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Inauro
Village Dweller
Joined: 03 Oct 2005
Posts: 9
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| WoW: Hardcore vs Casual - Editorial @ MMORPG.com |
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MMORPG.com's Garrett Fuller takes a look into the divide that separates the casual from the hardcore in World of Warcraft.<blockquote><em>In any MMORPG there is such a thing as Time Played. Time Played can tell you a lot about your gaming experience. Has your time been spent grinding away to get the highest level, and once you reach that high level what is next? Do you spend your time getting loot, killing other players, or joining huge raids to progress in end game content? How does time played factor into a casual lifestyle or a lifestyle bent on being the best in a particular game. A very hot topic right now in MMORPGs is the notion of both casual and hardcore gamers playing on the same server and going after the same goals. This brings up the question what is the difference between a casual gamer and a hardcore gamer?</em></blockquote><a href="http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm?gameId=15&setView=features&loadFeature=314&fp=1280,1024,341096265,20051117145227" target="_blank">More...</a> |
Thu Nov 17, 2005 8:14 pm |
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Wildefire
General Goods Vendor
Joined: 03 Oct 2005
Posts: 1
Location: USA |
This is something I think about a lot. Too much perhaps. With a wife, son, and a full-time job I have a maximum of 15 hours gaming time a week... and it's been more like 3 or 4 hours a week most recently- and that's fine. But I subscribe to 6 gaming magazines, I have partitions on two computers optimized for gaming, and I'm an editor for a freaking gaming news site. Don't you dare call me a casual gamer!
That said, no matter how hardcore I may be in spirit, I don't mind Blizzard and other studios developing content that only the most dedicated players will ever see. They deserve to be rewarded for their time spent in a game. As long as there's something that I can enjoy for the 1-2 hours at a time I'm able to play, I'll be content.
_________________
For each toon kills the mob he 'groes, yet each toon does not die. |
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Thu Nov 17, 2005 8:23 pm |
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Inauro
Village Dweller
Joined: 03 Oct 2005
Posts: 9
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While i have no problem with there being content in a given MMORPG that is only accessible after the players have put in a certain amount of time and effort, i do have a problem with there being content that is entirely inaccessible to a significant percentage of players.
WoW seems to define "hardcore" players as those who can spend more than 4 hours a day in-game. Time played has little to do with it. After all, even a casual gamer could rack up 100s of hours of time played eventually. However, those players who are unable to spend X number of consecutive hours in-game are prevented from accessing the majority of endgame content in WoW because either a) it takes more time than they can afford to spend in-game to resolve the needed elements (think: BRD/BWL raids) or b) you simply cannot manage the content without a large guild, most of which require their members to invest vast amounts of in-game time in guild activities in order that they be allowed to participate in the endgame content. Again, the casual player who may have put in 100s of hours over time, is prevented from accessing the content.
Now, i'm sure the counter argument to that is, that's what hardcore is all about. Investing those consecutive hours in order to achieve the reward. If you're serious about investing the time you should be rewarded and other players should be able to see that you're hardcore simply by looking at your equipment. Fair enough.
What isn't fair, at least in my opinion, is that the casual players have no alternative endgame that caters to them. What are you supposed to do once you hit the level cap if you're a casual gamer? You can't participate in raids, PvP is probably also out because of the prohibitively long queues, and most of the quests that actually give rewards comensurate with your level involve the aforementioned raid locations. So your options are: make a new character, or find a new game.
How about some parity? Why not put in endgame content that caters to casual gamers? Only have a few hours to spend? How about an epic quest broken into segments that can be achieved in a few hours? Why not some sort of patronage system that allows you to help out other players in return for in-game fame and recognition? Surely there are ways of providing endgame content that do not involve spending endless hours grinding through the same instances again and again.
Ack, this is turning into a rant, so i'll stop.
Inauro |
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Thu Nov 17, 2005 9:49 pm |
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niteshade
Keeper of the Gates
Joined: 09 Jul 2005
Posts: 100
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For the most part, it's all about what percentage of content is dedicated to what percentage of players.
For example example WoW only has a very small amount of content that's dedicated to the absolute highest end player. Currently there is only one instance (Blackwing Lair) and I'd estimate that 75% or more of players will never see this instance. But that's fine....it's a very small part of the game and the small percentage of players who are powerful and organized enough to go there need something to keep them playing.
