The third and final article in a series depicting a different approach to MMORPG design capable of defeating the stagnation plaguing the genre.
In this series of articles so far I've touched on items, and I’ve touched on player interaction, both incredibly vital aspects of any MMORPG. I believe it’s only fitting to finish the series by addressing the other elephant in the room: the game world itself.
I’d like to approach this matter from two sides: the literal and the figurative, in that order.
So let’s first take a look at literal world shaping in an MMORPG.
The incarnations of literal world shaping in MMORPGs are many and varied. From player built structures in the persistent game world, to instanced player housing, and various world PvP objectives to capture, many different MMORPGs have approached this issue differently.
Alas, the more extravagant literal world shaping techniques such as giving players the freedom to build things in the persistent game world simply aren’t viable, especially given the 3D nature of most MMORPGs in this day and age.
The reality of the matter is that such customization is a feature best left to entirely sandbox MMORPGs, as implementing it into a game that attempts to unite the theme park concept with dynamic gameplay mechanics would simply be too much to ask.
However, that shouldn’t entail giving up on the idea of literal world shaping as a whole. A compromise can and should be achieved in the form of world PvP or world PvE objectives that allow players to essentially own various areas of the game world, even if only temporarily. It is such a feature in particular that bears the most importance to an MMORPG with truly dynamic gameplay mechanics.
Why? Because unlike the other technically viable idea of instanced player housing, persistent world objectives facilitate the primary goal of a truly self-perpetuating MMORPG: having players create their own gameplay content with the help of dynamic elements within a persistent game world. The challenge is making such content appealing to the players.
Certainly, persistent world structures and areas are not exactly dynamic in and of themselves, but the gameplay revolving around their capture and/or use is just that. Such a concept appeals to all types of players, be they PvE enthusiasts, competitive spirited PvP players, or even lone wolves interested more in crafting or farming NPCs alone, because persistent world objectives can be contested in far more ways than simple direct combat. Indeed, the game world and the NPCs within it can be crafted to make players feel like they are contributing to a greater cause in the form of such objectives, whether they’re fighting, crafting, or performing strategic tasks. Everyone should have impactful roles to play.
How can persistent world objectives appeal to so many different types of players? Quite easily, actually. When it comes down to it, the objectives can even be there for no other reason than to provide a dynamic element, without any other effects, but why stop there? The PvP crowd will be satisfied, but what of the fans of PvE? And what of the lone adventurers, the crafters and the farmers?
To appease everyone, persistent world objectives must provide incentive in the form of various rewards or boons that affect the play style and in-game activities of all types of players. The result is nothing short of the epitome of intended MMORPG gameplay: players binding together to secure objectives in a persistent fantasy game world, whether they are interested in the matter for their own, selfish needs, or for the sake of livening up the game world they spend so much time in.
The usual problem such persistent world objectives face is the monotony and bland nature of the rewards provided as a result of acquiring said objectives. However, avoiding such a quagmire is not that hard. It simply requires the courage to make the captured objectives provide real, tangible and highly effective boons to the players that capture them. Simple trinkets or items that become obsolete by endgame turn such objectives into nothing more than a one-time amusement ride.
Instead of rewarding static, predefined items, reward randomly generated items that can be either utterly useless or incredibly powerful – a way to spur players to action on a regular basis rather than only long enough to receive a particular static reward. Instead of providing miniscule buffs to combat stats or crafting efficiency, provide truly worthwhile benefits that reverberate out to enhance faction rivalry, player run economy and many other aspects of the game.
Why allow fear of a small vocal minority destroy the magic that could be?
Yet literal world shaping is but a part of the overall concept of world shaping in an MMORPG. It was easy enough to narrow down the most effective way of livening up a persistent fantasy game world with hands-on changes to the game world, so now let’s look into the more abstract nature of world shaping as an idea.
Give it enough thought and you’re sure to come to an obvious conclusion: the world in an MMORPG is shaped by the players. At this point, it’s probably prudent to note that there is indeed a difference between player interaction and player world shaping.
Player interaction deals with the effects that players feel from other players’ actions. Meanwhile, world shaping through the efforts of players is something quite different and deals with the effects the game world, after being altered by the players within it, has on those very players in turn.
To put it simply, take in-game economy for example, a concept all too often dumbed down and left in the dust in modern MMORPG titles all for the sake of “balance” and the general idea that all players should have everything handed to them by the game world rather than the players in it.
In that scramble for instant gratification and equality for all, modern major MMORPGs lose the intense feeling of immersion and the grand effect of world shaping that a fully player run economy has on the magical fantasy world that players seek to submerge themselves in.
But dynamic world shaping isn’t limited to a player run economy, though that particular aspect is the most standalone of the lot.
