A Recipe for Not Sucking of MMOs
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A Recipe for Not Sucking of MMOs |
Lately, Online games, both F2P and P2P, can be translated into any language with the meaning of a slow and painful death. While there are many facts and opinions related to praising or dissing these games, it's all matter of listing the perks and quirks of the Gaming Recipe:
Ingredient 1: FREE TO PLAY... but we have cash shops for 'optional items'.
Yes, Free to play. If you decide to make a free to play game, basing your income on advertisements that liter your website and the cash shop, let's try to keep things honest. Glitchy, expensive, and necessary items SHOULD NOT be in the game. If you happen to notice, most F2P games never go to final, due to a legal loophole which states that as long as games are in a form of 'testing', the players are not exactly entitled to refunds for any money spent or items that go missing or broken. Way to get over, right? Also making items in the cash shop which you basically need to get passed the starter levels make the appeal drop drastically, having to spend money to get past the opening sequence, without a guarantee it'll be worth it or you can get your money back.
Ingredient 2: Adding Content
Large games often open and stay open due to the steady release of new content, updating, fixing, tweaking, and actually listening to the complaints of players. Be it free or paid accounts, no one likes to play a game that is on the edge of being great, but it currently sucks.
Ingredient 3: Finish what you start
Plenty times in MMO's, yes, Fresh Content is added. In pieces. Here and there, over time, eventually coming together to make sense. One Day. Maybe. Listen, if you're going to add content to a story line, please finish it. Talking about a great epic tale then adding content about poo-flinging monkeys might be very fine and funny, but sooner or later, the 4-Chan joke of the week will lose its charm and we're all wondering still why this big epic building graphic is place in the middle of this map that we can't get into.
Ingredient 4: Treat all of your release areas the same.
With the wonderful world of imported Asia games, US/North America/English servers often get shafted when it comes to release of content. It does not take over 6 months to translate patches. It just doesn't. Nor, when it IS translated, have to be put into English by someone who has mastered it only to a 3rd grade level. There should never be a point where translators don't know this word, and inserts a random noun. My brain should not hurt because I can't figure out that 'Kill the espresso 62 yellow' means 'go to the valley and kill 5 rabbits'.
