In the past, everything was better, especially for MMORPGs. But what is worse today than it was back then? A reddit discussion on the topic “Guides and the Internet” got me thinking.
Has the Internet destroyed MMORPGs? The reddit user Crimpacc wrote a post discussing the topic “Influence of the Internet on MMORPGs”. What initially sounds a bit contradictory makes sense in the course of his argumentation.
According to Crimpacc, the creators of guides for games share some blame for his MMO frustration. Constantly seeing guides with the most effective farming methods, the best class builds, and complete solutions to difficult puzzles has completely destroyed his interest in exploring and experiencing a game world.
It also increasingly feels like playing an MMORPG is a race where only speed, distance, and skill matter. But is that really the case? Has the growth of platforms like YouTube and Twitch had such a negative impact on the genre?
Guides – The End of MMORPGs?
Crimpacc is particularly bothered by the fact that, right at the start of a new MMORPG, players tab out of the game to find the best leveling skills and grind their way through them. It feels impossible to play without a guide anymore, as everything else seems ineffective.
But how was it during my early days? Were there not also guides back then?
What was it like back then? My first MMORPG experiences were with Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft, and Guild Wars 1. Even back then, there were already isolated instances of guides. Typically, people exchanged information in forums, text chats, or directly in-game.
However, even though guides existed, they were nowhere near as well-known, widespread, and detailed as they are today. They mostly consisted of a few lines of text, and I had to work out part of the content myself. The issue of trustworthiness was also different back then.
While I roughly followed the guidelines, I still brought my own touch to my gameplay, doing a little something differently. The guide writer didn’t necessarily have to have found the perfect build, right?
What is it like today? This changed somewhat as platforms like YouTube became more well-known and especially more accessible. Even in Guild Wars 1, it became common over time to refer to templates for PvP builds and watch videos for speed clears.
In Guild Wars 2, it became almost standard by release to have videos of jumping puzzles open on a second monitor. After all, you wanted to quickly claim your achievement points and the chest at the end of the puzzles.
Nowadays, you can find videos on YouTube or detailed solutions on fan sites for all MMORPGs. No matter what question I have or what topic I’m searching for, someone has already created a guide about it.
While this does destroy the immersion of a gigantic world full of secrets on one hand, it significantly benefits players who can invest very little time in an MMORPG. They can find their way around immediately, which has become extremely important.
Changed Mentality and Target Audience
What is different in MMORPGs compared to before? If I ask myself the question of whether the Internet and guides have a negative influence on MMORPGs, I also need to look at what has changed in the games. And there has been a lot.
In my opinion, modern MMORPGs are:
- Equipped with beginner-friendly tutorials that explain game content better.
- Better at making all game content accessible, thanks to features like LFG or LFR.
- More focused on the story than before. Many games feature elaborate story missions and cutscenes. Final Fantasy XIV, SWTOR, ESO, and many other MMORPGs allow for almost a single-player RPG experience, at least regarding the story of the game.
- More rewarding than before.
All of this shows for me a shift in mentality as well. MMORPGs have become more beginner-friendly and suitable for the masses, and they have introduced some features to keep players engaged, such as login rewards or extra loot for achievements.
So it’s not just the guides that have changed and simplified MMORPGs, but at times also the developers themselves. As a result, they have become more mass-market-friendly.
Is WoW to blame for the change in mentality? Before World of Warcraft, MMORPGs were still much rougher, emptier, and grindier. There were games where leveling was even exhausting and where there was almost no endgame. Players would have to entertain themselves with role-playing or their own challenges.
World of Warcraft itself is also a good example of the development of MMORPGs. While Classic requires much more grinding and much more cooperation with others, in Retail, many tasks can be completed independently and, above all, faster.
No Patience, But Still Comparisons
What is the problem with modern MMORPGs? The fact that a game like WoW could excite the masses was also due to its beginner-friendliness and coherence compared to any MMORPG before it. This made it a phenomenon that, in this genre, there likely won’t be a second occurrence.
However, players are now accustomed to a certain level of comfort due to the many simplifications, which they are no longer willing to part from. From this comfort, the desire to compare has developed, whether through speed clears, world firsts, or other crazy challenges.
Thus, there are two fundamental problems:
- No patience for exploration and enjoyment
- The desire to optimize oneself and one’s achievements, whether to keep up or to prove something to oneself
Are the guides and the Internet to blame now? And it is exactly in these problems that guides can step in, providing solutions to both issues at once. With little time and effort, one can perfect their gameplay and achieve all set goals, which fits well as we generally have less time available than we used to.
What can be lost in the process is the actual experience of the game. Instead of simply enjoying wandering through flower meadows for hours and discovering a little Easter egg in a nook, we want to keep up with streamers or friends who may be able to invest more time in the game than we do.
Especially through streamers, who can earn a living from gaming, we get a distorted view. One feels left behind and starts to treat the MMORPG as work rather than relaxation.
In my view, Crimpacc faces this problem as well. But it’s not just the videos and guides to blame. They simply show the easy way. Whether the easy way is the right one has to be decided by each individual for themselves.
What are your thoughts on the topic of guides and the Internet? Have the many tips and tricks positively or negatively influenced your experiences in MMORPGs?
