His Excellency Aethien wrote:
someproteinguy wrote:
It's a rare system that's both easy to pick up for someone playing casual, and also complex enough to keep them interested for the long run.
WoW took a HUGE step in that direction compared the the generation of MMO's before it though, making the game both much more complex and more accessible than it's predecessors. I think it's a matter of time before someone will take the next step forward.
I'm hopeful too. There's bound to be a good idea floating around out there somewhere.
Whatever it is though, has to overcome that problem with getting people to stick around. Right now you pick up a new MMO and it has two things going for it. First it's fresh, new, and exciting. People put a lot of effort into the beginning parts of the game to get you hooked. Secondly it's free, basically every MMO has the lower levels F2P, and some of them continue it for a long time. Pretty much universally though to be competitive at end-game you need to pay, either piecemeal for items/gear or to get around content locks, or via subscription. At this point the game usually gets grindy. So you're now looking at paying money for something that's less fun than what you had for free. So do you subscribe, or go try the next MMO which will be more fun, and free? It's no wonder companies are trying to re-work this whole "end-game" thing.
Hopefully, this idea of doing dynamic content solves the problem. The only problem I see is you still have to make money off of the game somehow, and you're giving your most potent stuff (that thrill of playing a new game) away for free.