Well, I've only really put time into Phantasy Star Online on the DC and Dofus (which you might want to check out Alex, since it runs in Flash and is thus Mac compatible). I haven't touched WoW, Everquest, FF11, Guild Wars, or any of that, so I may be a little ignorant of the issues here but I think my 2-3 months in Dofus gave me a good feel for the "culture" of MMORPGs.
Oh yes, I also did heavy MUDding back in the day. A bit different, but the precursor to the modern MMORPG.
First off, if you only play a game for a month, unless you're devoting a hardcore 30+ hours a week I'm not sure how much of a feel for the real experience you're going to get in any one game. Sure, you can get the gist of the basics, but there's no way you'll really know what it's like to explore some of the more advanced game components. In Dofus, it was only after maybe 40 hours or so that I really got into the multi-tiered craft system; you'd have to be playing pretty hardcore to do that and level your character through a lot of combat in a month.
Servers Okay, this part of the article betrays a total lack of understanding as to why MMORPG's divide the game into different servers and how. First off, the reason why you could choose any server you wanted in PSO is because that game didn't have a persistent world. Once you get into things like ownership of property you can't just skip from server to server because the changes made to the game world by players are stored on the server itself.
Sure, it would be nice to choose whatever server you want. But if this were possible, it would defeat the purpose of having different servers entirely. Everyone would just want to be on the popular servers, which would crowd and become unplayable. People wouldn't move to the low traffic servers because they're low traffic. The point of being on a packed server is to interact with other people. And the idea of being able to move away from servers with idiots wouldn't work either, because if you can move the idiots can too. Unfortunately, locking characters to servers is the only real viable solution to a tough problem; like Democracy, it's not the perfect solution but it's the best one available.
Time I totally agree, and in fact I've been finding that I don't have the patience to play some offline games that force me to sit down for three hours at a stretch just to get things done. I'm having a ball with Animal Crossing because I can choose whether I want to play for five minutes or five hours a day, and both choices let me progress.
But really, if you don't have the time to put in, then just don't play MMORPG's. It's the nature of the beast. Look, there is only one thing in the world that is so valuable that anyone can get paid for it but nobody can truly buy it, and that's time. In game terms, it's a nonrenewable resource and thus is the basis for all other resources. This is why MMORPG's take so much of it; because it balances the game economy.
Would a more social MMORPG be better? Sure it would, but consider that the money is in keeping people paying those monthy charges. if a game's goals were easy enough that a 5-hour per week player can achieve them, someone who devotes 20 hours per week will exhaust the game quickly and stop paying. hey, if you want a game you can play online and not have to devote massive amounts of time to, get the aforementioned Animal Crossing.
Levels I also agree that level systems can be a bit hackneyed, and this is only exacerbated in an online game. Probably my favorite levelling system is in the Elder Scrolls series, where you gain ability in skills for using them (which sounds like the SWG example, but I haven't played that game). This just feels natural. However, it's also susceptible to "the grind"; one strategy in Morrowind is to jump off a rock hundreds of times to raise the jumping skill, which gives a strength bonus on level up.
The real problem with grinding, then, is powergaming. Powergaming has been with us since before computer RPGs. It's made worse in MMORPG's because of the artifically long periods of time needed to progress in the game (discussed earlier). If you have time to grind out levels or abilites in any system, you have the ability to advance "quicker" than others.
Is there a way to keep players' abilities roughly equal? Well sure, but if everyone's equal then you just need another way to challenge long term players. Then you rely on powerful gear or partying, which only has the same effect; those with more time on their hands have access to these more powerful options.
Again, I say the grind is the nature of the beast. It's part of the MMORPG system. If you complete certain tasks enough, your character becomes more powerful. That's how it works. It's not fun for everyone. Trying to make things more equal will make the game not fun for the people MMORPGs are aimed at.
Individuality I agree wholeheartedly. The entire concept of an MMORPG is that it's a social construct. If people can't express themselves, it really hurts that social feeling.
PvP This is a tough one. The more you focus on PvP, the less you focus on the rest of the game's features. An ideal PvP system would let those who don't want to fight other players stay protected from agression, while giving those who do some real incentive for doing so. The problem here is that making that incentive some type of overarching world impact leaves out those who don't want to PvP. You'd have to come up with noncombat roles that have just as much impact on the events.
People Well, this is why folks start guilds. You really have to either play with people you know or suffer fools. It's not like there's an entrance exam for these games; "What would you say after you killed another player's character? A)Good fight! B)Let me tell you what you should have done C)Go home noob D)PWNEDZORZLOLZROFTLLMAOBBQZ!!!1!!" Again, nature of the beast. It's a social setting, in any social setting you're going to have morons. Now, the people who break the rules suck and should be dealt with, but remember that this takes a lot of manpower, and that costs money. If you played PSO when it came out, you know what happens on a game with no monthly fee. With no steady income, it's just impossible for the maintainers to keep up with the cheaters.
This was a great article, I think it's high time someone steps up and honestly talks about the problem with MMORPG's. Personally, I've just figured the whole issue as these are games played by people who have the time and desire to play them, and I'm not one of those people. While it would be nice if there were an MMORPG out there that catered to me, it wouldn't really be an MMORPG because these problems are part of the MMORPG construct and they are, at least partially, things that make the fans like these games. Sometimes it's not worth trying to change something when it's obviously not what you're interested in anyway, and changing it would make it something else entirely
