MMOGology: Keep it simple, stupid
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Dungeon Runners, EverQuest, Classes, Culture, Game mechanics, Opinion, Free-to-play, MMOGology, Casual
I've been playing a lot of Dungeon Runners lately. Doing so has reminded me that simplicity can be a very good thing. With the exception of its tongue-in-cheek nature and the ability to cross-train class skills, there's nothing particularly original about DR. It's your standard medieval hack and slash RPG in the vein of Blizzard's single player classic, Diablo. Quests are easy to obtain and complete thanks to a rip off of World of Warcraft's quest system. Combat is even simpler than WoW. You left click on a monster to attack and right click to use an assigned special move. Occasionally you press a number key on your hotbar for an additional attack or ability. That's about it for the first ten levels or so; and perhaps the entire game. You might think this simplistic gameplay would get old quickly, but it's the straightforward and simplistic nature of DR's gameplay that make the game so appealing and so fun. It hearkens back to simpler days of gaming and reminds me that just because a MMOG is complex, it doesn't necessarily make it deep, fun, challenging (in the right way), or good. Sometimes complexity is just complexity. Many modern MMOGs require players to interface with the game using multiple hotbars, key bindings and macro scripting. WoW even supports a multitude of user created interface add ons. In the instance of macros and interface add ons, it often feels like you're helping to program the game to make up for it's design deficiencies. The fact that not all users utilize these optional extras can leave uninformed players at a disadvantage, especially in PvP. Macros and adons can be fun to experiment with and I'm glad that Blizzard typically supports the community of developers that create such additions to the game. But, why should players be expected to spend time researching a game's "bonus features" and assisting in its development in order to play it properly? Personally, I'd rather spend my free time actually playing the game. Is it too much to ask for a game that just freakin' works right out of the gate? A game that you don't have to modify or spend hours researching prior to playing. With DR, you can sit down for twenty minutes and enjoy some carefree hack and slash without investing hours of research in PvP strategy guides, talent calculators, quest guides, or scripting tools. You simply play a game. What a concept!
Beyond the interface complexity there are various levels of world design complexity that help to define most MMOGs. For example, most online RPGs have a a complex economy, a robust guild system, and an elaborate world that requires hours to traverse. While these elements are typically spoken of in positive terms by reviewers of MMOGs, poor implementation can make them a real drag instead of a boon. For example, the lack of a quick transit system can make a large world a burden to traverse. After the initial excitement of exploration has worn off, retreading the same areas feels like a dull waste of time. Luckily, most MMOGs learned this from Everquest and have since implemented various modes of quickly traversing the game world.
There are also standard gameplay elements that seem to be "required" of an MMOG. Gameplay elements such as reputation grinding (or faction alignment), gear acquisition and upgrades, and large party raid content are standard fare in playing an online role playing game. But are such gameplay elements and world design elements really necessary? In Dungeon Runners you don't worry about harvesting resources because there's no crafting involved. You don't worry about what items to save or what to sell at vendors because it's all vendor trash unless you use it or want to sell it directly to a player. You don't have to worry about talent trees or how you'll spec your character, or even what class to play. There are only three classes and you can cross-train class skills. If you play a warrior but decide you really like shooting lightning from your fingertips you simply buy the skill and, ta-da, you're a lightning-bolt-slinging-warrior. While playing DR, I never missed any of the world design or gameplay elements that are so often viewed as necessary to a successful MMOG.
I'm sure some players will claim that many of the elements that make a virtual world complex are the things that help make the world more enjoyable, believable, and sustainable over time. I'd definitely agree that many of the standard MMOG gameplay and design conventions are still in existence because they do work. I'm not suggesting that all future MMOGs follow the DR model. Complexity obviously has it's place. It can be enjoyable to speculate on the best way to deck out your talent tree, or to spend time crafting your own gear. But playing a simple game like Dungeon Runners has reminded me that it doesn't always have to be that way, and that there's still room for innovation in the MMOG gaming space. Simply put, having fun doesn't have to be complex. I hope that as MMOGs continue to evolve, that designers continue to look at ways to simplify our interaction with the worlds we inhabit, while retaining a sense of depth to the world and gameplay. The less we have to think about what we're doing, and the more natural it all begins to feel, the more immersive the experience becomes.