One of the other more prominent aspects of dynamic world shaping intersects with the idea of rare and randomized item drops and NPC spawns. Specifically, it is dynamic elements such as incredibly rare item drops, randomized item stat budgets and rare/randomized NPC spawning that shape the world for players while also allowing the players to affect the shape of their beloved fantasy realm.
Furthermore, one must not forget the importance of customization, both cosmetic and functional. The more players are allowed to express themselves in all ways, both active and passive, the more the game world seems like a living, thriving fantasy land prime for adventure.
The list of ways players can shape the in-game world is truly rather vast. New ideas may be elusive and mysterious, but that is no excuse to avoid them, as if fearing their vague, ghostly images like a mob of superstitious villagers.
Those developers with the courage to allow players enough freedom to shape their fantasy game world have the potential to gain far more than just profits but a place in the hall of fame of innovative MMORPG design philosophies. After all, no one ever got anywhere simply conforming to the norm.
One might argue that modern MMORPG developers do try their best to innovate, but upon closer inspection, it becomes evident just how watered down that innovation is, all out of a certain reluctance to truly take chances and develop the one feature missing from all the major MMORPG titles today: dynamic world shaping guided along by the players themselves as well as the dynamic gameplay mechanics that they find so enjoyable but are always provided with only in minor quantities.
And make no mistake, the game world belongs to the players. It may be hosted on servers owned and operated by the game developer, it may have restricted access granted only to paying players by the publisher, and the final decisions behind static element changes may always lie with the execs behind the wheel of the development machine, but it is the players who bring the game world to life.
In sight of this, I find it sad that so many MMORPG developers in this day and age refuse to honor their players by giving them the freedom to shape the game world around them and generate self-perpetuating content that is grown and cultivated by their efforts.
It is on that less-than-cheerful note that I want to bring this series of articles to a drawn out close.
It is my hope that, with time, MMORPG developers and publishers alike will come to realize the importance of self-perpetuating content in the genre they are attempting to simplify for the sake of more reliable profits or in fear of trying truly new things.
Perhaps then they will feel more inclined to give their players more freedom of expression, not just through cosmetic items and effects, but by actually allowing players to affect the other players and game world around them, in turn offering a game set in a dynamically changing fantasy world constantly packed full of surprises and innovation, that very innovation that so many players dream of with each new MMORPG release but just aren’t allowed to have.
Make the players the focus of an MMORPG, yet don’t forget any of the other elements in the process, and the results will be truly astounding. The key to success in this venture, as with all things, lies in balance: not the PvP or PvE concept of balance, but balance of content.
Too many restrictions, and your vast fantasy world becomes but a stagnating reserve for the socially inclined, providing little more than a glorified 3D chat room spiced up by the occasional predefined, scripted event. Too few regulations, however, and chaos reigns, leaving the players lost and confused. It is only through a levelheaded approach, with equal amounts of all MMORPG features and all of them equally viable, can a game in this incredibly complex genre ascend to new heights of efficiency and glory.
And make no mistake, this kind of content balance does not mean giving players tiny portions of truly enjoyable content out of fear that other categories of players may revolt. Oh, no. It means allowing all players, regardless of inclination (PvP, PvE, crafting, exploration, etc.), to gain the full benefits of the game and in turn affect the entire game world with impact enough that other players can’t help but feel it.
Let the solo players achieve greatness no less than the team players. Let the PvP enthusiasts gain power no less than those who prefer PvE content, and vice-versa. Let the crafters be renowned, and let bounty hunters be infamous. Don’t force everything on everyone, yet don’t restrict anyone from anything. Offer true freedom, and players will rejoice to have it. After all, there is no arguing about taste, so give everyone their favorite dish, but make sure that when they enjoy it, their actions inadvertently connect them to a living, breathing fantasy world that is run by the players themselves.
To cater to all play styles plentifully (“plentifully” being the key word here) and to make them all work together effectively (even if they don’t necessarily see the connection) in a world that is constantly challenging and surprising them is the essence of dynamic MMORPG harmony. Accomplishing this requires developers to lighten their grip on the reigns of their own game and not feel offended by the idea of players doing their own thing within the game world that the development team has so lovingly crafted, no matter how hard that is to do.
But who will make the first step towards such an approach to designing for one of the most complicated video game genres in existence?
Will anyone ever truly break free of the current mold and take such a direction at all?
Sometimes I wonder... but then I snap to and log back in to raid the same boss I’ve been fighting for weeks in an attempt to win a predictable item I looked up on a database site or wiki, where I also saw the boss’s entire loot table, item drop chances, and the most efficient strategy possible for the boss at hand developed by number crunchers specifically to destroy all challenge and surprise the encounter was designed to have.
Even still, I can dream, can’t I?
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