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The Soapbox: The problem with power creep and progression
We've all seen it. You might not have put a name to it, but it's there. As MMOs get older, certain dungeons become obsolete. Or maybe that fantastic top-level gear you once had to have is completely worthless now and isn't even in normal gear progression anymore. That is power creep, the phenomenon by which content becomes completely worthless as a game ages. I can't imagine being on the developer's side when power creep starts rearing its ugly head. All that time a developer spent sculpting the content to be the perfect match of mechanics and story becomes wasted. Power creep can't be avoided, right? Developers have to make new content to keep people interested in the game. And themepark games have to have a linear progression, right? We also don't want the disparity between the new players and the old players to be too great because it will discourage population growth. Then how in the world do we stop this never-ending cycle? How do we keep MMO progression fun and interesting without content falling off the end of the treadmill?
The Perfect Ten: Clever ideas
I'm a sucker for a good, clever idea. You know the type: the ideas that make you slap yourself on the forehead and shout, "Why didn't I think of that first?" Or for the less humble of us out there, "Why, I did think of that first! But I got lost on the way to the patent office and I'm pretty sure that someone stole my dream journal to pilfer my genius notions!" While critics point their fingers at the MMO industry and proclaim it a barren wasteland of innovation, there are quite a few awesome -- if small -- ideas that bubble up in MMO and move the genre forward. Maybe they're teeny-tiny baby steps; maybe they're giant hopscotch leaps over the six-spot with the rock in the middle. But these ideas can and have had the power to change how these games are made and played. So this week I'm saluting 10 clever ideas, both large and diminutive, as a reward for a job well done!
