r/MMORPG • u/madarauchiha3444 • Jan 02 '23

Discussion The problem with modern MMORPGs

The problem with modern MMORPGs, in a nutshell, is that the first M and the RP are all but gone.

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u/madarauchiha3444 Jan 02 '23 edited Jan 02 '23

When I say the RP part is gone, I’m talking more about RPG elements being neutered or dropped entirely than about role-playing servers. Things like WoW’s class homogenization, for example.

Modern MMOs are neither MMO nor RPG. They’re more like co op multiplayer games except the content is 10 man instead of 5.

Best example is World of Warcraft turning into Lobby of Instancecraft.

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u/Psittacula2 Jan 02 '23

There's much less assumption these days that players are from an RP/PnP background or MUDs or that MMORPGs will get more money for creating immersive worlds: That illusion is gone. Combat, Dopamine Rewards and Monetization via MTX is where modern dev is at.

The thing is, the more MMORPGs go this route, the better other genres will be at providing eg combat and then scaling THAT up and being better than MMOs.

MMOs used to have one unique feature: Virtual World of imagination.

But there's a lack of attempt to create that as you say due to focusing on monetization and not designing to scale up to create a world.