MMO NO MORE!

I usually don't bother with blogs. Aside from the fact that it's an extremely silly word that sounds like it belongs in some no-talent ripoff of Tolkien ("and Blog the troll laid waste to the countryside!"), I generally have issues with anything I am expected to update regularly. My brain seems hard-wired to shut down whenever I am expected to do something at set, pre-determined intervals, from blogs to social networking updates, and even games like World of Warcraft where those fiendish devils at Blizzard implement time sinks necessary to get the best stuff (I say thee nay!). But lately, something has tweaked me just right that I've decided to put all my reluctance on hold and write this, and that is the recent surge of MMOs that has swept the gaming community like the long awaited eleventh plague of Egypt.

Let me start with a disclaimer: I have nothing against the MMO model. They're huge time/money sinks, but honestly, what in video gaming isn't? The whole industry is based on eating up our money and time for entertainment and it has provided us with countless hours of enjoyment (and poverty). Besides that, the innovations that came along with the MMO genre way back in the day with games like UO and Everquest certainly brought a lot of good things to the table (and some bad things too, of course, many of which we're unable to shake off no matter how hard we try). My problem with MMOs can be traced to one entity: World of Warcraft. I am a six-year veteran of WoW and, while not a hardcore WoWer by any stretch of the imagination, I have seen most of the content and I like to think I know what I'm doing within its core framework, even if I get most of my information from aforementioned hardcore WoWers who eat, sleep, breathe, and piss WoW every day. So no, I do not hate WoW. There may have even been a time (long-since passed) in which I loved WoW. But I do hate what WoW has done and continues to do to the market. Ever since Blizzard implemented their magnum opus and made roughly enough money to buy a third of the Earth's landmass, every other no-talent, no-vision video game hack has seen this and said "...hey, we could be making that kind of scratch too!" and has tried to cash in on the trend. This. Has. Got. To. Stop. Not only has it created an endless parade of WoW knockoffs, which by their very nature will never be as good as the thing they are trying to knock off, it has also created an endless parade of MMORPGs, some good, most mediocre or awful.

Like I said before, I have nothing against MMORPGs, but it seems like everything is moving to a massively multiplayer singularity these days. Otherwise talented developers and studios are sinking countless man hours and funding into creating the next WoW-killing bullet (none of which will actually kill WoW because that would require people to leave WoW in order to give an otherwise worthy game a chance...and it's been proven that this will never happen) when they could be making games that are actually going to innovate the medium...or at least be mildly successful and interesting. And meanwhile, Blizzard is sitting in this comfortable position of making (conservatively) eight digits a month without having to do anything. There are two major issues I have with this. The obvious one, of course, is that other gaming companies could be making games that actually matter (which may sound somewhat haughty, but look at all the games that have come along and tried to kill WoW...how many of them actually "matter" anymore?). The second issue I have, which is further from the point but still bears mention, is that Blizzard is a fine gaming company, arguably one of the best, but we don't get to see any of their much touted innovation because, lately, all they've been doing is coasting on easy street releasing a parade of endless sameity that does absolutely nothing to push forward their own game, let alone gaming in general. Compare, say, World of Warcraft to City of Heroes, another game I have a love-hate relationship with dating back to its launch. When City of Heroes was introducing a parade of colorful and creative innovations to character customization, power reskinning, user-driven content, a robust crafting system, etc, etc, what was WoW doing? Releasing raid after raid, tweaking minutia in their grossly unbalanced PvP (never base a game around both PvP AND PvE. One will always, invariably ruin the other and the endless hours spent trying to balance both could be used for much better things), and otherwise doing nothing to innovate their own game. WoW is based on a solid concept and there is nothing wrong with the core game, but City of Heroes was, at its launch, actually pretty crappy. In the years since its launch, however, it has become a powerful, enjoyable, and innovative entry in the genre. But since nothing has challenged the Goliath that is World of Warcraft, Blizzard has absolutely no need to either innovate or challenge their game because anything they add will risk alienating the millions of people who subscribe (since every time they change something the forums alight with flame and hatred). Newness is to a WoWer what water is to the Wicked Witch of the West. So Blizzard does more of the same and continues to get millions upon millions of dollars of our money. And while Cataclysm added a bright and shiny new coat of paint to the original model...it's still really just the same old barn underneath.

