Originally posted by Goatgod76

Originally posted by Randayn

The last issue would have to be that developers spend too much time trying to make the next-gen in graphics and forget they had a game to make.  MMORPG's need open worlds, large, vast continents to explore and more freedom than MMORPG's grant today.  Although I do like decent graphics, they do not have to be state of the art....in history, MMORPG's (and even RPG's) have always been a few steps behind in graphics compared to other games because they focus more on content than how pretty the girl toon looks.

 

Just a few complaints...I do have more, but that's enough for now

- Vanguard: Saga of Heroes -

 

I would say yes if the game didnt eat my machine alive.  I get lag bad in Vanguard.  Game is awesome, lag is terrible.

I'll preface this by saying that for me, the term unrealistic implies that the expectations do not have a basis in reality. 150 years ago we didnt have airplanes, but there were alot of people with "unrealistic expectations" jumping from high places... Another way of seeing "unrealistic expecations" is "a gap that needs to be filled".  If (!) mmorpg players have unrealistic expectations - then that could be a driving force of innovation. The question therefor shouldnt be why mmorpg players have unrealistic expecations, but why there is a general lack of innovation in the genre.

Part of the answer, I think, would be the long development cycle. It takes upwards of 4 years from inception to release, and alot of stuff happens in the market by the time the game is ready to publish. If the "appetites" of the market changes halfway through the developement cycle, the company has too much invested to be able to change course and adapt.

Another aspect to this is how the collective has learned from its past (so it stops jumping from high places without the proper gear). We kinda need lone wolves to carry the genre forward, because in reality copy cats is what is dumbing down the collective learning process. Copy cats do by definition not take a single presedential step forward - ever! Unfortunately, the lone wolves are indie companies without proper funding, and it shows in the end result. We end up with polished turds and diamonds in the rough. Both lack mass appeal, and the economists conclude the genre is too risky to progress.

Pure economic thinking doesnt innovate anything. It doesnt put creativity in the front seat unless instructed to (unwillingly because it cant put a number on creativity). Putting profit in the driving seat didnt produce the Mona Lisa, the first flying machine, the Statue of Libery, the Eiffel Tower etc etc etc. That came after. Now all of these feats of creativity are money making machines. I wonder how they would be if they were made the other way around: "Lets make a monument so we have something to sell these tickets for!". Would they stand as tall, proud and unique then? As an afterthought - isnt that some of the cancer that lies within a big portion of the FTP market? To hell with innovation, we just want something suitable for our business model! A large portion of us - the mmorpg players - have ended up like Cypher in the Matrix; unable to distinguish friend from foe.

My hope lies in that at some point the stars are bound to align, and a lone wolf and a billionaire are going to meet, sign a contract, and we will end up with a polished diamond. Unrealistic expectations? No, simply the foundation of innovation!

While I agree with some of the arguments put forth about MMO's not having advanced and pushed boundaries like other genres, I believe there is another, more basic issue that hasn't been brought up.  Other genres of game have and ending. These games are designed, like a good book or movie, to have a satisfying ending where the player says "I WON!"  Most folks will complete a game and move on.  MMO's don't have this.  They work to entice the player to go after the next piece of gear, next dungeon, next level of difficulty.  They deliberately avoid giving players that satisfaction so they keep playing. 

Therefore where many gamers in other genres quit satisfied, or even wanting more, many MMO players quit simply because of boredom, without the payoff of other genres of game.

The unrealistic expectations most often stem from the unparalled success of WoW.

The fact is that all other themepark MMOs released after WoW have followed pretty similar life cycle:

1. Initial rush, based on the hype often followed by busy servers.

2. Honeymoon ends, people have plowed through the content and started looking for other games.

3. People leave en masse, servers start to feel empty causing more people leave, domino effect.

4. Server mergers, loyal fans stick with the game.

5. Special promotions and changes to the business model, F2P and hybrids.

6. Long-term playablity, the game continues with occasional updates and promotions with rather limited development team, the player base stabilizes around few hundred thousand players or less.

Originally posted by thexrated

The unrealistic expectations most often stem from the unparalled success of WoW.

The fact is that all other themepark MMOs released after WoW have followed pretty similar life cycle:

1. Initial rush, based on the hype often followed by busy servers.

2. Honeymoon ends, people have plowed through the content and started looking for other games.

3. People leave en masse, servers start to feel empty causing more people leave, domino effect.

4. Server mergers, loyal fans stick with the game.

5. Special promotions and changes to the business model, F2P and hybrids.

6. Long-term playablity, the game continues with occasional updates and promotions with rather limited development team, the player base stabilizes around few hundred thousand players or less.

In my opinion, those things are symptoms and not the diagnosis of the true, underlying problem.

I do not see how themeparks can really do differently. There simply comes a point when you run out of content or it begins to feel stale.  We need compelling dynamic content that requires cooperation to keep people playing for longer periods.