If you're looking for a quick, casual, pick up and play MMOG that also happens to be free, I would highly recommend Dungeon Runners. Its simple hack and slash style of gameplay and sense of humor make it a breath of fresh air in an MMOG universe often populated with overly complex interfaces, world design and gameplay.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Spars said on 10:24AM 1-07-2008
I, like you, fell in love with DR's very simple hack and slash gameplay. It brought me back to the days of Diablo (the first game that really started my addiction) and where simplicity ruled. I played DR after I "retired" from WoW after a couple years of playing. It's a good refreshing game. I even paid the membership fee for a couple of months. But that leads me to my point. I paid the membership fee so I could attain new and better items. Why? Not only because it made it a whole lot easier to kill mobs (even easier than it was before) but also because I have a huge competitive side. I play games to challenge myself. I can no longer play single player games, games that don't have interaction with other people.
That's the reason MMO's interest me so much is because they are the only real type of games that I don't grow bored of extremely quickly. People add a complexity to a game that is required (for me) to get enjoyment. Mainly, why should I feel good about being able to kill said mob solo when any little kid can do the same thing, with little to no effort. What is fun for me is to kill a said mob, with maybe 3 people in which it usually required 5+, using skills/strategies/macros and whatnot.
While PVP can be frustrating because someone outgears you etc, that also is motivating you to get the better gear, and become a better player (i.e. macros/research/strats etc) I have come to find out, complexities are the exact reason what brings me to gaming, and continue to play the same game.
While I agree DR is a great game to play. It doesn't hold people for an extended period of time. Excellent game if you've burnt out on a game, but still need to fill that gaming crave. But it's just a snack, you'll start to get hungry again. Alas, the reason I started playing WoW again. That and you can actually make real $ off WoW, but not games like DR. ;)
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Ghen said on 12:57PM 1-07-2008
I like my commenters simple too. That was a giant wall of text there spars.
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jst8 said on 1:09PM 1-07-2008
I disagree with this part of your essay: "But, why should players be expected to ... assist in its development in order to play it properly?"
This assumes that there is one "best" way, but a quick look at the many addons that do similar things shows that different players want different features and behaviors. So Blizzard delivers the core set and we get to play around (or not) finding the extras that make us wiggle like puppies. You all wiggle, right?
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marc.nottke said on 1:21PM 1-07-2008
I wiggle.
Good point, jst8. I'm all for customization as long as all gamers are aware of the options available to them, and as long as developers don't use it as a crutch for incomplete or ineffective design.
Alarie said on 1:09PM 1-07-2008
DR is one of those games where I sat down thinking I got 30mins to play I'll play some DR and see what I get done. Look at the clock later and it's been an hour and half! Just a lot of fun playing that game.
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marc.nottke said on 1:12PM 1-07-2008
LOL! But, a good wall of text! Spars made some excellent points to both counter and compliment my own.
I'm proud of the intelligent discussion I've seen on many of my MMOGology posts (including comments you've made too Ghen).
Keep it up guys, and maybe we'll see some innovation trickle into the games we play in the future.
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GRT said on 2:11PM 1-07-2008
(Apologies if this rather long comment appears twice)
I also played and enjoyed DR for a while. In fact some of the silly things the NPC characters come out with have stuck with my girlfriend (who never played, but sure heard the game and I) and I in our little micro-culture.
I'm with jst8 (gestate?) though, I think being able to modify the UI is a strength of games like WoW and to a lesser extent EQ2 (and I'm sure there are others) rather than a flaw. After you get comfortable with the default UI, and play and play and play, little things that might work for most people start to bug you personally, and there's a way to tweak things to make the game more enjoyable for yourself. It seems like a win-win situation, in particular when the devs take the most popular mods and roll them into the standard UI.
I'll also take some exception to this:
"Gameplay elements such as reputation grinding (or faction alignment), gear acquisition and upgrades, and large party raid content are standard fare in playing an online role playing game. But are such gameplay elements and world design elements really necessary?"
I do think in fact that gear acquisition and upgrades *are* necessary (and in fact DR has this in spades). The first time I tried playing EQ2, my girlfriend, a hardcore EQ2 fan, gave my character all the gear he'd need for the first 20 levels or so. Almost all the quest rewards and all of the dropped loot was just vendor trash to me, and I really didn't like the game much at all.
With the recent expansion (Rise of Kunark) I've tried the game again, and this time with no 'twinking' from the S.0. At the same time Sony seems to have enhanced the kinds of loot one finds in drops. And this time around I'm loving EQ2, since every "Treasure Chest" that drops is like a new lottery ticket... I might (and sometimes do) win big and get a piece of gear that is an upgrade.
So to me at least, improving gear is a huge part of the satisfaction I get from these games, and that, I think, goes all the way back to Diablo.
Marc, have you had a chance to try Mythos yet? I think you'll like that one a lot, too.
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