Then there is "easy" high end content like Molten Core that maybe 50% of players will see. Most players have the ability to see this content even if they are fairly casual players. But not everyone enjoys them, or is in a guild that goes there, so alot of players don't see them. These only make up for a reasonably small amount of the games content as well (though this area seems to be recieving more contents then other areas)
Finally there are the easy casual instances that almost everyone goes to. These make up the vast majority of the content and appeal to the vast majority of the players. High end players might not go to them anymore because of a lack of challenge/reward however.
Overall the balance seems good. The only possible issue is that in recent patchs the casual game has gotten far less attention then the high end game. This does tend to be the case with MMORPGs in general though as players need more and more high end challenges to keep them playing the game. |
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Thu Nov 17, 2005 10:07 pm |
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Inauro
Village Dweller
Joined: 03 Oct 2005
Posts: 9
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Your point is well made, Niteshade, and I do agree that it's all about what percentage of content is dedicated to what percentage of players. [EDIT - see below] As you've said, only 25% of players are ever likely to see BWL and similar high end instances. If that is the case, why shouldn't the majority of content cater to the other 75%.
In purely economic terms it makes sense for developers to add content that the majority of their paying customers are asking for. However, it often seems that the voices that are most readily heard are those of the very vocal minority of hardcore gamers that have exhausted the available content.
I suspect the argument here is that hardcore players will consume additional content far faster than the casual players, hence their need for more and more content in order to keep them playing. I understand that argument, having been a hardcore player myself, but also wonder at the decisions that continue to add content to the game that only a small percentage of the population will ever see.
Wouldn't the game be enriched by challenging content that was accessible to players of all levels? Or is it necessary to foster the undercurrents of elitism apparent in most MMOs by adding content accessible only by the chosen few? Perhaps that's what really keeps the hardest of the hardcore glued to their monitors; the feeling that they've been places and seen things that their more casual compatriots will never experience.
Obviously there needs to be content that caters to both the causal and the hardcore gamer. Achieving that balance is no doubt one of the toughest challenges that developers face. That said, I would like to see content in MMOs that fosters some co-operation between the casual and the hardcore players, instead of dividing them along lines of time spent in-game.
[EDIT: I'd initially misread Niteshade's point about the recent patches. I'd thought he/she'd said that they'd catered to the casual game instead of the hardcore.] |
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Thu Nov 17, 2005 10:36 pm |
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Ionyssa
Village Dweller
Joined: 11 Oct 2005
Posts: 2
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From what I can see, the argument/debate comes down to, should developers be producing content for Hard Core ™ gamers, or for casual gamers? As such it is entirely logical to focus on producing content for whatever group makes up the larger portion of your customers, with a smaller focus on the minority groups.
Unfortunately the hard core gamers tend to also be those that are not shy about posting their thoughts on the various forums and this often gives the impression that creating lots of high end content is a high priority.
World of Warcraft has shot itself in the foot to a certain degree though by making it so easy to get to level 60. If anyone remembers what the census graphs used to look like back in the day, they were a nice bell curve with the majority of people in the middle levels. Within a few months of release though the level 60 population was at over 50% and rising.
This brings up the topic of End Game content. WoWs content for everything bar level 60 is regarded as some of the best yet seen in an MMO, very casual friendly and even solo friendly to a point. But as soon as you hit 60 it seems the only content available is the opposite, content focused on large amounts of dedicated play time and large groups of players.
The only reason I can think of for this is that if the content had continued in the same pattern, everyone would complete it faster than the developers could produce it. Though with the staggering amount of money they are raking in I really can’t understand what is stopping them from employing more staff to produce content for their paying customers. As it is though they are producing content that naturally limits the speed with which people can complete it, ala instances that require massive groups of people and large quantities of time.
I think the solution to this problem isn’t so much, lets create more of the same casual gamer friendly content at level 60, but a paradigm shift in the way we progress through MMOs. Currently MMO progression is purely a time based function, if you have the time you will gain the levels, and ultimately you will reach the ‘end game’. While it may be a radical thought I am certainly looking more towards games that focus on player skill and interaction with the world dictating progress rather then just another level grind.
As for World of Warcraft, the end game of pointless raiding and even more pointless PVP could certainly use any help it gets, but to be honest I think at this point anyone who is not happy with it is better off looking for another game to play. Blizzard are making their millions and are not interested in the customer at all. |
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Fri Nov 18, 2005 12:12 am |
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