Tobold's Blog
Friday, August 22, 2008
 
Don't blame WAR for your burnout

I've been playing role-playing games for a quarter of a century, and MMORPGs for nearly 10 years now. During this time my enthusiasm for these games waxed and waned, I had periods of playing deep into the night, and periods of burnout where I didn't feel like playing anything. And looking around the MMO blogosphere at the moment, I detect symptoms of burnout in quite a lot of people. Blogs that went from daily long posts to occasional one-liners. Bloggers switching games every week without ever really feeling at home. And an eternal cycle of hope for the next big game, followed by disappointment that the game couldn't manage to conquer the burnout. All this is very natural. But I sure wish that people would stop blaming specific games for their burnout problems, like they currently do with Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.

If you are so burned out of playing World of Warcraft or whatever similar game you were playing that you just can't stand this sort of gameplay any more, neither WAR nor WotLK will help you. I've had commenters complaining about the fact that WAR had quests, experience points, and gear, but then getting all annoyed when I suggested that if he doesn't want these features, he might be better of playing a game that isn't a MMORPG, like Spore for example. I spent my summer holidays playing Football Manager Live instead of WoW, because I felt burned out. If you want a complete change of gameplay, it makes a lot more sense to play a different type of game, than to complain that the new games follow the same genre standards as the previous generation. Mythic never said anything to suggest that they weren't making a game which broadly adheres to the genre standards, and then tries to improve upon them. The only fair way to judge WAR is to compare it to existing games, and see what it does better, and what it does worse. Comparing any new game to some totally hypothetical revolutionary messiah of an ideal game is just stupid, because nothing real can live up to the ideal.

The added problem of WAR is that World of Warcraft has so many more subscribers than any previous game. That means that for a large percentage of MMO players, WoW was their very first MMORPG. And people tend to look at their first game through pink glasses. Hey, I still have nostalgic feelings for Everquest, the first 3D MMORPG I really got attached to (UO was 2D and didn't grip me that much). But if I'm honest, EQ was a horrible game, forcing you into endless camping, grinding, and downtime, with little freedom and very harsh punishment for failure. The nostalgia sometimes makes people think of the "good old days", having forgotten how bad those old days really were. It is hard for any game to recapture that first game feeling, because it is based on lost innocence, and people look at newer games in a more cynical and jaded way.

The games that people are often most enthusiastic about are those that don't exist yet. People praised WAR when it was still far away. Now that the NDA dropped and more people get into preview weekends and betas, suddenly WAR isn't good enough any more, compared to the promise of the games of the next year. People earnestly say they won't play WAR, because Free Realms will be better. Then next year they won't play Free Realms, because Star Trek Online will be better. Then in 2010 they won't play STO, because Blizzard's next MMO will be better. Eternally falling for the hype for some future game, and never being happy with the games that actually exist, is never going to make you happy.

Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is not the perfect game. It does not rip the core gameplay out of the MMORPG genre, and replaces it with something completely different and better. It will not evoke the same level of emotions as your first MMORPG did. It might not even cure your WoW burnout any better than Wrath of the Lich King can. And it is totally possible that at some point in the future some better game is released, to which WAR compares badly. But all these are unrealistic expectations, which say nothing about the actual quality of the game. Nobody needs a review telling him how WAR compares to some future or past ideal. What people need is detailed descriptions of how Warhammer Online works, because many of them already have an idea what they could like or not like. For most people the choice comes down to something simple like either switching to WAR, or sticking with WoW and its expansion. And many will solve that problem by buying both WAR and WotLK, and then naturally drifting towards the game that suits them best, or giving up on both and playing Spore or something instead. We'll see in half a year how things developed. Because whatever bloggers write now, in the end it is the players who vote with their wallets.
Comments:
What I find ammusing is that most of the people who are complaining about WAR, will probably still be buying it anyways. Once they get a level 40 character and have a vested interest in the game their opinions may change. I havn't played the beta, and I've been laying off WoW a lot the past couple of months. I am very well aware of "burn out" and I don't want burn out around when I play WAR or WotLK. I'm really glad spore is coming out soon, they will fill the game nicely.
 
