What's next for the MMOFPS?

You want to know something that baffles me? For the past few years now, some of the best selling games for all consoles have been infamous First Person Shooters (FPS) like Call of Duty, Halo, Medal of Honor, Killzone, Gears of War, and many many others. These multi billion dollar games have shown us that despite the craving for elaborate story telling, and fantasy landscapes, grabbing a gun and shooting the hell out of anything that moves is still enough to jack up even the most docile of men (That was sexist, we all know chicks love blowing shit up with M16s as well). All of this is flung into our face through pop culture, but despite this success, there is no “major” MMOFPS out there yet. Let's take a quick look at some statistics for the details.

• Call of Duty franchise - $3 billion
• Halo franchise - $1.7 billion.
• Gears of War franchise - 11 million
• Left 4 Dead franchise – 6 million

(Statistics taken from Wikipedia, not a “completely reliable” credible source)

Some of these companies are banking BILLIONS on these games that at their cores are just “shoot-em-up” games with fancy graphics, occasionally interesting storylines, and some imaginative and innovative gameplay. I see these numbers, and I  wonder, “Why is there no World of Headshotcraft out there?” (and I'm positive I'm not the only one wondering ;D)  It baffles me that game companies see these results, and still don't try crossing it over into the world of major Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming. Is this because the transition from FPS to MMO is too difficult? Perhaps console gamers don't always want to play on a computer?  Or is it simply that no game has been presented with the budget for the needed features to attract these new crowds? Who knows, perhaps one day a MMOFPS will conquer its own territory in the competitive field of online gaming.

“BUT CALEB,” you say, “PLENTY OF MMOFPS's ARE OUT THERE!”  True (to an extent), my friends, and it is here where I share this article with another writer, Joseph “Fox” Boyer.  Just what are the current offerings for MMOFPS games?  Are they REALLY MMO's?  Why AREN'T there more MMOFPS games?  Let's see what answers he can give us.

Greetings everyone!  I'm glad to be able to throw my proverbial hat in on this article.  Caleb poses some good questions, which I'm sure a lot of gamers share.  Well, let me try to explain why things are in their current situation, and also my predictions for what the future may hold.

As mentioned above, YES, there are in fact a few games that designate themselves MMOFPS games.  But frankly, some of them do not deserve that designation and some of them have simply failed to deliver a well-rounded and complex enough game to satisfy the MMO community.  Let's take a look at some of the games that have both gone under and those who still cling to life, and examine the reason for their state of being.

Planetside (SOE) – Live

This game fits both the MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) and the FPS (First-Person Shooter) categories.  But it has never had a “massive” following.  It was never that popular, despite its similarities to games like the Battlefield Series and Halo Series.  This futuristic Sci-Fi MMOFPS offers instant action, able to throw players into the closest ongoing firefight.  It even offers conquerable control points.  So, why isn't this a hit like Battlefield or Halo games?

Repetition, slow advancement, and little recognition.  The battles, which requiring some different strategy each time, are wholly the same.  Grab your best weaponry, and siege another team's control point.  Or, grab your best weaponry and guard your control point.  Levels are somewhat slow.  New players are easily slaughtered, and there doesn't seem to be any leader board or ranking system (at least that I saw).  Also no additional features, crafting, building, construction, etc.  None.

Next is the social aspect of the game.  In that I mean, there is no social aspect of the game.  There are no conversations (except perhaps if you're using teamspeak or some other such communication method).  There is no social component whatsoever.  You run, you shoot, you kill or die.  Rinse and repeat.  This is perhaps more involved for those leading the forces, but it's going to take you endless amounts of grinding to reach some form of leadership position.

As an FPS it's decent, but as an MMO is abyssmal.

Global Agenda (Hi-Rez) – Live

Global Agenda is a very new addition to the MMO world, being only a couple months old.  However, it has been met with varied opinions on its value as an MMOFPS(or RPG).  A vast majority who have been asked say that there is basically NO RPG or role-playing going on in GA at all.  But hey, it's really an FPS at heart, so we can't penalize them too hard.  But what about the MMO part and the FPS part?

Well, they certainly have the FPS part down.  There are some non-Player vs Player (PvP) missions and tasks to complete.  Most have said their controls and the shooting aspect is quite good.  However, when it comes to those PvE missions, most players thought very poorly of them and often referred to it as if it was an afterthought in the game.  Clearly the focus was meant to be PvP.

What about the MMO aspect?  This part gets a little sticky.  What we consider to be MMO here is that the game world is not ALL instanced, where only players and their teams can enter.  For example, we do not consider Guild Wars to be a true MMORPG.  In this same manner, GA is more akin to the “waiting room” multiplayer shooters like Battlefield 2, Halo Series, etc.  You are limited to he number of players you can interact with and or game alongside.  Now, they claim their coming patches will add open parts to the world, so the jury is still out on a final decision.

In terms of popularity though, GA has come nowhere near the records being set by standard FPS games like Call of Duty, etc.

Tabula Rasa (NCSoft) - DEAD/CLOSED

This game, created and published by NCSoft, has been gone from the MMO world for about a year now.  It was closed due to the lack of profit being made to maintain the game (or so they said).  One unusual situation surrounding this game was the firing of the game's creator, and the almost immediate closing of Tabula Rasa.  But in terms of an MMOFPS/RPG, this game truly had all those components.  

Players used ranged weapons, and occasionally some chose melee weapons, to combat an alien presence.  The controls worked in a very typical FPS fashion, with cross-hairs, etc.  Players could even choose to turn the “aim lock” mode on or off so they could play completely skill-based and not have their target locked onto with their firearms.  While the game did have an instance system, it was one where players could freely switch back and forth through them to play with whomever they wished.  There were few instances on the world zones, and a new one was only created dynamically to help avoid zone overcrowding.

Players also had special abilities, skills, and a character advancement system; all things which are typically required of an MMORPG.  The chat system was much more active, and players often joined together, spoke, and participated in events.  This type of melding of the MMO/FPS/RPG systems has not been done so successfully before or since.

And yet the game was closed.  It too never enjoyed the massive success of single player and “waiting room” FPS games.  So what possibilities are there for causing this discrepancy?  Here are some of our theories, and we'd like to hear yours as well:

1.Most RPG fans don't prefer FPS combat.  And as MMORPG fans are usually loyal to the MMO genre, the FPS style may alienate many of them.
2.Most FPS players don't care about roleplay, crafting, building, or other features important to traditional MMO's.
3.Why pay $15 a month for an FPS game when you can buy the other games' box and play matches for free?
4.Most standard FPS games are based on “military” type themes.  Perhaps it would take an MMORPG based on military (whether quests/missions, socialization, guilds/platoons), that concept may match up better.

It just seems that so far, much like pig and elephant DNA... FPS and MMO just don't mix.  And if they do, you get some mutant offspring that somewhat grosses out both sides.  The problem is that the formula has to be balanced just right to appeal to both groups.  But if a game DID manage to create the correct formula, we would end up with a really awesome game.  Just like somehow creating little pot-bellied elephants that you could keep in your house.  But screw up and you get giant pigs with tusks and a trunk with a constant runny nose...

Proceed with caution!