By Nelson Schneider - 10/04/15 at 02:22 PM CT
Since I started writing for MeltedJoystick, I have done something I never thought I would do. I did not do this uncharacteristic thing once, but twice. What is this strange, alien, Lovecraftian affront to reason that I did? I played – and enjoyed – a Massively Multi-Player Online game.
When MMOs were first a thing, they were universally MMORPGs. And these MMORPGs took one aspect traditionally found in RPGs – grinding – and made it the entire purpose of the game. Early MMOs like “Everquest” weren’t too keen on telling a story or presenting a unique and engaging set of gameplay mechanics. No, they were intent on getting people to pay a monthly fee and then forcing everything in-game to take an unreasonably long amount of time in order to string subscribers players along for many, many months. These early MMORPGs were the games we still see stereotyped in other media when ‘normal’ characters talk about dysfunctional characters with online gaming addictions – sitting at a PC, keyboard and mouse only, playing for days on end without a break. This type of MMO could even be deadly to those with particularly addictive personality types. In short, I wanted nothing to do with a game that would a) require an online subscription in the dial-up era, b) feature grinding as the core gameplay mechanic, c) force reliance on other people to pull their weight in a party, and d) allow universal open Player vs. Player fighting.
When I made my return to PC gaming in the 7th Gen, I discovered that MMORPGs had changed. Indeed, many MMO games exist that aren’t RPGs at all. However, my first exposure to a modern MMO was indeed a Korean Action RPG called “Dragon Nest.” All of the MeltedJoystick crew played this game and found it completely different from what we expected. At first I thought “Dragon Nest” might be some sort of aberration, but when I ended up playing through “Defiance” (a MMO Third-Person Shooter), I found a number of mechanical similarities between the two that seem to be the new bog-standard for MMO games in general.
The new standard state of MMOs really pissed off the no-lifers who actually enjoyed the awful way MMOs used to be, but in exchange made the entire genre a lot more accessible. Modern MMOs are generally solo-friendly, allowing a player to simply go online and play some missions/quests/etc. or do some grinding without having to choreograph an entire party of other folks. Modern MMOs leave their horrible, super-difficult content to Raids, a special type of end-game boss battle that typically relies on one-hit party wipes to keep the no-lifers engaged (of course, if they had their way, the entire game would be as punishing as a Raid). Modern MMOs segregate PvP into special arenas, and no longer charge monthly fees (in most cases). Most importantly (and most aggravating to the no-lifers) is the fact that modern MMOs now incorporate a ‘Daily’ mechanic, limiting the amount of time a player can earn meaningful progress within a 24-hour period while simultaneously providing a player with specific goals (that provide greater rewards than simply grinding at random) that refresh every 24-hours. Some games also have Weeklies and Monthlies to motivate players over a longer time-frame.
Of course, Dailies may be a nice way to limit the amount of time terminal MMO players spend logged-in, forcing them to step away from the keyboard for a moment to do something MMO players tend to neglect, like eat or shower, but they are also a very good way to hook in other people who might not be as easily addicted as the typical MMO fan. When “Dragon Nest” offered special prizes for logging in and ‘playing’ (even if it was standing idle in town) for several hours per day during holiday events, I went out of my way to get credit. And since I was already logged in, playing some Daily quests for extra experience and gold didn’t seem like that bad of an idea. Likewise, when “Defiance” hosted special holiday-themed events in the open-world part of the game which dropped special holiday-themed weapons and weapon mods, I made it a point to play for a while every day of the events in an attempt to fully mod-out a purple rarity version of certain appealing weapons.
Even outside of time-limited events, Dailies can be an insidious way to encourage players to grind a little bit every day. Spacing out the grinding makes it less onerous, and the hour-or-two per day it takes to do Dailies isn’t the all-consuming life-suck that leveling in “Everquest” was. Despite the attempts to smooth out the jagged edges of the MMO design philosophy, the entire genre is still a lot like a glazed donut.
What? How does that make sense? Have I lost my mind? MMOs, like donuts?!
