MMO Blueprint

1974 to the present. 34 years and counting. In 1974 Gygax and Arneson published the first version of this FRP concept, and are widely credited with creating it (although earlier, less refined forms certainly existed prior to 1974). Dungeons & Dragons took the gaming world by storm, and the starting point for the form had now been clearly marked.

Fast forward to 2008. Computers have of course become the gaming medium of choice. It’s a no-brainer, really. And thanks to the internet, the entire concept of gathering fellow gamers together for face to face gaming seems almost arduous. The modern form of FRP, nee D&D, is the Massive Multiplayer Online fantasy game. In fact, I would bet that World of Warcraft today currently has more players than D&D had at any one time in it’s glorious history. Playing a computer game is, well, somehow more accepted than gathering your buddies together in the basement, rolling dice, speaking in funny voices, and grazing on cheese curls and cola for an entire afternoon or evening.

This is neither a pro nor a con post. I do enjoy computer games, and I know that MMO's aren’t truly role playing as the term was originally set forth. Now, ‘role playing’, to the younger generations, simply means a game in which you control a single avatar, and progress through various challenges while accumulating wealth and power. It was a rude awakening when someone told me their favorite role playing game was Final Fantasy…“But, that’s a console game…isn’t it?” I retorted, naively.

It’s just that, well, computer gaming is easier.

Other than the medium, FRP hasn’t truly changed THAT much since 1974. The way the rules are applied, the sheer amount of rules, the published material available; yes, all of these things have evolved. But nothing has truly changed that much, in reality. The basic concept is still, and always will be, the same. Play a character, gain treasure and experience, feel good about overcoming obstacles (whether alone, in groups, face to face, across the internet, or in the basement). I’ve come to accept this over the years, despite my earliest protestations.

I look back with pride knowing that I was in on it in the early days. In fact, if given the choice in 1979, pen and paper or computer, I think the choice would’ve been easy. There was no such choice then, thankfully. I might have missed what was in fact a revolution in gaming. I was in on the computer thing, as well, and I am happy that Dungeons & Dragons preceded computer gaming. Why? I don’t think the game would’ve been able to grow and prosper as it has. Dungeons & Dragons, when played the way it was meant to be played, can never really fit into a boxed computer DVD game.

Nevertheless, I still enjoy seeing and experiencing the divergent path that the computer game versions of FRP have taken. In my own humble opinion, it’s to the point now that WotC is looking to MMO's for cues on how to increase profits. Which is fine, if that’s your thing go for it and I’m sure your gaming group will be able to make as many lasting memories of face to face, pen and paper gaming as my friends and I did back in the years BC (Before Computer).

The fact is, as computer games progress, the actual freedom afforded players under the truest form becomes more and more narrow. The pinnacle of MMO's (aside from Player vs. Player) is Raiding. Raiding is the antithesis of player freedom. Success in Raiding is dependant upon very exacting standards, and trial and error before a routine is established. Computer games are also all about repetition. And don’t get me started on player death in D&D vs. player death in computer games. But I digress.

The FRP evolution to which I speak now is the Archetypes. The D&D three-pronged crown of Fighting Man-Magic User-Cleric is essential to all of these MMO's. In fact, I sit in amazement now looking at how this innocent little trilogy published in 1974 basically set in stone the blueprint for all MMO's, even 34 years later. Wow, indeed. Add in a few fluff classes for flavor and variety to sustain player interest, and you have the basic MMO model. Tank-Caster-Healer. With Support and Hybrid classes on the periphery to supplement, fill-in or fight for spots in a group or Raid.

The bottom line is that you need these three archetypes to succeed in the most demanding parts of MMO's. Someone to take the brunt of the damage (Tank), someone to dish out lots of damage or control the encounter (Caster), and someone to keep everything moving along, or raise the fallen (Healer). What a simple, elegant system. 34 years and counting is the proof.

Support and Hybrid classes were added later in D&D in the form of Thief, Paladin, Druid, Monk, Bard, etc. Yes, even the Support/Hybrid concept was lifted straight from the works found in original Dungeons & Dragons. Not happy being a humdrum Fighting Man? Try a Paladin. Looking to outwit and elude the opposition? Try a Thief. Care to do a bit of everything? Try a Bard. It’s the same Class/Subclass system, all rotating around the three-pronged crown established in Men & Magic.