Burning out on a game seems somewhat strange to me, suggesting a much too serious approach of what should be a relaxing pastime.

I CAN relate to the nostalgia factor though (although i dont have very warm feelings for Pong, which was probably the first videogame i played..:). It seem the older you get, the stronger its force, complemented by getting more and more jaded, skeptical and even cynical. All these factors can contribute to the "wait for the next holy grail just over the horizon" mechanism.

But if you fall in that trap you'll be waiting for perfection indefinitly...

Id rather be playing, and from what ive seen and read sofar, WAR seems a likely candidate.
 
I recently left WoW after playing for around 2 years. Great game and I had a ton of fun, it just felt like it was time.

WAR doesn't excite me too much. I've seen a couple demos and it just looks like another WoW. Yes, different features and maybe an unfair comparison, but nothing there to pique my interest.

I'm not really playing anything right now, but eagerly awaiting Diablo 3. The gameplay trailer they've put up on the gamesite looks awesome and I really enjoyed the previous titles.
 
Great post Tobold.

It seems like you and I are on the same page or close to it these days.

If you get a chance, I'd love it if you came and commented over at my place on the previous two posts I made. I'd like to hear your thoughts.

Thanks, mate.
 
Woops, forgot to use the Name/URL option.

:)
 
*Jumps up and down waving arms frantically*

Great post (do I have to say something silly like 'long time reader first time poster')

May I read your post, or at least a part of it, on the next "shut up we're talking"? Darren asked me to be on the show.

Julie Whitefeather
Virginworlds.com
Onlinegamingradio.com
 
Excellent article, one I could not agree with more.
 
"Every article you post these days loses some sense of impartial comment. I'll continue to read your blog cause it now makes me laugh...

But it's little more than a fan boy blog for whatever your daily fancy is."


Well that's what he is, he's not a paid commenter or an impartial reviewer is he? He comments on what he wants to, he has every right to say what the hell he wants to... such is the internet.

WAR 'is' far different from WoW, and enough to drag in a whole different crowd (which I'm actually hoping it will as well).

If you don't like the look of it or style ... really, just don't bother.

It really is as simple as that.
 
It is the Official WAR battle cry

WAHHH!!!

Really, I was all excited about the comments you had made previously about the grouping situation. This was making me think twice about the game.

Yet, this post totally has made me committed....to NOT buying WAR.

Buncha MMO fanatics on these blogs.

Crazy talk I tell ya.

(**Goes to play Spore!)
 
May I read your post, or at least a part of it, on the next "shut up we're talking"? Darren asked me to be on the show.

As my terms of service allow using my writings as long as I'm given credit, I'd say the same rule applies to reading it on a podcast. With me it's okay, but ask Darren if he doesn't mind you not using your own stuff.
 
Umm.. GG. Blog's are not supposed to be impartial. They are a "Web Log." which is not the same thing as news. They are write ups done by people who are talking about their partialities.

The nostalgia comments on EQ reminds me of a Billy Connolly observation in "World Tour of Scotland" and I paraphrase him when he says that he realized it was not the things, buildings, and places that he missed but in truth he missed his youth.

I still remember my absolute fascination with Final Fantasy 1, reading everything I could find on it, staring at artwork and screen shots in Nintendo Power magazines for hours on end, and when the game came out... I LOVED it. I played it constantly, every note of music, every silly little image from it, every frustrating death and hours of grinding (I didn't know what grinding was back then, but that was what I was doing) is a sweet memory. The truth is, it is that innocence, and sense of excitement that I felt back then that I really miss, more so than the game itself.

For people who play games like we do, an activity that is still considered childish by the world at large, many of us have somehow lost the child in ourselves. We hold our action figures in our hands and wonder why they somehow don’t resemble Greek marble statues instead. Maybe instead of asking our toys to resemble something they are not, we should learn to appreciate toys again, for exactly what they are; some of them very finely crafted, but toys none the less.
 
