10 Reasons To Make An MMOPG

After listening to the presentation about why NOT to make an MMOPG, one would feel depressed I guess, but then being a marketer, one of the earlier lessons we learned was how it turn weakness or threats into strength and opportunities, as is the case with this situation. Though these sound like serious disadvantages, hidden gems and silver linings are concealed within!

Q1) Too many are being built?
A1) True, so the trick is to build an MMOPG that provides a unique, different experience, yet still provide he fun factor. I.e Lord of the Ring has been "complimented" as being a good copy of World of War Craft, due to similar gameplay mechanics, plus there is a whole slew of fantasy based MMOPGs like runescape, Everquest, Ultima Online etc. yet we see games like Second Life (a litertal virtual life in the modern world), The sims online, Hellsgate ( An FPS/action based MMORPG compared to the more "stats" based MMORPGs", Guild Wars, which uses a unique payment model (buy the game, play for free for life), and Maple Story (bucking the trend by going back to 2D, using cute sprites), who have all gathered millions of players despite the alleged crowded market, and you see the solution.

No matter how crowded it gets, if you stand out and people like it, its not a problem.

Q2) Mastery of many disciplines
A2) Again it is not a problem, but as it helps identify what the priorities are. Yes needing so many resource can be a money pit, but it forces companies to identify really where they should really spend their resource, and make an effort to put the most manpower/money/resources in that direction. Other than backend which is really the most important to ensure a smooth experience for the players, do you want to focus on graphics? sound? cutscenes? physics? Are all of these REALLY necessary to make the game good? i.e. Maple Story has NO cutscenes, simple music and sound effects, no physics, and apparently not much is spent on story writing based don what I played so far, yet it allegedly has 20 million players playing it world wide..... all because they chose to focus on making their graphics cute.

Even if making a game requires many disciplines, knowing what to actually spend the cash on makes it more attainable.

Q3) Huge team required
A3) This is not necessarily true. For example, according to a recent article in PCG about why Star Craft II is taking so long to come out, the core team behind Blizzard's Diablo, Warcraft and Starcraft consists of 39 key people ONLY. The rest of the resources are really hired hands, contracted staff or maybe even interns, carefully directed by the core team to accomplish their brilliant games.

Huge teams MAY be required, but it is not compulsory, and even when it is, as long as one can control it properly, is not a problem as long as the group dynamics are good.

Q4) Getting Credit Cards from customers is hard
A4) This is easily accomplished by providing customers an easy form of alternate payments. I.e. if they do not want their bank account directly linked to the game company, get them to use 3rd party payment solutions like paypal which also offers re-curing transactions. Making payments very simple or easy can make renewals almost as hassle free as having their credit card details directly, i.e. sending messages (email or ingame) to remind them their subscription is coming up, and give them some slight bonuses for renewal. Or even if "top up cards" are used, ensure that distribution is wide enough. Maple cards in Singapore for example are sold in all 7-eleven outlets, comic connection stores, and lan shops, and even various hobby stores islandwide, making the task of getting the card simple.

Even without credit cards, one can still make money off gamers.

Q5) Counter productive to Packaged goods mentality
A5) One may say that its so troublesome to provide frequent content compared to retail standalone games, but then reversely, you only get ONE instance of income, when the game is initially sold! With online games, one keeps paying for monthly subscriptions, or even micro transactions to enhance game play. And it works. In fact standalone games via XboxLive are starting to offer new content for their games via microtransactions, the most well-known being Oblivion with new game quests and features, and even sportsgames with more teams and play fields.

If your game is good, and the content is worth paying for, people will pay. Again and again and again!

Q6) Everything you know about the online game is wrong, RPGs are the worst way to make online games
A6) Theoratically it sounds fair, since RPGs are meant to provide players with a sense of importance and the internet removes any true sense of discovery.... but people LIKE to play it that way! Look at war craft, which seemingly breaks every rule (homogeneous characters at high levels, no true secrets due to active forums, hard to make an impact among millions of players worldwide) yet people are STILL playing.

Maybe this IS the correct world to roleplay. After all, roleplaying is to act out a role. Just as in real life when the player is but a cog in the big scheme of things and may not be very significant, it might be brought into the game as well, yet in the game we are able to accomplish MUCH more. So what if we are not the sole saviours of the world? we are happy with what we are doing.

Q7) Internet sucks as a content provider
A7) If that is the case, as mentioned in Q3, it is important to prioritize the efforts of the game development, in this case making sure the game runs as smoothly as possible on ANY connection, and to have a good customer support and PR in case of the still inevitable hiccups.

Technical wise, Guild Wars is fully 3D, with many graphical eye candy and can still support a relatively lag-free experience through a 56K modem through instanced events. The game development considered this issue big enough to build the the gameplay around it, and I feel they made the right decision. Also by trying to proactively help players when problems STILL occur lets your other services stand out as well.

Q8) Customer service is hard
A8) Police the environment, keep track of customer feedback, integrate new features where possible to keep customers happy. Just like in any service industry, these concepts can be similarly applied to keep customers happy. Of course with millions of potential customers worldwide it is impossible to keep EVERYONE happy, but with active participation in the forums and engaging players in dialogue, one knows a good general direction to go to make most people happy. And happy customers are paying customers.

Q9) Legal issues abound
A9) This is the same with every game and in fact product, but sometimes bad publicity is still publicity. Look at GTA/Rockstar studios. In fact even though they get used/complained by watch groups frequently (In fact Manhunt 2 faces a ban or at least an adult rating in most countries), they are still going strong, and this increased publicity makes people stand up and take note of them! When Jack Thompson raises a furor in the media about those violent games, he might as well have given them a free advertisement slot in all the news networks at the same time!

Q10) Too much money to launch and build:
A10) Thats where publishers are for. To bankroll the initial costs. In fact publishers (for now) still seem to think MMORPOGs are the holy grail, so getting them to bankroll an MMORPG could be easier if they like your idea, compared if you pitched the same concept as a single player game. Thats why the pitch to the publishers is so important. The resources to launch and build ARE available, if you have a good, feasible, attractive idea to back it up with.

There are many more possible points, like wanting to build a totally new different world because I know it CAN be done, and wanting to really re-vitalize the MMOPG scene in a new direction, but these 10 counterpoints to the supposed pitfalls show that getting an MMOPG in the market is not as bad ass it sounds. In fact, it looks rosy, IF you play the cards right.