

How would you fix the repetitive and boring gameplay of today's (MMO)RPGs? - amichail

I've just tried World of Warcraft and I don't really see why people play it.<p>It just seems repetitive and boring to me.<p>There must be a huge opportunity here for creating (MMO)RPGs with a lot more variety of gameplay.
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Tangurena
Most MMOs are essentially "skinner boxes."
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning_chamber#Sk...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning_chamber#Skinner_Box)

Different MMOs have different levels of skill needed, as well are aimed at
different audiences. Warcraft is aimed at "easy mode."

Ultimately, they are still "grinds."

Some games have lots of other little games, one that does a good job of having
alternative schemes for advancement is a game called Vanguard. The diplomacy
"mini game" is pretty interesting and I think was very innovative. If you are
developing your own MMO, I seriously recommend playing VG to see diplomacy and
how they've made crafting different. Sadly, VG is still buggy and the amount
of people playing is dropping, and combined with the dearth of support for the
game from Sony (Everquest is still the star at SOE) for VG, it will be around
as long as the subscriber numbers stay high enough.

Disclaimer: I've played Vanguard on and off since beta (this handle is the
name of one of my characters on Seradon), and I think it has great promise,
however the game is a case study in how _not_ to do things in the MMO
industry.

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dkersten
My advice would be to read Richard Bartles book, Designing Virtual Worlds at
least twice before attempting to design an MMORPG. He covers all of the common
recurring discussions and then some. Besides, its an interesting and fun book
to read, even if you're not designing an MMORPG or MUD.

I'd also suggest checking this out: <http://mu.ranter.net/design-theory>

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macmac
I would let players construct quests and reward them according to how these
are rated and how much they are played. No sure if there should be separate or
a combined rating system for constructors/players. Rewards for constructors
could be more land/resources dedicated to their quests + maybe marketing
points that regulate how much NPCs advertise their quests.

