What Makes an MMORPG “Fun”?
March 9th, 2006
To me, what makes an MMORPG fun is a combination of the following factors:
- The ability to tailor my character’s skill set (i.e., no rigidly-defined character types that prevent me from combining the skills I want to combine in one character)
- The ability to adjust a character’s skills if existing skills turn out to be uninteresting or useless to me
- The ability to play “solo” and still enjoy myself, with the option of greater reward for teaming up with other players
- Making PVP combat an opt-in feature
- The ability to own virtual property in-game, like a house, store, or similar place
- A way to conveniently sell loot and crafted items to other players, even when I’m not playing, and a relatively easy way for other players to find the items I’m selling and vice-versa
- A variety of equipment options that allow me to tailor my weapons and protection to the enemy I am dealing with
- The ability to craft items in the game, and the fact that some items are “rare” to obtain and/or create
- Regular additions to the in-game content (enemies, quests/missions, equipment, etc.)
- A mechanism for turning in-game money into real money within the game, and vice-versa (this includes allowing in-game items to be sold on eBay)
- A reasonably large “universe” in the game, featuring a variety of locations and “themes” (e.g., desert, polar, tropical, etc.)
- The ability to travel to previously-visited locations nearly instantly
- In-game activities, story lines, and other content that I can optionally choose to be part of
- Some “instanced” content, to eliminate the effect of other players “camping” or “farming” popular areas
- Gaining of skill through USE of the skill, not through anything related to “leveling”
Notice that the above list doesn’t include a number of things:
- Fancy 3D graphics and sound effects (UO has a very dated 2D look and I don’t mind that.)
- A musical soundtrack (This is one of the first things I turn off anyway.)
- In-game characters voiced by human beings (I can read just fine.)
- Prohibition of the sale of currency and items on eBay (or elsewhere)
- Extensive customization of character appearance (I honestly don’t care if my character doesn’t look “unique” so long as I can recognize which one’s mine.)
- In-game social events and locations, like discos or weddings (These are optional to me.)
- Official “groups” like guilds, super-groups, clans, or corporations (These often wind up being more trouble than they’re worth.)
- Support for audio chatting in the game (i.e., a “TeamSpeak” equivalent)
- Efforts to eliminate “farming”, “camping”, or other such acts (People are going to do this anyway. If you have “instanced” content then these activities won’t unnecessarily harm other players.)
- An assurance from the developers that no character can progress faster than any other (I don’t care if someone else’s character hits level 20 in 2 days while I only get to level 10 in the same time. If I want to level as fast, I can create a character just like it.)
I have yet to find an MMO that offers all the things I’m looking for. Ultima Online and Eve Online come close, but don’t quite make it. Earth & Beyond failed miserably. City of Heroes and City of Villains fail even more miserably. World of Warcraft delivers on most of them. Pirates of the Burning Sea delivers on several.