MMORPGs rely on keeping players playing the game through grind. This has fooled many players into believing that all MMORPGs must have grind, or they would have no possible way to keep people around.
That argument is something I discussed in another post (here), but I would like to mention the opposite point of view: grind is, definitely, a way to keep people around.
But how could you keep players playing the game without just adding layers and layers of pure grind?
Simple. You keep adding content to the game, such as once or twice per week, so players have something to do. You make this content temporary, so players have an incentive to do it NOW instead of waiting to do it at a later date, thus keeping players busy. You concentrate players in specific areas at a time, increasing population density there and thus giving people the feeling that the game has more players than it really has.
In other words, temporary, frequent content like ArenaNet has been implementing is the perfect way to make a MMO with as little grind as possible. The MMORPG community has been indoctrinated to believe a MMO needs grind, so I doubt people are going to understand this concept on their own.
“But all my friends ask what has ArenaNet added to the game, and I have to tell them the answer is nothing!” – wrong. Even ignoring all the permanent content ArenaNet has added to the game, the answer to that is, “There is a special event going on right now, and one more will happen in two weeks, and another one in two weeks, and so on”.
I too enjoy varied, constant content. It may not be all permanent, but I enjoy talking to newbies and saying ‘’when the Molten Alliance Invaded" and they go, wait whats that? You then tell them about the past, that has already happened. It gives so much meaning to these events & experiences, as opposed to having a permanent dungeon or whatever get run 50 times, then it’s boring.
+1 Anet.
I’ve already addressed this matter in the other topic that has the negative take. I agree that the temporary, frequent content is the way to go, not only for players for whom it is their first MMO, and with which they’re feeling the “magic” and will stick with it for a good long while, but also for jaded old hands who only ever play any given MMO for a month or two, and “MMO hop”. I’ve dipped in and out of GW2 several times now, and each time it feels a bit fresh because of that added content – even though (at the moment) I hardly do any of it, it changes the “feel” of the game enough to make it feel alive.
I love it. There’s always something new to do.
Truly, how refreshing is it to hear the recent complaints of: ‘Oh no, there is too much content now! I don’t have enough time to do it all!’
Well done, Arenanet! =)
Yes it works a few couple of times to retain players but after a while it doesn’t, with zero rewards (i don’t call a random backpiece or minipet rewards) players will still get bored and move on.
Really after the first 30 or so useless achievements there really isn’t anything to keep players enjoying the game.
Fun only lasts while players are actually doing something fun, its not very engaging, this living story episodic content honestly isn’t giving most players something to do past a couple of hours tedium..
Yes it works a few couple of times to retain players but after a while it doesn’t, with zero rewards (i don’t call a random backpiece or minipet rewards) players will still get bored and move on.
The players who only want rewards and don’t care about content are the same who keep jumping from MMO to MMO looking for a copy of their first online world. They are not reliable as a captive audience since they are not going to settle any time soon anyway.
I love new content but there are some serious bugs in this game that need to be addressed first and they should take priority before putting out new stuff.
Yes it works a few couple of times to retain players but after a while it doesn’t, with zero rewards (i don’t call a random backpiece or minipet rewards) players will still get bored and move on.
The players who only want rewards and don’t care about content are the same who keep jumping from MMO to MMO looking for a copy of their first online world. They are not reliable as a captive audience since they are not going to settle any time soon anyway.
And they won’t stop even if they do find their copy of their first online world, because it’s been masked by so much nostalgia.
Having been in MMOs for over 20 years. I have to say this has been one of the better things that has happened to this industry.
Keep it up Anet
Temporary content is a novelty, it does not replace actual growth of the game world, which is what pulls most players in and keeps them.
Fun only lasts while players are actually doing something fun, its not very engaging, this living story episodic content honestly isn’t giving most players something to do past a couple of hours tedium..
Exactly this, to me there still seems that the living story still feels very disconnected from the game world, I don’t know what it is but it just doesn’t seem to flow or is engaging.
