With an audience of 10 million, what's so bad about World of Warcraft?

Last night I defended Richard Bartle's stance that MMORPG games could be so much better. He uses World of Warcraft as his example in a rambling sort of way, but this part is key to me:

Forgetting the specific example of Kharazan for a moment, there's the pissing on the players quote and it's bang on the money. Exact. I don't need to pull a bunch of Tigole faux pas quotes from Blizzard to tell you that there's a hamster wheel grind intentionally inherent to these games and WoW specifically.

When WoW was released, it was heralded as the solution to the grind in MMORPGs. What happened? It wasn't, that's what. Blizzard applied bandaids like removing XP loss on death, but then kept the base model of Everquest with "The Vision" still at its core, refining it even deeper in their Endgame as time went by. They discovered very quickly that it was cheaper to stretch content than provide as much as players wanted.

The defining part of "The Vision" is that the game's progress traps the player in, making them continue playing not just for fun, but for rewards that lead to further rewards.

It's no mistake that these games are often labelled as addictive, because from an outside perspective there's wonder that people will play past their enjoyment. Gordon Walton has summed this up:

Just like Everquest, mark my words, if Blizzard continues to inflict tasks on players without enough corresponding fun, it will slowly move from accolades to vilification. I've become jaded about the game myself and I encounter more and more other players that feel the same way.

Now I'm going to *gasp* say something positive about WAR. Mythic has focused much of their development efforts on reducing the grind. They've specifically catered to those that want satisfying PvP combat from level 1 up. They've improved many of the "oh god, not this again" moments in questing. They are in the good space that Blizzard was 4 years ago. If this stuff bugs you but you still want to play MMORPGs, then WAR may be your best tonic.

But I do wonder, with this push to improve, why are they still on the base model of Everquest? The same goes for Age of Conan, where the attitude at Funcom is that of course you have to start with that, it's the base right? Thank goodness for the awesome combat in AoC.

As much as I'm enjoying these games, I think evolving on the EQ model is an uphill battle against what its core design principles stood on. Standing up and questioning the trappings is something players should do if they truly want to see the grind go away.

Edit: I've edited much of this post, not because it was incendiary, but because it's been better addressed by Richard Bartle's own response. Even edited, this is still a bit meandering, I think my followup is better.

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The debate of the day seems to be revolving around a recent Massively interview with Richard Bartle, where he lumps Age of Conan and Warhammer into the same pile as World of Warcraft. This offended some folks who are particularly passionate about this specific genre. Keen went as far as to call out Dr. Bartle to educate himself better on the differences between games in the genre.

Keen has a point, if you're going to speak out on something, it helps to know the details.

The thing is, Massively's Michael Zenke was obviously looking for another perverse quote like last years "I'd shut down WoW". Richard Bartle isn't interested in any game based on the EQ / WoW model and whether you're hyped for WAR or not, you have to admit that's the genre it's in. He keeps getting asked, so he's forced himself to play the games and of course playing that way he's had a horrible time.

Are we stuck with the Everquest model?

You probably know the basics of most MMORPG gameplay from WoW, but it's essentially the same model that was Everquest.

The real question: Is the EQ-derived model a Wheel-like invention that's essential for these games? There's this big assumption that's what an MMORPG should start with, then patch in all of the features to differentiate. I don't think it's the Wheel, not even close. We need more games built on new models, that's what Richard Bartle is getting at.

I enjoyed WoW and even moreso AoC. I have huge respect for the evolutionary changes that will be in WAR, but I cannot help but think I'd enjoy these games even more if their core wasn't so much the damn same thing over and over. So while Keen insists that WAR != WoW, I have to say, WAR is more like WoW than it isn't.

So much time and energy is spent at Mythic and elsewhere to fix the deficiencies in the genre's basic model but the concept of changing the model is lost on people. Partly because it's not going to happen, the grind and trap of leveling up equates to pure cash and it's easier to take tried-and-true and just slap some extra fun on top.

Why not change what's broken instead of applying bandaids?

Burdens inherent to the EQ model drag down the fun factors. The MMORPG market has a lot of room to grow, but it could just as easily shrink as players feel disenfranchised because sooner or later they realize that some elements in this genre are nothing more than a dip into their wallets.

Tycho @ Penny Arcade put a similar perspective into better words, of how the entire MMORPG market is leaving him feeling dry:

It hits home the same way Richard Bartle's observations have for me, which is a paradox because Tycho's more interested in gameplay and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't find Dr. Bartle's virtual world simulation perspectives as much fun.

I woke up this morning with an urge to play a typical MMORPG encounter. Specifically, that moment of initial aggro with a monster as you approach it.

I haven't been playing any MMOs since December, but over the years I've logged a great deal of hours in these games, so it's bound to invade my dreaming subconscious now and then.

It is telling that the urge was for a solo PvE experience. I'm one of those rare people that others view with disdain on this particular point: I don't mind the "grind", or to clarify I think repetitive gameplay is good as long as it's entertaining. IE: Shooting baddies in an FPS (first person shooter) is repetitive, but it's also fun.

To further clarify, I dislike level disparity and other elements of The Vision, where grinding for advancement is forced in order to keep pace with your friends. IMHO this method of entrapment is why Blizzard didn't institute "Sidekick" style level mechanics or instant-advancements to endgame. Although I think Blizz will eventually shortcut players to capped levels as they move their grind further into dungeon raiding progress.

