[MUD-Dev] DESIGN: WoW quests and content

[David Kennerly]

Mike Rozak wrote:

> In player-rant sites, WoW players often claim that its quests and
> content are much better than other MMORPGs, especially in
> comparsion with EQ2. (I havent tried EQ2 yet.) I don't understand
> why WoW players think its quests/content are so superior. (See
> below). Does anyone have any opinions about why players think
> WoW's quests are better than other MMORPGs?

> Here's my synopsis of WoW's quests:

>   - WoW's quests are fundamentally the same as any other MMORPG
>   I've tried.

>   - Except that there are more of them and they seem to flow into
>   one another better.

>   - The quest manager UI seems better than other MMORPGs.

The quest UI is better, period.  Most quests require no scrolling to
read the dialogue and directions.  The rewards are obviously posted.
The quest screen layout follows the workflow of a typical user.  My
only beef with the quest UI is the tiny font size.

The quests are also more playable.  At least in novice quests, the
tasks requested can be performed nearby.  The tasks are also
intrinsically rewarding.  As one reviewer put it, most of the quests
ask you to do what you'd be doing anyway (namely, killing monsters).

The WoW quests are kind of like the McDonald's Happy Meal of MMO
quests.  They have a consistent size, standardized format and
presentation, bite-size content, and colorful rewards that appeal to
the target player.

As far as content, goes I have one reply to your comment about the
art direction:

>   - The lighting/mood was uninspiring. In my opinion, dungeons
>   should be dark and scary. This was light and chearful.

A dungeon should be dark and scary, but a user interface to a
virtual environment should be accessible and legible.  I can
appreciate the difference in taste, however a dark dungeon is harder
to navigate.  So, in terms of interface design, a bright dungeon can
be more usable. With less light, the eyes are stimulated less.
Unless the game is intentionally trying to provoke a horrorific
atmosphere (as in Doom3), a bright, colorful art direction is
accessible and user-friendly.

Even in City of Heroes, which is already bright and colorful, I
double the brightness of the gamma correction.  During the night
period, I couldn't see so well.  When I was a teenager, I don't
think I ever did that with videogames, but these days, if the art
direction didn't optimize the visual legibility of the virtual
environment, I tweak the gamma and brightness.

Apart from interface, there is a difference in tastes, which is
exemplified by Asian MMOs.  You'll rarely find a dim MMO in Asia.
Final Fantasy XI, in some ways, follows the art direction of
EverQuest, except that most of its levels and characters are bright
and colorful.

This shows up in some features, too, such as night and day.  The
Kingdom of the Winds introduced darkness of night into their game.
The players in Korea hated it.  Why?  It's more realistic to have
night, and it gives incentive to group tactics and clever search
strategies.  So why did the players hate it?  It was harder to see.
Nexon quickly edited the cycle to the equivalent of Alaska's length
of day.  Only a touch of night, and even that just for mood.

Nexon's darkest game, Dark Ages (or Legend of Darkness in Korea),
was designed with a theme of darkness.  Comparing the web site from
1999 with 2003 shows a difference as stark as night and day.  This
difference also appears on all aspects of the art direction in the
software, too.  It might as well be called Bright Ages.  :) I
resisted this art direction at first, however, after playing for a
few hours in the new interface, I began to see the light.  It is
more legible, memorable, and stimulating.

So, in the war between light and darkness in RPGs, World of Warcraft
clearly chose sides.

David
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