Theme park MMORPGs like Final Fantasy XIV, World of Warcraft or The Elder Scrolls Online aim to tell an exciting story, which partly happens through dialogues with NPCs. But are these really important to have fun?
Before MMORPGs existed, players enjoyed Pen&Paper role-playing games and later single-player RPGs. The game master, or the developers, always wanted to provide players with an exciting adventure.
The story was at the center, and to tell a good story, NPCs are often necessary. Characters with an interesting backstory that send adventurers to face a threat.
Dialogues – From Necessity to Option
Players talk to Non-Player Characters to inquire about information, receive hints, and learn more about the characters. This gives depth to the game world and makes the story, or the quest, more interesting. However, when MMORPGs emerged, this changed a bit.
In a single-player role-playing game, there are no other players who can play a role in any way. In a Pen&Paper RPG, you are in a small group and usually focus on cooperative gameplay. MMORPGs, however, are different.
The fact that you are with hundreds or even more strangers encourages you to stand out more. This means you want to distinguish yourself from others, to be seen, admired, or simply remembered. This works in many ways.
For example, by being the first to defeat a boss monster or being the first to have a complete equipment set. This competitive mentality kept coming to the forefront. It became increasingly important for players to stand out through certain deeds, for example by being first in something.
This, in turn, meant that dialogues in MMORPGs took a back seat.
It was no longer as important to read long explanations about what exactly the story of a particular quest was, but one only needed the essential information to complete the mission as quickly as possible. With the dialogues, the story also faded into the background.
This can be clearly seen in World of Warcraft. WoW still offers an interesting quest description with a small story and background information that ensures NPCs have a certain relevance and seem interesting. However, at the end of the description, there is a very brief summary of what basically needs to be done. So, you don’t have to read the dialogue text at all, but you also don’t really understand what is happening.
Quests are just a means to an end?
Not everyone finds it important to know what a quest is about or what the story looks like. Gameplay takes precedence. The goal is to achieve something as quickly as possible. The problem is: Developers make an effort, come up with beautiful stories, write texts, but not everyone is interested in that.
Zenimax Online wanted to do this differently with The Elder Scrolls Online and essentially “forces” players to read the dialogues. These are often not too long, but still provide a lot of information and ensure that NPCs and the game world feel “alive”. This way, you really follow the story and don’t suddenly find yourself in the dark about what’s going on around you because you’ve clicked away all the dialogues.
Now, MMORPGs have naturally developed in the direction that not everyone wants to read long texts. Therefore, the question arises as to how important story and dialogues are in an online role-playing game.
Sandbox MMORPGs such as Ultima Online or Legends of Aria show that this type of game can completely do without story and NPCs. It’s about achieving something as quickly as possible, whether by hunting monsters or becoming the best craftsman in the world. However, there are still players who want to experience a story. They are looking for the next big theme park MMORPG. An online role-playing game that focuses on story, NPCs, and well-written dialogues.
Story and dialogues are important for those who enjoy them
The question of whether dialogues and story in an MMORPG are important or redundant cannot be easily answered. Online role-playing games allow for a variety of different approaches. Even in a theme park MMORPG, no one is forced to follow the story. If someone just wants to hunt monsters, they can do so and have a lot of fun.
This is what makes the genre interesting. There is no “right” way to play an MMORPG. However, this also makes it complicated for developers to bring a game to market that is fun for as many people as possible.
The MMORPG should then tell the most exciting story possible, provide good dialogues for those who enjoy reading them, but also allow the option not to have to read dialogues at all. And even those who are not interested in a story should still be satisfied. In such a game, it is up to the individual how they experience it.
This means that story and dialogues in an MMORPG are important when players enjoy them. However, they should never be a prerequisite for having fun in the game.
This is what makes the genre interesting. There is no “right” way to play an MMORPG. However, this also makes it complicated for developers to bring a game to market that is fun for as many people as possible.
The MMORPG should then tell the most exciting story possible, provide good dialogues for those who enjoy reading them, but also allow the option not to have to read dialogues at all. And even those who are not interested in a story should still be satisfied. In such a game, it is up to the individual how they experience it.
This means that story and dialogues in an MMORPG are important when players enjoy them. However, they should never be a prerequisite for having fun in the game.
