Alternative Distribution Schemes For The MMO?

Thanks to The Adrenaline Vault for its editorial discussing ways the MMO and online gaming industry can evolve beyond its current saturation levels. The author argues: "The structure of MMOGs all but requires consumers to choose one title to the exclusion of all others... so, how can game makers continue to use this business model without collectively suffocating?" Therefore, a solution is suggested: "Scale projects back and use episodic content instead. Under the drip feed model, users pay for gameplay in small chunks rather than a periodic access fee. For example, Resident Evil: Outbreak would have translated perfectly into this type of game because its scenarios are encapsulated and self-sufficient... This approach... requires much less in the way of maintenance costs and initial investment [and] provides entertainment in digestible bursts... which means more room in the marketplace for everyone to sell their wares."

Comments

South Korea

[Apreche]

It is my understanding that in South Korea they have tons and tons more MMOs than we do. And while many of them are the same glorified chat rooms that we (don't) enjoy some of them are quite amazing. They have forced roleplaying. They have lists of characters predefined in a great story and you apply to take the roles of one you really like. People actually role play. This role playing cancels out the negatives of the treadmill style gameplay. Camping the fields for items != game. Heck, its as close as you can get to playing D+D without getting a bunch of bums in your friend's basement.

Keep in mind, this is just what I've heard about SK MMOs, I haven't actually seen a game like this. However, if it is untrue, it SHOULD exist. Set up an MMO world that plays like D+D. Heck, it could even be the freakin' forgotten realms. Then when people sign up either put them in parties or have them sign up in parties. Find a time each week they can play. For continuities sake make it so they have to start and stop at an inn. Hire dungeon masters to handle all the gameplay. It will be just like real D+D. You can make it episodic. And you will constantly come across people in other parties and your plots can intermingle. The mere presence of a DM assigned to your party will force role playing and remove treadmilling. Sure, you have to pay the DMs, but you can just charge more for the game since it is so high quality. And you can charge a per-campaign basis. You could even set a pricing model based on how often you want to play. If you want the DM there every night, more money. Once a week, average money.

Just take the idea and run with it. I've got to go to work :)

What incentive for the developers?

[Synkronos]

There are absolutely no incentives for the developers of quality titles to create an MMO environment that encourages playing multiple games. If you feel you have the best (or even just a good) title, you would rather have subscribers locked into your service. The only people who wouldn't want openness is people who have created mediocre or sub-par games, who are desperately hoping for a few people to try their games out for a little while, since they can't hope to captivate their audiences.

Re:What incentive for the developers?

[popcultureicon]

When I was a teenager, I wasted countless hours playing RPG's to all hours of the night. Now that I have a full time job, I just don't have the time necessary to devote to one of these massive games, and I therefore simply can't justify the subscription price. If content were episodic in nature, I would most likely be able to play some of these games again without worrying about the time commitment. If I bought it and didn't play it for more than 4 hours, it wouldn't matter as much.
Now I appreciate your assertion that this is a much less attractive revenue model from the producer's point of view, however, I'd be willing to bet there'd be a much larger audience for this.
Hell, don't the stats say that most game players are in their mid twenties now anyway? That demographic may have a lot more disposible income than teenagers, but they have a lot less time!

Re:What incentive for the developers?

[llefler]

MMO developers need to realize that any "loyalty" that their games command is only amongst the power-gamer minority.

I would have described it the other way. Power gamers are LESS likely to be loyal to a game. They burn through levels and content so quickly that they get bored and try new games. A gamer with only a few hours a week will stick around because they have to work harder to build a character. The thing that gets the average gamer is the repetitive nature of leveling that power gamers have ways of getting around.

Here is an example: Asheron's Call recently opened a new server. The power gamers are racing to see who can be the first to hit maximum level (126), and in a month, several are getting pretty close. (lvl 100+) As a more average gamer, my main character is in it's 20's. The power gamers are going to max out in less than 2 months and move on just as my character is maturing into it's interesting levels.

Re:Won't work.

[Snowmit]

Pay per play is less appealing to the houses running the games, because there's not the potential for residual income from people who sign up, lose interest, and forget to cancel for a few months.

I think that if your business model involves relying on people to forget to stop paying for your product after they're done with it, then you are NOT WORKING HARD ENOUGH.

Just a gimmick.

[Bluesman]

The only way to make these things work is if success is based on player skill rather than how much time you've put in.

With a D&D style leveling model, this is always going to be impossible.

These games are always going to be glorified chatrooms until technology catches up and allows either much faster content creation or player skill based gameplay so that a relative beginner can be an asset to a group that's been playing a long time.

