The MMO Trap - How the genre lives and dies by the social experience

     

      I figured this week I would talk about a game genre that has been dominating my gaming hours lately - MMORPGs. This genre massively popularized by the dominant World of Warcraft (WOW) has been around now over 15 years and has seen many different blends and uses of the core concepts. Today I want to talk about my experiences with some of these games and how all of the games in this genre fall into what I have termed the “MMO Trap”. 

      I have been playing Final Fantasy XIV - A Realm Reborn, this game had a lot of appeal from the get go for me. I have been a major Final Fantasy/Square Enix fan for many years, and this game is full of references for the fans, and utilizes many core staples of the final fantasy franchise (Chocobos, Mogs, Materia, etc.). Also the story is actually quite compelling, with decent voice acting and an interesting story arc that takes you through to end game content. 

      First and foremost, I’m amazed the FFXIV was able to pull this off, the idea of having one solid storyline throughout for the “whole” game is quite amazing, especially when it’s compelling and interesting. The only game that I have played where their is a somewhat compelling storyline has been WoW, and that is only the more recent expansions. (Cataclysm, and I assume Mists, although I haven’t played it). 

      At any rate, the grind to end game is pretty tame for most games, and if you find something to commit yourself to making it (story elements, gameplay, other players, etc.) then its not too bad of a grind fest. It isn’t until you hit end game content (Or a certain amount of time passes) that you hit the MMO trap. 

      The MMO trap is the fact that your commitment to an MMO once the gameplay has been micromanaged, characters min/maxed, and lore thoroughly explored, is solely based on the social experience you have with other players. In other words:

“If your not playing with people you know, you will ultimately leave the game”

      Now this doesn’t mean you won’t come back for new content, gameplay, or mechanics when released. But your role in this game is to enjoy the game only, which I believe means you are missing out on what sets MMO games apart, which is the social environment. 

      To be honest, I really haven’t had a really great MMO experience, I play them because they are games, and that the gameplay is fun and the stories/content are interesting for a time. But once I hit that “wall”, I’m usually out. 

      I think the next step in the evolution of these games is to really ramp up the social aspects of these games. These games need to find more social opportunities for the players beyond needing others to quest/raid. Not sure how this could be easily accomplished, but I like how some games (like FFXIV) have put these groups as part of their lore. FFXIV uses the concept of free companies as their guilds, and is well represented in the lore. 

      What are your thoughts on this? Those of you who play MMO’s regularly - is this true? How about those who do not play them at all - what has turned you off? I’d love to hear your thoughts.