In other words, I don't mind grinding for some reward or another, or even for the pure sake of repetitive fun, but I'd also like to team up with my buddies without them having to grind equally to match me.

~Ahem~

--Back on the waking dream topic, I suppose I'm ready to jump into the fray again. I've been anticipating Age of Conan in a very relaxed way, not bothering to apply for betas (and taking a lax approach to updating our guild site, which I'll soon change gears). But I'm ready to play now, I just have to wait a few weeks.

I hate patch day. Some folks love it, I probably would too if WoW patches were all about new content, but they aren't. And my dislike of patch day isn't just because of the inherent bugs or the server downtime, it's something more to the core of the game.

For those of you who haven't figured it out yet: Blizzard has created a Metagame out of "balancing" within WoW, by changing how the system works each major patch.

Yes, I'm very jaded and cynical.

I used to think it was just ordinary mundane balancing, the sort that comes along with nearly every MMO and gets tedious after a bit, but settles down over time. I strongly (that would put it mildly) disagree that any game needs "constant perpetual balancing", that's akin to game designer wanking. But I don't even think that's what they do with WoW. I think the whole point is to keep players occupied and busy with a new system every month or two. I'm certain that the peeps at Blizzard also feel like they're improving the game with each of the systematic changes, but much like The Vision wasn't really about the "epic" aspects of EQ, Blizzard's systematic changes aren't completely about improving the game.

I think most players are perfectly fine with that.

Here's how I became aware of WoW's Systematic Metagame:

A friend's comments about "skill" in WoW threw it right into my face. WoW does not have strong strategic or tactical elements and it certainly doesn't involve any physical or twitch abilities, but it is a systematic game. If you do not learn the system, you're labelled a noob and won't be able to play to the best of your abilities. Learning the ins-and-outs of the system is in fact a large portion of the game. This is true for most MMORPGs, especially ones that use the Tank + Healer + DPS paradigm.

So Blizzard perpetually changing the system, does keep a lot of players from getting bored. Except, for me at least, it has worn me down. Oddly, I'm more bored with having to re-learn the system each patch. For once, I'd like to jump into some new content WITHOUT having significant base elements of the game changed.

I'd like to feel a bit more comfortable, after playing for 3 years, there's a point where I do not wish to be on the edge of my seat. =P

Congrats are in order for Ilterendi, the first guild on our server to kill Vashj. Landroval and I discussed the fight at length and it sounded very entertaining. His post regarding the kill made some interesting notes however:

"My biggest regret for the populace in general is that (So far, going by that amazingly nifty wowjutsu armory magic) so few will ever see something quite like it."
. . .
"Wowjutsu has 806921 characters in 14310 guilds listed in it's database. Those numbers represent (mostly) every player that has killed something in Karazhan on up. 56% of that 800,000 have killed High King, 42% gruul, and a spare 20% Magtheridon. SSC kills dwindle even more, with 13% of the playerbase having seen at least one thing in there. Players that have beaten Vashj drop to 2.77%, or 22,351."

If you calculate by the total subscribers in North America (2 million is the Blizzard ballpark), the percentage that have killed Vashj is just 1%. Worldwide, it would go much lower because mainland China still doesn't officially have TBC.

This is no surprise. Raiding content is designed to trickle down from the few guilds that master it quickly, giving other raiding guilds a goal to progress towards. For the rest of the population it provides mystery and perhaps jealousy. It makes the world feel bigger for all but a few, which is exactly the point. If everyone could see all of the content sooner, the feeling of having completed the game might set in for the general population.

I don't know if I agree with that, it's not bad design, but it also leaves a good deal of players feeling unsatisfied. It ~IS~ part of "The Vision", which Everquest started and Blizzard follows now in all but name.

Tobold has an excellent definition and opinion within his blog post: Time for a New Vision.

Here's my $0.02.

Many are waving Vanguard's failure as a flag to discount 'The Vision'. I'd love to myself, I don't like the grinding aspect that nearly every MMORPG follows, but it's been too damn successful for Vanguard to tank it.

I think Blizzard fully intended to make a game avoiding this formula, their leveling grind is easier, but the endgame brings it right back into the fold. WoW started off as an excellent core game, but since then a lot of raiding content was thrown on the pile. Moreso, they've boosted the whole thing with a good heaping dose of competitive spirit between players. I've never seen a game where people are so often jealous of each other and that includes Everquest. It's all push, push, push to the top and it feels terribly linear in progression.

The worst insult an MMORPG player can be called is 'Noob'. That to me, is the essence of 'The Vision' at work.

I wonder how trapped by 'The Vision' newer MMORPGs will be. LOTRO certainly hasn't offered many new surprises, there's no paradigm shift there. Will Age of Conan or Warhammer Online avoid 'The Vision'? I think not entirely, more likely they'll chip away at individual features rather than reinvent what SOE and Blizzard have proven to be a very profitable wheel.

I'd love to see a 'New Vision' as Tobold defines it: MMORPGs with non-linear challenges, multiple goals and no clearly defined best result, yet retaining fun gameplay. I don't think that's going to happen just because one large game failed. The cynic in me says they've still got a cash cow and they'll keep milking it.