It’s funny when you look back at the genesis of the Cleric. I wonder how modern MMO's would look if there had never been a Sir Fang? One cannot simply assume that the Healer archetype would've arisen without being set in place in 1974. I'll echo my earlier post of the same name and once again say Thank You, Sir Fang.

For the record, I am looking forward somewhat to Wrath of the Lich King (even though I am never going to be a Raiding player again), but perhaps more so to Diablo III, which should suit my instant gratification computer gaming needs much better, while still allowing me to replicate D&D as best I can…in my basement, perhaps making funny voices between handfuls of cheese curls and sips of cola.

~Sham, Quixotic Referee

Time may change me, but I can't trace Time.

Am I afraid of change? Nope, but I found the above nugget when looking for a suitable image for this post, so it stays...and I enjoy poking fun at myself.

Excellent post today by the inimitable Trollsmyth. To quote:

I know 4.0 ain't my cup of tea, either. It's embraced game-isms and balance and neat abilities with only the flimsiest setting-based rationales. And that's fine, too. I know before I've spent a penny that the game won't give me what I want, and I can spend my time and treasure pursuing other games and dreaming up houserules that bring the fun for me and my players.

Emphasis is mine. Preach on Brother!

This really annoys me about D&D these days. There’s no magic, there’s no wonder, and there’s no mystery or allure. There’s just stat and roll bonuses, lists of powers, and dueling spreadsheets beneath the thin veil of your adventure path’s railroad plot.

Let's quit denying the facts. WotC is in indeed using MMOs and WoW in particular as a business model for D&D 4e. More power to them. I hope it's a ringing success and brings more players into the realm of pen and paper.

But do they have to use D&D as the vehicle that takes them to that great cash cow in the sky?

They won't be getting my gold coins, that's for sure. I don't mean to belittle the many, many pen and paper players out there who are eager to dive in and start enjoying 4e right away. I'm sure I could sit in on a 4e game and have a blast. It's just not my type of rules system for making my own campaigns.

I do the MMO thing myself from time to time, but I don't want my mashed potatoes touching my peas. I enjoy the two on their own merits.

~Sham, Quixotic Referee

Wargamers and Wizards

Warning: Sham’s up on a soapbox tonight, in true Grognard form.

I’ve been considering D&D’s impact on gaming recently. More and more I am becoming convinced that D&D, as we Grognards know it, is slipping away into oblivion. I fear that it’s legacy is going to be forgotten, buried beneath piles of revised versions and out dated publications. All in the name of progress. Well, actually all in the name of revenue. The gaming scene, as far as I can tell, is being dominated by two direct descendants of D&D. The Collectible Card Game (CCG) and the Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) game.

The CCG genre was spawned by Magic the Gathering, a nice little strategy card game designed by an avid D&D player, Richard Garfield. Mr. Garfield’s little brainchild quickly became a gaming behemoth, and a true cash cow. It’s the perfect game as far as revenue generating potential. To stay competitive as a player in MtG, or CCG’s in general, one is required to spend a lot of cash on expansions and new editions. A perfect storm in the gaming industry, to be sure, and it is even a favorite of game and hobby shops for the same reason, as they can also sell single, desirable cards for these games at exorbitant prices.

The MMO genre is more a direct descendant of D&D, and one can trace it’s origins back into the earliest days of computers. MMO’s are basically D&D with no Dungeon Master, with thousands of players in the same campaign. Like CCG’s, MMO’s have completely obliterated even the most optimistic revenue projections, year after year. In particular World of Warcraft has rewritten the way MMO’s operate. At the end of the day, MMO’s are not what D&D is. MMO’s reward one thing and one thing only, time investment. They are the black holes of gaming. Oh, and another example of the perfect gaming model, requiring a nice, neat monthly subscription in order to play in their world. Nice idea, huge cash cow.

Times have certainly changed. We live in an era of gaming never before experienced. An industry of millions and millions of dollars, just waiting to be soaked up by the next big thing. Ladies and Gentlemen, D&D ain’t it. Maybe this new era’s potential is due in part to D&D, but probably more so due to computers, video games, and higher levels of disposable income. I’m not touching console gaming at all in this post. I’m simply not familiar enough with the genre enough to speak to it, and we can probably agree that CCG’s, MMO’s and D&D are in a completely different sphere of gaming. I enjoy my Son’s video games from time to time, but they are, for the most part, not descendants of D&D.

