Pharone
Trakanon Raider
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I think really it boils down to each individual. Not everyone is going to like every story. WoW's stories just didn't interest me enough. For you, it obviously was more enjoyable.
Where are all the MMORPG games? lol
- Thread starter Jasker
- Start date
I agree with your overall point. I use to have this exact sense too, however after being involved with some eqemu dev and a long time p99 and takp player I can tell you there are actually TONS of quests that basically no one knew of back then. Granted 75% of these quests provided useless results (well honestly a little bit extra coin, or spells isn't entirely uresless) but there is definitely at least 1-2 low level turn in quests per noob yard and in some cases 1-2 teen level turn in quests for the general next area. In Rivervale alone there are 19 quests, the majority being lvl 1-5 stuff and not one over lvl 20.
Tuco
I got Tuco'd!
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The quest-heavy content of later EQ is, in my opinion, less enjoyable than the grinding-focused content of early EQ. I think most live EQ players treat the progression quests as speedbumps they have to do rather than a core part of the expansion they're interested in. Part of that is because the story of each expansion is kind of a disjointed fever dream, but a lot of it is that after 25 years we play because we like killing mobs and not much else. Whatever dramatic stuff they'll come up with in the next expansion will just be so less weighty and interesting than exploring some random biscuit quest in Rivervale.
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Kirun
Buzzfeed Editor
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We all play MMORPGs for the "grind" and fun with friends. Killing hard bosses, collecting dank loot, and getting huuuuuge. Nobody plays this shit for quests in 2024, when there are dozens and dozens of single player RPGs that do it 100x better. In '99 maybe people had a point about "quests" not being good/numerous enough. In 2024, I just want to slay the dragon with the bros.
Give the player a world and good gameplay - that's literally all you need. They'll figure out the rest.
Give the player a world and good gameplay - that's literally all you need. They'll figure out the rest.
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Ukerric
Bearded Ape
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And it is reflected in the time spent. Expansion hit MMORPG X, people do the quest lines in 10-15-20h, done, and then spend the next six months doing something else that is totally separate from that questing experience. That's true even for story-focused games like FF14. The MSQ is done by the casual in two weeks, then what?
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How do you make an MMO today that can keep content shrouded in mystery and keep that explorative, immersive EQ feeling alive?
Flying and teleporting makes travelling more convenient but they dramatically cut down on world interaction so it feels more empty. Having multiple instances of outdoor content helps level load for the servers and zone gaming experience, but it can also feel really empty as they spread players out.
Players want to be around others players in an MMO, and the world is much more interesting when content guides aren't produced before the content is released.
Flying and teleporting makes travelling more convenient but they dramatically cut down on world interaction so it feels more empty. Having multiple instances of outdoor content helps level load for the servers and zone gaming experience, but it can also feel really empty as they spread players out.
Players want to be around others players in an MMO, and the world is much more interesting when content guides aren't produced before the content is released.
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Here's what ChatGPT said regarding creating a successful modern MMO:
Of course, here are some detailed examples for each aspect:
1. **Unique Setting and Lore:**
- Create a world where magic and technology coexist in unexpected ways, blending steampunk aesthetics with high fantasy elements.
- Develop a rich history filled with conflicts, alliances, and mysterious ancient civilizations that players can uncover through exploration and quests.
- Populate the world with diverse cultures, each with its own customs, traditions, and conflicts, offering players a wide range of experiences and stories to discover.
2. **Innovative Gameplay Mechanics:**
- Introduce a dynamic weather system that affects gameplay, with storms that can damage structures, create temporary obstacles, or spawn rare creatures.
- Implement a player-driven economy where supply and demand affect prices, and players can establish their own businesses, trade routes, and mercantile empires.
- Create a "living world" system where NPCs have their own schedules, relationships, and goals, leading to emergent gameplay and dynamic events that unfold even when players are offline.
3. **Meaningful Player Interaction:**
- Design group-based challenges that require coordination and teamwork, such as massive world bosses that require dozens of players to defeat or large-scale faction battles for control of territory.
