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Can Open World MMORPGs Be Successful Today?

Blog entry posted by AirmidCecht, Jun 4, 2012.

Can Open World MMORPGs Be Successful Today?

Ultima Online started as an RPG should, without hard set rules, a little bit of wild west and strong need for community. EVE Online has built its massive success on it in space and there are others from 'back in the day' that found the success of open world gaming a challenge but a rewarding one.

It seems today it is harder to release a true MMORPG. Skyrim has amazing success as expected but would it find that success in a multiplayer online platform? SWToR found huge numbers too but it wasn't as open world as it was dialogue motivated and too many were in a rush to reach end game instead of enjoying the experience along the way.

I look at open world games like Minecraft and think, "this is the experience players are missing out on today." It is up to the players to device their own world and build it along the way. It is such a simple and basic concept that did not start out with massive projections of defeating the WoW anomaly. It was the players who would word of mouth it to a decent position in the MMO food chain.

Is Minecraft an anomaly itself, though? Does it have to get that basic to pull the players out of the rush to end game mindset? Haven't we seen other titles brag of the open world concept only to be met with low subscription fees?

Part of it seems to be the pvp aspect of it. If I want to play in an open world I want at least some 'trammel' assurances that I can log in and not log out five minutes later in frustration over the player who just killed my crafter. Okay, not ME per say but a majority of us, yes. That seems to be left out some and I think it's a key element to success of a new MMO bragging of it's open world concept. While it is a thorn in the side of a true pvper to be called out this way, it is what it is in today's society of gamers. No one wants to lose and will blame the developers when they do.

It will be interesting to see if a true MMORPG can reach the same sort of success as the games of old who knew to evolve with their community by working closely with them. They are after all the best advertisement of their title ala Minecraft.

AirmidCecht, Jun 4, 2012
 
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AirmidCecht

About the Author

My characters are an extension of me. The fun, compassionate, dark side of me.
  1. Vince
    I think it depends on the what the developing company really want with the game. I mean, both UO and EVE propably started out a lot harsher than it is today. Propably the most of the fallout came due to mainstreaming the product and making them family friendly.

    I remember Badger talking about UO being the first brutal PVP experience he got, but all I hear about it now is fish and some version of whack-a-mole to grind stats or something. I dunno.

    I think the most interesting about EVE is propably the prospect of your social interactions can affect who claims ownership over a star system. If you become a successfull alliance leader (because youre awesome as a person) then you can totally start sending in fleets to kill other people. Very interesting stuff.

    I remember SWG being open world too, but that game was mostly scripted content. In the later months though, it did become a bit more open worldly. Too bad SOE lost the licence due to incompetence.
    Vince, Jul 5, 2012
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  2. AirmidCecht
    New Britannia does show promise, but is it a promise that will be delivered on? As Ultima Online players in an open world we have seen so many promises delivered just short of our true desires. This is why UO is still my one true love :)
    AirmidCecht, Jun 19, 2012
  3. Zosimus
    I will repeat it again myself......

    I am lucky that I am in my situation.

    Yes! I am harassing you :p
    Zosimus, Jun 18, 2012
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  4. Zosimus
    Luckily I am in that situation :) for the time being lol
    Zosimus, Jun 10, 2012
  5. Coldren
    I do hope New Britannia shows that it is possible to have an open world MMO can still be successful.

    Time will tell.
    Coldren, Jun 8, 2012
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  6. Taylor
    It's an interesting question. Players are very different today than they were fifteen years ago. Forget the influx of new players, even I am a different type of player than I was fifteen years ago. When I first started playing UO, I was thrilled to spend 3-4 straight hours clicking a pickaxe, then clicking a mountainside. Would I do this today? Not a chance.

    The community is very different today, too. There are a hell of a lot more trolls than there used to be. Even minecraft suffers from this: players build a community, but let the wrong person on your server, and watch it all be torn to pieces. I wouldn't even flag an escort when I first started playing UO. Today?...

    It's just different now than it used to be.
    Taylor, Jun 4, 2012
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