The future of bigtime MMO's is social

[Lightonfoot 58]

Look here:

http://www.mmorpg.com/showFeature.cfm/feature/4097/Scott-Jennings-Farmville-Killed-Gaming-VWorlds-And-Your-Dog.html

 

Pay attention to this:

(....)

From there, he raises a controversial question: "How important is game development when you have poor quality free social games generating these kinds of numbers?"

 

Media companies only care about daily average uniques, Wilson continues. "The industry has been moving in that direction rapidly and it's accelerating and it's scary," he adds. "It is a big, big issue when some of the leading social gaming companies can get over 20 million players on a game in nine days," he adds -- even the best AAA titles can't pull those numbers.

 

So you want to know  the future of Wurm Online if it only desires mass appeal? Look no further than a Farmville hybrid. And you know making games is a business. And in business there's a tendency to focus on the bottom line.

 

So how to do it?

http://www.swmediagroup.com/social-gaming-mmos-profilitability-if-done-right/

The three design principles that Wu stressed were: 1. The games should be :30 seconds to fun. The player should be engaged quickly in order to win them over. If the game is too confusing or difficult, the player will become frustrated and leave the game before becoming involved. In order to make Social MMOs that everyone will love and play, they :

    must be simple enough to point & click to play

    must not have to download in order to play

    must not have to create your character to play

    MUST NOT BE HARD TO BEGIN PLAY!

Seriously. Look at Farmville and there's your answer regarding the future of MMO's. They will find a way to change the current MMORPGs to act the same way as social games. They won't actually tell us that's what they're doing. They'll wrap it up in a very fancy package with all new language and style. You'll barely recognize it.

I'm not saying this is necessarily bad. Social games fill a part of the market which just happens to be one of the biggest parts, but that doesn't mean there're not smaller niche parts. Not everbody consumes the same stuff.

On the other hand, I do expect MMORPGs to at least adopt SOME strategies seen in social game development.

Edited December 2, 2014 by Lightonfoot

[Alec 732]

Picking up select lines is fun.
 

That can lead you down a bad path. Extrinsic motivators will lead you towards dull tasks

 

They are metamorphosing, and like a caterpillar, on the path to mass market acceptance, they are shedding the excess legs and creepy worm-like looks in favor of something that doesn’t much resemble what it sprang from, but which a lot more people will like. And which will be a bit harder to pin down

[Othob Rithol 699]

Nothing new, it happens to every art form as its popularity blossoms. From industrial paintings to bubblegum rock, the only losers are the ones that see the trend as inevitable and enduring.

[Lightonfoot 58]

Picking up select lines is fun.

Noeone ever tried to clone WoW's success. Nope. Never.

(if i get your meaning right)

If i'm wrong sorry for misinterpreting.

But I want to add something more optimistic. If it were true all companies just try to clone the most highly successful games then Wurm Online wouldn't exist. It would have been scrapped long ago when WoW put up subscription numbers in the millions in its first year of life. Back then what evidence was there Wurm Online would be successful? Almost none. And yet as if to defy the order of the universe, Wurm Online exists. SO we shouldn't expect an across the board adoption of social game development principles. There will be holdouts and niche markets, as always. Evenso, even after the most strident and passionate revolt, there probably will be some widespread adoptions of some things.

Edited December 2, 2014 by Lightonfoot

[elf 156]

When Marvel comics created Spiderman, the 'hero' was haunted by every day things like getting a cold, going to school, worrying about his family and doing something so stupid his uncle died in the process.  The break away from mainstream success recipes has brought Marvel unparalleled success.  Sometimes you just have to not follow the crowd, but instead make your own path and have them follow you, eventually.  So many new sandbox games are popping up, all focusing on crafting and player choice to create. The old chicken/egg question now becomes: Aren't they just (edit: trying to) follow Wurm's recipe now?  

Edited December 2, 2014 by elf

[Alec 732]

When Marvel comics created Spiderman, the 'hero' was haunted by every day things like getting a cold, going to school, worrying about his family and doing something so stupid his uncle died in the process.  The break away from mainstream success recipes has brought Marvel unparalleled success.  Sometimes you just have to not follow the crowd, but instead make your own path and have them follow you, eventually.  So many new sandbox games are popping up, all focusing on crafting and player choice to create. The old chicken/egg question now becomes: Aren't they just (edit: trying to) follow Wurm's recipe now?  

 

I saw that more than Wurm they are trying to copy SWG. And SWG voxel version(because now hardware can handle complex voxel games).

[Miretta 1,416]

there are people for every type of game out there and MMOs will change, yeah, since the society and people in it are changing also, but genres won't just vanish, just because it is not as lucrative anymore There will be always crazies doing those "niche" games and there will be always a new game, that no one expected to have any success (like wow or minecraft) that will suddenly pop up and bite those business peoples butts

and the longer a specific type of game is being hyped and marketed until it's aviable in every color, shape and whatever, the more likely, people will WANT something different ^^

[Marshlander 188]

On the other hand, I do expect MMORPGs to at least adopt SOME strategies seen in social game development.

But which strategies? You mentioned/quoted the dumbing-down aspect. I highly doubt that this would achieve those results by itself...

[Ayes 3,715]

Sure, the online games that appeal to the mass market will be the ones that pull in the big bucks. Nothing new here or even the aspects they focus upon to do so. Also, there will always be a much smaller portion of players who prefer something different just because their own personality is such.

 

Wurm appeals to individuals who have something inside of them that perseveres through obstacles encountered along the way. I think most all who have stuck with the game for years have this quality within them, which creates a common bond under the surface of divergent opinions and activities within it.

 

The thing that bugs me a bit is when players get attached to the thought that bringing in a lot more players to the game will benefit it and thus the game should be reshaped with that in mind.

 

With Rolf at the helm I have little fear of the game devolving into a mass popularity conceptualized and developed game. He has proved himself able to stand the test of harder times over the years as the game has slowly grown to the promising one with the new staff that we have now.

 

Let the masses flock to where they will and there will still be the few that find their way to our little outpost at the fringes of the gaming world, to wander here with eyes wide at what has been created by those within.

 

Only those with an inner resilience survive and thrive here, be they of a more quiet and restrained nature or boisterous boasters of their own strengths. Let the others depart in silence, never to be heard from again.

 

Happy Trails

=Ayes=