Thursday 22 March 2007

Scott Miller about WoW (2006)





Game Matters

The REAL secret to WoW's success?



I haven't played since hitting level 60, over a year ago. But I'm certainly anticipating The Burning Crusade, simply because it raises the level cap to 70. I'm expecting those new ten levels will take 80+ hours or longer of actual quest time. I hope so at least. Because once I slam into 70, I will deactivate my account, putting my character into cryogenic sleep again until the level cap is raised again.



There's one overriding reason I played WoW, while I never played previous MMOs: I could solo all the way to the top. Not once did I group to enter an instance. Occasionally I grouped with players in the same area doing the same quest, and occasionally with a friend to share a quest, but 95 percent of my experience was as a solo player. And that's how I prefer it. I like to be able to jump into the game and play without waiting to form a group, getting right down to the business of fun.



People might ask, why not just stick with single-player games then, like Oblivion or Titan Quest? Why bother with MMOs? Simple answer: I love being in a game world populated by other real people. It makes the world seem that much more real and alive.



I've heard that WoW is the first major MMO that lets players solo from bottom to top. I asked this question to peers before I bought the game, and I was assured I could do it. Otherwise, I would have never played the game. I strongly suspect that many people feel the same way I do about this.



So, if you're working on an MMO that does not allow soloing the whole way up the level ladder, IMO you've seriously crippled your chance to create a WoW-like success in this market. MMOs are social games, yes, but not necessarily are they for people who like group play.
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