From Day One, D&D missed the boat as far as guaranteeing future revenue from it’s player base. Sure, there were periodicals and modules and campaign settings and character sheets and well, lots of stuff you didn’t need at all in order to play. D&D was introduced to the gaming world in a very innocent manner, published independently by avid war gamers who, at the time, had no idea that it would explode into a gaming phenomenon. Perhaps if they had even the slightest inkling that D&D might become this huge 80’s fad, they would have taken a slightly different approach. As it turns out, the approach taken was the right one, at the time, for D&D in that the game did reach unheard of heights in the industry. It was an honest approach, and the product was an honest product.

It seems that since the late 70’s, once D&D was gaining momentum, the individuals in control of the direction of D&D have been battling this cold, hard business reality. That D&D cannot secure more and more revenue from it’s own gaming public. Simply put, D&D is not a CCG or an MMO. It’s a classic game form, and should be treated as such. Enough is enough, I say. What can possibly be done to improve D&D, other than a streamlined, concise treatment of the rules which embodied the original, classic spirit of the game? That very spirit that made it a worldwide success some thirty years ago.

More words have been written and printed in regard to D&D than any other game in history, I’m sure. It’s not going to get any better than it is now, or has been. My fellow Grognards and Neo-Grognards would argue that it passed the point of perfection long ago. No amount of repackaging or disguising the game as something that it is not is going to bring it to new heights, or even to that mid 80’s popularity the game enjoyed. The title has been milked for about all it’s worth, at this point. Movies, novels, periodicals, computer games, cartoons, collectibles, miniatures, endless accessories, the list goes on. There’s not much left really, is there?

Rather than try to remake the game in it’s own image once again, maybe it’s time to move on. If the goal is to make a game that appeals to CCG and MMO players, make a new game. Take the time to design an entirely new game from the ground up, rather than attach a new engine to the tired old D&D frame. Why not admit that D&D is NOT going to garner those video and computer gaming dollars out there, and be done with it. D&D has already been changed into a more rigid, numbers driven game, to the point I’m afraid now that the rules themselves overpower and hinder the more important aspects of the game. It’s a shame that Wizards of the Coast has continued to tinker with D&D. In their infinite wisdom, the honchos at Wizards are trying to once again improve upon the model. This could very well be the last version, or perhaps D&D will continue to morph into further, unrecognizable editions as it limps off into it’s waning golden years.

It’s almost as if the attitude is “Hey, we made MtG, we know how to make a great game, and we can fine tune D&D to the point that it will become a roaring success again…all we need to do is get some of that MMO money that’s on the table out there.” If all were right with the world, D&D would be getting royalties or kickback from it’s own wildly successful descendants, but such is not the case. So, why chase after these dollars if it means morphing D&D into what it is now? A rules heavy, min-maxers delight, with little room for creativity and that spirit of open ended play that made D&D so popular to begin with? What’s done is done, and the game may never be considered a classic because of a string of poor decisions by the keepers of the D&D brand.

D&D, by all rights, should be mentioned in the same sentences as Chess, Monopoly and Poker. A classic, timeless game that will always be around, for future generations to enjoy. Well, D&D HAD the chance to be timeless, but in this day and age it’s being controlled by an industry that’s still trying to turn a buck out of the aging game form. An industry that, in my opinion, is threatening to drive the product into the ground by turning into something it was never meant to be. At this point, it is likely to devolve into a contrived mess of poor imitation, and slowly dwindle into obscurity.

Here’s to hoping that a true archival version of OD&D sees the light of day at some point. A nice, neat concise treatment of the original game, as written in 1974 by Gygax and Arneson. One backed by the same investment being tossed on the ash can in the form of these new, improved editions by Wizards of the Coast. One that, like Chess or Backgammon, can be picked up and enjoyed by anyone, and not burdened by reams and reams of rules. An edition that serves as a reference point, the game in it’s true form, before the industry took away it’s soul and spirit. It’s a pipe dream, sure. A form of the game that has been fought by the holders of the D&D brand since the beginning, I suppose. A version that requires nothing but your imagination to play.

I decided fairly early on that the Grog ‘n Blog wouldn’t take a stance of elitism or superiority. I accept the fact that all of us, anyone who plays any version of D&D, are kindred spirits. In the right circumstances, I’m sure I too could learn to enjoy the later versions of D&D. Clearly, I do have a preference, though. I believe, that given the chance, were OD&D more accessible and currently supported, many others might agree with me and prefer the most basic form of the original game. The version that should, by all rights, be considered a true landmark in gaming history, and a hell of a lot of fun to play.

