I recently had the discussion with a friend of mine about this issue, which I’ve decided to blog here.. It all started with this statement: “Role-playing is viewed as undesirable by the vast majority in current-gen MMORPG games.” You might ask me why do I suppose that is? Well of course, I’ll tell you …while there’s no simply one-off answer, part of it is due to drastic changes in the social-environment as far as what is “expected” and what is “accepted” behavior in the game.

For example:

• Out-of-Character chat has completely replaced in-character conversation in all chat channels, with few exceptions.
• There seems to be a misconception that the fun in MMORPG games is at the “end-game” (another misconception altogether since there is never truly an “end” to an MMORPG) and as a result, these players burn through a content like a California wildfire, giving no mind to what they’re missing in the rush.. and instead, believing what they’re doing to be “progression”.

Also at fault is a real lack of immersion at the heart of current-gen MMORPGs, which is somewhat ironic considering we’ve seen developers discussing this for some time now. This is something that I expect to touch upon quite often, as it’s one of those things that really seem to be “easier said than done”, but I have more than a few ideas of how to pull more players “into the world”.. so let’s start right off into one of them, shall we?

Players can change the world..

I recognize that there is a balance between a world simulation and a game, but what if two were really intertwined and dependent upon each other? What if “factions” actually meant more than whether or not an NPC will aggro on you as you get within it’s perception radius? I’m talking full-on Faction vs. Faction, PvP here, and not just regarding combat either! There should be dynamic trade rules, quests involving tasks for the good of the kingdom (or the detriment of the other), land disputes, and other real dynamic world-changing events.

Players should be given a multitude of ways that directly impact the world.. Circular rulesets with a variety of world effects that are prominently visible and storyline driven. Sort of a “choose your own adventure” to the Nth degree.. The various types of impact for a set of events could be player-impacting, guild-impacting, city-impacting, faction-impacting, server-impacting, and world-impacting. The goal is of course the carrot dangling on the stick, but really allow in addition, a mechanism for world change, to keep the overall patterns of the game fresh and familiar, yet open-ended to introduce elements that are completely unexpected. “Expansions” would no longer need to involve additional landmass in order to introduce new experiences. The world itself would bend and flex to reflect that point in the “history” of the world.

Let’s take that up a notch.. So, PvP makes you worry about getting ganked by an assassin of an opposing faction every time you turn the corner? Maybe you worry about the asshat griefer types that camp player spawns and newbie yards, just because they find joy in pissing everybody off? Well, let’s bend this in our favor a bit. First of all, forget “Terms of Use” and the like for regulating in-game behavior. Instead, create a series of in-game “laws” that apply to various kingdoms or nations.. Make them common knowledge and accessible as part of the learning process of the game. Want to make it even more interesting? Have different “laws” (rule-sets) for different territories, and even include some areas of anarchy and lawlessness.. There could potentially be an outlaw faction all by itself! Oh the possibilities are endless..

But wait! Let’s not stop there..

Laws by themselves are just words on a piece of parchment.. to be effective, they must be enforced! Remember back in the days of UO where you could be attacked in town by anybody, but you could easily shout “GUARDS!” to have them come to your rescue (assuming you were within their jurisdiction)? Same idea, but not only players can call the guards, but NPCs as well.. Instead of killing the offending player, they get locked into an actual prison cell for a short time where they are presented with a number of choices depending on the nature of the offense.

They could:
- Serve out their time (maybe 20-30 minutes of in-game time).
- Call in a “favor” from an outlaw NPC (limited, and only if certain quests were completed for that faction) to get broken out of prison.
- Attempt to break out yourself
- Attempt to convince the guard to let you out
.. maybe other options as well, these are just initial thoughts

Various penalty options (with varying degrees depending on severity of offense and number of total offenses):
- Prison time (in-game time only)
- “Probation” time where any violations are automatically “witnessed” and you are thrown in jail immediately, must check “weapons” at gate before entering town
- Loss of faction, NPC vendors won’t sell to you or will charge much more for items
- Magic debuff for a lengthy period of time

The bottom line..

Role-playing a fantastic and really fun, but it only works if your player really feels immersed in the world and can play the “role” of their character. It’s simply a fact that you’re going to have griefer types and players not really interested in roleplaying in your MMORPG game. The challenge is to design and implement rules/enforcement in such a way that the players end up participating in the world/game itself whether intentional or not. Players might learn their part in the world based on their actions, or they might not, but either way, they participate. Note: Their “role” is not their “class”.

Tip the scale of World vs. Game back over to the side of “World” a bit from what we have now, but really blur the line too. Go for smaller, more dynamic worlds, with clear player impact.. reduce out-of-character influence as much as possible (while recognizing that it is inevitable to a certain extent). Adventuring in both PvE and PvP environments without a purpose, or a part to play in the overarching storyline, is pointless and quite frankly, very boring.. Lead them to purpose in the way that they want to play.. showing players how their decisions can affect the world in a positive manner, or holding them accountable in the world when negative actions are taken. No matter what, the ideas is that every player should have a role in the world defined merely by their choices. Whether they have “class” or not, is a decision in and of itself. =)