View and vote on the article here: Ravn's Rants and Ravings - MMORPGs
Ravn's Rants and Ravings - MMORPGs| Category | | | Summary | | I'm a 20-something male computer geek. As such, I play video games. Who doesn't? Earlier in my youth, I was probably what you would call a "hard-core gamer". Work and the like have made that no longer the case, though I am still certainly more t |
| | Body | I'm a 20-something male computer geek. As such, I play video games. Who doesn't? Earlier in my youth, I was probably what you would call a "hard-core gamer". Work and the like have made that no longer the case, though I am still certainly more than a casual gamer. I've been playing games on every system since the Atari 2600. Heck, I still HAVE my Atari 2600. Despite this thorough gaming background there is something I just don't properly understand: Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs).
For the record, I have played MMORPGs. I have an active World of Warcraft account, and I play it regularly, so it isn't that I have something in particular against the genre. It's perfectly fine. I simply don't understand this absolute and utter obsession that people have with it. I remember a time when companies made games that were neither massively multiplayer nor RPGs! I know, it's hard to believe, but it's true. Once upon a time, companies made these things called Strategy Games. They were wonderful! OK, I'm exaggerating...
Anyhow, some companies still make non-MMORPGs, barely. I guess I just don't see what is so fun about running around in a game with 4.5 million other people (the last number I recall reading for the number of subscribers to World of Warcraft), where everything has to be done with at least 39 of those people.
Ah ha! I think I've found my problem with MMORPGs. I don't know where it all started (though I suspect EverQuest is at fault), but somewhere along the line, playing these games by yourself became near impossible. Yes, I know the MM part stands for "Massively Multiplayer". That doesn't mean you cannot play alone. There are LOTS of multiplayer games where you don't have to have a team. Quake, anyone? I'm sorry, but I don't want to spend my time finding 39 other people who I don't know (and probably won't get along with) just to play a stupid game! Let me solo if I want to, please! Of course, I'm not too wild about the RPG part either.
I'm really sorry everybody, but when I hear "RPG" I think of Dungeons and Dragons. D&D is, quite probably, the dorkiest game ever dreamt up. That's not to say it isn't fun; I've played it once or twice, and it is, sorta. It just is really, really, REALLY dorky, primarily because people tend to take it too seriously. Now, most MMORPGs aren't quite so bad. The fact that they're video games alone makes them much more non-dorky. However, you cannot have a discussion about what kind of armor you (a guy) are getting for your female night elf character without immediately getting a very large "L" branded into the middle of your forehead. Let's go beyond the role-playing a bit though: this is a genre where you repeatedly kill things to advance your character, through experience, new equipment and the like. By killing things, you become more powerful and progress. Really, I don't see what is so exciting about "leveling" your character up, and plotting to get that next piece of "ultra-l337" armor. Maybe I'm just missing something. Yes, it can be addictive to see the little display when you level, and sure I can see how a person could get off on being Über-powerful with all the best gear in the game (like I said, I play World of Warcraft quite a bit myself), but in the end, you HAVE to do it. You simply cannot progress through the game without having all the best pieces of equipment.
Think for a moment. Strategy games, first person shooters, adventure games, flight sims, sports games, fighting games... These games get harder as they progress. So how do you beat them? Well, you play, and you get better at the game. Your character doesn't, usually, get better (discounting bigger guns in FPS games). The game becomes more and more dependent on the player's skill, rather than just making you run around to find some new piece of equipment. I think this is really where MMORPGs break down. There isn't really any skill involved. The game provides everything you need. You just have to find it. The question then is, why are they so popular?
Why does World of Warcraft have 4.5 million players worldwide? Why have people lost their jobs and failed out of school due to playing these games? What is it that makes them so addictive? Why is it that companies are ignoring other genres (in many cases, the very genres that made them so big in the first place *cough*Blizzard*cough*) in order to pump these games out? Why (oh please, explain to me) are people willing to pump out $10-$20 a MONTH to play, in addition to the cost of buying the game? Many pay for multiple such games at once! There is a serious lack of understanding here on my part.
OK, they're easy money for game companies. I mean, most games that are sold just get the up-front $50 box sale, and that is it. MMORPGs not only get the box sale, but then a couple months of $15 a month. That can add up pretty quickly. Yes, there are extra costs from running such a game (support, patches, new content, servers, etc.), but the subscription costs MORE than make up for it. More than that though, I think it has become easy. MMORPGs are the current guaranteed cash-cow. There's a basic model that they all follow. They just toss in some new names, some new art models, slap it in a new box, call it done - and rake in millions...wait, maybe I understand this better than I thought....
I guess I can see where the players come from too. I mean, you can't lose in an MMORPG. You will win, eventually. There is nothing in the game you cannot accomplish if you're willing to devote enough time. Who wouldn't want to escape their mundane real lives to visit a fantasy world where they can become as powerful as they want to be? Maybe that is why these games are so popular.
Ravn |
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This article was imported from zZine. (original author: ravn)
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