Alone Together

[Virgil]

PlayOn has been collecting data for a while now, and Nicolas Ducheneaut posted a very interesting analysis on Terra Nova [http://terranova.blogs.com/terra_nova/2006/02/alone_together_.html]. It basically concludes that most players in WoW tend to spend most of their time alone, playing through the game as a single-player RPG set in a social space. It also has another very interesting stat, that 17% of all guilds seen in the game have only one member, on average they only have nine, and they are not typically very close groups.

Is this an aberration? I don't think so - my own play experiences tend to match up with the same stats. In any MMO, even when friends are online, I still tend to spend most of my time doing things solo. We all do our own thing, joined by a chat channel, and get together occasionally to do bigger things or when help is required.

What does this say of the current WoW design decisions though - the bulk of added content has been aimed at large, forced-grouping situations. If, as the article postulates, one of the major reasons that people pick up on and enjoy WoW is the solo-play in a social environment, these same players will be the ones that drop out when they reach the point where the content no longer supports that play style. Should MMO developers be focusing more on designs that require less direct socialization, instead of more?

 

[Virgil]

Original Comment by: Sean

What would be interesting to see is what percentage of players actually participate in those large-group quests. My sister plays a lot but she stays away from guilds after the one she was in imploded around her. Like you said, she plays mostly solo, connected through a chat with other people in case anyone needs help, but that's it.

 

[Virgil]

Original Comment by: bishop
http://www.mhogaming.com
Good observation! I only wish life after the level cap isn't so traditional.

While many like me don't have the time to grind through levels anymore. Something has to be said about the bonds formed in older MMORPGs because of this grind.

 

[Virgil]

I agree Sean - Nic posted in the comment thread on the article that they're planning on running the same sort of stats only for the highest level players. I would love to see separate sets for levels 1-55 and 55-60. I suspect that the demographics would be significantly different at that point - most solo-preferring players would have either caved to game design pressures, rolled up new characters, or left.

 

[Virgil]

Original Comment by: Craig
http://projectperko.blogspot.com
There's two different kinds of social interactions: direct and indirect. For example, many players frequent the forums. Many players use the player economy. Most players are affected by the mood of seeing other live players running around. These are examples of social interactions which don't require you to be teamed up.

I have a feeling nearly all players benefit from indirect social interactions, don't you?

Longer post on the subject here [http://projectperko.blogspot.com/2006/02/whats-socialization.html].

 

[Virgil]

Certainly. I don't think players choosing to play solo says anything in particular about them or the game not being social, or that they want a single-player game. It just says that they prefer their social experience to be one of convenience over necessity. It's a lot more convenient to play solo and have your primary social contact be through chat and other functions than it is to go through the effort of actually teaming up with other players - even if the game is ideal for it, the human factor alone (get a drink, wait for friend, etc...) can make it an inconvenience.

 

[Virgil]

Original Comment by: Tri
http://www.gamereplays.org
I found that when I played MMO (Phantasy star online, Star Wars Galaxies, Guild Wars) games that I would reject most players because I could not depend on them just like in any other online game genera unless I was helping that player out as a very advanced profile or a veteran of the game. So I end up leeching off high level players helping me out or who are going over an area again for whatever reason or in the case of Guild Wars just using the bots after people would refuse to follow my orders even if it was first time in that area. I don?t care about how long I have to wait but it seems to me that many people can?t come up with a system for exploiting the artificial, well really just lack of intelligence. So I don?t need to waste time on those who are unwilling to adapt because the effort becomes futile and frustrating when the friendly AI always casts Lava Storm of Doom 5.0 and Fountain of Youth along with a friendly AI Tank-like character with the sword of less bull+99.

Going into social interaction:
I enjoy RP?ing and the actual roll playing that classes provide and have found a nice alternative to the standard MMO style game. Get a game with a kit or class system like Enemy Territory: Return to Castle Wolfenstein or a Battle Field franchise game that supports 64+ players to play at one time. Get some forums up and running with two sides that have a military rank structure and dedicated players and no one should feel the need to go solo again when the players care about each other and the maps are good. Good balance, Good or at least well trained players, good map design, and a true team goal help to make a great experience for anyone who has time. And with the win being the seasonal goal I see the social interaction as the only way to play now.

