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Ever hear the expression that goes something along the lines of “Once you’ve tried one, you’ve tried them all”? Browsing through the list of MMO’s on MMOSite.com, and reading up on a lot of different games, they all seemed to be just about the same. Sure, the graphics change slightly, there is some long-winded story to it that graces one of the web pages that no one really stops to bother reading, and the names of the classes may slightly vary…but in reality, they are all basically the same. The same boring and grinding MMORPG that we see everyday, just slapped with different labels.
Now before you decide to light the torches and chase me into the night chanting about how much of a heathen I am for saying this, let me clarify. Yes, I understand there are different types of MMO’s out there. There are board game types, there are RPG types, there are gunner types, and there are PVP types. Yes, I understand that it’s an unfair assessment to group together and stereotype games…blah, blah, blah, but please, hear me out. The point of this blog isn’t to complain about who rips off who in the gaming world. There hasn’t been an original idea in games since Pong, so I’m not even going to fret over that. I have no intention of taking a side with the WoW Fanatics or the WAR Hammerers…I’m just saying…Once you’ve played one type of MMO…you’ve basically played them all for that category.
The game play has just about the same idea. You create a character and grind on monsters to level up. Leveling up gives you access to more skills, in which you can kill more things….to get more skills…which in which you can kill more things…to get more skills….Ok, you get. The generic job classes also don’t differ much, no matter how much you re-word the title they are given. Mages blow things up, Healers heal, Range is Ranged DPS, and Warriors tank. Of course, there are some games out there that offer expanded job classes that narrows down their specific field of study with the use of talent trees, sub-classes, or job evolution…but you still get the idea. You don’t pick a rogue class to tank nor do you pick a healer for assassination attempts. You just don’t. Many gamers who have played these types of games may switch games around, but feel at home with maybe just one or two types, like how I prefer ranged DPS because it gives me sort of a lack of reasonability. I don’t have to run much, move that often, and I’m out of harms way from enemies who rely on melee (which are most).
This all came to mind as I was playing Florensia today and noticed at the beginning of the game, I was often prompted with a help menu every time I clicked something ‘new’. It really got on my nerves…Yes I get it. The BAG icon is for items, the BOOK icon are skills, the FACE icon are my stats….duh. The starter quest involve doing simple, and I personally think rather self-explanatory, things such as equipping your weapon or slotting a skill technique to your hot bar menu….also a lengthy explanation of explaining what a hot key bar was….It was almost as if I started Windows Vista.
The point of this blog? Well, for all you game creators out there, take a note from a player. If you’re going to make a game that falls into a category of games that have already been out for a rather long time, give some type of optional tutorial. It’ll save people who already have master keys some time and a headache of trying to go through painfully slow starting that might turn them away.
Tags: MMOsite Vista games tutorials suck
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