When new MMOs come out, I sometimes have to talk myself out of judging them on a dramatically different standard from existing MMOs – and I mean that from all angles. No, I can’t really expect a brand-new MMO to have as much content as a game I’ve played for 15 years. And while it might not have the absolute best combat of all time, it’s almost certainly significantly better than some of the older games I still actively play, so I need to remember that combat obviously isn’t that important to me anyway, so why would I use that as my line in the sand? And so on.
I don’t think I’m alone in sometimes looking at new MMOs and trying to find everything wrong with them so I can feel better about either not having as much time as I’d like to play or just preferring to play something else. It’s a “perfect is the enemy of good” situation: Sometimes core MMO players are so busy pointing out that something isn’t the “perfect” MMORPG that they miss all the parts that are good or fun or enjoyable. Yeah, I know it’s a misquote, but you get the idea. Perfect isn’t coming anyway. The perfect MMO will never be made. We should probably play what we’ve got while we can.
Do you let yourself suffer from waiting for perfection? Are you still waiting for the “perfect” MMO?
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!