I’d like to add that this post has been brewing in me since I returned to D&D this year, and many of the analogies and opinions are derived from various sources across the internet. Fellow fans of older editions of D&D, too many to name, have all anonymously and abstractly contributed to my thoughts herein. Clearly I have absorbed a lot of text over these past several months, and I could not even begin to pinpoint these numerous influences. Specifically, though, I would point readers to an older post over at the Gameblog that I referenced here over a month ago. At the time I was resistant to the message, but clearly, it’s as valid now as it was when it was written. Nothing has changed. I didn’t set out to announce the death knell of D&D. I hope it’s legacy lives on, it deserves that much. For the time being, I’ll be holed up in my man-cave designing my mega dungeon and getting ready for some good old fashioned D&D.

~Sham, Descending From His Soapbox

And The Winner Is...

When talking about D&D to family members who have never played, invariably this topic at hand comes up. Usually it’s quite innocently, a simple question normally along the lines of “Oh…I see. So, who WON?”

“Well,” says I, “no one actually *wins* in D&D…”, then their eyes either glaze over as they feign interest, or they might ask actual probing questions if such an unconventional concept has piqued their curiosity. At that point I normally make a storybook analogy, explaining that the Dungeon Master* is similar to an author, and the players are like characters in that story, a story that unfolds as the players make decisions and decide their own fate. Why play a game with no winner? Everyone who plays D&D and has fun is the winner! The game play itself is reward enough.

* - Dungeon Master is a term I should probably stop using when explaining the D&D concept, the original term ‘referee’ is just easier to grasp.

D&D, as far as I am aware, and the genre it spawned, is the only game with no terms of victory.

Perhaps it’s a concept which has always hindered D&D, and I would say that this notion of getting together, playing a game and simply having fun is becoming, more and more in our culture, nonsensical. The fun of gaming for many is in the actual competition. Beating your opponent, claiming victory, lording your expertise over him. It’s everywhere in gaming, from sports to cards to darts to war games to board games…you get the idea.

What D&D spawned in role playing is certainly a game, one meant to be a fun way to enjoy some dice rolling, imagination, and actual decision making. The goals in D&D can vary from group to group, from session to session, and from referee to referee. Ultimately, though, the goal is simply to enjoy a social hobby which exercises the imagination. In that way it transcends traditional games. It’s a hobby that just happens to have game elements in the way of rules and dice rolling.

There really is no place in this hobby for players who approach the game with definite goals or a winner take all mentality. These types of players perhaps have a hard time accepting the concept of this hobby, and thus we end up with power gaming munchkins, rules lawyers, min-maxers, and numbers crunchers. I encourage the social aspect of D&D. For my players to succeed, and actually progress within the campaign, they need to work together as a team to more easily overcome the various obstacles I have created, making sound decisions and using logic, imagination, and a little luck. It’s not about winning.

One of D&D’s own descendants, Magic the Gathering is the antithesis of this spirit. I’m sure Mr. Garfield didn’t have this in mind when he set out to create a card based D&D inspired game, so perhaps this isn’t a fair statement. Let me rephrase that and say Magic the Gathering as we know it today is the antithesis of D&D.

Another one of the direct descendants of D&D is the computer role playing game. I’ve enjoyed more than my own share of computer role playing games, but none of them can claim to have D&D’s open ended play style. If anything, these D&D descendants have promoted the aspects of gaming that D&D took us away from in the first place.

Computer games, and MMO’s in particular, reward power gaming munchkins, rules lawyers, min-maxers, and numbers crunchers. And the players of these games seem perfectly content with this fact. In MMO’s in particular, there is a definite spirit of competition, of ‘showing off’. The very nature of such competition is what the industry depends upon to retain it’s player base. Certainly teamwork has become an important aspect of MMO’s, but even then everything is systematic, rigid, and repetitive.

The fact is, no other form of gaming assumes this truly open ended approach, with no terms of victory, and no end to the game, not even it’s own descendants. It’s a game that emphasizes decision making, logic, creativity and luck. Pretty cool stuff when you stop and think about it.

No winners though, imagine that.

~Sham, Delinquent DM