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General : Jon Wood: Accessibility is King
Posted Mar 11, 2010 by Michael Bitton
MMORPG.com Managing Editor Jon Wood writes this week's column on the importance of accessibility to the future of traditional MMOs.
One of the most interesting things that we have seen while we were here at the 2010 Game Developers Conference was a new iPhone app from the folks at Icarus Studios. I won’t go into the fine details here, that’s for another article, but what I will say is that the app allows players to do basically anything they could do in-game (save for actually move around the world) from anywhere.
This, my friends, is the future of traditional MMOs.
I know that what I’m saying isn’t particularly revolutionary. I also get the fact that these guys aren’t the first to break into the iPhone space, but if there’s one thing I’ve noticed at this conference, it’s that the iPhone side of the industry and the Facebook side of the industry both now have a much bigger presence here.
I agree iPhone apps for MMO integration are starting to take progress now. Even seeing some cross platformed MMO's for the iPhone pop up too. That being said iPhones do have a big market at the moment people are starting to notice that small fee games do sell just as well as commercial games and can be just as profitable.
Sounds interesting enough. I don't have an iphone and have no plans of getting one. When it comes to a phone I really only require to be able to talk to another person when needed. I hate talking on it for one and I certainly am not a compulsive texter. I see all these people constantly on their phones talking and texting and I wonder "Are they really talking about a damn thing or are they just using up minutes just to because they feel they need to talk".
But hey, if this means that companies would be afraid to incorporate more of the time requiring mechanics like taking those boat rides in EQ 1 that to me make a world more enjoyable ("real" as it were), then hey, I'm all for it. Anything that allows for more sim and placates those who claim they don't have time to play.
Steps on podium
lowers mic
taps it. Taps it again...
takes deep breath...
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
steps off
heads to P.F. Changs to drown myself in succulent lettuce wraps and ma po tofu.
*this message has been brought to you by P.F. Changs.*
I suppose I'm an old fart. I'm trying NOT to insinuate things like face book into my life.
Haha! I just had Panda Express. Mmm, 2 order Orange Chicken w/ lo mein. Yum Yum!
From title I thought it will be about MMOs and disabled people (and that would be more interesting to be honest).
I really dont like where MMOs are heading and iPhone or Facebook cant help, personally I think it could only make it worse. Everyone is making everything for iPhone and FB because its cool, but there isnt real progress or revolution for the genre. Its only money machine like most MMOs today and in these days our only hope are indie developers right now.
PC games are unplayable, boring, shallow, hw demanding and ugly because of consoles. And even if PC is still only platform for MMOs, big developers corrupted by consoles forgot how to make proper PC game and that affects MMOs also. After latest Mass Effect I am worried about SW:TOR!
Its only natural as technology advances and becomes popular with consumers that developers look for ways to incorporate this technology (and the millions of people who use it) into mmo's. The kids of today are the consumers of tomorrow. The world waits for no man.
you said it. it's all about the money. Some FB applications have more users already than WoW supposedly. Smaller, simpler, cheaper and more cash in the end. That really is sad.
On the other hand, if e.g. the Fallen Earth App on FB can get players to enter the "real" FE, why not?
Regarding accesibility as such - PCs are getting smaller, more powerful (heck, even an iPad it seems), in a few years wireless internet will be as common and cheap as ADSL was a few years back when analog modems dissappeared. So as long as the quality won't suffer (which it might in the meantime :( ) there is quite something to look forward to. Imagine playing LOTRO or others on your ultra-portable, 10h+ lasting superslim netbook at *cough* work without dishing out a fortune for the connection (that you could do today already I guess, if you don't care about costs).
better to embrace than to whine, because it is coming, if we like it or not.
No thank you!!!!! I don't have an Iphone cant afford it personally dont need the 200 dollar bill a month. Dont need facebook, don't twit.
i just dont get all this stuff.
I'm all for this if they realize that IPhone isn't the only brand that people use. We don't need to give Apple a monopoly here.
I play Tetris on my cell phone. It's okay for games like that, but an MMO? I just can't see myself do it, even on the more sophisticated Iphone (compared to my old cell phone). It would have to be something at least the size of an Ipad or an ultra portable. Cell phones are just too darn small and awkward for anything more complicated than Tetris style games IMHO.
