Do We Really Need "Living Worlds"?
There is a cogent argument to be had that the MMORPG genre has never really hit its full potential. Too many of them do the same thing and there is a long list of features that are conspicuously absent, that players habitually complain about. The debate is further “complicated” (like so many pop culture “debates” are) by one’s own relationship with the genre and what is best described as “personal baggage. Some players will eulogise about older games such as Ultima Online and EverQuest, extolling their lack of features and grindy nature as some sort of character building form of gaming self flagellation. Players with a more contemporary experience of MMOs are subsequently ambivalent towards social interaction and content gating. Hence if you ask a broad spectrum of MMO gamers what features they’d like to see in a new game, you’ll get a commensurate broad spectrum of answers. After 15 years of playing MMOs I’m not sure that I can adequately articulate my own thoughts on improving the genre. We all seem to want some sort of change but beyond that it all gets rather vague.
Furthermore, it’s not just a question of what players desire. Let us not forget that the video game industry has its pioneers, grandees and sacred cows who still have plenty to say on the state of the genre and the lofty heights it has still not reached. Such luminaries as Raph Koster and Richard Garriott. Although their contributions to the genre cannot be denied, are they really as relevant nowadays as they were a quarter of a century ago? (Wilhelm Arcturus explores this very subject in more depth in a recent post). Whenever I read an interview with such individuals, although they will broadly allude to notions of a future MMO being a truly “living world”, they are always somewhat light on detail. Plus it often comes across that there is an element of age based and institutionalized bias against current trends. I am reminded of old rock stars decrying the state of contemporary music or Martin Scorsese being nonplussed by the popularity of superhero films.
Therefore, as per usual with most matters of debate, it’s not all black and white. However, let us for the sake of argument focus on a common mantra (and one that Mr Koster still evangelises about), the notion of an MMO that is a “living world”. A virtual world in which player actions have a tangible impact. Communities would have to be built from scratch and maintained. Players would be free to pursue any career path they wished. The environment would be seasonal and subject to the caprices of nature. Its ecosystem would have to be managed. The game would develop an economy and a degree of self governance. A living microcosm of our own world that could be accessed from a desktop PC, a console or mobile device. It all sounds both exciting and alluring. Initially. And then when one takes the time to ponder how all of this would pan out, it quickly begins to fall apart. Because some people when free from the restraints of social convention and consequence go native. Hence an unfettered “living world” would possibly soon become a “living hell”.
The sad reality is that any proposed “living world” would have to be heavily regulated and moderated if it wanted to survive in any viable way. More rules would lead to more constraints and so the dream diminishes exponentially as the regulations grow. Furthermore, I’m not sure if providing a complex, virtual alternative to reality is actually a healthy thing for society to begin with. If real life is too bleak, crushing and depressing to cope with, that vast swathes of the population seek to escape from it, then it is indicative that our system of government has failed outright. It may be somewhat melodramatic but a faux world that presents itself as an escape could well end up being a gilded cage. And if we step back for a moment from the theoretical, the Holy Grail of a “living world” is predicated on the fact that people reject what is currently on offer from the MMO genre. Oddly, enough the numbers and revenue generated from existing games seem to fly in the face of such a supposition. Therefore, perhaps the best place to start with improving the MMO genre is to add some desirable yet practical new functionality, rather than jumping off at the deep end and trying to create a virtual Shangri-la. And even if such an environment could be created, do any of us have the time to invest in such a world? I think not.
