Massive Reflection: The Unfair Stigmas That Follow MMORPGs

A few weeks ago, our team was discussing the intersection of survival sandboxes, MMORPG virtual worlds, and gankboxes – and how difficult it is for some games to shed the stigmas and stereotypes about their genre.

“As New world showed us, even if you move away greatly from gankbox design, the stigma can persist for years,” MOP’s Tyler said during the conversation. “I still see people saying they’ve avoided the game because they think it’s all about hardcore PvP. But there’s barely any PvP these days.

For this week’s Massively Overthinking, I don’t necessarily want to focus on New world or PvP, but I’m talking about the stigmas that seem to attach the genre or specific MMOs or subtypes of MMOs, well past the point where they are actually valid, if they ever were. What are the most unfair stigmas that follow MMORPGs or even specific MMOs, how did they arise and what is the truth?

Andrew Ross (@dengarsw): Stylistic graphics that make you think that a game is not intended for “real gamers”. I think at this point we can agree that hyper-realism (aside from the usual female models who in our industry wear way less than men and always need heels…) ends up giving a lot of games looking bland and strangely cheap. I mean, it’s still impressive in a way, but with so much going on these days, I often feel like these studios share assets.

They also often make the game more accessible, which is especially important for an MMO. Yeah, having 20 people on screen is cool with awesome graphics, but having 100 with Wowthe stylish graphics will make my head spin a lot faster, and it will also be easier for me to get friends into the game. And these days, it also makes the game more likely to get a console port so we can get even more players.

Up left a very good impression on me at SGF, partly because the game could have come out 10 years ago or been ready in 10 years if I hadn’t considered the game’s features. Even with Marvel Rivals. They just age much better.

Andy McAdams: I do not think that Wild Star has never managed to shake off the hardcore cupcake stigma. Carbine did an incredible job of convincing everyone, everywhere that this was the point of the game. When the developers finally realized there was no money in it, the studio didn’t didn’t put the same vigor into new marketing and was never able to shake off the stigma (I personally think it’s because the group that decided hardcore cupcakes were the crowd). sue were irritable when it turned out that these people don’t pay the bills).

I think Online Anarchy never shook off the stigma of its dumpster fire launch. You will still see people today saying that they will not touch Anarchy due to a bad launch 20 years ago. In the meantime, it’s a delightful game.

MMOs have never been able to get rid of the “you can’t play these games if you want to have a life” feeling. I talk to friends about gaming and they usually respond, “Oh, I can’t make a living from games anymore; I wouldn’t be able to play and enjoy it. Of course, this stigma is constantly reinforced by the aforementioned hardcore cupcakes who yell about how the only times MMOs were good were when you had to play them like a job. Or broader gaming media that constantly takes shots at the genre at every opportunity for reasons. But please tell me more about how Call of Duty Clone #943,439,212 revolutionizes the genre because you can pay $60 to get an improvement that otherwise wouldn’t even be in the release notes. *cough*

Anyway. Yeah. All that.

Brianna Royce (@nbrianna, blog): I want to call out the very annoying stigma attached to isometric and top-down games. I consider myself lucky to have grown up with stuff like Diablo And Ultima online and I don’t really have a problem with that perspective. I actually like it and know what can be done with it in the hands of a smart developer team. I also remember the move of OU has EverQuest, how excited I was for a “real” 3D MMO, then how disappointed I was when I realized the game was mostly board games and dramas where kids compete for a baccalaureate empty sand. Any illusions I had that a 3D MMO would be a deeper role-playing experience were completely shattered when I realized what an even deeper virtual game it was. world the ugly one OU actually was.

And it will even happen in 2024. Many of our readers (and yes, even some of my colleagues) would not set foot in an isometric or top-down MMO due to the stigma that it will be a weak MMO. roguelike. I was hoping that the original Shards online And Torchlight borders that would turn the situation around, but no. And now, of course, we have Albion onlinewhich is easily in the top 10 MMOs in terms of players and revenue, and yet some people, even PvP enthusiasts, are more biased against it due to perspective than gameplay. CorepunkIt’s your turn then.

Chris Neal (@wolf eyesblog): For the longest time, I held survival sandbox titles in very low esteem, viewing them as effortless, lackadaisical, lazy types of games that tend to revolve around creating something in which you are always knocked down, either by game mechanics or FFA PvP.

Of course, that’s because most of my survivalbox experience has been in games made by Funcom or Wildcard. Since then, I’ve opened myself up to the great potential of these kinds of titles thanks to truly inventive and fun games like Palworld, Rossignol (until the end of the game anyway), Valheim, EnvelopedAnd Craftopia.

Are all survival boxes equally inventive, unique, or willing to let players have fun without putting obnoxious mechanical chains around their necks? No, but there are enough games like this that rise to the top and make it seem like they’re barely made in spades.

Sam Kash (@thesamkash): There are apparently a lot of players who think that any PvP in their line of sight will ruin a game. It always gets under my skin. There is a huge difference between free ganker-paradise games and those that offer simple duels or battlefields.

I’ve been in too many online debates with other players about adding dueling options to certain PvE areas of the games. It is consensual, one player requests a duel from another and it must be an accepted type of duel. Still, I think these players remember the old games that simply allowed open PvP – the ones that didn’t have proper querying, blocking, and reporting systems. If a dueling system or similar PvP system is implemented correctly, it will not negatively impact those who do not wish to participate. Which in fact refers to New world: There are dueling systems and other PvP systems. but you wouldn’t even know it if you weren’t looking for it.

Tyler Edwards (blog): I think there are so many things you could mention about this, honestly. First impressions are lasting impressions and players love to hold grudges. Some people still assume that every free game is a pay-to-win dystopia where you can’t play without being a whale. Then there’s everything”The secret world had a bad fight” stupidity.

I’m going to say that too World of Warcraft still suffering from the “stiff or die” perception would qualify. Having played a lot of the game recently, I think those days are over. Raids are still an important part of the game, but the concept of “raid or die” comes from the days of Warlords of Draenor where there was literally no meaningful endgame content outside of raids. There are many other options for playing and progressing your character these days. Dragonflight’s endgame is more like Guild Wars 2 as for Warlords of Draenor.

Each week, join the Massively OP team for the Massively Overthinking column, a multi-author roundtable in which we discuss hot topics in the MMO industry – and then invite you to join the fray in the comments. Overthinking it is literally the whole problem. Your turn!