It's All About Gameplay
MMORPG.com Correspondent Matt Plourde uses this article to take a look at a simpler form of MMO gaming and asks readers to decide if TomeNEt, a simpler ASCII-based MMO is really so much worse than the multi-million dollar AAA MMOs.
Editorial By Matt Plourde on June 15, 2009
After purchasing a few supplies in town, you meet-up with your dwarf friend and decide to try your luck in the Barrow Downs. The first few levels of the dungeon are easy - a few molds, an insect swarm, and a pack of wolves. One door was trapped, and your strength was drained for a little while. Another door was locked, but you bashed your way through - perhaps you should work on your lock picking skills. You found some loot, but nothing special yet - so, you decide to delve deeper. A trap (that you also didn't notice) destroys your last flask of oil, but your lantern still has some juice left. Your dwarf friend rounds a corner and screams - "Back! Snotlings - lots of them!" That means there's a whole den of the little creatures - a den full of loot as well. What luck! You support from the back with your crossbow and the dwarf chops the snotlings down as they round the corner. Things are going well, and you drool as you watch the pile of loot amass on the floor. Then, a snotling shaman teleports behind you and blasts you with arcane magic! Where'd he come from? You turn your attention to the shaman, which leaves the dwarf alone to dispatch the still-rolling mass of snotlings. You wound the shaman with your sword and he teleports back in the direction you came. Chasing him down, you position yourself against a nice, sturdy rock wall. That's when the orcs climb right over that sturdy wall! A hill orc descends upon you and you're doing well - until your lantern goes out! As death comes, you wonder how the dwarf fared against the snotling horde. Perhaps you shouldn't have followed that shaman...
Each level of a TomeNET dungeon is random, though you can estimate the average enemy level based upon your depth. Some levels could be light on enemies, maybe a few natural predators lurking around. Other levels could feature several monster "vaults" or clusters - great risk and great reward. Unique enemies (with better loot) are also scattered about. Traps, secret doors and teleporters add to the mix to give you a unique, unpredictable experience every time you dive into a dungeon. Things can quickly get out of hand as you are working to clear one enemy group, and another group decides to attack your flank. Some foes can teleport or move through impassable terrain to give you a nasty surprise. Other enemies are invisible! Swarm-type enemies reproduce at a massive rate and could quickly get out of control. Unique bosses may summon hordes of minions. Pure joy.
;)
Careful, that’s a level 5 comma.
As you probably guessed, TomeNET is about more than your ability to swing an axe or spell. A high perception is needed for spotting traps and hidden enemies. Some spells and magic devices can destroy dungeon walls/doors. Stealth is required if you want to sneak. Other skills affect your ability to flee, endure poison, stay sane, avoid falls, swim and survive various other nasty dungeon surprises. Graphical MMORPGs have "secondary" skills too, but they usually only affect combat or crafting. TomeNET offers you the skills to survive your environment, which is just as dangerous as a berzerking orc. Of course, one fundamental skill is also constantly challenged as you delve the dungeons - your own! Nothing here is scripted or designed to ensure your success - that must be gained by actually playing the game. Classic.
Your character is a combination of race, class and skills (and loot). Some races are vastly more powerful than others, however they level slower. Add your class & race together to determine most of your vital stats. The classic fantasy fare (with a Tolkien slant) applies here. During character creation, you can choose your difficulty. So, if you are averse to perma-death, you may want to try "everlasting." Though you can still perma-die as an everlasting character, it's not as common (especially at the early levels) - so this is a good way to learn the game... and learn you will.
The total sum of the parts is what stands TomeNET's gameplay apart: perilous & interactable environment, random dungeons, unforgiving enemies, earned permanence, fast-paced action, real risk which equates to real rewards, and the absence of any grinds. Add to these things the foreboding that you feel when you decide to push farther rather than head back to the safety of town, the quickening of your pulse when you see a new group of enemies advance upon you, and the tangible sense of accomplishment you feel when you survive against overwhelming odds - and I think we start to see something special... something we cannot find in today's predictable graphical MMORPGs.
With such a small userbase, how can I consider TomeNET an MMORPG? Well, for some of us, we rarely see the "massive" part of these games. Instead, we are content to play with our friends and/or families. The rest of the online population may as well not exist. If that is how you play MMORPGs, then TomeNET can certainly qualify as a game worthy of recognition by the MMORPG community. True, you won't be doing any twenty-man raids in TomeNET... but, some of us see that as a good thing.
