Friday, October 8, 2010

5‭ ‬Ways To Change Your MMO

5‭ ‬Ways To Change Your MMO

by Ron Keith

If you were the great MMO god on-high,‭ ‬the lord arbiter of your virtual world,‭ ‬what would you change‭?

If only,‭ ‬huh‭? ‬If only you got to make the decisions about what to fix and what to add to your MMO...‭ ‬Just for one day.‭ ‬Well,‭ ‬maybe a month or two.‭ ‬Wouldn't that be awesome‭?

You've got a list.‭ ‬Everyone who plays an MMO has one of those lists.‭ ‬There are more than a few things you'd like to change.

It's the nature of gods and humans:‭ ‬You want to remake things in your image.‭ ‬Whether it's school,‭ ‬work,‭ ‬or MMOs,‭ ‬you want to pick up the Promethean clay and mold your own creation.‭ ‬If‭ ‬you were in charge of the universe you certainly wouldn't make something as ridiculous as a duck-billed platypus,‭ ‬would you‭?

But you're probably not in charge.‭ ‬You're probably not a decision maker.‭ ‬You probably feel like just another voice lost in the cacophony of the teeming masses.‭ ‬No one except your buddies on Vent hear what you have to say.‭ ‬You've got all these great ideas for this MMO you love,‭ ‬all these great ways to make it better.‭

How can you get your ideas heard‭? ‬How can you change your MMO‭?

1.‭ ‬Be active in the official forums.‭
‬If you want to change your MMO,‭ ‬if you want to get your ideas out there to the community,‭ ‬you have to start somewhere.‭ ‬And there's no better place than your MMO's forums.

In the forums,‭ ‬you can talk about anything that concerns you‭ – ‬class problems,‭ ‬combat,‭ ‬dungeons‭ – ‬whatever is on your mind.‭ ‬Don't bother with the secondary forums,‭ ‬though,‭ ‬such as the Curse network forums‭ – ‬you'll just be part of the noise in those forums.‭ ‬Use the official game forums.‭

Sure,‭ ‬the official forums usually aren't as much fun‭ – ‬they're tend to be more restrictive‭ (‬Sorry,‭ ‬no boob pictures.‭)‬,‭ ‬but it's the MMO's forums,‭ ‬the‭ ‬official‭ ‬forums.‭ ‬That means the designers and developers are more likely to be reading those forums.‭ ‬Some MMOs actually have developer forums,‭ ‬where developers actually respond to players.‭ ‬Unless you get their cell number,‭ ‬it doesn't get much more direct than that.‭ 

2.‭ ‬Use the in-game support.
In-game support varies greatly from MMO to MMO.‭ ‬Some games have actual game masters who will talk to you about problems,‭ ‬some have an in-game reporting mechanism,‭ ‬and some have slightly less than nothing.‭

If your game has in-game support,‭ ‬it's a good way to alert the developers to bugs,‭ ‬exploits,‭ ‬and,‭ ‬even,‭ ‬cheating‭ (‬Cheating in MMOs‭? ‬That's absurd.‭) ‬that might be undermining their game.‭ ‬Use it.‭ ‬Don't rely on someone else to report problems you discover.‭

An MMO's support can be fantastic,‭ ‬so-so,‭ ‬or it can suck.‭ ‬If it's fantastic,‭ ‬definitely use it.‭ ‬If it's so-so,‭ ‬it's your call.‭ ‬If it sucks,‭ ‬don't waste your time.‭

How do you know if your MMO's support sucks‭? ‬Do you wait days for a response‭? ‬Do you get a form letter response to all your problem reports‭? ‬If so,‭ ‬their support sucks.‭ ‬Don't waste your time reporting problems this way.‭

3.‭ ‬Volunteer for the test server.
Want to have a direct impact on changes to your MMO‭? ‬Sign up for the test server.

Nearly every MMO has a test server where upgrades and patches are first tested before they go live.‭ ‬Normal players like you are usually the guinea pigs.‭ ‬All you have to do is sign up for this server and you become a full-fledged tester for your MMO.‭ ‬Your feedback about the patches,‭ ‬expansions,‭ ‬and upgrades goes directly to the developers.

Perhaps more than any other way,‭ ‬participating on the beta server will have a direct impact on the future of your game.

4.‭ ‬Respond to producer updates and posts.
Many of the producers and lead designers of MMOs post regularly on their game's website.‭ ‬These posts take varying forms,‭ ‬from ongoing blog posts to just informational letters.‭ ‬In many cases you can even post your own replies to these producer updates either directly or in the forums.‭ ‬Do it.‭ ‬Give the producers your feedback.‭ ‬Let them know what you think.‭

Do you think the producers don't read your comments‭?  ‬Ask yourself this:‭  ‬If you post something in the forums,‭ ‬do you go back and read responses to your post‭? ‬Hah‭! ‬Of course you do and so do they.‭ ‬They're just as interested in what people are saying about what they're saying.‭

5.‭ ‬Organize in-game events.
‬Okay,‭ ‬this one's a little tougher and is going to take a bit more effort on your part,‭ ‬but it might be worth it.‭ ‬Let's face it,‭ ‬sometimes the designer events are pretty lame.‭ ‬Yeah,‭ ‬yeah,‭ ‬go hunt the rabbit eggs.‭ ‬Done that.‭ ‬Been there.‭ ‬Got the t-shirt.

So organize your own events.‭ ‬What sort of events‭? MMOs give you so much leeway the choices are almost endless.‭ ‬You can have competitions to see which parties can run a dungeon the fastest.‭ ‬Who can get the best loot in a‭ ‬24‭ ‬hour period‭? ‬Who can kill the most opposing players in a day‭? ‬Who's the best duelist‭? ‬There are plenty of choices.‭

Advertise your event in the forums,‭ ‬talk it up in region chat,‭ ‬and you'll be surprised how many people you can get to show up for an impromptu event.‭

In Warhammer:‭ ‬Age of Reckoning,‭ ‬for instance,‭ ‬there's no dueling system‭ (‬Yes,‭ ‬quite strange for a PvP/RvR game.‭)‬,‭ ‬yet,‭ ‬players regularly organize their own duels.‭ ‬They get around the lack of a dueling system by meeting up in the RvR areas and just having one-on-one fights.‭ ‬These events are advertised in the forums and lots of people show up for them.‭

If you start organizing events and you get lots of participants,‭ ‬developers might take notice.‭ ‬Maybe they'll have similar events or change the game to accommodate your event's style of gameplay.‭ ‬Even if they don't you're still playing the game the way you want it to be played.‭

Bottom line:‭ ‬Get involved‭! ‬Nothing is going to change in your MMO,‭ ‬no one is going to hear your suggestions,‭ ‬unless you get involved.‭

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