"The games that people are often most enthusiastic about are those that don't exist yet."

thanks Tobold. Right on the mark.

Sometimes I wonder if I wouldnt enjoy games far more, if I didnt have the Internet, telling me of all their faults. I am a compulsive forum reader, for my sins, and is has ruined/tainted my game experience in Madden games, FM07, fm08, to a part FM-Live, AOC, LOTRO, and definately WOW. Reading about odd bugs, and imbalances, thart I frankyly don´t care about or would only have rarely seen. But if I know they are there, they ruin my experience.

I have recently instated a personal policy of not reading about games untill they are around 1 month from launch, and focus on what games ARE, not what they would like to be. I can only recommend it (even if it makes bloggin a lot harder).

Oh, and I like WAR :-D
 
Newsflash: In a rare instance of losing his cool, Tobold gets upset about GG, who called him a fanboi and tried to tell him what he can and cannot post on his blog. With a spectacular drop kick, GG's comment is kicked off the blog. GG is invited to start his own blog, where he can rant about other people as much as he likes.
 
Interesting take on the situation. Its amusing, from my point of view since I suffer from the problem to a much lesser degree. But I think it's also relevant that I tend to prefer "endurance" games vs the burn to level cap games.

There have been 2 MMOs that I have played consistently for more than a few months before letting the subscription lapse. FFXI and EvE. And yes there have been periods of burn out, but with the exception of my switch from FFXI to EvE The burn out hasn't been a burnout on the game itself for these two games. I've played WoW, EQ2, CoX, Vanguard, Guild Wars, (I could go back to MPBT on the Genie network, but that would date me). And the games I've stuck with have a few things in common.

1) Ability to do most of the game content with a single toon. Both FFXI with it's job system and EvE with it's skill system allow for this.

2) Access to the most amount of social interaction. EvE does this by having everyone on the same server. FFXI did this with forced grouping after level 10.

Part of it is a more mature attitude towards game progression. I don't need the instant gratification reward system that WoW, I can plan and get pleasure out of seeing my long term plans realized.

Part of it is that I use MMOs to replace television viewing and try not to sacrifice other parts of my life.

Personally I think the problem is that the "mass pop" MMOs are still geared to a younger (in MMO years) audience and that the restless search for a new MMO that those who have been playing for a while is simply a search for a more evolved gaming experience. All the existing WoW players are getting older - heck a lot of them have been playing for a 4 years or more counting other games. The problem is that games geared for an more mature MMO player (not a reflection of true age, more a reflection of number of years playing MMOs) The number of games that appeal to those who have played a lot of the "easy entry MMOs" and are ready to move on are limited still.
 
@ Openedge: Dude... the title of this blog in particular is Tobold's MMORPG Blog. What did you expect to find, post about kittens?

(Time for a jab and do take it in jesting...) That'd be like me reading your blog and expecting it to be grammatically correct and formatted for easy reading. :)
 
I think a lot of long time MMO bloggers are getting burned out on classic DIKU games and are starting to make unrealistic demands that new games be wildly different to appease their boredom.

For some reason people continue to play MMOs long after they stopped having fun and they get burned out and jaded. I think it might have something to do with the traditional subscription model but I'm not sure.

http://relmstein.blogspot.com/2008/08/warhammer-is-great-but-its-doesnt.html
 
your right with nearly all you have written tobold. the only thing you are forgetting is, warhammer is not too different from wow so we can call it a me2 version of wow more or less. because it is not drastically different from wow it has to BETTER to absolutely pull people away from wow.
you discribe that no game will deliver on the hype it gets pre release and therefor our judgement of war is unfair. that´s true for nearly all games yes.
not blizzard titles !
i bet when blizzard releases world of starcraft or wow2 or whatsoever, the internet will explode again like it did with wow. and why is that ?
because they understand one simple rule: do something different enough or be better than your competitors.
especially in an industry where customers usually only pay for one single game which would be the best available.
sure warhammer will sell a good amount of copies, sure it will have
enough subscribers to survive, sure it is not a bad game by all means, but like you said, those who were expecting what the hype told them will have to wait for blizzards next game :)
 
Very well put :). I have exclusively played Eve for the past few months. I always get bored with wow after a few months, though this time thanks to a great guild, it lasted a lot longer.