What is the "endgame" for TomeNET? Certainly, PvP in today's MMORPGs offers far more challenge and replayability than TomeNET's random dungeons? Well, PvP does offer more challenge - if you are allowed to participate. By that, I mean most current MMORPG's PvP requires you to have top-end gear or run with the best guilds. For some of us, the days of competitive MMORPG PvP are in the rear-view mirror simply because we choose to not participate in that grind. So, PvP aside, TomeNET's endgame is comprised of viciously hard dungeons. Sure, you're not collecting titles, widgets, or other grind "rewards" - but you don't play TomeNET to have the fanciest mount or loudest shoulderpads: you play for the challenge and fun. No two dungeon dives are the same - how's that for replayability? Even better - roll a new character class and see how it works. Since you gain experience quite fast, you are spared the usual grind to reach the upper levels. I daresay TomeNET has near limitless replay value and endgame content - it just might not be what you're used to.
If the ASCII characters aren't enough to drive people away, then perma-death probably will - and this is a shame. The core gameplay is so impressive, so eternal, so damn fun - that most people don't know what they're missing. Luckily, some game developers recognize the gold under the ugly ASCII rock. Through the years, numerous graphical versions of the Rogue-like games have been available for download or purchase. I feel it's important to point-out that these types of games still have a devoted following. Recent examples of complete remakes/tributes include Shiren the Wanderer for the Nintendo DS and Chocobo's Dungeon for the Wii. However, none of the older graphical versions or completely new offerings are available as persistent multiplayer online games (Shiren does have a feature that allows other DS players to help you recover the items on your corpse - brilliant!) TomeNET is online, free, and based upon one of the more simplified Rogue-like platforms (which is good for those of us trying to learn the ropes, frowned-upon by old-old school purists who are crankier than me). While TomeNET remains a microscopically small online game developed by volunteers, there is no denying its place as a reminder to all that has come before - MUDs (Multi-User Dungeons) and Rogue-like games. TomeNET will provide you with a fighting chance, and then patiently wait for you to overextend yourself. Once you know your way around the "interface" (I suggest a fighter-type character to begin), you might find modern MMORPGs a feature-rich but mostly predictable "tour" of a fantasy or sci-fi world.
;)
ASCII Bunny Says
Try it!
Okay - can I really be serious? I mean - millions of subscribers to hundreds of online games cannot be mindless mobs going through automated motions for years on end. Far from it - I believe MMORPGs present fun challenges in some very social and dynamic settings. Heck - I still subscribe to a mainstream MMORPG (sometimes two)! However, there are games out there which just have "something else." When you find you are no longer willing to dedicate most nights to grinding or "character maintenance," and you are looking for a challenging game with the same sense of permanence in your beloved MMORPGs - try looking around. The dinosaurs are still out there - you just need to wipe away the dust of misconception and take a leap of faith...
If you're interested in TomeNET, I've provided links below:
http://www.c-blue.de/rogue.html
http://koti.mbnet.fi/mikaelh/tomenet/
I like MUDs, but I play them for a different reason than MMOs. To me, they aren't better... they're different. I enjoy the 'interactive book' feel of a MUD. I also enjoy the nostalgic look of them as well. With MMOs, I'm usually looking for faster gameplay, more 'hero'-style combat, and all sorts of neat eye/ear candy. To clarify on that last one, for me that sensory reward doesn't necessarily mean cutting edge tech. I find the graphics of Lineage 2, Vanguard, EVE Online, LOTRO, and AoC all pretty equally appealing... although few things beat the satisfying crunch of a crit ona golem or skeleton in Asheron's Call. :)
For me, looking for a deeper MMO in a MUD is like looking for a deeper Doom 3 in ZORK.
There is a simple reason why the author's experience different that much from a 'standard' MMORPG: the random dungeon.
It's exactly the same feeling a MMORPG player experiences the first time he/she enters a new dungeon. You do not know the layout, where the mobs are and what special abilities the bosses have. You do not know the patrol routes or any of the traps.
You do a dungeon a few times and it gets predictable. Thing is that the ASCII games started the same way. Doing the logic for a good rundom dungeon system is not easy and it took time for it to evolve. Doing the same thing for a 3D MMORPG is even harder and creates its own problems like the maphacks from Diablo 2. Hellgate London tried to do this and fell flat since they could not commit the resources to really make it varied.
BEST article EVER. It helped my to change my view for looking for mmorpg.
WOW. And I had just posted in another thread how today's MMO's are basically:
Icon indicator that initiates another icon indicator on where to go to complete shopping list to collect / return / deliver. Rinse - Rpeat until End Game.