Most people I work with either have a blackberry or an i phone. The funny thing they can't seem to understand is I write programs in my free time and have built half of their computers but still use an old mono color Motorola that costs me 30 bucks a month. There is absolutely nothing either of those phones offer me above my current phone that I want. If the cost was the same I'd be right there with them but as it stands it just seems like a waste of money when I have a million times better at home. I guess that's the big dif is a lot of people don't want to spend tons of cash for a watered down version of what they already game on. It is cool to think that maybe some of these people will migrate from such a platform to the ones we all play on. It does make for awkward conversations on family get to gethers though. One of my aunts recently says, ' Your dad told me you like online video games, me too! I just bought a new computer because the guy at best buy said you can't play the best games without one!' After hearing about her new $2000 brick she asks if I ever heard of her favorite two games, Peggle and Mahjong...
Given a choice between a telephone screen and a 42"HD monitor I'll go HD. Maybe I'm just getting old but for MMOs-bigger is better.
Well, I really look forward to this app. Icarus just keeps amazing me.
I don't know about playing an MMO on my iPhone - that would have to be seen to be believed!
But doing some of the mundane tasks - auction house, crafting, checking in with your guild, etc., I would probably use that. Blizzard already has the authenticator app for iPhones (free) as well as the armory (a light version).
Tetris, Peggle and even Oregon Trail (a slimmed down version) are easy to play iPhone games.
You just described....
My father.
He always has the very latest technology (because he loves gadgets and techie stuff, but knows nothing about those things really...just thinks they're "cool") and then.....he sits and plays Bejeweled on it. Blows my fucking MIND. And he is absolutely TERRIFIED to use the damn machine to even watch YouTube video or ANY thing that downloads, because he just KNOWS he is going to get a virus that is going to blow up his pretty new "brick," as you lovingly referred to it.
Amazing. Really. For all the people out there that are counted as "gamers" in polls and whatnot these days, I would wager to say that those gamers of the variety that we here on MMORPG.com forums fall into....are still a minority.
Fortunately, MMO developers know that we are still HERE. And I don't sincerely believe that "real" gamers are going to be a niche that will be ignored. From the looks of things though....we are indeed a niche segment of the market within the "gaming" market, when they choose to call FB games and iPhone games....GAMES at all. To me...they are nothing but diversions for doctors' office visits and flight lay overs. In my opinion, they don't qualify as games, per se. But I see that view is not widely accepted. Hmm. Weirdness abounds.
Icarus have announced that they've partnered with another company to develop a cross-platform FE app for Blackberry and other mobile platforms (www.fallenearth.com/node/415).
Apparently for those without a fancy phone there'll be a web based version (I'm presuming that'll be the new facebook app Fallen Earth: Faction Wars mentioned here: www.fallenearth.com/node/421).
So, no monopoly for apple, and more FE for everyone ; )
Oh that made me cackle : )
I wish I could terrify my parents into not clicking on everything they see on screen. My Dad reads every SINGLE THING that comes up on-screen.
Makes it hell doing phone support; Me: "Dad, click on the big button that says: "Scan now."
My Dad: "This program will scan your computer for malware, such as keyloggers..."
Me: "Dad, the big RED button click on it!",
My Dad: "Malware is increasingly..."
Me: "Dad? BIG RED BUTTON, CLICK!"
Dad: "I haven't gotten to the button yet (offended)"
Me: "Dad, you can skip to the button, it's ok, I know what I'm doing."
...and on the other hand, my mother clicks on any damn thing that pops up, despite dire warnings about viruses etc. and despite the fact that she still believes you can catch viruses from a computer. Really, she does.
She signed up for facebook, but can't ever seem to get into the site, and last week she told me she wanted a blog. I told her she didn't really need one, and that once she got the hang of facebook we'd talk about it again.
Now they're telling me the computer is too slow and they want a new one (read: when are you going to build a new computer so we can have the one you use now...) and when I asked them why they felt it was slow (it's not a bad machine) they went on and on about the internet being slow, and refused to believe me when I said that was because they have a 512k connection....
I would love it if either of them played Bejeweled, or even solitaire, as it stands they have a lovely rig, when they'd be better off with a netbook.
On topic, I think a lot of people are trying to blur the line between gamer-types. FB gamers are what I'd call the ultra-casuals, and most FB games are more about frequency of log-in (must log in every day or lose stuff) than anything else. It makes gaming easy, since there's nothing to install and the pace of the games is usually quite slow (and the controls purely click-based).
