Article:
MMOs Are Not Defined By Group Play

Using Star Wars: The Old Republic as an example, an argument that I have heard iterated a lot lately is that an MMO is defined by the quality of group play. Whilst the game is still in production many prospective players and fans are expressing their views on the official forums, I have personally seen at least 20 different threads that come to the same conclusion. They conclude that BioWare have spent most of their time telling us about 'personal character stories', and the integration of companion characters (NPCs that help you fight) to the combat system.

As an MMO player who personally prefers to level solo, I could not disagree more. Although group play is an important element, and should be an option for everyone. It is certainly not what defines a massively multi-player game. In reality, an MMO is defined by a collection of important elements.

Large Open Maps

For an MMORPG to really feel massive it needs to be make you feel small. The scope of each map should make you look around and think "if I had to walk across this map, it would take me forever". This is something World of Warcraft captured for me in vanilla (original Warcraft), especially as you had to spend 40 of the 60 levels on foot.

Few Loading Screens

This is closely related to having large open maps and I think it is the most key element to making an MMO feel really huge. Unfortunately, many MMO veterans like myself will know there are a few 'free to play' MMORPGs that fail in this category, which in my experience makes the game feel dull and that you're better off playing a single player game.

Regular Content Updates

This is even more essential when you are faced with a subscription fee. Regardless of payment methods, a games developer working in this industry has to know games in the genre are a long term commitment. Many titles in the genre have lost subscription numbers, or crashed and burned completely based on the lack of bug fixes, additional content and poor quality service.

Interaction

This is closely tied with group play but is not restricted to it. Even when you are playing solo online, it adds to the immersive feeling of being in a living and breathing world just to see there are other players running around on their own prerogative. Interacting with Non-Playable Characters is important also, as it helps you get a feel for the back story to the world you are playing in.

Ultimately, an MMO is defined by a variety of choice. It is about having lots of options and you as the player get to choose exactly what to do, and how you wish to play it.