Richard Garriott calls for MMO devs to innovate

I don't like level grinding. I do it all the time since I like a lot of RPGs. But I don't want to grind to complete the story. In most of those MMOs you have to be practically the level cap in order to even request them. Then you go questing and raiding with friends and enjoy social life or complex strategies in raids. I mean what other game play is in there. Some also feel too open-ended or sandbox open. I need goals I can accomplish. A sense that I did save the world from the terrible end boss.

The last ok game he designed was ten years ago and I didn't like Ultima anyways. Until I see him doing something productive he can keep in the shadows.

The word innovate is quickly losing its impact...I call on all spin doctors to come up with a new word to use as innovative is being used too freely these days.

http://www.mystonline.com anyone?

Someone needs to hit this guy with a firewall, pronto.

Anyway,

MMOs are not innovating. All the ones that tried to innovate (Matrix online, Auto Assault, etc) have failed, with the exception of EVE Online, which thrives due to awesome devs and community.

Grinding is necessary in a game like this so people feel like they're achieving something. However look at Guild Wars... all the grind is optional for looks or cool toys, but you can easily reach the max level and get good items without grinding.

IMO this is what grinding should be. It should stay in the game but not be required.

EVE does grind differently, since you gain EXP constantly, even offline, so nobody can really "grind faster" than someone else.

WoW is bad for MMOs in my opinion, but hey anything that gets games in the spotlight in good light is good, I guess.

Now go play EVE/GW

Tabula Rasa isn't innovative at all... that's the funny part.

Too bad I'm under an NDA for Tabula Rasa...

I think the important thing here is to consider that this is not necessarily a dis on WoW. I think WoW is a pretty fun game, and I enjoy playing with moderate frequency.

The problem arises in the fact that so many other MMO's are basically set up exactly the same. Sure, the nitty gritty details are different, but at the core, the game is not. Why would I want to pay to play something other than WoW when I'm not getting a unique experience out of it?

That's where the need for innovation lies. If you give me a product that's fundamentally different, I'd be willing to give you my money, even as I'm still giving some of it to Blizzard. Otherwise I'm happy with what I have now.

Garriott pretty much knows what he's talking about here.

When a game is a runaway breakout hit like World of Warcraft, there will always be a sudden swarm of imitators. It happened with Everquest, Warcraft, Diablo, Doom, Quake, Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda....

I think EVE is pretty different from WoW if you're looking for innovation.

It has a free trial. Try it. Pretty graphics. Best PvP possibly evar.

i wish there was an MMO like the glory days of UO.

I loved UO back in the day

Everyone is always dissing on level grinding, but.. well, considering how you spend so much time doing it in certain games (like FFXI), the players must like it. Sure, I even have my own complaints about it -- having to find people to level with, and having to deal with .. 'unskilled players..' But I still loved it.

Speaking of....

I would love to see (old school) Ultima I, II or III on XBLA

UO was easily one of the best MMO games to be produced. It's a shame EA had to acquire Origin, and shelf UO2.

UO had no grinding, at least, not in the traditional sense. Your character never gained "levels", you just worked on a skill set to define your character. Skills were almost an after thought, as having mastered 7 out of a max of 7 skills, was really a requirement to playing the game. It wasn't hard to build up a character, it's what you did with it afterwards that made it fun.

The downfall to UO was the release of expansion after expansion, the game just got wackier and wackier, and players left for newer 3D games.

But if you think UO wasn't innovative, you either have never played it, only ever played WoW, or don't even play MMO games to begin with.

Every MMO now a days is pretty much a rip off of EQ, which was original. But even then, the entire concept was pioneered by Origin, with UO.

I used to beta-test a lot. The only MMO I currently have is Guild Wars due to the appealing non-subscription based (one-time) type of payment.


From my personal experience, I'm not quite sure what can really be done to make an MMO more "innovative". I mean, the main appeal is usually the fact that you interact with others in an open virtual world/space, and how well you get involved with the community (making friends, forming guilds, etc...). Sure, level grinding is fun at times, as well as questing, but I don't think that it's the long-lasting appeal for most MMO players. And don't forget that most MMOs' gameplay are reduced to "clicking for grinding".

I applaud developers thinking of new concepts and such for making MMOs more interesting. Same goes for those exploring new themes. But I think that the nearest outlet would be something more immersive and intuitive.


Of course, that means more realistic graphics, great soundtrack, awesome combat system, etc... but the difficulty I want to underline is that MMO gamers don't really need much to get their minds working. Heck, many friends of mine still play Runescape or Maple Story.

9 million people are PLAYING.. doesn't mean 9 million people are ENJOYING. More like 9 million people are addicted to level grinding.

Having an addictive product is great.. but EVENTUALLY people are gonna get fed up with playing the same game again and again with different skins. And its gonna get harder and harder to attract new players.. becuase from the outside all MMORPGs look the same.. an expensive, dangerous waste of time, and rather dull.

How many MMORPGs have launched? Must be about 30 by now. How many have failed? Must be about 2/3rds. They desperately need some new innovation and approaches to widen the appeal and attract different groups from the WoW/Everquest set.

Personally I'm a huge LOTR fan.. and I really want to be able to explore the setting of the LOTRO world.. but i don't want to get into yet another time-sink game that i'll hate playing, but play anyway.

Someone needs to invent a causal MMORPG that you can drop in and out of, don't have to commit your life to, and can still enjoy.

And we need to copy the koreans, who have MMOs in almost every genre, not just MMORPGs. (sports, music, golf, 2d, 3d, 4x, etc..)

Should Lord British really be talking about innovation? Didn't they come out with, like, ten Ultimas? Seriously, how innovative can one franchise get if you release ten copies of the game. Final Fantasy X plays pretty much the same as Final Fantasy.