Re:Just a gimmick.

[Synkronos]

Okay, from the Planetside manual:

Capturing bases, killing enemies, & destroying their equipment will give your character Battle Experience Points (BEP). As you accumulate these BEPs your character will go up in Battle Rank. As your character goes up in Battle Rank, you will earn Certification Points and Implant Slots.

* Certification points can be spent at Certification Terminals at the Sanctuary or at friendly Bio Labs to unlock access to various types of equipment, such as the Medical Applicator which allows you to heal injuries you or your friends may have suffered. Certifications also unlock access to vehicles such as the Basilisk or AMS (Advanced Mobile Station).

o By spending your Certification points, this is how you will begin to specialize your character. You could choose to go Heavy Assault and grab the tougher armors and bigger guns but then you might be dependent upon getting transported to the battle by others that have chosen to specialize in Piloting Vehicles. Or you could choose to be an Advanced Combat Medic with the ability to revive fallen comrades on the field or an Advanced Hacker with the ability to quickly hack your way into an enemy base. Or perhaps a smattering of all of the above? In any case, the choices you make are not permanent as you may unlearn certifications and choose others in their place via the "Unlearn" feature in the certification terminal.

* Implant Slots are where cybernetic devices known as Implants are surgically implanted within your character. These devices can endow you with super human abilities such as Surge, which allows for a brief but explosive burst of running speed or the Personal Shield implant, which when activated gives your character a temporary force field to protect them from damage. Your character can earn up to a maximum amount of three Implant Slots but beware, Implants when activated, can quickly use up your stamina leaving you drained and unable to run. Implants may be installed via Implant Terminals at the Sanctuary or friendly Bio Labs on any of the Battle Continents.

How about a little variety?

[hal2814]

It seems to me like every MMOG I've ever played is just the same MMORPG in a different setting. While change of scenery is nice, I'd like to see a little bit more variety than that. How about a MMO football or soccer game? I'd buy that in a second if it were at least decent. Maybe someone out could do a MMO casino. I think it would add a level of social interaction not found in the browser-based casino games. They probably wouldn't even have to charge a subscription for that one since the house should be taking enough in to pay for the servers.

Here's my idea

[truffle]

As a gamer you pay a monthly subscription fee for a gaming service, the fee is something like $19.99 a month.

Any online game can choose to be covered under this service. If it is, you can play that game.

My $19.99 fee is then distributed proportionally to each of the game providers based on how much time I spent playing their game.

For example, in one month I might:
- Spend 10 hours playing MMO #1 ($10)
- Spend 5 hours playing MMO #2 ($5)
- Spend 5 hours playing team FPS game ($5)

My total allowed gameplay is unlimited, it's only the proportion of play that matters.

Unfortunately I don't think the publishers will ever agree to that, and unless the majority of fun online games was covered, it just wouldn't work.

Re:Here's my idea

[Teppy]

Skotos does this distribution method exactly.

Most Annoying Part

[_Neurotic]

Is having to shell out $40-$50 for a retail box for most of the online games. If I'm paying $15-$20 month for a subscription, why should I have to walk down to my local CompUSA and pay $50 for a CD? They should be downloadable, period.

I can say that I probably would be a susbscriber to one or more games if it were not for the barrier of initial investment.

Re:Most Annoying Part

[joinder]

I totally agree. One of the biggest obstacles I see towards widespread MMO adoption is the current distribution model which emphasizes inital purchase of the "starter" set rather than giving it away.

The first "hit" should always be free. If you have a good product, you'll get them hooked.

Guild Wars

[wickedj]

Hmmm... I remember playing the E3 demo for Guild Wars. It's almost an MMORPG. The pricing scheme announced for this game seemed totally different from other MMORPGs and seems more desirable. Basically, you pay a one time fee for the basic game. Every few months, they release an expansion which allows for new classes, skills, areas, etc. You can buy the expansion or if you want to try out the new stuff for free, ask a buddy who has the expansion to invite you to a new area. All the content is streamed over the internet. The gameplay handles like Diablo 2. Check it out here.

Ahead of it's time: Majestic ?

[LordPixie]

Did anyone ever play Majestic ? This was the 'MMo' that attempted to integrate itself with your real life via faxes, phone calls, E-Mail, and WWW browsing. Think: The Game.

