[MUD-Dev] Ten commandments for the next MMORPG

[Raph Koster]

A player's post on the EverQuest Gameplay board that has received virtual=
ly
nothing but praise from follow-up posters. Seemed worth discussing. Origi=
nal
thread is at
http://boards.station.sony.com/everquest/Forum4/HTML/043297.html.

start quote--->
AuntieShaynta
Station Member  posted 05-19-2000 12:14 AM

TEN COMMANDMENTS FOR THE NEXT MMORPG

PURPOSE: I know you're out there. Who? People planning to make the "next"
big MMORPG. Kindly incline your ear while I make some kindly ... who am I
kidding. Do all 10 or don't expect me to buy it :)

#1: Thou Shalt Not Require Vulnerability to Other Players.

Consider the number of active EQ Subscribers (henceforth =93customers=94)
complaining that their server is too crowded. Now take a good look at how
many people are on the Player-Versus-Player (henceforth =93PvP=94) server=
s.
Either they are being hypocrites, or as a whole the customers do not want=
 to
be vulnerable to harm from other players at all times. And yet I find it
curious that practically every upcoming MMORPG I=92ve looked into has
Mandatory PVP =96 one (Atriarch) even goes so far as to have permanent Pv=
P (if
the character dies, it=92s time to start a new character). Others (UO2, A=
narky
Online) skirt this by making some areas Non-PvP =96 and yet it takes some=
thing
less than a rocket scientist to realize you won=92t be able to stay in th=
e
=93safe=94 areas all the time.

#2: Honor Thy Customers and Consider Their Suggestions, for Thy Game is
**Not** Holy.

Commandment 2 is also known as Business Rule One =96 if you don=92t take =
care of
the customer, somebody else will. Both of the =93headlining=94 MMORPG=92s=
 (EQ &
UO) have suffered from massive customer-relations problems. In both cases=
,
those behind the game *refused* to re-examine fundamental game issues
=93because [problem] is part of the game =96 learn to enjoy it or go play=
 Chip=92s
Challenge,=94 to quote a statement made to me by a representative of Orig=
in.
And Verant has made similar if not *quite* as inflammatory statements
regarding a number of issues (melee binding being the most egregious but
certainly not solitary). Origins faced a gradual but considerable exodus =
due
to this; I for one will never purchase an Origins product again, and this=
 is
coming from someone who has never eaten at KFC because of poor service hi=
s
mother received 28 years ago. Verant finds numerous customers prepared to=
 do
the same (I would still buy from them at this time). Both companies got a=
way
with it for quite some time because there wasn=92t a worthy =93someone el=
se=94 =96
this won=92t be true for long.

>Another way to say this: don=92t tell us "Everything is subject to chang=
e" if
Everything doesn=92t mean ***Everything**.

#3: Thou Shalt Use All Means at Thy Disposal to Communicate With Thy
Customers

I find this issue particularly curious. In a genre in which change is the
norm, Verant hardly ever polls their customers for information =96 yet
constantly say they know what how the majority of their players feel. Pos=
ts
by various Verant personnel on their Official Board seem to indicate they
have a low opinion of polling. Granted, the majority is not always right,
but here=92s a hint: the majority isn=92t always wrong, either. As a
nigh-complete idiot I once had for a boss told me, =93If one person says =
it=92s
raining, that only means they say it=92s raining. But if half the people
coming in the door say it=92s raining, you might want to at least look ou=
t the
window before you go out without an umbrella.=94

#4: Thou Shalt Not Lie To Thy Customers =96 And None of that Misrepresent=
ing
the Truth Stuff, Either

There=92s no way around this. They can make all the PC =93we were mistake=
n=94, =93we
had no creative control=94, =93this was pre-release information=94, and =93=
we are
not responsible for second-party statements=94 dodges they want =96 both =
Origins
and Verant committed outright lies to their customers on various issues. =
And
both companies had misleading statements in Official sources as well. Sur=
e,
=93soloing is supported=94 =96 for maybe two classes, over maybe 2/3rds t=
heir
careers. It is my personal opinion that Verant=92s problem is not deliber=
ate
misinformation, but an utter lack of quality control. On that subject=85

