(Thanks to Ysharros and the links she provides in her recent post for inspiring this commentary.)
I used to be like them. I used to want change in the MMOs that I played. I used to want new ground to be broken. I wanted monumental systems. I wanted seamless combat that was engaging, not button mashing on my hotkey bar. What was with all that name calling – warrior, ranger, wizard, priest? Forget the titles, I want to be able to do anything and everything! And, GOD, if I have to run through the Forest of Friggin’ Frights one more time I’m going cancel my God damned account!
Then I started to listen to developers. I started taking game design courses. I started to see the light a bit. Because the question would come back. How would you do it? No. You can’t say, “I have no idea, that’s your job.” How would you do it? Write it down. Test out your theories yourself. So awhile ago I did. And here are some of my answers.
No Class(es)
So where do you get your identity? When I played UO and maxed out all of my skills and became seemingly like everyone else then WTF was I? Rylestel the Shadow Warrior sure indicates to people a lot more about my character than being plain old Rylestel. And having a title on him shows them even more. Of course, it’s easy to figure out what people are in a classless system. Because they’re all the friggin’ same!
Having a class or profession gives you a specific identity within a setting. You have a place in your group. You have a place within the world. Without it, you’re just another avatar running around doing all the same stuff everyone else is. That may not mean much to some gamers now, but when you were around during a time when there were no classes or other identifying traits you may not want to go back to those days.
No Levels
When people say this do they mean “no levels” or “no advancement”? If they really mean “no levels”, then it can be done. There are a few interesting ways to advance a character without levels that I have drawn out on paper. Most of those ways have been implemented as secondary systems for advancement in MMOs today. Except for one. And I hope to actually have the chance to base a game design around it someday.
Levels are also another piece of your identity and your place within a game. And it is an easy quick-glance piece of information. Seriously, in WAR you can identify yourself in four ways. A little overkill. My Shadow Warrior is Lvl 25, RR 20, Chapt. 11, oRvR 1. But if you see my level is 25, you pretty much know what my place is in the game.
A few games have implemented a title system over a level system. Okay smarty…it’s still a level system. It’s just decorated differently.
If you’re talking “no advancement”, then I ask, “Why?” What’s the point? What is the fun of constantly staying the way you are? Sure, there is the role-play aspect of it. But where is the proof? My character is near god-like! Yeah, buddy, says who? Role-play is fun. I was a big advocate of it in my early MMO years. But there is a reason why games have developed systems of advancement. It is tangible. And you know that we are tangible creatures. We like to see proof. So much so that it is common place to not only have levels, but to have alternate forms of advancement, too. I point back to my WAR example.
No Grind
Then how do you advance? Your awesome role-playing skills? I’ve been a part of a few discussion groups and did some design stuff in a few MUDs to come up with a way to reward role-playing. Since it is so subjective, they failed. Sort of. Because what we kept realizing was that we actually call them levels and alternative advancement. See how this is all coming full circle now? History is a bitch.
Everything is a grind to someone. You could give me any MMO scenario and I can tell you, from someone else’s perspective, how it is a grind. Go ahead. I dare you.
The point with games is it’s not so important whether something is a grind, but how fun the grind is. Well, I guess that is true for real life, so I digress. My dad still loves to hang and finish drywall interiors for “fun” now that he is retired. Chess players still love playing Chess and all it is checkered board and I haven’t found one person since who actually thinks that process is the least bit fun.
A major component of “the grind” is time. Any time you spend time to advance, you are grinding. You need to grind. You’re a gamer. Of course you do. And you love it.
No Math or Dice Rolls
This starts to speak to the average gamer’s ignorance of the games they actually play. All a video game is is math. A lot of programmers would flash gang signs and repeat “Zeroes and ones, baby! Zeroes and ones!” right now.
I realize what is meant is getting rid of math to solve player actions. Find some other way to resolve whether Gringor can rip open a locked door, or Flimflam can pick a lock. Somehow things should just happen in a video game without something determining if it happens or not. Or players should just be able to “do” things.
Well, there is no other way to determine such things in a video game other than using the universal language. And there is no other way to figure competitive or random outcomes than using dice rolls. By dice rolls I include flipping a coin, picking a card, spinning a dreidel, etc.
I think what we really need is for developers to keep their math and dice rolls to themselves as part of their Intellectual Property. But we are all bred as D&D gamers. We know there have to be formulas. And call us crazy, but some of us like to study those formulas. However, that comes with a price. That price is the demystifying of the game you are playing. A Mercedes really isn’t all that great anymore if the parts of its engine are strewn all over the highway.
No UI
Of all the stuff I’ve actually put to paper this one is the most interesting because I think one day this will actually be developed. Although, I don’t believe there will truly be a game with absolutely no user interface. Some of today’s FPSes and Grand Theft Auto IV do a damn good job of getting pretty close.
I do believe you can do almost anything with a well designed keyboard and mouse system in a Modern MMO. You can scrap the hotkey system. But, in order to please everyone, I think both should be optional. As a matter of fact, I think WAR would be a lot more fun if combat was based on key+mouse combinations instead of the current hotkey setup with matching number keys to activate skills.
Through a lot of this I try to be a little humorus and encourage some discussion. I also realize that a lot of things in the world of gaming come down to preferences. I have my preferences, just like you do. I would never say anyone’s preferences are wrong. But what is typically missing a lot from modern discussions on MMOs are solutions. If you don’t like something then how would YOU fix it.
Interesting news out of 