This really resonates with me. My big motivator has always been the challenge of all the different technical details. Persistence was certainly a fun one, though I stuck with a RDBMS instead of going the NoSQL route.
It's why I'm making an open source engine instead of focusing on making a single game - I can work on whatever tech problem I find interesting at the moment, and eventually (I hope) others who are more interested in the creative side will be able to build off of the engine and create their own games. My first run-in with MMOs was back in the day when there were lots of random MMO engines written in Visual Basic 6, and the indie MMO community back in those days was amazing.
It's why I'm making an open source engine instead of focusing on making a single game - I can work on whatever tech problem I find interesting at the moment, and eventually (I hope) others who are more interested in the creative side will be able to build off of the engine and create their own games. My first run-in with MMOs was back in the day when there were lots of random MMO engines written in Visual Basic 6, and the indie MMO community back in those days was amazing.