I have to agree I enjoy a good MUD or even a nice RP driven forum, but I do play MMO's for something different. Nicely written article!
A Rougelike MMO sounds like it would actually be pretty fun. I do wish they did have SOME kind of Graphics though, even bad ones. Hell, 8-bit sprites for all I care. This is due to the only issue I have with Roguelikes.... Lack of actual graphics makes it incredibly difficult for me to tell what in the name of god is going on.
Neverwinter Nights on AOL sorry I missed out on that.
I played an old Apple II+ back in the early 90's. I had an early Ultima game. pretty fun tell the program crashed.
Since I'm not a programmer I don't know the difficulties in making randomly generated 3D quest instances, although I know they do it very well in City of Heroes, so I don't see why a company like Blizzard can't bring something similar to the table to help freshen up their game. It certainly can't be hard to randomly generate groups of mobs in an instance based on party strength so you are never facing the same thing twice, even if you don't want to take the time to do the random map generation. I have to say I agree with this article, I have always felt the only way to keep a game new and fresh for people is to have a random element involved in the enemies and dungeons. People might cry though if you randomly switched the bosses around and they spent time fighting only to come up on the boss they didn't want.
I think randomness = work, and a lot of people don't want to work in games any more. It's one of the reasons I quit playing WoW. People just want epics handed to them for nothing compared to work it took in pre-expansion pack WoW to get them. I understand some people want to play their games for fun, but some people like a challenge. I think that's another big hurdle for MMORPG makers. If a company manages to make a successful game that was initially challenging , they face the choice of dumbing it down to keep the more casual subscribers, or hold true to the game's nature. Sadly the almighty dollar usually wins out and kills off the challenging play.
There's a few problems with that. Currently, random means significantly less context and story than handcrafted. If you have both in a game, you will be able to easily tell which is which and that starts to kill the fun for a lot of people. Also, players like to 'get comfortable' with a dungeon. Part of dungeon running for many peoplel is mastering the dungeon. Another thing is the scaling of the content. Scaling content often reduced the feeling of progression since everything remains pretty much at your level. Another satisfying aspect of gameplay for many is to go back to that dungeon where you got trounced when they're a higher level and toss a beatdown on those mobs.
Oneof the best attempts at procedural dungeons and the content around them is Dungeon Runners. It's got a free to play mode to it, so download it and check it out. It has some really cool benefits to it, but that "new dungeon feel" starts to wear thin as you become more aware that there's really no rhyme or reason to each new iterationof the dungeon.
Thanx for the article, TomeNEt is a game i'll play.
For any who are fans of Rogue-alikes i HIGHLY recommend Dwarf Fortress - a free indy sandbox sim/game in development by Bay 12 Games www.bay12games.com/dwarves/
Your mmo history is nearly identicle to mine, except i went from BBS doors to Realm, UnderLight and Meridian 59 before finding UO.
A lot of the exciting qualities you describe come from Pencil and Paper D&D. In my opinion that's really what modern mmogs are missing - Dungeon Master (DM) creativity and interaction.
The closest that mmogs have come to that level of interaction are the early months of UO when employees ran weekend Events (the Shrine Wars campaign was ASTOUNDING!) and also good old Asheron's Call, where again the storyline and world was advanced by DM Events.
For Depth of Immersion and Suspension of Disbelief, I still await the mmog that can even come =close= to a good DM-run "Village of Hommlet" D&D intro scenario.
That pretty much sums it up for me as well. :D
This is a great article and describes exactly how I feel about modern MMO's. I've been playing them since Ultima Online and to this day Asheron's Call 1 remains my favorite MMO because of how challenging it is and how it is a sandbox.
I keep trying out all the new MMO's and none of them can hold my attention for longer than a month. I continue to fall back on a MUD i've been playing for the past 9 years off and on, and even today keeps me entertained a lot longer than any MMO has in the past 5 or 6 years. I'm a big fan of old school games because they were actually challenging unlike all of the newer MMO's.
I will definitely give TomeNET a try, as I was a fan of the rogue games back in the day. I never knew an ASCII MMO existed until now. Sounds like great fun, and much more appealing to me than World of Warcraft any day.
Dude... thks for the amasing artice u have explained in detal(tho its a bit 3 para lengthy :P).
i am stating to play the game.. hope its as good as u have mentioned.. cos i too am not into MINDLESS grinding in MMORPGs
I liked your take on the "massive" part of the acronymn.
