Wandering v. Goal Driven MMORPGs

I have returned to my first MMORPG love, Ultima Online. Some rather generous benefactors have been kind enough to host a free server, called UODivinity, based upon the Old Skool rules I know and adore. Well, my somewhat diminished return UO started the inevitable soul searching about where games were, where they are, and where they're heading.

As I gallavanted aimlessly throughout the hinterlands surrounding Minoc, the major difference between UO and all of the other MMOs I've played (WoW, DAOC, etc.) became very clear: purpose.


Wandering MMOs
Old Skool Ultima Online, which is still my favorite MMORPG, is utterly bereft of game instilled purpose. The game is what it is, and it is entirely up to you to define your existence and how you will interact with the rules and frameworks erected before you. Players opt to pursue nontradtional pursuits such tailors, blacksmiths, rangers, or sheepherders. Of course more traditional avenues are also available, such as swordsmen or mages. Each of these roles are entirely up to the player to select, and he may elect to change them at any time by developing some skills allowing others to decay.

The point behind this overview is to note the breadth and depth in universe in UO. There are more opportunities and more options in UO than in any other game, and players are left to their own devices to determine how to make these options work for them. In essence, players create their own goals and their own content, and wander around the game world seeking to fulfill these personal objectives. UO must be that broad and deep because players are not directed into any path. Since the game requires players to be creative in their experience, it must give players the tools to make the game interesting. Thus UO content is varied and at times seemingly random in its existence (candles, houses, barrel slates, and so forth).

Goal MMORPGs
These MMORPGs center on game identified goals, generally represented by quests. The game crafts an often superficial storyline to pieces these quests haphazardly together, and the adventurers mow their way through them in an effort to gain unique prizes or quick experience. Since the purpose of the game is to achieve these preset goals, the content, rules, and framework of the game are developed around enhancing the player's ability to achieve this objective.

Let's take World of Warcraft, which is far and away best orchestrated game employing this model. WoW employs a intricate web of quests that rewards the player with quick experience and, most importantly, the chance to obtain powerful weapons beyond those acquired in the game proper. Players who fail to acquire these weapons are uniformly at a disadvantage, which creates an incredible incentive to participate in these events.

This focus is reinforced by the secondary skills players may undertake, such alchemy, mining, or enchanting. All of these skills produce benefits that directly benefit the acquisition of game identified goals. For instance, alchemy produces health potions, which are critical to some dungeon crawls. Mining produces ore which is then employed in blacksmithy which ultimately turns into weapons. I am hard pressed to think of any purely frivolous skills/items in WoW outside of the occasional event related cookies.

As a result of the goal-centricity in the game, players are forced down a single track, that they play over and over again, albeit through different professions. The game is only interesting as long as there a constant influx of additional goal related content, but it is always a linear path. Take the expansions, which add adventure onto the end of a player's life, rather than enriching the player's journey along the way.

Combining Them

Now, I've allowed my biases to creep into my presentation, which is unfair to the goal driven MMORPGs. Frankly, WoW is an amazing game. The world is beautiful, the underlying story intriguing, and the writing excellent. But despite all of these advantages, I could never play the game for more than 3 weeks without quitting for a few months. The confined system left me feeling like I was working a second job that I lost money on. WoW doesn't appeal to my particular brand of playing, but it absolutely appeals to a broader public that craves constant reward and identifiable objectives.

UO was an incredible game, but it ultimately went the way of the dinosaurs because, for all of its creativity, it never managed to take it to the next level. Games with better graphics and fresh outlooks on the genre quickly grabbed the lion's share of the subscriber base, causing UO to wither.

But something is missing from these new games, just as something was missing from UO. Balance. There must be greater breadth in gameplay in WoW, but there must also be purpose and aesthetic beauty in UO. Where's the balance? I'm not quite sure, but I'm sure there will be a post on it sooner or later.

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