The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games - Michael J. Tresca [108]
World of Warcraft and Dungeons & Dragons Online both feature “instanced” dungeons, dungeons that are formed exclusively for the group playing. There is no possibility of encountering another group, ensuring there is no “farming” or other means of interacting with a party outside of a town. This means a group’s adventure experience is unique; they live and die by their own fortunes (Barton 2008:420).
Another unique aspect of Dungeons & Dragons Online is its parties of up to six players. Group play is supplemented by a narrator, providing an overview of the game’s features that could not normally be expressed by text or graphics alone. In addition to sight and sound handled by the game engine, the game designers can express smells and feelings. This is conveyed by a virtual Dungeon Master of sorts, with some of the dungeons even narrated by the late Gary Gygax. Until DDO, narrative voice-over structure was primarily relegated to tabletop games (Douglas and Hargadon 2004:200).
Dungeons & Dragons Online even has a mechanic for dividing up treasure fairly, apportioning loot in such a way so that the players receive their own shares according to their level. It’s noteworthy that killing monsters are not always central to the adventure; the completion of the adventure, not the killing in itself, provides experience, just as in the tabletop game. Upon entering an adventure, the party can choose what level of challenge they wish to experience (normal, hard, elite) with the addition of a solo difficulty for players who enter an adventure without a party. Each difficulty has a minimum level requirement, and characters three levels below the level requirement aren’t allowed in. The adventure’s experience is adjusted depending on the overall level of the party, taking into account both high- and low-level players.
Beyond the basic party framework, few MMORPGs stretched the boundaries of the original tabletop gaming paradigm. What was missing was the ability to harness the power of large groups, which became unwieldy in traditional Dungeons & Dragons. In response to this need, EverQuest was one of the first MMORPGs to debut the “raid” feature. Raids are groups larger than the traditional party (in D&D Online this is up to 12 players, in EverQuest up to 200) all working together against a common foe. Raids can be against one large monster or multiple foes, but must be made within a certain time limit (Taylor 2006:40).
To support these raids, groups of like-minded players sprang up, called guilds. There are two kinds of guilds, social and raiding. Social guilds are communities of players who have a common mindset but are not necessarily dedicated to a specific in-game goal. These guilds can often be larger than the game itself, with tentacles in a variety of MMORPGs. Geezer Gamers, for example, supports adult gamers who just want to have fun (2010).
In stark contrast to social guilds are raiding guilds, dedicated to certain achievements in the game. Raiding guilds have a much more rigid hierarchy and a highly structured approach to gaming (Taylor 2006:45). Multiple characters are not uncommon, and the ones most optimized are shared amongst the guild members. Advancement typically has requirements, and players are expected to participate in raids when called upon, dropping whatever else they are doing. Members are also expected to contribute considerably more time and effort for a commensurate increase in reward on the game.
It’s telling that guilds have a form of allegiance that goes beyond the game. Guild allegiance is so powerful that they are known to travel in packs from MMORPG to MMORPG. This speaks volumes about player engagement with the game and the powerful ties of social networks. MMORPGs that pride themselves on player loyalty often fail to create enough of a social cost for players to exit. Guilds are a guaranteed network that cuts across multiple games, more powerful