What People Want: Finding Meaning in RPGs, MMOs, and Video Games
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Reference video: What Happens When You Only Pursue Pleasure - Alan Watts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOZqGUCrje8
Today I talk through a very complex subject that RPGs, MMOs, and video games struggle with through their design and continued development. Meaning requires a sense of stability along with a sense of discovery. People want to play games that are lovingly designed, but expect major releases every few years. Developers have shifted meaning from in-game community and goals to out of game "meaning on demand" in the form of loot boxes and other additional products. These instruments are more controllable and can be much higher variance than any in-game mechanic ever could.
Intellectual properties drag on for too long in the MMO space. World of Warcraft, for example, is now at existence level threats, and has been for quite a while. The game is an immortals game instead of a fantasy game, and the only way to change that is for a completely new game and IP to reset us back to the beginning.
MMOs should lean in to unique mechanics and items in their games that don't break the game, but allow for very random and interesting effects (for example, filaments in EVE Online.) Group leaders will seek personal power if their goals are not more than self-oriented. In EVE Online, Goonswarm Federation's goals for the community are very simple; "We want the best for our people." With that in mind, pursued genuinely, creates a volunteer environment necessary to run infrastructure in a massive game. Without this sentiment and shared bounty, none of the organization would be possible, and the stability of the group would hinge on one leader. Once that leader disappears, the whole tower crumbles down.
RPGs are the social media of games. There is more opportunity for creativity and socialization at a deeper level than any virtual platform so far. There are a slew of systems that play in different ways. Games that try to forgo the Gamemaster, or give players more ability to create story, are very different from games like D&D and Traveler. They require much more investment and energy from the players, and it is my experience and opinion that players don't actually want that power and responsibility.
In RPGs, if players let go of their stranglehold on their characters, allowing them to be out of their own control for periods, and having to deal with unforeseen consequences, the player will find meaning and interest in those aspects.