Massively Multiplayer Metamorphosis

by Doug Hill

Irony. Merriam-Webster’s definition that fits the situation the best would be: “incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the normal or expected result.” My definition: Reading the editorial “Challenging the MMORPG Premise” right after a rousing session of Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.

Since the article “Challenging the MMORPG Premise” did not call itself a rebuttal, nor shall I call this article a rebuttal as well. I do feel the need to defend my editorial, though, as his non-rebuttal quickly pointed out that “I was missing the point.” No, I was not missing the point that you stated in your non-rebuttal editorial. That simply was not the point I was trying to make.

Before I get into what I really want to say, I’ll address the aspect of “games” that was so thoroughly spelled out. Yes, all games have either a sense of cooperation or competition. I would like to point out, however, that many people choose which games they play based on not just their need for cooperation or competition, but the atmosphere that they provide. A large part of any online game, cooperative, competitive, single or multiplayer, is the social aspect. This is one of the points I was trying to make to those who enjoy offline RPGs but do not understand why some people enjoy online RPGs. I never said it was the only factor, but I just assumed that gamers who enjoyed RPGs had some understanding of why they enjoyed games as a whole.

Now let me address the desire of some gamers to go back to the non-solitary roots of gaming that were enjoyed in the pencil-and-paper days. As an active Dungeon Master leading a group of friends by the nose in an unnamed region of the Forgotten Realms that I pretty much pulled out of my arse, I would love to capture that kind of element in an online RPG. The idea of groups of friends and allies launching an assault on the evil empire in order to save the world is enough to make any gamer like myself drool. This is no doubt what many of the early crafters of MMORPGs had in their minds and hearts when they started to create their games.

Then, the saddest thing that a fantasy experience can endure comes down hard: reality.

The simple truth is that so many economic factors, design factors, and publisher nightmares come about that making a game that truly captures these elements would be next to impossible. Take, for instance, your example of Morrowind. If Morrowind were put online, half of the NPCs in the game would be dead within a few weeks. All of the missions would be cleared, and within a month, the game would be completely wiped out.

Now, of course that is the game in itself, so let’s pretend it is modified. Say, let’s add in a lot more land, a few more cities, and more missions. Wait, how can you tell a story if the character only gets to see part of the world? Ok, let’s just tell them about what’s going on, in case for some reason they don’t actually experience it firsthand. I mean, come on. What are the chances that a player will be there for almost everything? Oh, the highest level players, you say? Hmm, how do we solve this? Is this sounding familiar yet?

Also, the idea of “beating” an MMORPG scares publishers. It scares them big time. The idea behind an online RPG is that it grows and becomes bigger so they can keep making money. MMORPGs are business cash cows, and business will always come before art when it comes to any game that has to be maintained, hence has to continue to make money.

I know this cynicism just sounds like someone trying to shoot you down, and it really isn’t. It just isn’t as simple as you are putting it. Cooperation should be the central focus of most online RPGs, and when it is, it not only enriches the social experience, it can also enrich a solo experience should a player decide to go on his own for awhile. It would be more challenging and more rewarding. As for forcing players to band together by the hundreds, there are only two kinds of opponents that would really befit such a band, and that would either be a huge band of NPC monsters or foes, or another band. As for a band of NPCs that large, I’ve never seen it. For the biggest Player group versus player group session, you might want to check out Ubi Soft’s recently released Shadowbane.

I did not say this in my last editorial because it would have deterred the point I was trying to make for my intended audience. I am not satisfied overall with the online RPG experience that is coming out. The only games within the last ten years that have managed to capture some, and just some, of that feeling of freedom have been limited multiplayer online RPGs, such as Diablo or Phantasy Star Online, and they have too many faults and tend to get boring after awhile. Gamer needs strategy badly. Neverwinter Nights is also popular, but many feel that being held within the Dungeons and Dragons universe is too constricting, especially considering DnD’s first true rule is to ignore any rules they set up if it enhances the game experience.

Now, can these games be fixed while still meeting a economic requirement and also keeping publishers from pissing themselves at the thought of being responsible for their possible failure? Sure they can. Do I have some ideas how? Of course, we all do. Am I going to share them? Heck no. I’m starting a game development company before the end of this Summer, and one of our goals is to have an MMORPG out by 2010. I wouldn’t put that in any release date calendars, though.