I can see people going from FB gaming to browser-based games, but the leap into MMOs is something else. I think the two markets are quite distinct at the moment, but that said, whoever comes up with a way to get FB gamers into an MMO (and keep them) will be a force to be reckoned with.
Oh that made me cackle : )
I wish I could terrify my parents into not clicking on everything they see on screen. My Dad reads every SINGLE THING that comes up on-screen.
Makes it hell doing phone support; Me: "Dad, click on the big button that says: "Scan now."
My Dad: "This program will scan your computer for malware, such as keyloggers..."
Me: "Dad, the big RED button click on it!",
My Dad: "Malware is increasingly..."
Me: "Dad? BIG RED BUTTON, CLICK!"
Dad: "I haven't gotten to the button yet (offended)"
Me: "Dad, you can skip to the button, it's ok, I know what I'm doing."
...and on the other hand, my mother clicks on any damn thing that pops up, despite dire warnings about viruses etc. and despite the fact that she still believes you can catch viruses from a computer. Really, she does.
She signed up for facebook, but can't ever seem to get into the site, and last week she told me she wanted a blog. I told her she didn't really need one, and that once she got the hang of facebook we'd talk about it again.
...clipped....for the sake of brevityOff topic, but I must say:
I only WISH my mother were like that. My mother (keep in mind that my parents are 67 and 69 years old)....my mother cannot "control the mouse." She says, and I quote, "I can't get it to do what I tell it to do."
Of course, my mind being the twisted maniacal, sometimes comical, thing that it is....creates in my head a short film that plays each time I hear her make similar comments and I imagine Mother sitting and talking to the mouse, expecting it to immediately spring into action to do her bidding via the amazing advances of new technology.....
The mouse, incredulous, simply sits and "looks" at her....and she therefore concludes that computers are "not for her," as they "don't like her." More quotes from Mother there.
Gee....and all I had to offer to MY children was loathing rap music. I feel like a failure in being appropriately "uncool" as an aging parent.
This.
I have a Blackberry and such but when someone says something like this...............
/facepalm
I think my lifes work should be educating people about system specs and what they do
Similiar response on the flip side of what you said,
WHy cant I put EQ2 on my computer? A desktop computer is pretty much just the same as any other desktop computer.
This old desktop was roughly 256mb ram, no dedicated graphics, and a pentium 4 processor. I dunno about the HDD.
Heh : ) My mum is 62 and my dad'll be 70 this year. My mother had similar mouse issues til I adjusted the sensitivity for her.
Love the idea of talking to the mouse and it sitting there like a hunk of plastic and refusing to comply. Mind you we all know people that computers "don't like", in Tech Support we used to call them people with the TOS (Touch of S**t) - anything that could go wrong for them, would go wrong.
I was working in a computer shop about a decade ago and this lady kept returning mice as they were "faulty", we'd test them and they'd work. Her problem was she misunderstood "point and click", and was waving the thing around like a remote control.
Hardest time I ever had keeping a straight face while explaining how a peripheral works. Much easier to do it over the phone when you have a mute button.
Hmm... Time to switch services, toss the Blackberry and pick up an Iphone.
Unless these apps are also good for Android?
This stuff is the future my friends soon Smart phones will be so powerful we'll be able to install actual mmos on them and play them 24/7.
Look how small the Net book is now, You can do everything online from IMing to surfing youtube all from a god damn Smart phone.
In about 5 years we wont need PCs.
I heard this when blackberry first came out. One of the larger phone companies sold this idea to idea to the company I was working for with promises of what it could do. However we soon found it it did not like to download email with attachments, did not like our email GroupWise at all, was a pain to interface. Lets say this my company won a huge reward after the law suit.
Not going to need computers in 5 years i dought it, heard that as well.
I heard this when blackberry first came out. One of the larger phone companies sold this idea to idea to the company I was working for with promises of what it could do. However we soon found it it did not like to download email with attachments, did not like our email GroupWise at all, was a pain to interface. Lets say this my company won a huge reward after the law suit.
Not going to need computers in 5 years i dought it, heard that as well.
I should have editted my post im sorry. I meant Desktop PCs As tech gets more advanced we already see the begginings of things like Onlive, Iphone Apps and the rise of Tablet PCs and Netbooks.
Smaller devices and accessibility are the way of the future, I strongly believe the way we dio things now will be totally different in 5 to 10 years.
