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Usually this would be a bit of a teaser about the character in the illustration, but this week I actually want to talk about something a lot less art related.
Roughly 4 years ago I started writing on the new defunct GAX social network, at the time I wrote about the things that mattered to me, comic book creation, writing, game design and MMOs. All these years later I’m starting to realize that one of those things is no longer all that important in my life. One of those things no longer matters to me. As surprising as it was to me to realize it, the simple truth I no longer care about MMOs.
It’s been a long slow road, but over time I’ve simply come to see that MMOs can never be what I want from them, professionally or personally. On a professional level, they simply take too much to produce and I’d rather find a line of work where I can work alone as much as possible. Not that I hate working with others, I just don’t want to lead and I don’t want to follow. On top of that, I prefer to have a defined done state for my projects and simply stop working on them at that point, I may never get that realistically, but I’ll definitely never get it from an MMO. As I’ve had more time spent behind the curtain, I’ve also learned what kinds of things I do fairly well and what will always be just that much harder for me. I want to play to my strengths, at least for now, and very few of those are in MMO related areas. Finally as much as I would like it to be otherwise, I am no longer captivated by the game play MMOs, any of them.
I’m sure that my return to the genre isn’t impossible, but given the state it is in and the state I can foresee it being in for the next half decade or so, it is no longer a place for me.
Uh… quite an announcement!
I assume you are not only tired of the dominant DIKU MUDs but the whole genre the way you explained it. I guess not even a (supposedly) very different kind of MMO would keep you.
This said… nothing wrong with that. But I also say there are online games with 2-6 players, that what usually is called multiplayer. I am still looking for a really well working strategy game that I can play online. Some sort of “Risk”. I have not played anything that worked out nicely so far. A challenge for game design.
Maybe you will find it!
I don’t know how I’d respond to an MMO that was literally very different from the MMOs currently out there, but for now I don’t see anything different enough to catch my interest being made.
Yeah, I’m not giving up on multiplayer entirely, I’ve still got some ideas for smaller scale mp games. Honestly, part of all this is that I’m rediscovering how interesting smaller scales can be. Sometimes making something an MMO in the first place is just going to force you to build bigger than you really have the good designs to fill. My next project won’t start out multiplayer though, I just think I’ll have more success focusing time on the main campaign than trying to work out all the mp details.
Seems to be a trend where many bloggers are tiring of MMOs. I take some comfort in this trend as it may indicate that people might be willing to accept something that isn’t WoW. But, that means there will be a rough spot for MMO people like me who have spent years developing the craft.
A few other comments.
I’d rather find a line of work where I can work alone as much as possible.
I think even for smaller projects, a well-coordinated team can produce a lot more than the individuals can produce alone. Looking at The Fae’s Wyrd, I think that we could have done it with only two people, but ultimately we got more done. And, we’ve looked at how to be more efficient moving forward.
I also find that, personally, other people keep me motivated easier. It’s easy to get frustrated and abandon a project when things get too sticky for you. But, when you have others working on it, too, there’s a motivation not to let them down.
I prefer to have a defined done state for my projects and simply stop working on them at that point, I may never get that realistically, but I’ll definitely never get it from an MMO.
One quote I enjoy goes, “A work of art isn’t so much completed as abandoned.” Any good art will have something you could do to make it seem better. Of course, with software there’s always maintenance; MMOs just make that period more well-defined.
…I’ve also learned what kinds of things I do fairly well and what will always be just that much harder for me. I want to play to my strengths, at least for now….
Well, you’re going to have to address your weaknesses one way or another. Focusing too much on your strengths means that you become too focused. And, if you want to work alone, you’re going to have to either address your weaknesses or pay someone to take care of that area if you don’t have a partner to pick up the slack.
At any rate, I still have hope for MMOs. As I lamented on my own site, they’re definitely out of favor. It’s been hard to get any sort of meaningful attention with a non-standard MMO. The audience has only been interested in big-budget titles for most of the decade I’ve been working on them, and big budgets come with their own form of conservatism. As I wrote on my blog, maybe the “death” of MMOs might be a good thing where we see the big budgets abandoned and room springs up for indies like there have been in various traditional game genres.
I’m not really “tired” of MMOs. It’s not like I’m burnt out on them or overtaxed in some way. It’s not even a feeling of weariness, it’s just accepting that the things that MMOs made me excited about are just not there, nor anywhere on the appreciable horizon. I’m still energized by the same things, it’s just that I’ve realized those things aren’t MMOs. For the moment, disengaging seems like a preferable option to just slogging it out in something I can’t enjoy for what it is.
I think there are some game concepts I have the ability to one man band, and I kind of want to get those out alone. It’s not so much about other people, it’s just a matter of proving to myself that I haven’t been wasting all this time. Still, I’m not allergic to teamwork or anything, and I’m still working with you, I just don’t want to join up with some other team especially I’m still working in PsychoAvatar.
“A work of art isn’t so much completed as abandoned.”
I’m more in the abandon early, abandon often camp. I’ve worked on that quite a bit lately, but still it gets under my skin if things keep coming back to my plate too often. Besides, while I may have to do some bug hunting for a single player game, an indie MMO can get to the point where it’s a choice between going broke hiring a live team or doing it all yourself and not having time for the next project. That’s really more what I’m worried about, that line between profitable enough to keep running and not profitable enough to have breathing room. Not that that is impossible to regular indie development though. >.>
As to the final point, of course I’m addressing my weaknesses. Playing to your strengths and ignoring your weaknesses are totally different. It kind of hurts to be told that, though, like it’s assumed that I’m just going to run around like a twit not improving myself. T.T
I don’t know if MMOs current direction is good or bad… and honestly, I’m with you in thinking it may very well be a good thing. One thing I have learned though, is never underestimate the human ability to take something in the worst possible direction for the best possible reasons. >.>