What I learned from WoW

[bolson]

World of Warcraft is a well made game, but it is not a good game.

Technically, good job. The server systems have had some rough edges, but for handling the relatively large scale of these things, it seems pretty impressive to me and I won't criticize that until I can do better. The game modeling and graphics is gorgeous. Spell effects, characters, texture art - all pretty stuff. The physics is consistent. The world is believable. Good job.

However, I will spout off on game design.

Play. I seem to have lost the Play along the way somewhere.

Leveling was a game. I beat that game. I hit 60. Go me. Now what?

Dungeons and Raids. Well, there are some parts of the game I haven't beaten yet. I haven't gotten the full Druid dungeon armor set, or the upgraded version. And of course that's what would equip me to move on to getting the full raid armor set and its upgrade. The problem with all this is

The Grind. How many times do I have to repeat BRD/Scholo/Strat/LBRS/UBRS in order to get all the things I need to advance? How many __ do I have to slay to get the things I need to make ___? What if I go to UBRS 25 times and Finkle's Skinner just randomly never drops for me? Are these dungeons even interesting? There's some amount of plot and story to them. They're new things to see for the first time or two. But why do I care? Are they a puzzle? Do I need to just keep doing them until I have good enough gear to be strong enough to beat them?

So, maybe playing against the computer isn't the answer. Playing against real human beings is certain to be more interesting!

PvP, ok, this must be the real game, along the way I could do some and now that I'm level 60, this must be the real game. Indeed, at its best, it's awesome. There's teamwork and good communication and strategy and tactics and close, exciting matches. But this is a rant and there are problems too. PvP at its worst is a perpetual losing blowout. It gets ingrained in one faction or the other that losing is how it goes and people still play but without gusto, they stop trying. Why? The PvP rating system. The rating system turns PvP into another grind. There are gear rewards to be had at higher ratings. There's pride to be had at being rated higher than other people. These things can be gained through grinding. The repeated semi-mindless killing of opposing players. Just keep playing. The more you play, the more rating you earn. The PvP rating system is more a measure of quantity than quality. Not to offend the quality players who are highly rated, to you I say "Good Job". There are also players who have gotten highly rated through quantity, not quality. There is also the need, even if you really are the best, to do a lot of PvP play to get that high rating.

PvP is also subject to the gear-grind. Put in more time, get better gear, be more powerful in PvP play too!

---

So, my biggest complaint is grind-suck. Second would be the limited avenues for creativity. The biggest canvas for this I can see is PvP. The teamwork, strategy and tactics there can be a real collaborative creative act. Some impressive things can happen there.

Crafting is not a creative act. The items are all pre-designed by Blizzard. They also require grind-suck.

In conclusion, I want a game with no grinding that rewards skill, cleverness, teamwork and has opportunities for creativity.
/rant

Comments

[sheenaqotj.livejournal.com]

Try out Guild Wars. I got sucked in too heavily into World of Warcraft to switch back to it, but basically it has _no_ grind. You can start a PvP-only character at the highest level and be competitive immediately. The max level is 20 for PvE characters and traveling is instantaneous after the first time, so there's no grind there either. There is a lot of team-work involved, too.

[fengshui.livejournal.com]

I think most of WoW's gameplay issues come from supporting the huge scale of players they have. They need to provide an enjoyable gaming experience for all types of players, including the 5 hours a week casual player to the 40+ hours a week since release hardcore player. Some of the grinding that's become necessary is likely legacy from what was top-level content a few years back. They could allow newer players to skip the BRD/Scholo/Strat/LBRS/UBRS grind, but the long-term dedicated players would resent that, and it would make for substantial crowding at the top.

As for PvP, you have the same effect there as well with some people PvPing for hours every day. You need to reward that kind of dedication, even if someone who is a little more skillful but doesn't play as much is harmed by it.

Balancing MMORPGs is the hardest part of the design. (Note the absence of new classes in the first expansion)

[twonky.livejournal.com]

Grind-suck, I'm going to use that term at the next guild meeting. :-)

In reality, you CAN do MC bosses with a group of 40 people who are well-trained but not well geared. Killing the final boss though, Rag, that's not possible without the gear.

I've never played other MMORPGs. From what I understand, most of them, at least the truly massive ones like WoW, have the grind. It's a hard thing to get around. Reward for the work, that's the point I guess.

Oh, and if you were on Gilneas, I have Finkle's. :-)