Back in August, Heartless Gamer penned a blog about his “rule of 10.” Here’s how he defines it:
“[A]s a player, I can manage 10 available actions at any given time. Any more, and I get overwhelmed; any less, and I lose the feeling that I have meaningful choices or control over my outcome. This balance is crucial because it keeps the gameplay engaging without being stressful. When I have too many options, analysis paralysis sets in, making the experience feel chaotic rather than fun. On the flip side, if I have too few choices, the game starts to feel monotonous or overly simplistic, as if I’m just going through the motions without really influencing the world within the game.”
And he’s talking about everything in MMOs. Combat options. Crafting. Character builds. Quest logs. Cosmetics. Even cash shops can be so overwhelming that you end up just… buying nothing.
I don’t think we need to debate whether analysis paralysis is a thing because we know it is. What I want to debate this morning is whether HG’s suggested number 10 is the right number for the rule in MMOs – because I suspect it’s a little bit different for everyone (and maybe for each system). How many actions do you want to juggle at a time in an MMORPG?
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!
