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THE CURE FOR MMORPGS (Robert) |
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Written by Robert Kendzie
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Wednesday, 28 February 2007 |
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Originally posted on 11/11/04
Okay, I promised you the cure for massive games on Tuesday, and I intend to deliver - although I'm not sure how impressed you'll be with the answer. It's always seemed pretty obvious to me, and I don't doubt that there are a lot of people who have had the same idea: If you were thinking it would take an act of God to free Massive Games from the drudgery of meaningless grinding, well... you're absolutely right.
Actually, it would take several Gods. Three at a minimum, I think.
Raph Koster, a recognized giant in the field of MMORPG development, has done a lot to advance the artform of creating virtual worlds that are vibrant and dynamic, which offer endless opportunity to players. He does, however, have one credo which I have never agreed with. He has continually asserted that it is the player-base who should be responsible for creating the majority of their own content. By content, of course, we are referring to the storyline, the plot, the thread of fiction which gives impetus to what passes for the grand narrative of history in these games. I think he's wrong.
Narrative content is what makes the difference between playing the game engine, and playing a vibrant and exciting game. Generally, the players do the best that they can - forming associations and guilds, entering into conflict with one another, trying to stake out a reputation or build something remarkable using the tools provided by the game engine. The problem is that while they can be very imaginative and resourceful, the players usually do not have either the tools or the time to really fulfill that obligation. They often cannot create their own quests or events within the game, and they certainly can't spend all of their waking hours managing and maintaining whatever schemes they are trying to advance. They need more help than is usually provided.
That's where the Gods come in. In the milieu of your average Fantasy-genre MMORPG, a God would be a paid employee of the game company who's job is to generate content within the game by providing both motivation and assistance to the players. Take the following example: in a hypothetical Generic Fantasy Massive RPG, every Server will have three assigned "Gods": a good God, an evil God, and a Neutral God. Each of them is an employee who's job is to impersonate a deity within the game. Each has an agenda and a set of guidelines laid down by the game's development team. Each has a "God Client" which gives them access to the tools that they need to create content on the fly within the game. Though they work together and the whole team is closely supervised, they also have an adversarial relationship and are encouraged to "play" against each other within the context of the game. They are empowered to attract followers from the playerbase, and to use their special abilities in the game in order to aid their followers and set challenges for their adversaries.
Although the idea obviously needs a lot of fleshing out, the basis is sound: use live human beings to manage a game's faction system in real time. Manage PvP conflict so that it becomes meaningful. Motivate and direct player faction activity so that the players feel that they are truly part of a larger effort. Provide a personal touch to the game's narrative and provide a resource for engaging and rewarding those players who are interested in getting involved in creating content.
Maybe it's too much to ask. Part of me thinks that maybe I'm ignoring the realities of game design and that the idea simply isn't practical. When I see the number of seemingly impossible things that already HAVE been accomplished in the genre, however, then I start to wonder if maybe its just that nobody has the chutzpah to try. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 28 February 2007 )
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