- Implement player-run factions with their own territories, resources, and objectives, allowing players to form alliances, wage wars, and vie for dominance in the game world.
- Introduce cooperative crafting systems where players can specialize in different professions and collaborate to create powerful items, structures, and enhancements that benefit the entire community.
4. **Content Updates and Events:**
- Release regular content updates that introduce new areas to explore, quests to complete, and challenges to overcome, keeping the game world fresh and exciting.
- Host seasonal events and festivals with themed activities, rewards, and cosmetic items, encouraging players to participate and celebrate together.
- Launch expansion packs that introduce major updates, such as new classes, races, dungeons, and storylines, expanding the game world and providing long-term goals for players to pursue.
5. **Accessibility and Flexibility:**
- Offer multiple difficulty levels for quests, dungeons, and other content, allowing players to tailor their experience to their skill level and playstyle.
- Provide diverse progression paths, including traditional leveling, skill-based progression, and horizontal progression systems that focus on customization and specialization.
- Support player choice and agency by allowing them to shape their character's story, appearance, and abilities through meaningful decisions and customization options.
6. **Engaging Storytelling:**
- Create branching questlines with multiple outcomes and consequences based on player choices, allowing players to shape the world and their character's destiny.
- Introduce dynamic storytelling events that unfold over time, with NPCs reacting to player actions and the world evolving based on the outcome of major story arcs.
- Incorporate player-driven narrative features, such as player-generated content and user-created quests, giving players the opportunity to contribute to the world's lore and shape its future.
By incorporating these detailed examples into the design of an MMORPG, developers can create a game that stands out and succeeds in today's competitive market.
Of course, here are some detailed examples for each aspect:
1. **Unique Setting and Lore:**
- Create a world where magic and technology coexist in unexpected ways, blending steampunk aesthetics with high fantasy elements.
- Develop a rich history filled with conflicts, alliances, and mysterious ancient civilizations that players can uncover through exploration and quests.
- Populate the world with diverse cultures, each with its own customs, traditions, and conflicts, offering players a wide range of experiences and stories to discover.
2. **Innovative Gameplay Mechanics:**
- Introduce a dynamic weather system that affects gameplay, with storms that can damage structures, create temporary obstacles, or spawn rare creatures.
- Implement a player-driven economy where supply and demand affect prices, and players can establish their own businesses, trade routes, and mercantile empires.
- Create a "living world" system where NPCs have their own schedules, relationships, and goals, leading to emergent gameplay and dynamic events that unfold even when players are offline.
3. **Meaningful Player Interaction:**
- Design group-based challenges that require coordination and teamwork, such as massive world bosses that require dozens of players to defeat or large-scale faction battles for control of territory.
- Implement player-run factions with their own territories, resources, and objectives, allowing players to form alliances, wage wars, and vie for dominance in the game world.
- Introduce cooperative crafting systems where players can specialize in different professions and collaborate to create powerful items, structures, and enhancements that benefit the entire community.
4. **Content Updates and Events:**
- Release regular content updates that introduce new areas to explore, quests to complete, and challenges to overcome, keeping the game world fresh and exciting.
- Host seasonal events and festivals with themed activities, rewards, and cosmetic items, encouraging players to participate and celebrate together.
- Launch expansion packs that introduce major updates, such as new classes, races, dungeons, and storylines, expanding the game world and providing long-term goals for players to pursue.
5. **Accessibility and Flexibility:**
- Offer multiple difficulty levels for quests, dungeons, and other content, allowing players to tailor their experience to their skill level and playstyle.
- Provide diverse progression paths, including traditional leveling, skill-based progression, and horizontal progression systems that focus on customization and specialization.
- Support player choice and agency by allowing them to shape their character's story, appearance, and abilities through meaningful decisions and customization options.
6. **Engaging Storytelling:**
- Create branching questlines with multiple outcomes and consequences based on player choices, allowing players to shape the world and their character's destiny.