Modern MMOs start out sweet and delicious. They give the player a taste of good fun that doesn’t eat up a lot of time. It’s like going to the bakery in the morning and buying a nice, tasty glazed donut. That first donut tastes so good that it seems like a good idea to go ahead and buy three dozen of them so you can have a donut every morning. So you do. Every day, you eat a glazed donut… and for the first dozen it seems like your idea to commit to eating a donut every day was a fantastic move. So good. So tasty. Always there.
By the second dozen donuts, however, things are starting to get a little old. You’ve eaten glazed donuts every day for so long that you’re starting to get sick of them. Having a waffle or McDonald’s sausage biscuit would be a great change of pace… but you’ve got to eat these damned donuts until they’re gone.
By the third dozen donuts… ugh… “I don’t want any more donuts!” you cry. But no one hears you and you just keep plugging away at that box of donuts. Glazed donuts are notorious for their short shelf life, and now not only are you stuck eating donuts you’re tired of, but they’ve gone completely stale and turned into rock-hard monstrosities. Heating them up in the microwave just causes them to off-gas nauseating, sugary fumes that cause your gorge to rise as you bring the donut to your mouth for bite after arduous bite. As you swallow that last donut, you vow never to eat one again…
But then one day you walk by the bakery and see how nice and fresh the NEW glazed donuts look, and the cycle starts anew.
Modern MMOs are exactly like that. Once you’re committed to doing Dailies, you need to keep doing them until an arbitrary reward threshold it met – be it reaching the level cap or some other mechanic, like saving up enough of a specific in-game currency to buy a specific item. Missing a day can frequently break some sort of log-in streak or simply waste an opportunity to build-up points. Upon reaching this threshold where doing Dailies no longer accomplishes anything meaningful, it is possible to break free… but only until the next increase in level cap, or limited event, or other tool specifically designed to pull players back in.
The only way to stay free of an MMO after breaking free of it is to ignore it. Learning about new mechanics or in-game changes is a sure-fire way to restart the cycle of doing the Daily Grind until the next arbitrary threshold. Don’t walk by the bakery. Just stay away!
Comments
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 10/10/15 at 03:56 PM CT
I agree wholeheartedly, DB. Unfortunately, Nick seems dead set on roping the rest of the MJ crew into a bunch of unsatisfying mobile phone games. Between Chris obsessing over Clash of Clans, Nick obsessing over Ingress, and both of them obsessing over Game of War - NONE of which have any point other than PvP - it's pretty easy to see why I'm the only one producing a significant number of reviews recently.
dbarry_22 - wrote on 10/08/15 at 02:26 PM CT
I won't play a game unless I see an "end" to it. I really don't see the point of playing a game that requires grinding and many many hours unless I know I can beat it in the end. I do understand the argument that it's about who you play with and the enjoyment you get playing with your friends, but if that's going to be the case I'd rather play multiplayer components of games that have a beatable solo part. For example, Mario Kart, Smash Bros., sport's games, heck even FPS.
I just don't have time anymore to dump dozens of hours into a game just to do it, I have too many other games to still play and enjoy. I refuse to get in that endless unsatisfying circle.
Chris Kavan - wrote on 10/07/15 at 08:07 PM CT
I dipped my toe in the original MMORPG, but somehow I never fell into the trap. I think all MMOs, regardless of setup, are massive time-consumers - casual or hardcore - sometimes you can do them in moderation, but if you ever want to truly advance, it's going to take part of your day (sometimes a part of every day) to do so. I think MOBAs are the same way - but purely focusing on team-based PvP (something I know we all just love). Maybe one day we'll get sucked into that world- God help us all.
Matt - wrote on 10/04/15 at 08:54 PM CT
How true! Fortunately, I was never able to eat the donuts every day so that they didn't get too old. That being said, I remember friends in college not sleeping for days because of the Ever-crack, and the hope to sell their gear on eBay. I too had no interest in such games. But the modern MMO is tolerable and even fun at times. The negative is, as you point out, the amount of times you play through the same encounter is a bit much. I always found the desire to sell loot to then buy better gear a drive to play the level one more time. It is perplexing how to fix this. The game would become enormous with all unique content.
