There's a great interview with David Cage on Gamasutra, where he talks about Indigo Prophecy, his studio's new game, Heavy Rain, and shares some thoughts on MMOs that dovetail nicely with my previous post. This thought, in particular, is one I definitely share:

I've played many MMOs these days, and most of the time, the experience is really poor, because you end up doing not very exciting things. I think the value of the experience is not on that. It's really about building yourself - the vision of yourself, like, "Oh, I want to be a hero, because I've spent so much time at level 16. I'm so strong. Look at my weapons and my helmet." These are the core mechanics these games are based on.

I think that's fine for people when they need to build self esteem, and it's a very important core complementing experience, but if you're not into that, what's the real narrative or emotional value? Sometimes it's really interesting when you're in the guild in a massively multiplayer game and you attack the fortress or whatever. Some great things can be told, but it's not guaranteed. The value is not always there.

I also really agree with Cage's assertions that our industry needs to grow up and tackle some more mature, meaningful content and themes in games. He has some interesting thoughts on how easy it is to build empathy between players and game characters as well.

Overall a great interview, and I have to say I'm really looking forward to seeing more about Heavy Rain, which from the sounds of it might really push the medium forward.

On a separate note, Funcom shares are down with some reports that many early Age of Conan players have cancelled their subscriptions because, among other reasons, the game really thins out later on. Perhaps, as I experienced, they realized that it was pretty thin to begin with.

So, I'm probably one of the few people on the planet who didn't get sucked into the phenomenon known as WoW. I watched curiously over colleague's shoulders as they were drawn into the world, only to raise their heads months later with hundreds and hundreds of hours invested into their various characters. Usually, their heads only stayed up long enough to take in the next expansion pack, thus throwing them right back into an orgiastic frenzy.

I had a sense back then that if MMOs were as addictive as they appeared to be, I had better give them a wide berth. I don't regret the decision.

About a year ago I decided to put aside my qualms and try to get into WoW. I created a character, and spent a few days wandering around the world. Leveled up a bit, met some people, carried out some quests, etc. As beautiful as the world was visually, the experience just didn't grab me. It was akin to the game equivalent of a reality TV show -- lacking the scripted nature that makes entertainment entertaining (for me). Also, I couldn't shake the feeling that WoW was a game for...kids. The primary colours and stylized aesthetic made it difficult to feel truly imperiled by the conflicts in the setting.

I was really excited when the Conan MMO was announced. I thought that perhaps here, I would find an MMO experience that had the maturity of tone and content WoW lacked. I was looking forward to the excellent visuals, rich and compelling setting, deeper story content, and the mature veneer that would make it feel like a game for adults. I was looking forward to crushing my enemies before me, stealing their treasures, and spending money on drinking and whoring -- to make Conan proud and live up to the legacy of the novels and comic books I had grown up with.

What I found, instead, is a game that feels a lot like WoW. Now, you can't really argue with WoW's success -- 10M subscribers is no small feat. But, I can't help but feel let down by Age of Conan. I expected the age warning and ESRB label to actually mean something, but with several days of play time behind me, I find that I'm in a fairly tame experience. My main gripes:

* Inconsistent art direction. Some vistas are beautiful, others fall flat. Generally, the visual quality would be unacceptable in a triple-A action game, but somehow here it is considered groundbreaking (for an MMO).
* Weak writing and quest design. How do I reconcile my role as a hero with the pithy tasks I'm meant to carry out? Also, there is vast inconsistency in the scope of challenge. One minute I'm perpetrating the fiery demise of an army in an overflowing Volcano, the next minute I'm fetching three spools of thread for a pathetic tailor. Am I a hero, or an errand boy?
* Poor story delivery. The attempt at cinematic presentation for dialogue sequences really falls flat.
* Interface. Holy shit there is a lot on the screen at once. While the trend in most other games is to contextualize as much player-facing information into the in-game world, MMOs seem to still hold on to the belief that everything must be represented in an on-screen menu or button or chat window filled endlessly with ridiculous commentary from other players.

I'm no expert on MMOs, clearly, so perhaps my criticisms are unfair. But, I can't help but leave the game feeling disappointed with what I experienced there. Some flaws are undeniable, and rebuttals usually carry the flavour of "well, it's an MMO...", as though that excuses everything.

Why are MMOs held to such a different standard than other games?