Advancement, desperation, adventuring, grinding. In the end, it all boils down to a simple question: What would you do for a Ding? Forget Klondike Bars, this is the motivation we all face in MMOGs, though over the years it has appeared in many ways. In this article, I’ll try to define why exactly the sense of progression is so important for character-driven games, what has been done regarding it in the past, and what we will be looking forward to in the future.
Origins
Ever since the original D&D was established, levels have been a strong factor in character-driven RPGs. Indeed the entire notion derives from our day to day life. Do we start out the best at what we pursue? No. We practice, define and hone our skills and knowledge, and therefore so must our characters. In more traditional RPGs this has been translated into one rough commodity: experience points. Since character levels traditionally deal with combat ability, we gain exp primarily from fighting various foes in the world. Other skills may factor into this, such as weapon proficiency or spell knowledge, but ultimately when it comes down to it, levels are everything.
Why do we need levels? One main reason is that perhaps we need mile-markers along the way to keep us on track. Regardless of having levels or not, there will always be two basic factors: the beginning and the end. Considering there is always a maximum, there will always be a middle, a quarter and other sections. Without levels, we would still place markers for ourselves. If we’re halfway to the maximum, why not just say 25 out of 50? This leads to another major factor in progression: the curve. Is it not true that our personal knowledge starts at a breakneck speed and slows down as we learn more and more? In our first several years of life, we learn an incredible amount about the world and its inhabitants (whether that knowledge is conscious or not). Compare that to what one might learn as they hone their skills for use in the adult world, and it’s easy to see that what we learn as a child comes exponentially faster than it does as an adult. The only thing missing from this scenario is knowledge of when the end occurs.
The First Generation - Past
Before I risk getting too esoteric in my comparisons, let’s bring things back to games. In 1st generation MMORPGs such as EverQuest or Final Fantasy XI, characters would usually find themselves placed at the beginning of a long steep leveling curve. Leveling became our primary directive. We would gear up and dive straight into the killing fields, keeping our HP high and our foes’ low. At some point, the mobs became too much for us to handle on our own and we formed parties with other adventurers, all in the name of progression. Neither rhyme nor reason seemed to grasp our priorities, as the reason we went into the dark to face the dangerous was to be rewarded with experience and eventually the all-gratifying Ding. These were often not matters of physical progression, however. Once finding the “sweet spot” of a particular area, one only needed to draw mobs to the group’s location for the killing to commence and the experience to flow. This often provided a sense of monotonous grinding to those that paid attention to it. But our friendships and conversations were what kept us going through the night.
The Second Generation - Present
Enter the 2nd generation of MMORPGs, ushered in for the most part by World of Warcraft and EverQuest II. Players disgruntled with The Grind were what shaped a great deal of solutions presented in these recent excursions. Driven by the elusive Ding, we wanted to level more often to feel gratified by our work. A swifter leveling curve was a common addition to these games. People also wanted to stay close in levels to our hardcore grinding friends, being rewarded for playing less often. A rest system was created, earning the player bonus experience points during their offline time. We also wanted to lose the monotony of gaining exp and staying in a single spot for hours. Quests, until this point a background operation of progression, became the forefront of leveling options. Offering massive amounts of experience, a new method of grinding rose from the olds’ ashes. Dungeons became not simply holes to grind in, but progressive efforts that players would enter not for the experience, but for the rewards and quests. Players were also tired of needing perfect groups to advance, instead requesting the ability to solo at all levels.
There have been both positive and negative connotations associated with all the changes presented in the 2nd generation of MMORPGs. With players leveling at lightning speed without the hindering need to form groups, content was devoured at an alarming rate. Without the necessity of having a group to progress, people asked themselves why do so at all? The Massively Multiplayer aspect of MMOs had been reduced to simply dungeons. On the other hand, the concept of the dungeon became what it has and should be: a progression. Without the need to sit and grind, groups formed to tackle the dungeons in a more wandering fashion instead of sitting in one place and grinding for hours on end.
The Third Generation - Future
With the 3rd generation of MMORPGs on the horizon, developers and players have had the chance to experience both extreme ends of progression and decide what’s best for their game. As Brad McQuaid and fans have discussed recently on Vanguard’s official forums, the true solution is finding a middle ground between the two extremes. Progression should be meaningful yet also natural. Dungeons should also retain the physical advancement, unfolding as rather massive constructs that don’t need to be instanced. The leveling curve will be slowing down, but an example of “smaller carrots, more often” will be used as the concept of keeping players interested yet not giving in to the grind mentality. Players will not be encouraged to log off to gain bonus exp, but instead allowed to stick with friends indefinitely and share their spoils if they are generous enough to do so via the caravan and fellowship systems.
The future is indeed looking bright for meeting players halfway on issues that have had solutions attempted on both sides of the scale. Will it be satisfactory and enjoyable? At the moment only time can tell, but until then we must resort to grinding away the days and months until the developers shout out “Ding!” to the awaiting onslaught of fans. Hopefully we will have more to say than simply “gratz.”