Besides its incredibly unique method of interaction, the gameplay was also structured into 'episodes'. I think they were officially called "Chapters". This was quite nice for several reasons. As mentioned in the article, you didn't need to devote yourself entirely to playing. But it also helped structure players together that are in roughly the same place in the game. It also allowed the developers to craete the content as the game went along. I was blessed to be one of the beta testers for Majestic, and new chapters were rolled out to us about a month before everyone else. That sort of development model can really cut down on the initial investment required for a MMO. It requires less content to start, and thus a quicker revenue stream.


--LordPixie

p.s.Did anyone else play this game ? I personally loved even the unpolished beta version I played. A real shame when it went under.

Re:Ahead of it's time: Majestic ?

[th3walrus]

Majestic showed the main reason that episodic online games don't work too well. The Majestic episodes were way too short and people got bored with it quickly.

Also, the interaction with most other players in the game was actually detrimental to the game experience. You were supposed to be able to team up with other players to solve clues and what not, but most of the time the other players you talked to would straight out spoil the game for you by telling you everything you needed to solve everything.

When people would contact me to ask me about stuff in the game I would always play as if I were in on things and give them cryptic hints and tips to try and keep the game interesting for them. Mostly they'd just get pissed off at me and go on to someone who would just give them all the answers.

It was a really fun and deeply interactive game that I wish would have survived. Unfortunatly they just couldn't keep the content coming quick enough and keep it varied enough that players wouldn't ruin the game for each other.

Re:Ahead of it's time: Majestic ?

[LordPixie]

Majestic showed the main reason that episodic online games don't work too well. The Majestic episodes were way too short and people got bored with it quickly.

I think the slow/boring charge has less to do with the episodic content as it did the gameplay itself. It was designed to be tied into the real quite heavily - and unfortunately, stuff isn't always happening. So you might want to play, except that the characters are all stuck in a van twiddling their thumbs during a cross-country road trip. It certainly adds to the immersion, but it's nothing like your normal MMOG. And this is what really killed the game. Their target audiance was the relatively hardcore MMOG player, who will be bored shitless with the gameplay. But to anyone with a busy schedule and limited time, it fits in perfectly.

Unfortunately, you've got a very good point in regards to the community. Like any online game, they can really make or break the fun. Solving Majestic's (Or any MMOG's) puzzles was twice as enjoyable when it's done in a group. But that assumes everyone is equally ignorant. The inability to ensure that all participants are at the exact same place likely means that plot/puzzle based online games aren't going to do very well.


--LordPixie

Why per month and not per level?

[whitepony02027]

The whole idea of playing per month is what keeps me from plaing MMO's in the first place. I go to school and work in two different cities that are 2 hhours apart. Driving between the 2 takes up valuble playing time that i would still be paying for under the pay per month model. I think things would be much better if i could pay for a group of levels. Like $10 keeps me playing until i get my character to level 30. Then I have to pay another $10 to add more levels on to that. This way if i can't play for a month for whatever reason my money isn't just thrown away.

Slowly but surely getting there...

[Soukyan]

SOE currently offers their All Access Pass :

"If you play more than one SOE game, or you want to try the other great SOE games available, SOE All Access opens the SOE game catalog to you.

SOE All Access grants access to all current games published by SOE*, which includes: EverQuest® EverQuest® Macintosh Edition PlanetSide EverQuest® Online Adventures Station Pass access, which includes the popular games Infantry Online, Cosmic Rift and Tanarus

Full access to these games for the low monthly subscription price of $21.99 is a potential savings of more than $18.00 every month over the total cost of the individual subscriptions!"


PlayNC (NCSoft) does not offer such a deal but is a central site for managing your online game subscriptions and I imagine once Guild Wars, Tabula Rasa, Auto Assault and others are released, we may start to see some special offers from them as well.


Skotos has been offering this type of service for a long time. For one monthly fee you can access and play all 11 of the games that they offer. Only 2 are graphical MMOGs (Meridian 59 and Underlight), but the other games are very good as well.


The largest factor in offering multiple "A list" titles for one monthly fee is offsetting development (and in the case of MMOGs, maintenance) costs and bringing in enough revenue to show a good profit. The bottom line is always a driving factor in any business. However, there is hope. As technology moves forward, we will start to see more and more rapid development of MMOGs of higher quality and consequently we should start to see a wider array of offerings and price points.


I also agree that some sports games should start to appear on the scene. XBox Live will probably be a driving factor to this more than anything. Playing football online against other players is quite fun and should prove to be very popular considering the amount of sports console games sold. Now, as to whether that genre will move to PC is yet to be seen, but as I mentioned before, in SOE's All Access Pass, they combine online console and PC subscriptions into one package. A diverse product line benefits them in this case. More comapnies need to grow in the genre and diversify at the same time, but that takes time and money. Soon though... very soon.