[MUD-Dev] When will new MMORPGs that are coming out get original withthe gameplay?

[Sasha Hart]

[David Kennerly]

> Original gameplay is on the MMO ballot. A few examples: Puzzle
> Pirates (Puzzle), JumpGate (RTS?), Eve (Space RTS?), ToonTown
> (Turn- based/puzzle suite), Motor City Online (Racing), Fortress
> (Worms Armaggedonish, Korea), BeatDance (Dancing, Korea, ... well,
> not anymore), Infantry Online (Tactical/RTS?), Underlight (RPG),
> Shattered Galaxy (Tactical/RTS), QuizQuiz (Game show suite,
> Korea), CrazyArcade (Arcade, Korea), Mabinogi (Anime RPG,
> Korea). And many more that I don't know about or can't mention.

Suppose subscriptions to Puzzle Pirates went into the stratosphere.
Does that mean it is easier to get money for ANY original idea -
say, "Dairy Tycoon Online?" Would producers be convinced if someone
argued that Puzzle Pirates' success will apply to Dairy Tycoon
Online because both are original? I would not be convinced myself.

> Besides the existing games, on the commercial ballot "none of the
> above" is always an option.  If any of the existing MMOGs could
> pump up their user base by 20% by adding "original" features, they
> would.

If I could pump up my income 20% by jumping into the pool in formal
dress every day, I would! But I wouldn't know that it would work,
especially not with enough confidence to bother trying. I haven't
tried it, nor have I seen anyone else try it, and without that kind
of direct evidence the stupidity of the idea is especially notable
(why SHOULD it work?) So why would I take the plunge? Why would the
MMOG? If there isn't enough information to begin with, that is a
legitimate reason to be conservative. Unfortunately, it means that
being conservative means you try less, and learn less, so things
tend not to change.

You point out that a number of games have already taken risks. That
breaks this cycle, placing the burden on the players to provide
support for the original games over the less original games, and
hence by proxy to support originality. The players certainly do not
dump EQ and buy up Puzzle Pirates and BeatDance, which is a poor
practical showing for originality. And, once again, it's a sensible
reason for a conservative commercial entity to decide that there's
not much money in originality. And this time, it looks like we
actually know because someone else did take the risks.

Yes - originality, as incarnated in the games listed above, failed
to triumph over any other factors standing in the way of runaway
success (or, as far as I know what qualifies as success here,
solvency.) It is a practical demonstration that originality is not a
no-brainer, nor even does it seem particularly promising. However,
it is no _demonstration_ that originality is unvalued: even assuming
players were buying on the basis of novelty, it isn't trivial to
detect that by comparing head counts in EQ, DAOC to head counts in
the above games. There are many differences other than originality
which confound interpretation, and the showing of originality in
this (reasonably, unavoidably) small and biased sample is not at all
guaranteed to be the showing of originality in general - not least
because doing original things is the essence of R&D. And it is a
little optimistic to assume that all of the appropriate information
is marshaled and appropriately used... and these problems feed back
into themselves - the less information, the more dear a working
solution is and the bigger the opportunity cost of exploring.

It probably is true that the current MMO market is content with the
same, just as it is true that many original features (at least to
the MMORPG genre) are being tried, and probably that the same of now
will eventually not be good enough. But with all of these other
bumps on the path to the interpretation that the market is demanding
original MMORPGs, a lack of that interpretation is poor evidence of
lack of potential demand for something different (exactly because it
is so likely to be good evidence of one or more of those bumps being
hit.)  Of course it isn't reasonable for me to expect people to
throw lots of money at ideas like Dairy Tycoon Online just because I
and all of my friends daydream about paying people to churn virtual
butter. But the nonexistence of such a game does not necessarily
imply the lack of demand. (Though I'm skeptical myself...)
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