Take a Byte II

By Tristan Clark

Tristan explores the enticing world of online gaming...and finds that he doesn't

Of MMOG's and MMORPG's

On the weekend before Easter, I was supposed to work on three university assignments. On the weekend before Easter, a game called Guild Wars was having its monthly Beta Weekend Event. You can see where this is going, can't you?

The game that has been impinging on my grades is a MMOG. It is also a MMORPG and a CORPG, depending on whom you talk to. The acronyms may be a mouthful, but at least they're accurate: Guild Wars is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, and it's more addictive than salt (which is really quite addictive).

Now, I'm new to the MMOG scene, mainly because I was reluctant to pay monthly fees just to play a computer game. However, now that I have been drawn in like so many other people, I thought I'd share what knowledge I had in order to help you, the prospective MMOG player, make the right decision. So without further ado, I am only slightly proud to give you:

The Beginner's Guide to MMOG's, by a Beginner

Some history: massively multiplayer online games first appeared in their current form with the release of Ultima Online in 1997. It allowed hundreds of thousands of players to log in, create a character, and go adventuring in a virtual fantasy realm with (or against) people from all over the world. MMOG's multiplied quickly in the subsequent years, with games such as Everquest, Lineage and Asheron's Call all fighting for a slice of the lucrative online market share.

In fact, the gaming industry is quickly becoming over-saturated with MMOG's, much as the first-person shooter market has a ridiculously large number of WWII titles to choose from. As a result, while big-name titles such as World of Warcraft and Star Wars Galaxies have been quite successful, many smaller MMOG's have been - and will continue to be - cancelled while still in development. This is a situation that can unfortunately be seen throughout the whole gaming industry. The question also remains as to how much each subsequent title is expanding the user base of online games, rather than just poaching players from other titles; each new title boasts how it will crack into the mainstream market, but this doesn't seem to have happened yet. Even The Sims Online failed to bring in a large amount of casual gamers.

One of the reasons for this could be the fact that most MMOG's charge a monthly fee. In order to play around in the virtual world of your choice, you must fork out between NZ$15-25 a month. While this doesn't seem to bother a large number of people (look at Everquest's 500,000 + players), it has turned away many people who feel they cannot give enough of their time up to make the payments worthwhile.

This problem is compounded by the fact that MMOG's are, by and large, very big time wasters. In games such as Star Wars Galaxies or Everquest, expect to spend a long time attacking bunny rabbit equivalents for some time before you are leveled up enough to survive anything else in the game. Leveling up takes hours of playtime - the better games manage to make most of it fun, but it is still quite a grind. If you have a fairly busy life, don't expect to get anywhere quickly.

And don't expect to stop playing anytime soon. There has been a lot of focus on MMOG addiction lately - particularly on Everquest, which has been re-christened 'EverCrack' by many (check out Ctrl+Alt+Del?s comic). To illustrate the extent of Everquest obsession, head on over to the Everquest Widows site. There you can find many stories about wives, husbands and families that are suffering because people are spending a lot more time with a computer game than their loved ones. Obviously these are extreme cases, and (hopefully) not indicative of the majority of MMOG players - they serve as a warning of what can happen. So if you decide to start playing an MMOG, remember to go out in the sunshine once in a while!

Addiction aside, playing in a persistent fantasy world with thousands of players can be a lot of fun - it certainly beats playing with or against AI opponents. Every player is part of a game world that unfolds in real time, which - say the developers - makes you feel far more involved. However, the fact that the story has to be made to cater to thousands of people means that while you can be unique you can?t be 'special'. In single-player games, your character is the focus of the story, and can change the fate of the game world as the designers see fit. But with other people involved, the game has to sacrifice personal storytelling in order to accommodate everyone. I was quite disappointed when I encountered this, but found I soon adjusted - you just have to use your imagination to fill in the gaps.

Adjustment is actually a good word to apply to MMOG's. These games have several fundamental differences to single-player games, and it is up to the player to adjust his or her expectations. There will always be things that a single-player game can do better, simply because it only has to cater to one person - you. On the other hand, nothing beats sharing a world with real people - performing quests, fighting each other, or just haggling for crafting materials.

This socializing was definitely the best part of Guild Wars for me. After wandering around on my own for a while with my pet panther, I decided to join up with some random people and try to repel an invasion by a bunch of bad guys. I ended up in the mission with my friend and two German players. My friend and I ended up sticking with these guys for the rest of the beta weekend - we even formed our own guild and had matching capes! By the end of the event, we were very reluctant to part ways and end our crusade against the devious Charr. Now that's a sign of a great game!

Lately, MMOG's have improved on some of the traditional pitfalls of the genre. Games such as World of Warcraft claim that you can still progress even if you can?t dedicate much time to your character. More and more dungeons and missions are 'instanced', meaning they are private versions that cannot be interrupted by a high-level character coming along and killing you. Essentially, developers are trying to minimize the grinding and maximize the fun in MMOG's.

This philosophy is what Guild Wars is all about. I really appreciated the fact that I could quickly pop into the game and actually make a fair amount of progress. What really drew me to the game, though, is the fact that it has no monthly fees. The money will be made from the initial purchase and from subsequent expansion packs, which are entirely optional. Otherwise, it's free. This is great news for people who can?t dedicate too much time to a computer game, and should hopefully draw in those who (like me) are unwilling to pay a monthly fee.

So are MMOG's your cup of tea? Only you can decide that. It's hard to try before you buy with this genre - few MMOG's have a demo or trial period. There are occasionally special deals, though, so head on over to mmorpg.com or a similar site and browse through the games. As for myself, I'm going back to watching the Guild Wars title screen, waiting for its April 28 worldwide release!

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