Think of all the devices that have been rendered obsolete by smart phones whose to say the PC (Desktop) wont be taken over by another medium.
I bought my son a Netbook that can actually play WoW, Does everything my PC does. Shrink that thing down two or three sizes and its a bulky smart phone lol.
Good article, it is definitely something that is of coming importance.
Although personally I think the iphone is a huge joke on the users. Apple is basically a monster in disguise, they control everything. I can't think of a worse company to write apps for.
I don't understand why the iphone gets so much publicity, when it only has a small portion of the market.
Especially when there are better phones out there with far better capabilities.
Heh : ) My mum is 62 and my dad'll be 70 this year. My mother had similar mouse issues til I adjusted the sensitivity for her.
Love the idea of talking to the mouse and it sitting there like a hunk of plastic and refusing to comply. Mind you we all know people that computers "don't like", in Tech Support we used to call them people with the TOS (Touch of S**t) - anything that could go wrong for them, would go wrong.
I was working in a computer shop about a decade ago and this lady kept returning mice as they were "faulty", we'd test them and they'd work. Her problem was she misunderstood "point and click", and was waving the thing around like a remote control.
Hardest time I ever had keeping a straight face while explaining how a peripheral works. Much easier to do it over the phone when you have a mute button.
ROFL....thank you for making my morning SO much brighter! I really needed the laugh. :)
Sooner or later the sheer volume of consumerism will reach critical mass, & the electronics world is likely to see it hit first, hardest.
E-Waste as it is called is rapidly heading towards a critical mass of it's own, rercycling just cannot keep pace with the speed of technology & the throwaway gadget cluture, sooner or later there's going to be a point at which it all will hit a huge brick wall, & whilst it may only be the tip of the environmental iceberg right now it's the single fastest growing problem area.
I do agree with the principles espoused, accessibility is a "hook", gotta have your game out there in whatever format passes as the most popular media & it's no secret facebook is a phenomenon on many levels.
But is it just the case we are doing an awful lot more communicating but actually doing a lot less actual communication...to use a movie quote i remember from somewhere "For someone who never stops talking you say barely anything at all!".
I blame it all on Eddison, he invented the 24/7 culture & set the stage for western civilisations development from that point onwards, I hope we don't go blindly forward without thinking about maybe trying a different approach, getting back to a society that works in the day & rests at night.
Facebook apps/games are very popular. Is it the future. Not really. What it is, is a per say waiting portal for whats next. The games in general are non challenging, games that anybody can waste time playing. Their is nothing fancy about them, graphics are second rate, sound a lil better.
Who in the heck wants to play a game on a smart phone, who cares about facebook when work rules state that you can't use them at work. Since i'm not at work i can just use my PC at home so your analogy is simply flawed.
Facebook over the past several years has exploded in popularity. Most of the games are flash based and basically the same, Castle Age, Farmville, Farmtown, My town , etc, etc all simple clones. Do this , do that , wait, come back and do it all over. Though entertaining they are not living environments of old school MMO's.
With that being said who is going to access, or play games like WOW, EVE on a smart phone even if it was possible via that teeny screens. Not many accessable or not.
I didn't take the article to be about games for the Iphone.
I thought it was more about adding ways for you to do small tasks for the current mmo's on your phone, which sounds pretty good imo.
This kind of sensationalism reminds me of ALL the OTHER times developers and publishers and generally men and women in the industry have stepped up and proclaimed they've seen the future of gaming and... were wrong. Remember Black and White, how that game would remove menus from the game forever. Remember all the promises that came and went with Games for Windows Live. Remember all that talk about virtual reality. Hey what about those great ideas about how you could make a game that is not an MMO and charge MMO prices, how did that turn out?
This isn't about accessibility, it's about figuring out a way to tap smartphone users for more money. This just in, not everyone has a smartphone, not everyone who has a smartphone plays MMOs, and not all MMOs would see an application on a smartphone as an advantage (some might but certain not all).
These apps for smartphones are not a way to bring in casuals, they are actually an extremely sophisticated way to retain their existing customers. MMOs suck you in not just because its fun, but because the game permeates in your consciousness more than it probably ever should. Add in a useful app for your smartphone (like the fallen earth one) and BAM! That game you play is now occupying more space in your consciousness.
I gotta say, I like where this is going in terms of accessability, but I fear we will be sucked in even more into the MMO Matrix than we already are.