The Point To It All

Once these first few months passed, every single MMORPG I have played one important issue comes up: why am I playing? Now I admit this question is a little unclear. I am not looking for the obvious answer of "it's fun" or "it's an escape from reality for me" as all games will do this, heck even surfing the internet does this at times. So with that said I wish to delve deeper and deeper.

Since we're all fans of EverQuest II here let's use our game as an example: why do we log in and play this game? Answers may vary but I believe the following is a very good sample of possible responses (aside what all games would provide): to get new armor and weapons, to explore the Shattered Lands, to participate in epic raids and to face old enemies. These are what I would consider the most common responses and there are even others as well such as to participate in the Arena but that's not for everyone.

Looking at our possible reasons to play this game from a strictly game perspective (this is crucial to keep in mind) we can conclude one thing: these are all things that can wear off over time. The Shattered Lands, though expanded in time, are not endless and chances are after a few months you'll have done it all, same goes for level accumulation and loot (though this does take longer). Let's not forget the last two: they also wear off fairly quickly.

In sum: these are all things that will not keep one hooked, long term. They are absolutely fantastic, and critical items for EverQuest II's success but they surely will not keep you hooked. I would like to point out that there is one item, not linked to the game inherently mind you, that keeps players occupied for a long time: the community.

The only problem I see with the argument for the community (and this is not dispelling it at all) is that it is quite universal. As much as we hate to admit it, the community in World of Warcraft is quite hooking for their players: there simply is no experience like it. Even in games like Final Fantasy XI where the population is mixed to say the least, there is a viable community which enhances the game experience.

Everyone employs this, plain and simple, for each and every developer knows that it is critical for long term success. At this point in time I really feel that the community aspect is what puts MMORPGs over top of any RPG right now: the addiction, which in large parts comes from an active community, simply is only available in the online world.

So what am I writing about then, what am I trying to show to you, my readers? I have shown the obvious, to say the least: why we keep playing MMORPGs and specifically EverQuest II. Community is the simple reason, more or less. Despite the success that this model does have we need a more viable, important reason to stay the course, to give us reason to play. To answer this, we have to reference other games.

Let's first take a look at the direct competition to EverQuest II: Final Fantasy XI and World of Warcraft. Both of these games are great examples to use because they are polar opposites in a lot of ways: Final Fantasy XI, like EverQuest II, is a primarily PvE game where World of Warcraft is heavily focused on PvP. Each of these games as well go further to bringing purpose to their game, a dominating reason to play, besides what we have listed.

When I played Final Fantasy XI in my stint a year or two ago there was one thing I was particularly amazed at: the importance of the story. It was Final Fantasy after all so I wasn't too surprised once I thought about it but this also provides a very unique model to look at when looking at a reason to play the game.

Final Fantasy XI, like EverQuest II, has the raids, the named mobs and the large loot tables to accompany it. In fact, I like to compare the two rigorously when I get the opportunity. The difference? The story in Final Fantasy XI matters. The game really lures you in and provides a real, linear story that reveals the world to the player in ways I haven't seen before.

In sum: Final Fantasy XI provides a dominating reason to stay, and play the game: to find out about this incredibly immersive story that is being revealed to the player. Though Final Fantasy XI hasn't enjoyed the success that other MMORPGs had in North America it certainly did incredibly well in Japan and is considered a top game today, perhaps for that very reason.

Then we have the biggest competition that EverQuest II faces on a daily basis ever since the two games entered beta: World of Warcraft. I can remember covering World of Warcraft (yes I did this evil thing) in the beta stages and then writing about EverQuest II in release and the words that were slung back and forth were unimaginable. It almost seemed that no matter how good or bad either game was, they had to prove to the other [side] that their game was immensely superior. But we're past that now.

World of Warcraft had some very high expectations, moreso then EverQuest II ever did: the Blizzard fan base was huge and this was the company's first foray into the MMORPG genre. By the obvious mark of well over two million world wide subscriptions shows the obvious success of the game but one factor in particular: the immersive feeling of the war.

Final Fantasy XI made the world matter through PvE experiences and World of Warcraft makes the world matter through PvP especially now that battlegrounds are in place. Before the time of battlegrounds town and city raids were not uncommon, the announcement of the attack would go out and legions of players would come out to defend whatever fell under attack. Even in battlegrounds now players co-operate together to defeat the other: it seemed as if more than pride was on the line.

In sum: World of Warcraft puts forth a hatred of the Horde or the Alliance and makes players want to do whatever it takes to defeat the other side wherever they walk. A truly unique and well done player versus player model of making things matter, of bringing a purpose to the forefront.

These are the kind of things I'm talking about when I say we need a "reason to log on." Community is fine, collecting loot is good and even participating in raids is fantastic but we need something more, as that is something everyone offers. I'm not saying either, that the EverQuest II developers need to go out and copy Final Fantasy XI or heaven forbid World of Warcraft. But something must be done.

What exactly will be done, or could be done, is something for another day as it is a long and complicated process to sort through (and I will revisit this issue next week, I assure you). For now I will leave my readers with the very thought of what could be done (viably) to make the EverQuest II experience better, to give us an overwhelming reason to log on.

We need one besides community, we really do.

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Posted by Badattitude at 2005-10-20 12:28:20

Whatever it is that we need its not another nerf on our toons