Hey Steamers - 

I wanted to share this thoughts on episode with you guys, covering "The Death of the MMO" genre. I think that the genre is facing some uphill battles in its current form, and at the same time is evolving into something else. Check it out and let us know what you think:

Death of the MMO - thoughts on

Cheers 0/

In the middle of watching it but it appears I totally feel the same way as you.

Evoloving yes dieing no.

People will always be looking to play these types of games with others. The solo mmo player seems the be the one most unhappy with mmos. I'm sure a new genre of games dedicated to them isn't far off. Games like GW2 are probably it's baby steps.

My perspective: evolving yes, dieing yes.  Death of the old makes way for the new.

 

I don't like it, but that in itself changes nothing.

 

If everyone stopped calling these games MMOs I would be happy. They are nothing like the games that people played for years consistently, ie Everquest. The idea that content has to be developed consistently means that these new games are nothing like the original MMOs. You didn't really run out of things to do in the older MMOs. Expansion packs were added every so often and generally they provided more content for AT LEAST six more months. You were not in a hurry in those games. Why are people paying for the actual game and a monthly fee, or paying for items in the game, when the game doesn't enetertain them for how long a single player game would?

An almost incoherent rant, with little content when you try and wright down what was said in order to respond. 

 

Reminds me why I prefer to get memoranda and discussion papers rather than having rambling meetings with no agenda.

I like where you compared online gamers to drug addicts. My attention span for online games is pretty much non-existent nowadays. I'm at the point now where I can play them for only a few days at a time (maybe a few weeks for the really good ones like Rift and The Secret World). I downloaded Tera yesterday when it went free to play and I had it for maybe two hours before I uninstalled it.  I really do feel like a drug addict looking for my next fix. I've probably installed and uninstalled about 20 MMOs in the last 30 days. MMO longevity just doesn't exist for me anymore. I'm hoping that 2013 (the year of the sandboxes) will bring me a game I can play for years, but I seriously doubt it.

The reason I get bored with online games so easily is because they have no depth to them. Everything boils down to being able to mash your buttons ever faster or acquire vast amounts of items, all so you can move on to the next stage and do it again. There's never any role playing, world interaction, exploration or experimentation. Even games that are steeped in lore always wind up being static and simplistic, when they could be dynamic and dramatic.

Basically, MMOs are vapid eye-candy, designed to placate the average gamer and serve as a platform for social interaction (which is mainly just chatting). Creating a detailed, complex MMO would take a long time and a lot of money. It's simply too big of a risk for game developers and, thus, I will never play a game that is capable of holding my interest for very long.

Originally posted by neosapience
mash your buttons ever faster or acquire vast amounts of items,

 

My term for this is "kill things, take their stuff".  And you are quite right.  99% of the content is based on this.

 

Well the guy in the video almost gets the real problem.

He does talk about one of the largest problems, and thats about community. Developers are responsble for community tools to bring people togeather.  However he turns around and changes the solution to be adding content. he thinks adding content will keep players. This helps, but the andswer is community.

 

Community = keeping players playing......Then add content !

 

Auto grouping does not make a community

Dungeon finders does not make community

Easy game play does not make community

Mega servers with zoning does not make up community

*sigh* Another sensationalist statement "MMOs are dead" made with rose-tinted glasses on. The video starts wrong, and proceeds going downhill fast... didn't bother watching it through.

Its like starting with "The earth is actually flat". Nothing good can follow after that.

PvP'ers do not make a community.

Well I'm enjoying planetside 2. And I still think eve is more than worth playing.

But for me personally mmo pve is dead. It hasn't really evolved beyond EQ2 / wow over the past decade or so and has gotten very stale and boring.

Hoping to see how TESO turns out, hope it isn't wow pve yet again. There's potential there if they can replicate the pve of skyrim, which is a much better pve experience than you get in mmos. Or even if it ends up old school daoc pve that would at least be different and imo better than your wow clone style pve.

Originally posted by XAPGames

My term for this is "kill things, take their stuff".  And you are quite right.  99% of the content is based on this.

Essentially unchanged from AD&D, all these years forward, yes.

But this revelation surely cannot be a stunner, to anyone who remembers these games are...games? Gauntlet, evolved? DOOM, grown up?

The disappointment is strongest in those who expected these essentially simple entertainments to replace lives and last forever.

Please don't die too soon.  Give me a fightin' chance!

While I am looking forward to Neverwinter and Elder Scrolls Online there are plenty of other titles releasing in the near future like ArcheAge, EQNext, DF:UW and Pathfinder (even though I am not interested AT ALL in those).

 

The Hyperbole is strong with this one.

"Eventually the game lost all its players. It's still going today. " - regarding UO

He then goes on to say that EVE Online is struggling because it doesn't have World of Warcraft numbers. "Not even barely a million active users," as if that's the norm for MMOs.

I stopped there. I doubt anything else beyond that was anything more than just more assumptions and rose-colored UO/EQ pining. However, I can easily see the video being a shrine for many here to worship at.

 

 

 

Originally posted by Loktofeit

rose-colored UO/EQ pining

Well, at least it's not DAoC pining, that got pretty thick, earlier this week.

The target oldy game changes from day to day, but the QQ is consistent and eternal.

Originally posted by Icewhite

Originally posted by Loktofeit

rose-colored UO/EQ pining

Well, at least it's not DAoC pining, that got pretty thick, earlier this week.

The target oldy game changes from day to day, but the QQ is consistent and eternal.

I found myself guilty of that one, as well, as I sat here squeeing at the thought of a new DAoC. :)

Originally posted by delete5230

Well the guy in the video almost gets the real problem.

He does talk about one of the largest problems, and thats about community. Developers are responsble for community tools to bring people togeather.  However he turns around and changes the solution to be adding content. he thinks adding content will keep players. This helps, but the andswer is community.

 

Community = keeping players playing......Then add content !

 

Auto grouping does not make a community

Dungeon finders does not make community

Easy game play does not make community

Mega servers with zoning does not make up community

 I honestly don't ever remember leaving a MMO because I ran out of content....Now community issues I have left many times but never content.