The Problem with MMO Interviews

After the success of World of Warcraft, the MMO genre has exploded in the past 6 to 7 years. Companies have seen the money train Blizzard crafted and want in on that action. Additionally, it opened up a huge portion of the gaming population to massive multiplayer games, breaking the idea that games like Everquest were only for the nerdiest of game playing nerds.

Now it’s not uncommon for parents to play MMOs with or without their kids. The most casual of game players have waded into an online universe and no longer see these games as forbidden territory. And this is great news for the industry. There are fantastic stories to be told with companies no longer so tentative to attempt to tell it in the MMO setting.

We’ve been able to see the Lord of the Rings universe in all it’s lore be converted to an online world. We’ve been able to play as super heroes, sea captains, space captains, barbarian warriors, and tons of other fantasies. While each of these games might have a huge variation in the size of their player base, many have dedicated fans bringing in enough money to keep the story being told. But there are just as many that have failed.

Just like there is always room for another first-person shooter, there is always room for another MMORPG, especially if it can wow us, intrigue us, or do something to make us interested.

While World of Warcraft was not the first MMO, it did a lot of things that people will always use as comparison when looking at new games. Whether it is the scripting capabilities, the UI API for customized mods, the addition of new things to do through content patches, the progression of end-game raiding, or any other element of the game, future games will forever be compared to it. I wrote a blog post about this at Less QQ, More PewPew just a little while ago called “The Michael Jordan Syndrome.”

With that being said, video game consumers are hungry for information. With the MMO market, this is doubly so. People want to make sure their investment is going to be worth it. If they are picking up a new subscription fee, the up front cost of the game needs to be validated. This is one reason free trials are so important.

But even before games get to a trial stage, numerous interviews will be doled out through various channels. Be it websites, Facebook, videos at conventions, etc. People want to know what to expect. We are hungry for information.

And from that comes my frustration with modern MMO interviews. I would wager to say that 95% of all MMO interviews are worthless to your average consumer. Whether it is because the person conducting the interview is given a list of approved questions or talking points, or perhaps they actually don’t care about the genre or game, I don’t know.

I always get excited when I see an interview with “Random Game Developer” from “Whatever Company making an MMO.” Yet I am always leave disappointed. Without fail the interview ends up containing questions like

• Will there be PvP?
• Are you going to support guilds?
• Will there be character progression?

It frustrates me to no end. These questions have no meat or substance to them. I could have answered those questions. If someone is watching or reading your reading your interview, chances are they are relatively interested in the game, they have taken the time to read over the game’s website, which apparently you did not. The latest annoyance has been with The Old Republic.

I am a huge Star Wars fan, because my parents raised me right. I grew up watching the original, unedited, unaltered versions. You know, where Han shot first. I am excited to give Old Republic ago because it is Star Wars. However that doesn’t mean I am going to keep giving Bioware my money just because they made a Star Wars game.

Look at Lord of the Rings Online as an example. Tolkien fans are as dedicated and stalwart in their franchise than any Star Wars or Star Trek fan. Yet that alone wasn’t enough for LOTRO to be profitable through a monthly fee. The game had to go Free-to-Play with optional purchases to remain viable.

I played World of Warcraft since 2004. What is Bioware planning on doing to get that kind of money from me? The answer to that question lies in the answers to questions never asked (Boy that sentence sounds convoluted).

• What type of end-game content are you implementing? Are we looking at raids with random loot or some other mechanism to encourage people to keep coming back?
• What are plans to for PvP? Are there long term goals to encourage world PvP, or are you looking at modelling after the Battleground Arena system found in WoW?
• What type of elements can we expect in character customization? What can I do to make my character unique from everyone else?
• We’ve seen certain class “branching” videos such as the Jedi Class Progression. However that sheds very little light on what unique differences from each option other than appearance? What specific class choices (i.e. Talents or Glyphs for the sake of continuing the WoW reference) can players expect as the level their character?

The list could go on, with things like stats, gear, etc, but you get the idea. This isn’t specific to Star Wars: The Old Republic of course. It spans almost all MMO interviews, leaving the average consumer eager for a new game with no more information than they had after spending 30 seconds on the developer’s website.

One day, when we grow up to be a real gaming website, maybe we can score an interview with someone from a company developing an MMO and ask questions that will actually provide meaningful information to your average MMO player.