This post first started out as yet another attempt to put to paper the concept and thoughts I have had on a fantasy sandbox mmo that I would like to see and play. In many respects it is heavily influenced by Eve Online and in others by my own experiences and things I personally enjoy.
However I'm not going to talk about this.
What the post turned into was a list of points which currently draw my ire and leave me feeling jaded or that they are all just rehashing the same old archetypes and concepts.
So without further ado that list.
1. Explore what's already been explored.
This is something that I think is best exemplified by Guild Wars 2, where there's an award or name given for having explored the entire game world. Except for your not truly exploring. Its all already been explored and mapped.
Its the same for almost all games. They players start out in a world already populated where everything has already been found and named by someone.This means you don't get the enjoyment of going somewhere which is unknown, the thrill of actually exploring something. In some ways game developers can ignore this as its new to you the player and your exploring it for the first time yourself.
Eve interestingly gets around this to a certain extent. First there's known space. where anyone can look at a star map, see the names of every system and what's in that system to a certain extent, as well as exactly how to get there, which system links to which and so on. but they also have randomly generated pve sites popping up all over the place, yes they're the same ones being spawned but they're never in the exact same place. But Eve also has wormhole space which is unmapped and un-mappable for any real length of time. Why? because the connections between the systems there are mostly random, shifting and changing on a very regular basis.
To me it would be great if a developer actually created a world in which there is no map but what you create yourself and what is chosen to be shared with you by others. Imagine if you will that you set out into the unknown wilderness and depending on your skill are able to draw a map or what you find and see, but it's not exact, you would be able to either make some of this publicly available either for free or for a fee. Or you can choose to withhold it and keep it to yourself or choose to share it with friends or your guild.
2. Walk around in places not of player creation, populated by cardboard cut-outs.
About the only current game that I would say that doesnt fall into this catagory is Skyrim simply because they have put alot of time and effort into their npc's to make them as unique as possible.
In so many mmo's you walk around towns and cities in which no player has any ownership over anything, they don't have a house there, the shops and buildings are just there to give a backdrop.
In a sandbox I would say this is acceptable in starter area's as there is some need to give players a starting block from which to learn and move off from.
Again I would like to point out how interesting and cool it would be to be able to walk around a town or village which has been built by your guild or friends or just other people.
3. Be a citizen of something which comes across as sterile and of little importance.
This comes back to the idea that you are essentially just a visitor or are attached to something which makes no difference to your actions or loyalties.
4. Being a hero in a world of heroes.
Any game that isn't single player which tries to make you out to be a hero is bullshitting you. As soon as your playing with others who have the same level of capabilities you lose the heroic feel. Your not a hero in Guild Wars 2, your one of thousands. Your not unique and I think that's possibly one of the things that defines being a hero. You manage to undertake and succeed in heroic actions and tasks which lesser mortals wouldn't or couldn't complete. Nothing you do in Guild Wars 2 is that as so many others can do exactly the same.
To be honest mmo's need to do away with this gimmick and leave it to the single player style of games.
5. Magic for all.
Magic in story and legends and whatever else is enigmatic, mystical, something limited to a few exceptional people. Unfortunately it's been made mundane, common, known. Not something that mystical anymore.
I'm not against magic being in games, but in my idea of an mmo which I may go into at some later date there would be a major differentiation between two different types of magic. One being that of legends, which is so incredibly rare that its actually mind blowing to see. And at the other end of the scale the magic which is more common but still not something everyone can do is akin to small cantrips for example, creating flashes and sparks.
6. The four races.
I'm somewhat tired of seeing the same races used over and over. Either the common human, elf, dwarf, elf and halfling. or the other archetypes of the strong muscle, the intelligent yet weak of body, the agile quick thinkers and then the middle man.
Again and again we get these re-used in different universes or worlds or whatever and It gets boring to see.
Again going back to what I would like to see in my ideal game is that your choice of races makes no difference to your stats or talents. that there Isn't the stereotypical usual stuff. For example, dwarves being generally the best engineers and craftsmen, tough douty and have a hatred of elves.
Elves being stuck up better than everyone else people because they live for centuries or are immortal, who have such great knowledge of magic that anyone else seems like insects crawling round in the mud trying to figure it out in comparison.
7. The holy trinity, classes.
Classes are limitations. One of the major things that I like about Eve and the Elder Scrolls games is the lack of classes. You can try anything out. However synergy still has its place. Being a tank who isn't that mobile and going into combat in light armour or just clothes doesn't mean your going to do as well as someone who goes in wearing heavy armour.
Remove them, let people choose for themselves what to do is the way forward instead of forcing choices upon people.
Those that want classes will define them themselves or stick to working synergies.
8. Players not being able to shape the world.
This point is specifically for mmo's. And I think can be most recently and possibly best shown by the Battle for Caldari Prime in Eve Online. Where a series of events led up to a bigger event which changes the storyline and ongoing lore and background of the game. The players were allowed to get involved but their actions were ultimately meaningless as the outcome had already been decided.
In a sandbox, which prides itself on player choices having consequences.
Being able to truly shape the world. Create and Destroy I think leads to the most exciting and griping gameplay. Rather than following a set path where all outcomes are preordained.
So yeah. I've a heck of a lot of gripes about what's out there.
Hopefully I will try putting into writing once more my concept for an mmo soon.
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