- Introduce dynamic storytelling events that unfold over time, with NPCs reacting to player actions and the world evolving based on the outcome of major story arcs.
- Incorporate player-driven narrative features, such as player-generated content and user-created quests, giving players the opportunity to contribute to the world's lore and shape its future.
By incorporating these detailed examples into the design of an MMORPG, developers can create a game that stands out and succeeds in today's competitive market.
Last edited:
Morrow
Trakanon Raider
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yerm
Golden Baronet of the Realm
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My dream mmo has basically no twitchy gameplay and combat is closer to autochess or backpack battles than to a normal game. You hunker down and grind by setting up your shit and the reactive elements in combat would just be potentially changing up a loadup or something for different encounters. All this button mashing and ability spam is bullshit. Original eq (and early tlps) have very little requirement beyond face mob and attack, yet found a way to reward experience and intelligence with things like pulling, splitting, kiting, quadding, etc. Mashing attack keys is for the adhd.
Most "mmo" gacha games and a ton of mobile stuff already do this. Those stupid ones with the big tiddy anime chicks that pop up to remind you your adblock is off are almost all autobattlers. Raid shadow legends has very little twitch. All the clash of clans style city games are set up your shit and then launch it, zero interaction in combat itself. These games blow dicks because they're moneygrubbing whale pens or coomer fests. Mechanically, you can clearly be profitable as a game without mashing buttons, but the ones proving it sells are otherwise shit games. I want this kind of autobattler but in a real mmorpg, not some softcore porn or p2w bait, at its core.
The actual fun of the game would be via strategy elements, group and raid type content, collection type shit, etc. You can have the gearing and skilling go basically path of exile levels of loot autism and its still ok. Further, since combat interaction is all preparation and strategy, players can easily be "boxed" or "merc" and just have people running them in their group or hiring them or what have you.
Any time I hear a complaint about a game where someone says they're bored because they aren't DOING anything and need more things to do meaning buttons to incessantly keep clicked, I immediately check out of any interest in their further opinions. I'm in the middle of a hussite run in eu4, that game is way beyond more "intelligent" than anything similar to wow, and my interactive combat gameplay amounts to merging unit stacks or timing a retreat. If I want twitch gameplay, I enjoy rts, I can play that. In fact, I can add rts minigames or battle royales or whatever fotm I want. But fuck having it as core gameplay. Let me apply my autism to the char management side and not have to put in jerking off levels of button spamming.
Most "mmo" gacha games and a ton of mobile stuff already do this. Those stupid ones with the big tiddy anime chicks that pop up to remind you your adblock is off are almost all autobattlers. Raid shadow legends has very little twitch. All the clash of clans style city games are set up your shit and then launch it, zero interaction in combat itself. These games blow dicks because they're moneygrubbing whale pens or coomer fests. Mechanically, you can clearly be profitable as a game without mashing buttons, but the ones proving it sells are otherwise shit games. I want this kind of autobattler but in a real mmorpg, not some softcore porn or p2w bait, at its core.
The actual fun of the game would be via strategy elements, group and raid type content, collection type shit, etc. You can have the gearing and skilling go basically path of exile levels of loot autism and its still ok. Further, since combat interaction is all preparation and strategy, players can easily be "boxed" or "merc" and just have people running them in their group or hiring them or what have you.
Any time I hear a complaint about a game where someone says they're bored because they aren't DOING anything and need more things to do meaning buttons to incessantly keep clicked, I immediately check out of any interest in their further opinions. I'm in the middle of a hussite run in eu4, that game is way beyond more "intelligent" than anything similar to wow, and my interactive combat gameplay amounts to merging unit stacks or timing a retreat. If I want twitch gameplay, I enjoy rts, I can play that. In fact, I can add rts minigames or battle royales or whatever fotm I want. But fuck having it as core gameplay. Let me apply my autism to the char management side and not have to put in jerking off levels of button spamming.
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