A some point you as a player have to ask yourself? What the hell is wrong with this industry!. Now this may be a rant or this may even be rage against the company machines. but the one thing this might be is, in need of a good spell check.
I would like to talk about Panda's.......Ok maybe we don't need to talk about pandas at first?. the one thing that bothers me is not a race of kung-fu pandas, Lets chew some fat on these game company's.
There are some who think the bubble that is the MMO industry is bursting. and with so many titles (many are crap) that have dominated the landscape like some form of digital cancer. it not that we have so many choices, it just so many are crap choices. but everyone likes something different i guess.
One thing that bothers me are games termed "Free to play". this is a misnomer really. because once you reach a certain point or level, the free part ends. and even worse if the game sucks as many do, you end up drooping out fast. So what can a player do?. the answer is not easy.
But something is happening with this industry. The only thing that an industry bursting bubble achieves, is all those little crap F2P games finally die out. and like true evolution only the strong survive. I have always liked that concept in gaming. if your game sucks it dies and naturally so. but ever since the creation of digital life support surnamed "Free too play". that natural course has been altered.
The industry is in a state of flux right now. you don't need to be an insider to see it. it's time for company's to stop making games for a profit first and to start making great games first. profit should be easy to make if your game is good. we don't see much of that now. we see the genre moving to almost a face-book like system that is fail from the beginning. the only person doing well with face-book is zuckerberg.
I have discovered we can't blame developers for this mess. they are just people hired to create something for whatever company that has hired them. you can't blame ghotscrawler for WoW's downfall. if you do then your stupid. because he has been ordered to make it the way it's turning out. he may have slight input in to game systems but there is a majority above him that agreed to do the way it was done.
It's not so much innovation, it games trying to be everything to everyone. you can't make everyone that plays your game happy. it's not even remotely possible. what developers can do is find ways to make their games to allow a player to effect the game world. we all know that linear them-parks will have a beginning and end. once that end is achieved the hunt for something new is started. this is one of the problems with World of warcrfat as well.
So how can it be fixed?...developers listen? maybe?
Stop looking at players with dollar bill symbols in your eyes. start thinking outside the box. when a player creates a character make sure if your games a them-park that he has the tools to create his own content in some form. players are people. they buy games to escape reality. if you introject to much reality in to their play experience, then they will stop playing. we play games to be something we can't possibly be in real life.
Making A game to try and please everyone is like the myth of game balance. it doesn't exist. but it's the reason game company's get a chance to alter certain mechanics to their liking.
Some advice for blizzard...
Stop the balance act. you will never make everyone the same. by the very nature of your game someone will always have more power. you can never balance that power. if you remove it then they become gimped. and you end up removing the very reason they attained that power. make it and if it's not broke don't fix it.
Learn from the past. take what you have and expound upon it. don't take it away each xpac. your talent system pre-cataclysm had variety and even if it had useless Tiers it gave more choices to those that like them.
Stop putting training wheels on game mechanics. you thwarted the very reason people liked questing. then you made it easy to do as a solo player. it was risky pulling to many Mobs back in the day. you sometimes had to ask for help. which created the social aspect of the game and made it strong. you also keep adding features that allow people to circumvent responsibility. like server queuing. ninjas and tantrum throwers abound in this system. they have no accountability for their actions when they become a jerk to a group.
You allowed players to fly in starting zones. that was a cardinal sin for new players who sometimes create bonds with higher levels players by asking for help. higher level players simply like flying mounts to look bad ass flying around on roofs and in major hubs. it killed you best social aspect and to some extent ground based PVP.
You never fully fixed your PVP game that was tacked on to the PVE game. instead you micro manage classes and ability's instead of completely revamping the combat system and mechanics. you made a very large disparity between the two play styles that created animosity.
it's not just about pandas with WoW. it's about dedication to your flagship. the bread and butter is the older players who still promote your game in the face of cataclysm. not the high turn-over players or the revolving door idiots who will flail in the wind and run to your competitors.
If your going to retire WoW in a better state then it was in the last of each xpac, then give real players the best you can. you have two xpacs left to tie up the burning legion and to finally bring back the Titans to finish off Sargeras and his burning legions. you even have the old gods who have still not been fully finished with azeroth. you have a plethora of hero classes you could have added. you could have done many things to show players the new flagship is not the most important right now. Plus you make a billion dollars off of WoW and it seems a small percentage has been used to create this new xpac.
Guild Housing and a host of other features to fully round out WoW near it's retirement would have been an epic thing to be part of as it winds down it development.
But that's enough about WoW for now.
I hope to expand on other games later. if not?, I'm sure i will be trolling some forums due to boredom.
Peace all. have fun!
MMORPG.com writes:
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