Bricking up the exit: Denying completion of the Hero's Journey

Jamin Grey · 2016-06-02T22:56:46

As much as never-ending MMOs appeal to me as a consumer and a designer, some game designers speculate that while most adventure-based media intentionally or unintentionally mirror the Hero's Journey/Monomyth (at least partially), MMOs tend to take players three-quarters of the way through the Hero's Journey and then prevent them from finishing it, to hold players hostage for more revenue, which I think is very interesting food for thought. Obviously some players may refuse to complete the monomyth cycle and live there, just as some mythological heroes do, but actively blocking them from leaving seems almost malicious, at least fridge-logically. Kinda like gambling: Playing blackjack or slots or poker is one thing, even for money, but casinos intentionally taking advantage of people with gambling addictions (or microtransaction addictions) is another matter. Note: I don't fully agree with the Hero's Journey. I think it partially confuses cause and effect; also, the risk of thinking too much in monomythic terms is the same as the risk of thinking too much in trope terms: that of focusing so much on generalities that we lose sight of the distinctive attributes that makes individual games (and other media) poor or great. Nevertheless the monomyth is a brilliant insight into the nature of human literature (and thus, game design and plot), and that lens is worth peering through from time to time. How can MMO game designers recognize when their MMO design is artificially holding players captive by false promises of entertainment that no longer fully arrive, verses giving players a satisfying conclusion and then releasing them to find a new game/adventure or releasing them to get back to their life in-general? This applies to open world games, whether single-player or online; how can we provide players a satisfying "conclusion" to an open-world game, once they've had their fill? How can we provide an exit-door in an otherwise dark theater, for when they are ready to leave? Morrowind and the Elder Scrolls games in general had a 'main quest' in addition to the open world. Did you beat Morrowind's final boss first, then explore the world? Or explore the world before finishing off the main quest? Once you beat the main quest, did that give you a satisfying sense of conclusion? Did you put down the game afterward (or shortly afterward) and cease playing it? Economic incentives aside, what do you think design-wise of providing a "main quest" in MMOs (and maybe a separate "main whole-guild quest") that players can beat when they are ready to be done with the MMO?

Game Design and Theory Game Design

Started by Servant of the Lord May 26, 2016 07:51 PM

9 comments, last by wodinoneeye 8 years, 5 months ago

wodinoneeye

1,691

June 02, 2016 10:56 PM

Another aspect is that once the end is 'found' its out on the Internetz within minutes.

The Epic Hero's Story is supposed to have the Hero discover some great Truth which on finding generally makes further questing irrelevant.

One part that MMORPGs have done reasonably well is allowing you to revisit previous content (though few handle your overwhelmingly elevated level in doing it)

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Bricking up the exit: Denying completion of the Hero's Journey

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Bricking up the exit: Denying completion of the Hero's Journey

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