If an MMO were a human being, it would need nourishment in order to survive.

Sadly, a lot of MMOs die without even seeing their commercial launch. This prompted me to write this short article on what “vitamins” a game really needs in order to survive this cut-throat industry were hundreds of games compete for success.

Let’s examine the vitamins, one by one, shall we?

MMORPG Vitamins

Vitamin C – which will stand for Content. If innovation is the soul of the game, then content is the one that gives it life, the life-blood. Without REGULAR and APPEALING content, a game is destined to fail… to die. Period. Developers who take too long to know this will see all the fruits of their labor come crashing down like a stack of cards. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. I’ve personally seen this thing over and over again… and it ain’t pretty.

Vitamin A – Appeal. A game should appeal to the majority of users. An old MMO wolf-in-sheeps-clothing won’t simply cut it. There are TOO MANY cookie-cutter games out there. A word to game designers – spare yourselves the agony of failure and be creative.

Vitamin B – Balance. A game should be balanced. This is TOUGH COOKIE to crack. It should neither be too hard, nor too difficult. The grind or leveling pace should neither be too slow or too fast. There are a myriad other ways where balance will be attained. Lastly, publishers and developers should strike a balance between siding for game balance and for revenue. Easier said than done, my friends.

Vitamin E – End Level. This is simple logic. Why would anyone spend hundreds of hours (and dollars or PHP) for a game to get to the top when there’s NOTHING FOR THE PLAYER TO DO ONCE HE (or she) GETS THERE? Designers are focused more on the journey rather than the destination. Take it from the number 1 game in the world (yeah, you know the name)…. “Life begins at 80″. No explanation needed.

Vitamin D – Defy standards. Take a risk, design something new. Be innovative in marketing. Don’t be like the rest. Admittedly, it’s a big gamble. But that’s a lot of people laughed at guys like Da Vinci, Einstein or even Newton before they proved that they were right (and became legends in their own fields).

It’s a tough world out there… sometimes the battlefield is not fair. Delays will cause companies a LOT of money. Miscommunication will cause a lot more.

It’s the teams who take these vitamins that will definitely rise to the top.

Peace!

Mon Macutay (GM Tristan), Aug 2009. http://gmtristan.com

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