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Complexity in an MMO - Simplicity is king
Xez
Member
I'm not sure exactly the best way to express what I'm trying to say here.
The best games are ones about an extremely SIMPLE and UNIVERSALLY UNDERSTOOD mechanic, where a totally ignorant newcomer should be able to look at it and understand what's going on.
I absolutely can't stand how COMPLICATED and ARBITRARY almost every MMO ever makes certain things. There is usually an entire set of (completely arbitrary) vocabulary that a player has to memorize to even BEGIN to be able to understand what the heck is going on.
I'm talking primarily 1 - just how the basic BATTLE system functions, and how gear and stats affect it, how classes work and what their roles are and 2 - how the general events and systems of the game work and how they interact with each other.
If I need to spend hours pouring over a games wiki and freaking read 40 pages of tutorials before I begin playing something so that I don't potentially waste the hundreds of hours doing something that I later realize to be a complete waste of time or irrelevant or far inferior to something else I should have been doing, then there is something VERY WRONG with a game.
I just hope that the general philosophy of gear in particular, is something that is extremely straightforward and easy to understand. The only specific arbitrary things to memorize should be the things that make certain special weapons and equipment unique.
Never stray too far from that simple core MMO battle mechanic that the entire game should be about.
The best games are ones about an extremely SIMPLE and UNIVERSALLY UNDERSTOOD mechanic, where a totally ignorant newcomer should be able to look at it and understand what's going on.
I absolutely can't stand how COMPLICATED and ARBITRARY almost every MMO ever makes certain things. There is usually an entire set of (completely arbitrary) vocabulary that a player has to memorize to even BEGIN to be able to understand what the heck is going on.
I'm talking primarily 1 - just how the basic BATTLE system functions, and how gear and stats affect it, how classes work and what their roles are and 2 - how the general events and systems of the game work and how they interact with each other.
If I need to spend hours pouring over a games wiki and freaking read 40 pages of tutorials before I begin playing something so that I don't potentially waste the hundreds of hours doing something that I later realize to be a complete waste of time or irrelevant or far inferior to something else I should have been doing, then there is something VERY WRONG with a game.
I just hope that the general philosophy of gear in particular, is something that is extremely straightforward and easy to understand. The only specific arbitrary things to memorize should be the things that make certain special weapons and equipment unique.
Never stray too far from that simple core MMO battle mechanic that the entire game should be about.
4
Comments
Hold X while pressing Y to change the degree of the aim.
Use right click to confirm aim.
Player 2
press E to pick up torch.
Hold X to set torch on fire.
Holding Y bring torch to cannon to ignite, use mouse to touch
Player 3
Press E to raise hand
Left click to "FIRE!!"
missed
I agree that not everything needs to be a complicated minigame.
I agree, that a game should not be so complex, it takes a days research, just to jump a ditch. /sarcasmOff
The problem most MMORPGs have; is they keep adding content, increasing the the learning curve, for the newer player.
Complexity and Depth are 2 totally different things.
I find simplicity/minimalism is inviting and welcoming (iOS and Apple products do this really well, though I don't personally buy into it)
My favourite experiences of depth come from compounding the effects of simple systems to trigger bonus effects and discovering synergies between these mechanics.
Aion was not complicated
Archeage was not complicated
I really dont understand how someone needs always to be handheld and eplained to the last detail. Todays braindead games like Final Fantasy 13 with its hours long tutorial is so annoying.
The only complicated game I ever played was Eve Online.
Complexity through the interweaving of simple systems! Exactly!
Yeah there was this other guy in the thread that said that too. He's really awesome check it out. XD
Absolutely! @CROW3 is awesome.
Possibly. I think we should vote on it.
Perfect example is Starborne. The UI is so cluttered and there is so much going on, you see players lose interest pretty quick because the game is pretty complicated and the game also doesnt explain things very well.
I would actually disagree with you completely if you do mean complexity though. Complexity usually refers to depth and an MMO is a game you spend many hours in. If that game has no depth you are just going to experience repetitive monotony. Barrier to entry should be low, yes. The mechanics should be intuitive or have some in-game introduction/support/tutorial. But complexity is great, it means it will be difficult to master, it means there are many ways of potentially achieving a goal, it means experimentation may be rewarding. For example, I don't think many people want a simple animal husbandry system, I think people want it to be accessible and easy to engage with mechanically but it should have complexity and allow for cool unique creations to play around with.