Did World of Warcraft Kill a Genre?

In a recent developer blog on MMORPG, Red 5 CEO Mark Kern asks, “Have MMO’s Become Too Easy.” and even goes as far to say World of Warcraft may have “killed a genre.” Laying blame on “the difficulty curve” for more accessibility.

“Have you noticed the creeping casualness that permeates all MMOs these days? When is the last time you died in a starter zone? What happened to 40 person raids that have dwindled to 5?” Kern asks. “Do you feel any sense of achievement in the race to end game, or is the end game the only achievement?”

His post mostly centers around players flying through levels just to reach cap and having no sense of reward or accomplishment after doing so. If players storm through levels and don’t care about whats going on around them, why would developers actually develop quests and worlds that said player would want to experience?

“It’s not the end game that we should be worried about, its the journey. An MMO should be savored, a lifetime of experiences contained within a single, beautifully crafted world. The moment to moment gameplay should be its own reward.” Kern goes on to say. “You should feel like you could live your whole life there, not by having infinite quests, but by having a living world that makes you feel good just for being in it and experiencing all it has to offer at your own pace. Its not about the competition to max out your character, its about a way of life and a long term hobby with enduring friends.

Is the full blame on World of Warcraft? Or is WoW the same scapegoat as Call of Duty. I played WoW for years and could see it becoming more and more accessible, but I quit because of the lack of compelling content and it appearing to be “just my time.” Not because I thought it was over crowded by “noobs”, if anything, it was overflowing with pompous “holier than thou” elitists who were more concerned with their own well being than the group/party/raid. Something I think League of Legends players are all too familiar with.

The whole post asks very important and pertinent questions and is well worth a full reading.

Mark Kern: Have MMOs Become Too Easy? Source: MMORPG

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