think there hasn't been a compelling, let alone even moderately successful, fantasy MMORGP released in quite some time.

Cheers,

Sorran.

Eomer · 08-09-2004, 07:04 PM

I think the genre needs more innovation for sure, specifically in the type of world's and gameplay that they offer. Most of them are still sword and sorcery type games, which is fine for a niche, but will probably never become totally mainstream as a genre (although the occasional game like EQ may come along and do so).

I think the genre is going in a pretty good direction right now, the market itself does a fine job of culling the herd and getting rid of the shit that shouldn't have been developed to begin with, like Earth and Beyond and Motor City online.

And I don't think you can judge the success of the genre as a whole by saying "well shit, no MMOG has come out in the past 2 years that attracted a million subscribers!" Most games are going to be niche games, catering to specific tastes, and that's good. It's good to see games like say, Eve Online thriving on a pretty small number of subscribers, and bad to see ones like the Sims Online which basically HAD to have hundreds of thousands of subscribers to ever be considered a success.

With that in mind, I would like to see more games offered online, like Eve. IMO the concept of boxed purchases for MMOG type games is quite silly. You aren't buying a game, you are subscribing to a service, and I think they are only hurting themselves by essentially charging a $50 dollar "connection fee" to something you may totally hate. I would try more of them if I could just pay a download fee of 10 or 15 bucks and get a few weeks of free play time, and then go from there. This again is an area where you can point to Eve and see how well it's worked out for them.

View Poll Results: MMOG's: Where do we stand?
Great, and getting better every day!	16	9.20%
Kind of lacking at the moment...but just wait a lil bit.	88	50.57%
Used to be fun, but it's going nowhere right now.	61	35.06%
It won't be fun for a real long while. Like when I'm old.	8	4.60%
Never been good, never will be(why are you reading this forum?!).	1	0.57%
Voters: 174. You may not vote on this poll

08-09-2004, 04:55 PM	#1 (permalink)
Zyphria Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 117 -1 Internets	How do you feel about the current state of MMO Gaming? It seems on this forum there is a considerable variance in how people feel about MMOG's, from the deeply cynical and pessamistic, to the over-the-top diehard types. For me, the concept of MMORPG's, the vision (dare I use that term) is that of the ideal gaming experience. It is always the implementation, and the long-game that often fails to pan out for me. So while I'm wildly optimistic about Everquest 2 (and no I'm not being a hypocrit given my previous threads), a big part of me has doubts that seem to quitely rise to balance it out. One big thing to keep in mind is that we're at the very beginning of experiencing a gaming system that will be around for the rest of our lives. They will become even more detailed, with greater depth, and increasingly immersive. Also extremely complicated and prone to overwhelming all but the best minds in the industry when it comes to ensuring it remains balanced and fun. So yay or nay?

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08-09-2004, 05:14 PM	#2 (permalink)
Samus Aran Sons of the Storm Heal Bitch Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 771 +1 Internets	I voted that it isn't going anywhere atm. The genre is still too niche, and even with it being a rather small slice of the gaming pie, there are too many shitty games being made. ME:O, Matrix Online are the ones that come to my mind instantly, but I'm sure there are other equally shitty ideas going down. I think in about 3-5 years, people will start realizing that 10 bucks/month isn't bad at all for the hours of entertainment provided. Hopefully we'll start to see actual games being made, instead of cashcows being made to feed off of the 'flavor of the month'. I dunno... I'm prolly speaking out of my ass.

08-09-2004, 05:56 PM	#3 (permalink)
Sorran Registered User Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 319 -1 Internets	I think EQ2, WoW and probably Vanguard (I haven't been following that one at all, so I don't know very much about what kind of gameplay it will have) have a good chance to give the MMOG industry a much needed "shot in the arm", at least as far as fantasy MMORGPs go. I think there hasn't been a compelling, let alone even moderately successful, fantasy MMORGP released in quite some time. Cheers, Sorran.

08-09-2004, 07:04 PM	#4 (permalink)
Eomer You mean I can change this? Neat! Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 9,763 +26 Internets	I think the genre needs more innovation for sure, specifically in the type of world's and gameplay that they offer. Most of them are still sword and sorcery type games, which is fine for a niche, but will probably never become totally mainstream as a genre (although the occasional game like EQ may come along and do so). I think the genre is going in a pretty good direction right now, the market itself does a fine job of culling the herd and getting rid of the shit that shouldn't have been developed to begin with, like Earth and Beyond and Motor City online. And I don't think you can judge the success of the genre as a whole by saying "well shit, no MMOG has come out in the past 2 years that attracted a million subscribers!" Most games are going to be niche games, catering to specific tastes, and that's good. It's good to see games like say, Eve Online thriving on a pretty small number of subscribers, and bad to see ones like the Sims Online which basically HAD to have hundreds of thousands of subscribers to ever be considered a success. With that in mind, I would like to see more games offered online, like Eve. IMO the concept of boxed purchases for MMOG type games is quite silly. You aren't buying a game, you are subscribing to a service, and I think they are only hurting themselves by essentially charging a $50 dollar "connection fee" to something you may totally hate. I would try more of them if I could just pay a download fee of 10 or 15 bucks and get a few weeks of free play time, and then go from there. This again is an area where you can point to Eve and see how well it's worked out for them.