I think "hate" is far too strong a word. I retired from MMOs after quitting World of Warcraft in 2007, but I have fond memories of playing Dark Age of Camelot and WoW.
I think "disappointment" would be a more accurate term. Just like the
Power Glove, MMOs don't live up to gamers' imaginations.
But 17 years later, the Wii was released and what children imagined the Power Glove would do was realized through the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. It took the better part of two decades, but technology finally brought our imagination to life. Now Microsoft is taking the next logical step with
Project Natal. Technology advances by small steps, not leaps and bounds.
The same is true of MMOs. For all its graphical enhancements, World of Warcraft, when compared to Everquest, is evolutionary (small steps) rather than revolutionary (leaps and bounds).
Furthermore, as gamers grow older, they're less willing to invest as much time in gaming. When I played in the Dark Age of Camelot beta, I could afford to spend hours learning the game and traveling from one point to another.
There are many reasons not to play MMOs:
Financial. Most MMOs cost $15 a month to play. To play Guild Wars, one needs to buy the game. If one wants new content, one must purchase the expansions, which also cost money.
Free MMOs (e.g. Neo Steam,
Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine) tend to be generic and rather bland when compared to their retail counterparts.
Variety. There are a lot of great games out right now--so many that most gamers aren't content with dedicating most or all of their gaming time to one game. I alternate between several games: Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead, and Unreal Tournament 3 on the PC; Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure on the DS; Okami on the Wii; Zelda: Ocarina of Time on the Wii Virtual Console. I completed Bubble Bobble for the NES on Wii last night and I recently re-installed Natural Selection in anticipation of NS2. There's no time left for a MMO.
If I did decide to pick up a MMO again, I would want to play long enough to feel I was getting my money's worth. Many players feel the same way and the game often feels more like a "job" than a game.
Value. With most AAA PC titles selling for $50 at release, I have no trouble accepting that $15 is a fair amount to pay for a monthly MMO subscription; however, I don't believe MMO games provide the best value for the
time I spend playing them.
When I turn on my DS, I can be playing a Henry Hatsworth level within 60 seconds. The bulk of the time I spend playing the game is fun. When I load Team Fortress 2, I may spend a few minutes joining the server, but once I'm in, I'm just a few clicks and seconds away from entering the game. Aside from respawn times (for which I sometimes keep a book on my desk), I spend the bulk of the game having fun.
When I played DAoC and WoW, it seemed I wasn't able to accomplish anything with less than an hour to dedicate to the game. If I wanted to run an instance, I would need to block off 2-4 hours. I spent more time than I care to think of running from point A to point B.
I had some fun when I played WoW, but it seemed like I spent a greater percentage of my time "working" than playing. When players have 30-60 minutes to play a game, they want to have fun in that span of time, not spend it watching their character run down a road or grind levels.
Speaking of grinding levels: Whenever I feel the itch to play a MMO again, all I have to do is remember the "level treadmill" and that desire disappears. I killed countless boars, not because I wanted to or was even slightly interested in doing so, but because the game developers decided that I had to before I could access more interesting content.
True, I could have run quests, but the quests were often more annoying than grinding levels. Most quests looked like "Collect X of Y Z" where X is a number, Y is a creature name, and Z is the part of a creature that can be used for practical purposes. When the drop rates are absurdly low (as they often were in WoW), quests become very stale very quickly.
Another common type of the quest is the "Bring A from B to C" where A is the name of the item/letter/scroll, B is the NPC giving the quest, and C is the intended recipient. These quests are a thin coat of paint on "Go from point A to B" missions that wouldn't stand as legitimate tasks in more action-driven titles.
Throw in the classic escort quest ("Escort NPC from point A to B while killing monsters/bandits/vampires that attack you and/or the NPC") and you have the bulk of most quests in most MMOs. Not all, mind you, but most.
Socializing. While the guild structure offers a greater level of interactivity than most shooter or strategy titles, most MMOs require you to be at or near the same level as the person you want to group with for grouping to be effective.
One of the main reasons I started playing WoW was to hang out with Elihu online. But by the time I joined the game, Elihu's main character was well on his way to level 60. In order to hang out with me, a newbie, Elihu had to roll a new character. We had to level at approximately the same speed or the other would be left behind.
I know City of Heroes circumvented this long-standing issue with MMOs by introducing the sidekick system. For that, I applaud the developers. The solution seems so simple and so obvious, it's a wonder that so few MMO games have a similar feature.
Immersion. When I play Team Fortress 2 and I'm running the enemy intel to my team's base, I'm focused. I'm in the game. There have been a few times when I answered my wife's question with a, "Hold on, I've got the intel, let me cap this right quick." (The alternate form of this is, "Wait a second until I die," which still inspires a chuckle.)
When I play World of Warcraft, I log in to Ironforge (or whatever the new popular starting area is), and hear "wtb sword of awesomeness" or "lfg 48 hunter bm spec" or "lollerskates l2play," all from some random player named Chuknoris or Leetskilz while a half-naked Dark Elf dances on top of a mailbox. There is no part of that scenario that lends to immersion in the game.
To be fair, there were moments I was playing in the remote areas of Azeroth when I was focused on the environment. Those were some of my favorite times playing WoW.
And in the interest of full disclosure, Dark Age of Camelot players, on average, did tend to be older and much more mature. I've known plenty of mature WoW players, but I've also seen my fair share of Chuknoris players, too.
Challenge. When I burn down half the opposing team as Pyro or, more commonly, avoid an onslaught of rocket fire and heavy machine gun bullets as Medic, I feel as though I've done something that requires skill.
When I kill a monster or even another player in a MMO, it's often because I invested the hours grinding levels and farming materials to make the armor or weapons that give me an advantage over my opponent. The determining factor of the kill wasn't skill, it was time.
To be fair, PvP does tend to require more skill than PvE. When I used to play the WoW battlegrounds with my level 48 Dwarf Hunter, I had to focus if I wanted to win.
Still, shooter and strategy games tend to offer greater challenges, in terms of skill.
Now, in the interest of full disclosure: I am often tempted to play a MMO and sign up for most MMO betas I find. I simultaneously hope for and fear the day that a developer takes the next big step in MMO design and draws me back to MMOs.
There are a lot of great times to be had in MMOs. Persistent worlds, thousands of players running through the same city, the planning of and achievement of long-term goals, a simple interface to interact with guild/clan members--no other genre offers these features.
In other words, if you're looking for certain gaming experiences, you're only going to find them in MMOs.
The question remains: Are you willing or able to invest the time required to earn those experiences?
Right now, my answer is "no." It may change in the future. It probably won't.
Nevertheless, for gamers who prefer MMOs and are able to balance MMO play and "real life" responsibilities, I say: Go for it. Enjoy it. Play in such a way as to glorify God.
For those who prefer other genres: Cut the MMO players a break.
For every "Chuknoris" running through Ironforge in his underwear and screaming about Scientology, there's at least a few gamers who blend into the game.
I should know. I was one of them.
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