As long as I can remember, I’ve been an avid fan of re-consuming my favorite forms of media. I used to read the same Star Trek novels over and over again, replayed my favorite computer games on an annual basis, beat Chrono Trigger more times than I can count (admittedly, I can’t count very high), had certain movies on heavy rotation in my DVD player, and plowed through certain TV series like Bob’s Burgers from start to finish only to start right back over again.
Not everyone is like that, but I suspect many of us geeks are. We accumulate favorite media like an ever-growing security blanket, re-consuming it for the comfort of familiarity even if it lacks the jolt of a brand-new exposure. What I’ve discovered is that this is especially true for MMORPGs, which seem designed to be the kings of creature comforts when everything lines up just right.
Of course, it doesn’t start that way. The initial MMO experience is that of learning, hype, expectation adjustments, moment-to-moment discoveries, and that rush of addiction when you want “just one more hour” in this new, shiny experience. That can’t be sustained forever, naturally. Sooner or later, you’ll figure out whether this is a game you want to keep playing or to put back on the shelf.
If an MMO can make it through the gauntlet of your interest to start planting roots in your psyche (so many bad metaphors!), then you’ve got a potential future comfort game in the making. The longer you’re with it, the more times you come back to it, the more memories you make in it — that’s what starts to tip the scales.
I feel extremely fortunate to have experienced the (first, I hope) golden age of MMOs, with the explosion of so many titles onto the scene. It was and still is a consumer’s buffet of delights, with hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of development practically free for the taking. I love that so many of these games have become comfort gaming to me in much the same way as hanging out with the Simpsons or curling up with a copy of Lord of the Rings.
The key ingredients in a comfort game are familiarity, continuity, and feels. Familiarity covers how much of the title you know — and love — by heart. It’s returning to old stomping grounds to dredge up memories, reveling in those sounds that are burned into your brain, and slipping back into the control scheme as if it’s second nature.
Continuity is important because it’s here that an ever-developing MMO may break the experience for you. Even with patches and expansions, it still needs to seem like the same game you once knew and passionately cared about. If it’s more similar than dissimilar, even with the updates, then that’s a win.
Feels is that emotional connection you have with all parts of the game. Every MMO I’ve loved has a different array of feels, its own proprietary blend that is unique to it and it alone. LOTRO, for example, gives me the feels of thorough journeys through a fully realized Middle-earth, while World of Warcraft is about the combination of colors, sounds, and a tight combat experience.
As we evaluate new titles and patiently (or not) wait for future ones to finally arrive, comfort games help to fill the time and keep us engaged, even if we’re not on the cutting edge any longer.
Finally, one of the most comforting aspects of these games is that they continue to grow and exist alongside of you in life — minus the ones that are sunsetted, of course. Older video games may have a special place in my heart, but they were one-and-done releases. MMOs persist whether or not we’re there, and it’s a wondrous experience to be able to “go home again” in many of them.
Everyone has opinions, and The Soapbox is how we indulge ours. Join the Massively OP writers as we take turns atop our very own soapbox to deliver unfettered editorials a bit outside our normal purviews (and not necessarily shared across the staff). Think we’re spot on — or out of our minds? Let us know in the comments!
