The Wizards of Technology

I do not believe that there is such a thing as a perfect Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) and I doubt that there ever will be.

Why?

Consider the following design elements of MMORPGs:

1. Graphics
2. System requirements
3. Graphical User Interface (GUI)
4. Character classes
5. Crafting
6. End game content
7. Player-Vs-Player (PvP)

1. If you have "realistic" graphics you run into the problem of having your game look too "plastic" or "chunky". If you have "cartoon" graphics you run into the problem of having your game look too "cartoony" or "childish". Not everyone will like the same graphical choice the developer has made in the same manner.

2. If you shoot for high end machines, you'll leave out about 80% of the market because not everyone can afford dual SLI cards at $300 each. Most consumers are lucky to have a 128 meg card let alone a 256 meg card. Aim too high and you lose a large percentage of the player base.

3. The GUI is more important than you think. If people can't figure out how to interface with the game in a fairly quick manner, they get frustrated and move on to something else easier to control. Yes, part of this issue is the "microwave" society we have where we want everything quick and simple and we don't want to work at getting something done but that's a whole different topic for another time. If they use KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) they help the player like the game more.

4. Should we have 8 classes of characters or 18 classes? If you have 4 you are likely to have people overlook the game because lack of variety. If you have 18 classes you run into the problem of having too many to choose from. People want variety but not so much they can't decide on one they like.

5. There are people that hate crafting, there are people that do it because it's necessary, then there are those (like me) that love it and see it as one of the most important aspects of the game. If you have a simple "click to create" button you make it too boring. However if you have a realtime mini game where you have to react to things that pop up or have something that takes too long to do, you make it too involved to be interesting.

6. What do you do when you are at the "end" of the game waiting for new content? Spend four hours at a time in a dungeon hoping for a 3% chance at a drop, only to do it again if you don't get it? Have locked doors everywhere only to open them later? Sit around and talk? People level at different rates. Some take two weeks to level cap and some take two years.

7. PvP. Open PvP? Separate PvP servers? No PvP? Flagged PvP? There are many choices and each one has its pluses and minuses. If you boast about PvP too much, you might scare off the carebears from the game. If you boast about the PvE too much, you might scare off the bloodthirsty PvPers from your game.

You can please some of the players all of the time, or you can please all of the players some of the time, but you can't please all of the players all of the time.

I don't think you can please everyone, so that's why I don't believe in the possibility of a "perfect" MMORPG.

Craig Sanderlin
Contributing Author
Wizards of Technology