A simple question.

Considering how many MMOF (massive multiplayer online failure) are being released; Why are they still trying to make new games based on their own ideas?

Do not misunderstand me, I know companies cant rely on everyone opinions because everyone got different ones. What im saying is.. I've never seen big companies doing a competition within players about a MMO designer job, they always choose designers on their own, probably they choose a person who doesnt even know how mmos really work out.

I'd personally look into people ideas before starting to waste my money..What do you think?

Actually I think they do a great deal of research and analysis trying to guess what sort of games players really want (i.e. will subscribe to) and then do their best to provide it. 

The target is elusive as you mentioned because we all have different ideas of what makes a game fun, and in the end, you can't run a company based on opinion polls.  You have to come up with a vision, bring it to fruitiion and then hope the marketplace buys it.

What are they supposed to ask?  People here can't agree on anything, there really isn't a right way to create a MMORPG because people all prefer different gameplay/styles.

Originally posted by Kyleran

Actually I think they do a great deal of research and analysis trying to guess what sort of games players really want (i.e. will subscribe to) and then do their best to provide it. 

The target is elusive as you mentioned because we all have different ideas of what makes a game fun, and in the end, you can't run a company based on opinion polls.  You have to come up with a vision, bring it to fruitiion and then hope the marketplace buys it.

 

  I would agree with this. Your or I may question a companies direction but Im more than certain they do their homework. Not to mention no one agrees on anything, just look here for proof.

People don't always know what they want.

I agree with all of you, but the fact im trying to point out is different.

How do Companies choose DEVs?

How many chances are there for a DEV, chosen by  companies, to be ingenious, and how many chances are there for a PLAYER, chosen from tons of them explaining their ideas, to be ingenious in MMO designing?

I think Companies should create a blog, a forum, whatever it is necessary to check NORMAL players MMO ideas and look forward em instead of passive-watching forums like this one trying to understand people opinion.

if your asking why they don't appoint randoms to be head game designer its mostly due to education/experiance.  Lead game designer requires some sort of formal education (preferably in the gaming industry) and a whole lot of experiance.  That and the fact that these guys don't just design the game but do a whole lot of stuff that comes with it (Documentation for example).

As for research i would expect investors to demand the company do signifigant research before undertaking a multi-million dollar project.

I get your point, but understand that a lot of the devs they pick are gamers themselves.  But then there lies the problem, because they are gamers, they STILL all prefer different gameplay & styles.  So the problem arise when a developer thinks something is cool, but perhaps others don't think so.

Just think to yourself, how many times have you read a post on the forum from someone that posted an idea about something, then you think to yourself "is this guy serious?"    How many times have you disagreed on someone else's idea about fixing a class, changing game mechanics, changing how things work ingame?   Well when a developer who's a gamer designs the games, you are bound to disagree with them too.

Gamers in general don't really know what they want.  They play something to occupy their time and to entertain them for a cheap price of $15 for a whole month.  Sometimes games work out best when they focus on a single target audience, rather than expand and try to cater to everybody much like what Mythic did with WAR.  Instead of targeting PvE audience from WoW or RvR audience from DAOC, they stretched thin by trying for both.  They ended up with a game not as good as either.

Originally posted by rtPizzott

A simple question.

 

Considering how many MMOF (massive multiplayer online failure) are being released; Why are they still trying to make new games based on their own ideas?

 

Do not misunderstand me, I know companies cant rely on everyone opinions because everyone got different ones. What im saying is.. I've never seen big companies doing a competition within players about a MMO designer job, they always choose designers on their own, probably they choose a person who doesnt even know how mmos really work out.

I'd personally look into people ideas before starting to waste my money..What do you think?

They arnt using their own ideas. They are creating games based on the WOW model. That is why there are so many games released with the, been there done that " feeling.

Originally posted by rtPizzott

I think Companies should create a blog, a forum, whatever it is necessary to check NORMAL players MMO ideas and look forward em instead of passive-watching forums like this one trying to understand people opinion.

That right there is the flaw in your logic.

Forums are not representative of the opinions of the normal gamer. They never have been and they never will be.

Happy players play. Unhappy players stop playing and post. If a development company was to base their design decisions on forum communities, then the only sensible option would be to take opinions and do the exact opposite.

But that's not really the problem. It's not that all game developers are making games to a bad formula (though some are). The problem is that they're making bad games and expecting people to continue paying month-after-month for them. That just doesn't fly in the MMO genre these days; there is a lot of choice and people will only continue to pay for a game that they enjoy.

I agree with Kyleran in that companies do try to get feedback and guide their decissions through thorough research. A competition like the one you describe would likely become a PR nightmare for any company that would attempt it. One of the reasons is some participants would expect their pet ideas to be included at any cost, and would in all likelyhood become hostile to the project on the contrary. Another is that the segment of players interested in active participation on such as scheme will not necesarily reflect the wishes of the comunity at large. If you take this forums as an example, chances are the more vocal sandbox full loot pvp crowd would get its way, although the companys own research might point that themepark level based pve games are in fact a more popular choice. The sense of entitlement that would permeate a part of the crowd involved in your proposal would lead to forum drama, acusations and such. Indeed, i dare say that if you add the usual problems with bugs and deadlines that seem to plague launches youd have a situation in your hands that would, by comparison, make SOEs handling of SWG appear as a success story.

Another problem is that games that try to please everyone end up becoming bland and tasteless projects. WOW could make a good example of this. Lack of vission and leadership by developers has been the downfall of many games, consulting players would only make matters worse. Choices are as much exclusive as theyre inclusive, every design choice means closing the door on other options.

This might work for an indie project or an already established work in progress if, and only if, you were somehow able to atract a mature and understanding audience. Even then i wouldnt give it much of a chance. The concept of this being aplied to a major AAA project is simply umpractical and unworkable.

Short answer to your topic: Because most people don't know what they really want.

"Why do companies always create MMORGs without asking people their opinion?"

Why do people always think their opinions are the ones companies should follow?

What makes you think you actually have any idea about what goes into designing an MMO?

Look at these forums... Ask 10 people what is absolutely necessary in an MMO for it to be great, and you'll get 10 different answers, all of which will piss off at least 1/2 of the others.

I think it is because like people have said already, people don't know what they really want and also the fact that a company makes a game around an idea that we want, like Age of Conan, but produces it so poorly that it blows and fails.

Lots of games have awesome potential (Vanguard, AoC, but didn't get the crowd that wanted the game in the first place due to a horrid launch or poor management.