To incorporate the differences

So how can crafting be made both more accurate and more enjoyable? The first step is to break from the fundamental system that currently exists. Most recent MMO crafting systems are gross imitations of what already has been established in previous games with only minor tweaking to make it supposedly new. For one possible change, let's step once again into history and look at societal roles. In the pre-medieval days of Celtic and Germanic tribes, the warrior was also a farmer but this combination disappeared with the feudal system. Instead, warriors became a distinctive class to whom peasants turned for protection in exchange for subservience. If such is the case, it makes little sense for a player character in a medieval setting to be both a warrior and a tradesman. The concept of the weekend warrior had disappeared by the Middle Ages and would not return for centuries.

To incorporate the differences between the martial and non-martial classes, players should be able to hire their own NPC vassals to serve as their tradesmen. These tradesmen could work while the player actually "plays" the game, removing the tedium. From time to time, the player returns to his fief to assign orders, oversee the requisition of provisions, and determine the disposition of what has been produced whether that be utilizing the crafted merchandise, selling it, trading it, or scraping it. A player could have several tradesmen working for him such as miners, foresters, and farmers to gather the resources and smiths, woodsmen, and cooks to craft from what is collected. So instead of being in proficient in two or three skills themselves, a player more realistically has two or three skilled vassals who perform those tasks for him. Tradesmen could gain skill either as the player levels and/or as they utilize their craft. One possibility is to link them to an account rather than to a specific character.

Of course this is but one idea of many. For most players, trade skills are a nice addition to the gaming experience but we'd rather not quit our adventuring "day job" for long hours at a time to keep up on crafting. Trade skills are generally time consuming, tedious, and devoid of player skill when they should be enjoyable, not just for the rewards they offer at the end of the hard work, but because the hard work is fun in and of itself.

Last time we began our look at how stories are dying in games. Stories occur on two levels in MMOs, the global and personal. I began our investigation of the global story by arriving at two conclusions about what's necessary for players to feel like they are the part of such a tale. First, players must be able to see and feel changes occur around them. Second, players need to be a source of permanent and long term change. The only aspect of gaming that currently is exploring this concept is PvP. While advances in PvP are promising so far, this focus has neglected the numerous other aspects of MMO gaming. If "war is the continuation of politics by other means" doesn't that suggest deeper potential actions behind the current pre-arranged conflicts? If "the pen is mightier than the sword" then why are players only able to use swords? The answer is that the devs won't let go of the pen.

12:08 - 2008-Dec-29