Right now I don’t feel this whole living story concept is polished enough for their scheduled timetable, with each team working “in the past” so they’re not always going to be able to take into account the current feedback and adapt it in time for their new releases, what they need to do is take the feedback of the current release, improve it for their next and work on it until a solid foundation is built.
As it stands it feels like it’s quantity over quality.
Yes it works a few couple of times to retain players but after a while it doesn’t, with zero rewards (i don’t call a random backpiece or minipet rewards) players will still get bored and move on.
The players who only want rewards and don’t care about content are the same who keep jumping from MMO to MMO looking for a copy of their first online world. They are not reliable as a captive audience since they are not going to settle any time soon anyway.
Personally i love content over rewards, i loved how Guildwars was keyed to content over rewards, but Guildwars 2 is all about the rewards (very treadmill based over Guildwars) so with no rewards in a reward based game model, players get bored..
Also these living story content additions are honestly very thin on actual content and too heavy on RNG and tedious kill this number of mobs etc..
Doesn’t matter if it’s temporary or permanent, what matters is if it is fun and rewarding. That’s what is gonna keep players around playing the game.
Also these living story content additions are honestly very thin on actual content and too heavy on RNG and tedious kill this number of mobs etc..
I agree. I think the idea is good, but execution has been very poor. I would be far happier with better storytelling once a month than with RNG boxes and Magic Find buffs every 2 weeks.
Also these living story content additions are honestly very thin on actual content and too heavy on RNG and tedious kill this number of mobs etc..
I agree. I think the idea is good, but execution has been very poor. I would be far happier with better storytelling once a month than with RNG boxes and Magic Find buffs every 2 weeks.
Agreed totally, this is why so many aren’t enjoying them, very little to do past the RNG parts..
Maybe it will retain some people but at the same time, it will deter new players from joining the game.
Maybe it will retain some people but at the same time, it will deter new players from joining the game.
I don’t see that happening. I actually think there will be an influx of new folks
it will deter new players from joining the game.
Why?
Maybe it will retain some people but at the same time, it will deter new players from joining the game.
Yep. In fact, the temp content is not bringing me or my friends back (about 8 of them).
We want content that is permanent and we can do when we have the time. And that content progresses the story and game.
Maybe it will retain some people but at the same time, it will deter new players from joining the game.
Yep. In fact, the temp content is not bringing me or my friends back (about 8 of them).
We want content that is permanent and we can do when we have the time. And that content progresses the story and game.
The point was about new players, not returning players.
But I think temp content is actually beneficial for some returning players too, although obviously not you and your friends. I know this because it’s certainly beneficial to me as a player who keeps returning, and there are enough responses here on the forums with a similar point of view.
I don’t see how new players can be “deterred” by temp content. When a new player starts the game, the content is the content. If it changes (i.e. something is removed), that means the content is changing, which is a good thing, stops the game from becoming stale.
Now obviously, many players want something to get their teeth into, i.e. difficult permanent content for high level players. But I don’t see anything in the way the game has been developed so far to suggest that that’s not going to come.
It may not come fast enough for some people – fair enough, just leave the game and come back later when there’s some new content of that type. YOU AREN’T OBLIGED TO KEEP PLAYING THIS GAME BECAUSE YOU’VE PAID A SUBSCRIPTION.
And as I’ve already said, I don’t think anybody plays an MMO 24/7 for more than a year unless it’s their first MMO when they first feel the “magic”. Thereafter, why on earth would you want to play any MMO 24/7? You can never recapture that intensity of “magic” you had with your first love, and no MMO possibly created can do it for you. That’s just the reality. The best you can do is get slight returns of it when you play a new MMO, or when you return to one you’ve already loved after a break.
Temp content (as implemented till now) is simply killing this game.
Here´s how:
What could turn around this ship heading for the cliffs is if ANet uses these 4 new Living Story teams to retroactively fix every single dungeon and boss encounter in this game before dumping another Southsun Cove on us.
But from what I read in the Interviews, there´s a very small chance of that actually happening.
(edited by HawkMeister.4758)
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