MMOs are supposed to be massive as the name implies. Not only do they bring in extraordinary revenue numbers every single year, but the games themselves feature millions and millions of unique players each month. Below, we will be going over some of the things that make for the best MMOs.
The Theme.
One of the main things that an MMO need is a theme. A central theme that engulfs the user into the world is key to getting people really into the MMO. You need to have an overarching theme that is going to set the user in a world that they will be able to explore on their own. This is one of the best ways to lock someone into a game because it gets them more interested in finding more about the environment and the world they are interacting with. Getting someone into the game requires getting them closely involved with the inner workings of the entire world. This is what World of Warcraft has done so well. They have a central theme that allows the user to really feel like they are apart of something bigger. It has a charming world that got so many people interested in the world and unique environment that it has had expansion after expansion and was even developed into a commercially successful movie franchise.
Free to Play or Subscription Model.
A successful MMO needs to either have a free to play or subscription based model that allows people to get into the game at a lower entry cost than a traditional game. That way, it will enable them to get immersed in the game without having to pay a full $60 for the game in the first place. The reason why this is such a good model for developers is that they can continue to make money off of the same assets year after year. Instead of redeveloping a different game from scratch which has tremendous development costs associated with it, they are tasked with adding to the world they initially created. And instead of buying a brand new game yearly or bi-annually, customers and users are simply tasked with buying expansions of the game that add to the original gameplay. Also, this enables them to use the characters they may have spent countless hours and dollars upgrading and customizing. Without a subscription-based model, the developers would likely need to release brand new games yearly in order to make up the development costs which can really put a dent in an MMO’s successful strategy of getting the player completely immersed in the world and into the character they have been building for years.
Complexity and Character Progression.
Along with a model that allows for players to get involved with the game for a low cost, a successful MMO needs to have a good amount of complexity and character progression. Without character progression, no one is going to want to continue to ‘grind’ or work on the character of the set game. After all, why would they continue exploring a world and doing things in a world where they are not getting properly rewarded for it. The game itself needs to have a good amount of character progression which keeps players coming back in order to further enhance their characters and add to their characters in a way that is going to satisfy their needs. This is the type of ‘carrot on a stick’ approach that will keep players coming back to the game.
PVP in the game.
Successful MMOs will also have feature-rich PVP modes which allow players to use their leveled up characters to play against other users in the same world. This is crucial because it gives people a reason to continue to come back to level up their own characters. To be able to good in PvP, you will need a very good MMO mouse. Without this type of reward, someone might get bored out of leveling up their character and working on their character. Having a competitive mode will satisfy those that are very competitive and those that want to strive to be the best. This is something that a majority of the successful MMOs on the market have done in order to keep people interested in the game for long periods of time.
Overall, an MMO is a massive game that needs to get users immersed in the environment and the world they set. By doing this, the person that plays the game is going to be much more willing to go back to the game continues to explore and learn more about the world and its characters. Along with this, it needs to have a free to play or subscription based model instead of a yearly or bi-annual release of a new game. Lastly, it needs to feature some type of competitive mode which allows users to pin their leveled up characters against other users to fulfill their competitive needs.
