Examining the features that will make the next generation of MMOs better than ever.
The team I want leading live events.
Alive Events
Clearly the most expensive of the options, the next biggest change I see is a movement into more common live events in game. One of the biggest issues with early MMOs was that you could spend hundreds of hours in the game world and never really feel like you impacted anything. All the villains respawn after a while and the general landscape never really moves forward. Most recently, this has been addressed to a degree through the introduction of phasing. Changes in the landscape and NPC position does help to give the world a sense of progress. The positive point is that the process is open to everyone and your phase is only as good as you current spot. Unfortunately, this is also a major drawback. The changes are only yours and take away from the social aspects of the game interaction. Here is where the live event can come in.
The Matrix Online had gone this route. A tough example, considering that the product did not have a particularly long shelf life. However, the problem with the game was not the live events, major moments that were shared among the gaming community like the death of Morpheus. Allowing players to participate in major lore changing events further engages them into the overall experience. Again, this opens the game up to more than achievement grinds and rotation mastery. It now becomes a living world, unlike any other form of entertainment available.
Naturally, this idea is not without its challenges. Beyond just the costs, the other main issue would also be logistics. After all, how do you manage live events, across multiple servers, spread across multiple times zones (and countries), without alienating a significant portion of your fan base? Timing and accessibility would be key. Perhaps the live event schedule stretches across multiple time zones to ensure that the majority of the players will be exposed to at least some of the live events. This could be made even easier as there is a push for single server games, like EvE, to further connect people together.
The impact would be great. Stories of the adventures across a specific event would vary between different players. Impacts of the events will result in story changes going forward. While easily one of the most difficult and ambitious features being suggested in this article, I think it would have a significant impact on gaming industry as a whole.
