I saw a thought-provoking exchange on Reddit this week that’s too good to sit on. It was in a thread for an MMORPG in which players were complaining about rampant ganking in said MMORPG. Here we go.
How many times have you seen this exact argument? I mean, really both of these dudes have a fair point. The game in question – like nearly every other MMO that includes some form of free-for-all open PvP – intentionally advertises itself to lots of different niches. Yes, it markets itself as having old-school PvP, but it also markets itself as having PvE, dungeons, housing, crafting, and so forth, because it wants more than just PvP players to buy and populate it. People hear the part they want to hear.
Wolves-vs.-sheep templates aside, everyone who shows up really does have a dramatically different idea of what the game actually is and what they’re expected to be doing in it most of the time. In my estimation, it’s one of the core problems with MMO sandboxes and survival sandboxes, that some people treat them as murder simulators and others as virtual worlds, and companies happily make money in the margins (right up until they run out of sheep, anyway).
How do we solve this – and can we? Do you approach MMOs with PvP as “PvP games” or as “MMOs that include PvP as one of its many things to do”? Do you think this is a problem with MMO players, a problem with PvP, a problem with “sandboxes,” or a problem that ultimately lies with the developers and marketers themselves?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