Anyways, this is off topic. While I see no reason that MMOs should no longer be produced, doing so in order to cash in on Wold of Warcraft's popularity/ridiculous profit margin is the wrong reason to do it. Games should be created because there's a unique concept to introduce, not because money is flowing into Blizzard like a river to the ocean. Besides that, the MMO is just one of a number of genres that sell well. I, personally, eat up anything made by Bioware, and Bethesda's Fallout games have convinced me to give them another try after the abysmal atrocity that is Oblivion...so why can't we have more RPGs like these? Of course there is the problem of MMOs producing consistent money via monthly fees, and that is certainly appealing I'm sure...but really, when you run the risk of the project floundering completely because no one is going to leave WoW for anything less than the second coming of Jesus (in video game form, of course), is the potential profit actually that much higher than producing a hit game like Mass Effect or Fallout? Again, I say thee nay!

Let's take a look at one upcoming and relatively unknown title (unknown as in we don't know anything about it, not that it's being ignored or that no one has heard of it): X-Men Destiny. We know distressingly little about this title. I say distressingly because I am forced to wait with a mix of reluctance, apathy, and breathless anticipation because I do not know what this game will be. Will it be the next in the X-Men: Legends line (which, of course, continued into Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, so this is unlikely)? Will it be a whacky FPS? A fighting game (unlikely because of the recent release of Marvel vs. Capcom 3, of course)? An RPG? The much more likely scenario is this: it'll be another damned MMO like the endless stream of other MMOs trying to take on WoW. This game was initially announced while DC Universe Online hype was high, and given the fact that Marvel was attempting to create an MMO (which failed), I have to, have to, believe they are chomping at the bit to get back into that market and get a nice, fat, tasty share of the profits. If this is the case, I will be very distressed for the state of the gaming industry (to say nothing of my disappointment in Marvel) because here is a perfect chance to create something new and interesting. Look again at City of Heroes and its own little dysfunctional family of offshoots: Champions Online and DC Universe Online.The appeal of and strength of these games (I've not played the latter but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and lump it in this family as well) is their peerless character customization. The gameplay (of CoH and CO...again, I have not played DCU) is relatively straightforward and uncreative, but the fact that you spend hours in the character creation screen making sure that emblem is just the right shade of red to stand out, making sure that cape is the perfect shape to accent the character's fiery aura, etc, really gets you building a raport, an attachment, to your character...whether you know it or not. I believe it is this and little else that carries these games because, besides the superpowers, what is it that causes superheroes to stand out? Their costumes, their backstories, their colorful appearances and quirky personalities. To quote a very wise game critic, Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw: "Combat is never going to be unique again." While I don't necessarily believe this (and actually tend to think Yahtzee meant it more as hyperbole), there is a mote of truth buried in his statement. Every game needs to have something special to help it stand out. They're all going to have combat these days, but a game that is JUST combat is going to be boring, while a game with mediocre combat but something else to help it stand out (Amnesia: The Dark Descent anyone?) will probably end up being fairly entertaining--hinging on what else helps it stand out, of course. This is my major issue with WoW these days (to return to that poor, dead horse). It's all about the fighting. The core gameplay is good, as I mentioned before, but there's really nothing else there. The character customization is abysmally anemic, there are no vanity options (player housing, costume design, whatever), they introduced archaeology, but really it just stands as a needlessly obtuse way to get more equipment to use to beat people up. Equipment that will be replaced in short order as they continue releasing raid after raid. I believe the CoH and CO character creation tools are a great "something else" to base their games on and, in City of Heroes' case, is almost certainly the reason why the game's survived as long as it has in a genre that is notorious for cannibalism (that and the aforementioned constant innovation, of course). Moreover, I see absolutely no reason why these character creation tools cannot be incorporated into a single player game to accomplish the same goals, particularly in a superhero game like X-Men Destiny. Sure, you wouldn't be showing off your colorful costume and unique (or not so unique sometimes) character to other real people (unless it was locally or remotely multiplayer), but it could really start a single-player game off on the right foot, getting you invested in your protagonist in a way that a game that utilizes an already established character (like every other X-Men game under the sun) couldn't hope to accomplish. Is it harder to plan, write, and design a game not knowing what sort of character the player will create? Hell yes it is. But isn't it worth the work? I like to think so. Look at Bioware games, specifically Dragons Age: Origins.

So I guess in the end my little rant here turns into something of a plea to the gaming industry. Back off the MMO model for awhile. We have a ton to choose from, none of which will ever make as much money as WoW. Or, if you must create an MMO, be clever about it. Go the free to play route like Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons and Dragons Online and let people buy the content they want. That way they won't have to choose between your game and World of Warcraft (because, admit it to yourself, they will always choose World of Warcraft...they didn't spend six years making friends in that game just to leave it for an untested new release that may flop in a month because no one left WoW for an untested new release that may flop in a month). And, if people like your game, which they have invested comparatively little money into trying out, you may find yourself with a tidy little profit despite it all. Because let's face it, gamers are nothing if not masochists who hate having money.