 

[Virgil]

Original Comment by: Will Hindmarch
http://www.wordstudio.net
How much of the drive to solo is based on every player's desire to control her own play experience? To avoid the loss of control given up to goobers and griefers through grouping?

How much of the success of the MMORPG is due to the ability of a player to amuse himself without feeling antisocial? If I could do it without being obnoxious, I'd play Burnout or Prince of Persia while chatting with my friends on the phone and get as much recreation into each hour as possible. For me, that's one of the implicit joys of the MMOG: chatting and geeking at once without being rude.

If Blizzard were to cut down on the social-reinforcing events, would the solo rate just increase? Does [Social-Dependent Game Events] divided by 3 = [Actual Social Play]? Blizzard's approach seems to be to increase the base to increase the value of that 30%, rather than growing the percentage. Not a terrible idea, in my opinion.

 

[Virgil]

Original Comment by: bnielson
http://www.onlineroleplayer.com
I am not suprised at all that "soloing" is the primary way we play MMG's. I don't think this tells the whole story, though. When I play World of Warcraft or Guild Wars I find that I solo a lot. But it's the occaisional social interaction that keeps me playing. Soloing in between is usually to get a better character so that I can participate better in the social portions. What MMOG's really give us is the ability to play a game solo or multiplayer at will.

 

[Virgil]

Original Comment by: SKTurner


I feel almost the exact opposite on this. My problem with MMORPGs is that the type of socialization the game encourages is that of convenience. The point of the game is to level up and kill bosses, socialization is just a tool to use to accomplish these feats, and as soon as the job is done it's time to break up again and start collecting stringy wolf meat.




My ideal MMORPG would be one where the convenience aspect of guilds would be downplayed, and where socialization would have concrete effects on the game.




The best example I can find of this would be in a game like Battlefield 1942, where a large group of people fights another large group of people, and where how well the players communicate their needs with each other makes the difference between who wins. In other words, socialization of necissity, not convenience. An online RPG where how well you communicate with the other players determines how far you get in the entire game, not just in a specific instance.




I'm not saying that closer, more friendly socialization doesn't take place in-game. I think these arrangements of convenience can create friendly relationships over TeamSpeak or your chat client of choice. I also think that a more necessary socialization would lend itself to making more of these online friends, and make the experience all the more encompassing.




My perfect MMOG would be one in which, when you enter the game world for the first time, you would have tasks to choose from that effect the game itself. Imagine Battlefield 1942 mixed with World of Warcraft, where the battles are on a global scale and in which the structure of the game is focused on one side versus the other. Imagine taking your dwarf out to complete a quest to collect seven boar tusks, but instead of those tusks dissapearing into the ether when you go to claim your reward, they instead turn up somewhere where other players need them. Perhaps lower level characters would have the task of supplying the war effort, which of course would include the fighting of dragons and smog monsters and all else adventure entails, while higher characters would fight the direct war using the materials gained from the others.




Just my two cents/pointless rambling.

 

[Virgil]

Original Comment by: Benjamin
http://www.dolphinsdock.com/aroomwithacat
What Blizzard needs to do is balance the styles of play found in their MMO. There are groups that love playing as a group. There are individuals who love soloing. And there are people who bounce back and forth between the two. And let's not forget the people that spend all day in Warsong Gulch, etc. But the latest content has seen a shift toward enforcing the large group, end game events. This could be temporary (and I hope it is) because I would like to see some high level content that will allow those who like to solo some more content in which to fulfill his/her goals. This will probably not be seen until the expansion pack comes out (and maybe not even then) when they raise the level cap to 70. But until that time I've canceled my account due to the constant sitting around online for hours at a time waiting for that perfect group of 20 or 40 to continue my questing (just so I could get out rolled for that last set of gear I need).