The Search For Creativity and Innovation: Community Opinion (Have MMO developers lost their touch?)

The Exiled Realm of Arborea, Final Fantasy XIV, Star Wars The Old Republic, The Secret World...

What do these MMOs have in common?

Could it be the lack of engaging story that may be a total snooze fest? possible.

Could it be the lack of content? Maybe.

Could it be an abundance of content, but more of the same old thing? Possibly.

Could it be that it was trying to be different but failed? Sorta.

Could it be that it has nothing to offer but only has 2 things that it can distinguish itself by? I guess.

Could it be trying to copy something that's already successful and only has pretty graphics? could be.

Now I've played many a MMO in my 12 years of gaming, and when I play an MMO I like, I tend to stick with it.

But what hooks me to an mmo is "Innovation and creativity", how can it pull me in?

I'm not one who looks at graphics and automatically assume:

"Oh it LOOKS GOOD, it MUST be a good game" That is shallow...

Graphics are an after thought, what I look for in MMOS are:

"Does it do things no other MMO has ever attempted to do?

What about it's battle system?

What does it offer me?"

Is it WORTH MY TIME AND MONEY?

Will if have me so hooked that it can justify my time and money and that it's worth playing?

(With a VERY SMALL list of games that actually managed to deliver in what I search for: Vindictus, Dragon Nest, GW2 and the upcoming Blade And Soul)

Now go ahead and be in denial, but YOU KNOW YOUR FAVORITE GAME HAS APPARENT FLAWS THAT YOU REFUSE TO SEE and you will white knight it to the very end

I can't help but to think that MMO Developers have finally started to lose their touch.

This year (And last) has been the worst years for mmo releases (With the small exception of RIFT, MOP and GW2),

there have been developers leaving companies due to less than stellar mmo statistics, team restructures and lay offs alike.

Types of developers:

#1: The "We'll release a game with potential but with no content and nothing new" Developer

Companies like this will either rush a game with promising mechanics and storyline, but

somehow forget (Or just don't care) that to have a successful MMO...

you must give your audience something to do. PVP, PVE and an engaging combat system can only carry a game so far.

especially when the publisher doesn't keep their promises and doesn't fix things that desperately need to be fixed in their game, despite the cry of the community.

(Examples of this: FFXIV, TERA)

#2: The "We'll copy this popular MMO" Developer

A huge majority of developers like to copy from *game that must not be named*

and try to hop on it's coat tails, this results in an over-saturation of *game that must not be named* clones

and reek of the company doing it just for the money and nothing else.

(Examples: SWTOR and TSW)

#3: The "We'll release the norm and only change 2 things" Developer

Some companies think that they're slick and release the usual mmo and only change

2 things about it to make it seem "Unique" (ex. Change the battle system and slap on pretty graphics but don't change anything else) customers fall for this in the first few months (Unless you're the skeptical kind of person and don't fall for these kinds of things.)

(Examples: TERA, SWTOR)

#4: The "We'll release an incomplete product and hope they won't notice" Developer

At least 2-3 developers tried getting away with this malarkey and think their fans won't realize this...

(They do and boy does it backfire) The developers then blame it on " lack of vision" or

some other excuse in order to divert the actual blame on themselves. They also take things out of a game

in hopes that it'll somehow make the game better.

(Examples: TERA, FFXIV)

#5: The "The community asked for it" Developer

These kinds of developers think that blaming the community will justify making un-needed changes to a game

(Even when the changes break the fundamental mechanics of the game or aesthetics.) But once the community

complains over and over on the forums about these problems, the company will say something along the lines of:

"The community asked for these changes and these changes make the game better"

(Although it does the exact opposite and break the game), the company will then tell the community

that these CHANGES ARE ABSOLUTE and that there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING THEY CAN DO.

(even though they OBVIOUSLY CAN AND WILL BEAT AROUND THE BUSH UNTIL THE COMMUNITY SHUTS UP AND DEALS WITH IT)

(Examples: TERA, FFXIV)

We know developers are trying to  make money, but is it all worth releasing games in an incomplete state, copying other games or just releasing games with so much potential that they have no content and crash and burn months later?

Have developers lost their flame? Have they lost their inspiration? Do they even care for the consumers anymore?

Could it be all the above?

What do you think?

(It seems the point I was making flew waaaay over some of your heads)