Ekim's Gamer View: Staying With the Game
Ekim, 2003-08-22

Race to the top

If MMORPGs could be played, and more or less finished (if you could ever call it that), within a few hours, would the genre be better off? In other words, if MMORPGs were nothing more than single-player games that had an infinite replay value, would people be more content? The problem is that some of us out there always try to get to the top as fast as possible, and then complain about the lack of things to do once you get there. The problem is probably not so much the lack of things to do, really, but rather the fact that there is less reward for doing anything once you're at the top.

And since it usually takes a tremendous amount of time to get to this virtual top in any MMORPG, players get frustrated, disgruntled, once they finally get there. No one cares for the fact that these games were not intended to be played through within a month's time, and there is no solution for that except to always push the "end-game" ever further away. But this is only an artificial solution, and it never works. For every step that is created to make it harder to reach the top, there will always be a player that does everything in his power to get there faster than anyone would have anticipated.

So the real problem isn't that there are power-gamers playing MMORPGs, or that they reach the top too fast. Power-gamers are everywhere, in every genre. Maybe the problem is that there is a top at all. Maybe there should be no limit to what a player can accomplish in an MMORPG. Such a thing is probably inconceivable in today's world, and it could turn out to be ugly. Players would then complain that they can't ever get anywhere with the game, that they have no goals to reach. The point is that there will always be some that will complain, whatever happens, whatever is done.

Patience, young Padawan…

Now, what if a game rewarded patience more than effort? Since MMORPGs are supposed to be played for long periods of time by design, wouldn't it make more sense to reward those that have enough patience to do what it is they should do instead of, or more than the effort that it takes to do it? A system like the one in Eve Online, where a skill is gained through time instead of simply by using it over and over, or killing things repeatedly starts to make sense from that angle. I haven't tried EO yet myself, but from what I understand the system doesn't necessarily reward the power-gamer more than the casual gamer, and that is, in my opinion, a good thing.

Of course, the argument against this is that MMORPGs have a monthly cost attached to them. For the player, any player, it is a strong argument. To make a system which would reward patience over effort means that it would also reward those that stick longer with the game rather than those that want to get through the grind before enjoying its social aspects. It could also be argued that such a system is a clever marketing ploy to get a player to pay to actually gain power within the game… And they would probably be right too.

As the market becomes more and more saturated with new MMORPGs, every game has to justify their monthly fee now. Why continue to play game X after reaching the top when you can play game Y that costs the same but apparently offers a bit more. Each game will try to cater to a greater market, and publishers will need to have a good reason for players to stay with their game longer. Most MMORPG player doesn't have time for two simultaneous games, so if a power-gamer gets through their title too fast, they'll lose their business because he will go and try a new game next. So a time-based advancement system might seem like a good solution, if the rest of the game can back it up well enough of course.

Keeping the player engaged

We have already seen more new MMORPGs come out since the end of last year than there were on the market in the previous three. Games need an incentive to keep you playing. They need to keep you for a few months at least. So what is the best way to keep a player in an MMORPG? Reward their effort? Players will never have enough rewards to satisfy them for long periods of time…. Remove all advancement limits? Players will complain that there is no goal. Reward their patience? Sure but the gameplay has to be pretty engaging if skills are gained through time instead of effort.

The answer lies within the player community. And unfortunately it's probably a different answer for every player out there. MMORPG costs continue to rise for players, and more games are coming out. What will they do to keep us playing their game for a long time? What will be the defining feature that will keep a player playing the same game for months and years?