People are too stubborn these days and insist the first "M" is for massively only applying the number of players.
When in fact, everything about MMORPGs is "massive" derived from its permanence element.
I agree on the purpose people are using quests and raids,nothing more than loot gathering.I think gaming has become even worse than that.People forget why you actually play a game,they start to talk like there has to be a hardcore and casual formula.There is no such thing as hardcore or casual because the game has to move only as fast as you can handle it.
The fact that so many are talking casual/hardcore is proof enough that people are not joining to enjoy a game,they are joining to join the masses[WOW] or joining to see how fast they can hit max level and feed their ego[i guess].For others it is more like a hangout where they can meet some friends.
All of it adds up to anything but game play,however for myself it is ALL about game play.That is why i looked to FFXI,it has an aged engine,low end graphics,but the whole game showed me tons of effort was put into it.Many of the games ideas are unique not copies of other games.Look again at WOW,the entire game is pretty much a copy of EQ,so why would so many join a game they could have already had in EQ2 or EQ?not because of game play i assure you.
To further prove that most do not care about game play,look at how many posts where players the [fanbois] especially talk about how great a game looks when they first logged in.Then they start up guild recruits the first day before they have even learned anything about the game play.Look even further to games that garner a HUGE following before they even hit beta phase,so again nothing to do with game play.
It is funny to this day to still see so many post topics that always talk about their experience in games dated way back,yet so many have never tried FFXI.This shows how much marketing rules the gaming genre as there is still a ton who have never even tried FFXI.FFXI was a game truly built around team work and gaming.Most quests in FFXI are not about loot,but more so about fame and gaining abilities or spells.The whole game has a purpose that interlocks with everything else,it is amazing to see how well thought out the game design was.Sure it fails in many areas and also has the loot raids but at least it misses the usual stereotypes we see from all other games.
For me, yes, gameplay is the biggest concern I have with most of modern games.
I remember playing games 25 years back in time, when the C64 was state of the art, and you played them for hours and hours, again and again.
Since the introduction of the first FPS-games, when 3d-graphics got introduced (of whatever genre they maybe) nothing has ever changed really, when it comes to gameplay. Whatever graphical updates there are since then, doesn't make them any more enjoyable tbh. It's repetitive.
The only thing, as of today, that makes games more interesting over others is content, content, content. If there's not enough content, or better said, not enough different contents to play with, you play a game until you've played it through and that's it. in my case atleast.
So, the only game I've bothered playing for more then a few month during the last 5 years is EvE Online, as it provides the players with alot of different stuff to do, and where players create their own content in 0.0.
---
The Wii steps out of this, as it features a new method of controlling the game, instead of playing with a mouse + keyboard or a game-pad. This is really fun :)
Excellent post. I too loved and occasionally play Rogue. I also am an old schooler and played BBS games.. Heck I was a cosysop of a BBS board. And the most challenging games in terms of bosses was old Drakkar.. Drakkar and LoK were the forefathers of all MMO games :) Drakkar required more strategy and discussion and plotting than ANY game I have every played.. you logged into the game in an INN with tables.. join a table and devise strategies to defeat bosses like the Vampires that you lost hit points when you died by them.. and it was not cheap repurchasing them back. Or bosses that have cloaks of limited invulnerability. Barbarians pumped up berserk and came running past you on screen and into the bosses lair because they would kill anyone in sight. Than everyone would plunge in after them.. healers casting healing, mentalist casting spells of protection, and other sticks attacking.. many a times was I one shot killed by a berserk barbarian.. they tended to stay on the target they were fighting but sometimes they would attack one of the members since the boss would be attacking mostly the barb but he would occasionally attack others as well. And it took all the classes helping each other.. paladins were weak until level 16 which took a long time to get too.. they needed their Red Armor best armor for them.. but the weakest boss Red Dragon was too strong for them until they got their armor.. so all the other classes had to help Paladins get their armor.. than off to the next boss for the next class.. each boss had something that another class needed but without help of other classes you would never achieve it.. so all the other classes had to support each other.. I still remember this game with many fond memories. It is hear that the new mainstream graphic games are not able to reach this type of gameplay.. where all classes have to help each other.. and support each other.
absolutely a lovely article, being a roguelike lover myself since i was just a kid toying around with his father's appleII :)
as for tomeNET, i played it a lot the last year (usually as Turbovandal, or Vandal delle 3V) and sometimes i still play it. that's a good attempt to bring online play to roguelikes
ps: lynx, your avatar brings me lots of good memories XD