PvP Intro
I’m going to be writing a series of pieces about my theories on Player-versus-Player combat within virtual worlds. Such a project deserves an introduction of sorts, so that is what I’m providing you with here.
Why do I want to focus on PvP? I think it is the next big thing in MMOGs. Yes, PvP is already integrated into a number of games to varying degrees. However, I feel that none of these games has yet done it right. PvP combat needs to be part of the core of a game for it to work correctly. Not PvP that is grafted to an existing PvE design (WoW, EQII, DAoC, etc.), but something that is part of the heart and soul of a virtual world.
You may be thinking, “But there are games out there that are, at the core, Player-versus-Player games.” True, but do these games have a soul? Do these games live and breathe like we want them to, or are they quick-fix amalgams of game mechanics that sometimes become entertaining entities, yet never fulfill the full role required to be a smash hit? I would argue the latter.
The massively multiplayer genre is maturing. It is beginning to hit a much broader audience than the early online games did, and this audience is beginning to expect something more than the norm. They can have the casual and fun experience of World of Warcraft, the deep experience of EverQuest II, or the frenzied PvP combat in Shadowbane. What would happen if you were to combine PvP with a deep and entertaining PvE experience? My theory is that you would have a runaway hit, assuming you did it right.
Why, then, have we not yet seen this game? The companies who could pull it off are afraid to risk it. It is a risk, but it’s one that I feel would pay off handsomely and change the genre forever.
So, I have decided to speak about my favorite massively multiplayer subject: PvP. I will be covering, at the very least, the following areas: my most memorable PvP moments in online games, PvP as a requirement in the modern MMOG, risk and reward in a PvP system, the plausible cohesion of PvP and PvE, and an example of a PvP system using an existing game as its basis. I hope you’ll enjoy my ramblings about Player-versus-Player combat in massively multiplayer games, and perhaps some of you who are left with a foul taste in your mouth at the very mention of it will come to understand and even appreciate its merit.
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MMO people in general are slow twitch. PvP people (and FPSers) are fast twitch. Unless you’re about to reveal a great slow twitchers PvP system I’ll be having some doubts.
Thanks for pointing that out. Think I have it fixed. PvP people aren’t necessarily fast twitch, though I don’t really have any proof to back that up. I love PvP, MMORPGs, and FPSes (and most other genres).
“PvP people (and FPSers) are fast twitch. ”
There are far more ppl playing PvP pure card games on the internet than there has ever been MMO players. (and there is a really big market IMHO for a turnbased MMO that is well done)
I’m really interested to see what you have to say about PVP GG…I tend to agree that it’s the next big thing.
Some of my best MMO moments were PVPing with some buddies on Mordred in DAOC (the gankfest server) or dueling in EQOA and I definitely don’t consider myself a twitch player. Strategic, maybe. Can learn how to play a class well? Sure. But I wouldn’t say all PVP is twitchy.
I think if players want to pwn each other, there should be the means and places in game to do it. I also think it’s probably what’s keeping people sub’ing to WoW (just a theory).
Glad to see you updating your site again in any case. =)
[...] PvP Intro [...]
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What would happen if you were to combine PvP with a deep and entertaining PvE experience? My theory is that you would have a runaway hit, assuming you did it right.
That’s also my idea from a whole lot of time.
But you have to consider this (games tend to specialize more than ‘reach’)
My idea is also rather harsh since it effectively breaks the two worlds (PvE and PvP) in two. The main landmass where all the territory and mechanics are in the hands of the players (the players own everything and spawn NPCs themselves. There isn’t a concept like passive NPC lore and settlements), and the PvE, accessible through portals on the planes to enter new dimensions, worlds and ‘adventures’.
I also described this dualism here.
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