And now I find myself looking forward to WAR and something a bit different. A break can do anyone good ;).
 
beelze, I think you are over-selling Blizzard a little bit. I enjoy their games, quite a bit, but to say they are the only ones who live up to their hype is simply not true. I think you will find, in a quick search of the internet, a large number of people who were dissapointed with (insert Blizzard title/expansion here).

Burning Crusade was a mixed bag for me, as it was for many. Nothing is perfect, not even Blizzard. They make very good games, but not perfect games.

For me, WAR is also a very good game, and will most likely become my primary game of choice. So far, everything that I have heard and expected from WAR has come to pass.

If Mythic made any mistakes in the hype department, I think that they provided almost too much information about the game. Projects always look more impressive in the beginning until they get tuned and adjusted to what can actually be reasonably produced.
 
@jobildo

No problem dude. It would be like me reading your blog and expecting some type of gaming sense...instead all I see is

"OMGz it's so cool", for every game actually.

All in jest.

(PS: Tobold, my remark was in jest as well. Cheers.)
 
Do what you have to. This is my last post here...

Not due to the censorship of my post or the flaws in your argument.

My last post... as you take a comment from one of your readers, twist it, read what you want out of it, ignore the meaning and then use it as a stick to beat the reader with.
 
because it is not drastically different from wow it has to BETTER to absolutely pull people away from wow.

No, it only has to be somewhat different, and better in SOME areas. I would say WAR is better in PvP and in finding a group. WoW is better in dungeons and raids. Both games will have their fans and be able to coexist. There is no law that one game has to rule them all.
 
some people get burned out on WOW raid and find new fresh fun when they roll alts..

some people get burned out on WOW game mechanics and find new fresh fun in LOTRO

some people get burned out on DIKU MMORPG and ??

for the 1st and 2nd there's always solution, but for the 3rd it will be hard.
 
Amen. Burnout is burnout. Especially if you've been playing a similar style game for more than 3-4 years. The rules are just too familiar.

Be brave. Get out of comfort zone. Take a break. Switch game genres completely. Lots of games out there. Eg. Kongregate has plenty free ones (I blame Zubon for Tangerine Panic and my badge craze which followed.)

@Relmstein: I think people keep playing MMOs after they've long burned out and jaded is because they're multiplayer - rather than the subscription model.

There's friends, guilds and other such components of a strong community, which may keep you around to keep them company.

There's your vested interest in your gear and wealth and accumulated possessions as ego-booster, and the thought that if you don't keep up with the Joneses, then you're going to lose out because these other people are doing better.

There's the whole political game of gathering allies to attempt petitioning for game changes that you think might make your burnout go away.

Unsoweiter.

(Using "you" in a general sense.)
 
The problem that I see is that a lot of players burn themselves out rather than trying out a different aspect of the game.

Doing any one thing repetitively is bound to burn anyone out. All too often I see players complain either about raiding, PvP, gathering...ect... and that one activity is pretty much all they do!

Yet, I see people in the game doing nothing more than standing around IF or Shatt chatting the time away until their next 5-man run, raid, or PvP engagement.

These are the players I identify with in my playstyle. Granted, I took a 9 month break after 3 years of WoW, but the new content added in the patches since I took the break has allowed me to come back to the game with a new appreciation for how I will play from here on out.

I think people just play too damn much. Period. Playing until you fall alseep, your eyes bleed, your spouse leaves, ect.. is just plain silly. All too often players allow their own frustrations with the game to morph into some kind of psychosis where all they can do is complain about something..constantly.

Phantasmagoria hit the nail on the head; in that what should be a relaxing past time, isnt for far too many people.
 
/agree

Thank you very much for this post! All this childish bickering and whining that I'm seeing lately is really making me not proud to be a gamer.

Love it or leave it people seriously.
 
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