Gaming Should be Worthwhile

“Is crafting worth the effort to go through?” I heard that line while playing Runes of Magic the other day. While to many MMO gamers, that question may not seem all that strange at all, it got me thinking quite a bit. Crafting in MMOs is historically not a very fun activity, but instead is often something you do that has some sort of a benefit – like being able to use certain items, or being able to sell things for extra spending-money. I have never seen an MMO with anything resembling a crafting system that I found entertaining – although there are people out there who enjoy such things. Rather, it isn’t the fact that people are asking if crafting, specifically is worthwhile, but rather that they’re asking if a part of the game, at all, is “worth the effort.”

That question should never arise. Everything you can do in a game should be “worth the effort,” as a game should be, you know, fun and entertaining. Now, before I go down this train of thought any further, I need to clear up a few things quickly: When I say that everything should be “worth the effort,” that doesn’t mean that I believe all games should be extremely easy. I have no issue with games requiring me to spend a long time on certain activities to progress further, or whatever. However, those activities should be fun to do. It shouldn’t be a question whether or not the end result will be worthwhile, I should want to do those activities for the sake that they’re enjoyable to do.

If you’re including gameplay systems, they ought to be fun. If I need to kill a thousand enemies before I level up, that’s perfectly fine. However, those battles should be enjoyable. If I have to create a thousand wooden boards to progress in crafting, creating those boards should be fun, too. It shouldn’t be some arduous task that requires some special reward to be worthwhile.

Mind you, that’s all easier said than done. I have played MMOs with fairly fun combat systems (PlanetSide – I never specified MMORPGs – and, oddly enough, Vanguard). I’ve never really played a game with fun crafting, but I would say that EQ2 came closer than anything else (before I realized that spamming random abilities was just as effective as paying attention). So, I believe it is possible to create fun systems. This isn’t just limited to crafting and combat though – any activity that players do, should be designed so that they’re having fun doing the activity. I think the primary question that a designer should be asking is “would I do this if there was no reward attached to it.” If the answer is an emphatic “heck no!” then why is it being included? Find the fun – a guiding principle in game design that I sometimes wonder if MMO designers actually remember to focus on, instead of just creating expansive games.

It doesn’t matter what the genre is, it just matters that the gameplay is fun – the addiction to getting some sort of reward shouldn’t be the main motivating force behind players actions. This isn’t to say that all MMOs are entirely unfun, after all, everyone has different tastes and what one person finds fun, another will not. Yet almost all MMOs contain activities that are, without a doubt, not designed to be enjoyable. That shouldn’t actually happen, even though it can be difficult to avoid such pitfalls.