#5: Thou Shalt Test Thy Product Before Thy Releaseth It or Any Part of It

Should be assumed, and yet everybody but game manufacturers seems to know
better. Here=92s a clue =96 if it=92s =93your world=94, you bloody better=
 well be
willing to sign your name to it. Now granted that the very nature of the
MMORPG genre is such that updates will be constant, and that any changes
that need to be made can be handled quickly. Nonetheless, there is NO EXC=
USE
WHATSOEVER for a game to be out for a year before the people responsible =
for
it discover something along the lines of Wolf-form having the wrong facti=
on.
There is an equivalent amount of excuse for quests that appear to have be=
en
in the game from the beginning to still appear broken (which reminds me, =
I
haven=92t checked Kinool Goldslinger since the last =93quest=94 patch). A
recommendation? Absolutely NOTHING in the game should go Live until the
person most responsible PERSONALLY confirms it is working on a Test Serve=
r,
and this confirmation should be made the same way the player would be doi=
ng
it. The recent incident in which Abashi actually went into the game and m=
ade
sure the spells were dropping before he said this to customers (after wee=
ks
of insisting they were dropping without doing so, unfortunately) is a sta=
rt.

#6: Thou Shalt Remember That This is a Game, and is Supposed to be Fun

Or, to quote the Ogre, =93Fun good!=94 I myself am baffled by Verant=92s =
view of
doing anything except fighting in EverQuest. They create a high-level
Magician spell that summons beer =93for fun=94, but disallow the Shrink s=
pell
outside of dungeons =93because it would serve no useful purpose=94 and al=
l but
mock enchanters for wanting spells that serve no purpose but to =93look c=
ool.=94
An interesting thread about the Fishing skill gets ignored for three week=
s
while a post describing the prospect of X-Rated visuals in the game recei=
ved
an almost instant answer. Here=92s a clue =96 players play games to have =
Fun. It
is the role of those running the game to give them as many different ways=
 to
have Fun as possible. Is that really so hard to figure out? Here=92s anot=
her
clue: anything that represents a lengthy =93do nothing=94 time (the boats=
 in EQ
being a hideous example) is bad for Fun and therefore bad for the Player =
=96
and what is bad for the Player is bad for the Game. By the same token, wh=
at
is Fun for the Player is good for the Game.

#7: What Thou Expecteth Players to Have, Players Should Expect to Obtain

Go ahead and call this the Casual Commandment if want. Or, to quote the
Ogre, =93Camping Bad!=94 If =93Crafted isn=92t 50th level gear=94, 50th l=
evel players
should be able to obtain 50th level gear **REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY CAN
PLAY 1 HOUR A WEEK OR 50**. In a Non PvP environment, there is NO reason =
for
a player not to have the gear they are =93expected=94 to have at a certai=
n
level. This is not to say that the player who can play 50 hours a week
shouldn=92t have better gear =96 quite the contrary, the 50-hour player
**deserves** better equipment. The problem is that the 1-hour a week
character shouldn=92t still be carrying a basic Long Sword at 25th level =
(don=92
t laugh, I=92ve seen it). There are several methods around this (viable t=
rade
skills come to mind, as does the =93piecework=94 quest suggestion), and I
strongly advise game makers to look into them.

#8: Problems, Not Puzzles

This is an old roleplaying GM rule I=92ve followed for years when I run
campaigns. The fact I heard a lead designer for the upcoming Deux Ex game
say this in an interview is one of the reasons I *will* be buying that ga=
me.
What it means is this: do not create situations that can only be solved o=
ne
way. Create *problems*, and then create multiple ways to solve this probl=
em.
Reward players for using less-obvious methods. If the only way to get a
treasure out of a room is to kill the monsters guarding it, what you have=
 is
a war game, not role-playing.

#9: If Thou Must Have Classes, Balance Them in *Quantifiable* Ways

Or, to quote the Ogre, =93Me kan=92t eben spel cum-bel-ink, let alone pla=
y it.=94
Another nice little sound bite: the Compelling Reason to play every class
should be known, and should outweigh the Compelling Reason *not* to play =
the
class
=2E
#10: If Thou Must Have [Whatever], Have [Whatever].

Or, to quote that near-complete idiot I once had as a boss, =93Swimming i=
s not
putting your feet in the water.=94 Is there Tinkering in EQ? Technically.=
 Can
enchanters make magic items in the game? Technically. Can rogues use pois=
on?
Technically. Are there religions in EQ? Technically. Are there quests in =
EQ?
Technically. See where I=92m going with this? First person to answer
=93Technically=94 is gonna be the next victim of my Kerran Fishingpole.

Thank you for your time.

=93We=92re in Your World Now. Convince Us to Keep Paying Your Rent.=94
=93Auntie=94 Shaynta IdolSlayer
20th (darn that last pixel to 21st!) level High Elf Enchanter, E=92ci Ser=
ver

<---end quote

-Raph




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