The recent post on Power Creep (The DBZ Effect) sparked a fair amount of discussion and it deserves to be revisited. One thing mentioned in the comments that I will discuss in much more detail later is the issue of why people play that Matt M brought up. This question is very important to whether power creep is a problem, but I can't adequately address it in this post.
The basic idea of power creep is as an MMO progresses and new content is added, the cap between new players and the top tier increases. This is entirely natural as veterans demand new content. The problem is this increases the barrier to entry of the game though increased time required to be able to play at the top level.
One solution is what Magic: the Gathering uses: restart the game every so often. (Actually this is what all games did before the advent of the MMO.) Using this there is no gap in availability of items or character level, but veteran experience still matters through play skills instead of in-game statistics. This model definitely is feasible as evidenced by the Diablo II ladder system which resets every so often. (FoolHardy1729) This solution does not work for all player types though. Consider someone like Matt M who has emotional investment in the character. Constantly making a new character takes some of the fun out of the game. Resetting the game is geared for players who are mostly interested in testing their mastery of the game.
Another solution is shortening the time between the beginning and end of the game in response to new content. This is the approach that WOW has taken. This solution has the benefit of players keeping their characters and new players take as long as veterans took to reach the top. There are three issues with this plan that I can see. The first is this sort of change is fairly invisible to the untrained eye (new player), so whether they will see that the barrier to entry has not changed is ambiguous. Though this is a minor quibble,. The people who will notice this change in speed are the veterans who could conceivable be annoyed that their effort is worth less due to the new system. The final problem is subtler, by packing everyone near the top through increased speed, there will be a bigger competition for any marginal improvement in statistics. Players want to stand above their piers even if only by a mole hill's amount. This solution exacerbates the already present phenomenon of exponential price increases for the same marginal stat bonus.
I think that the fundamental problem is players are essentially driven by their statistics, which are just a bunch of numbers. In essence players are looking for how to have the highest set of numbers. One way to combat this is to simply add new systems to the game. This way, the old and new players start on the same footing in the new system, which the old players still have their area which they dominate new players. This is analogous to specialization and creating new markets. Everyone has a level, or at least more level, playing field and new entrants can specialize in the new product, which the established players keep their power in the old market. The trick from the game design perspective is how to add a new system in a balanced manner so that it is relevant, but not so that everyone must switch or be completely left behind. The other concern is this solution does not preclude increasing the potency of players in old systems, so power creep could still enter. Though is gives added valves to mitigate its consequences.
WoW has also used the "new systems" approach you described, by adding new classes, and to a lesser extent, new races. Veterans who want to play one of these new classes have to "roll a new toon" and start at level 1 just like newbies. But, as you mentioned with M:TG, veterans have the worldly knowledge which still gives them an edge---they can level their new characters faster since they know where to go, what to do, etc. Also, they have already experienced most or all of the content, and so they don't need to read quest lore, etc.
ReplyDeleteAnd, just as you mentioned, whenever they add a new class, it is massive work to maintain balance with the existing classes, and there is never-ending whining among players about this or that ability being nerfed. Just as in real world technological development, it is difficult to add a new class, or new 'system', without disrupting the existing equilibrium. This will inevitably make some players unhappy.
I wasn't thinking of new classes and races as new systems. They are more new pieces of old systems. Adding them to a game is more like adding a new mousetrap rather than something completely different like and iPad. The essential issue is new races and classes don't really add new activities to the game, they simply let you do the same things in new ways.
ReplyDeleteWOW adding new professions is more what I was thinking of. With these players have new things to do and more reason to specialize and trade. The example I was thinking of was EVE Online adding the ability to salvage wrecks a few years back. This created entirely new professions of salvagers and those who build things from the salvage. This creates an entirely new market.
I admit that it is hard to fully separate these two types of additions, but I think that the essential differentiating factor is whether the addition is competing in an already existing market or creates a new market in game. Unlike the real world I think that those that compete in an existing market have far more potential to cause a degenerate equilibrium. This is due to the tendency of people to add more powerful things to the game, which can disrupt class balance. But in the real world it is very hard for a new fast food chain to run McDonands, Burger King, or Wendy's out of business.