Spoiler alert!
We often categorize single and multiplayer games in two completely different realms. When we see a single player game, we expect more by default than a massively online game. The flipside also occurs when we see a MMO game. Our expectations actually fluctuate a little, mainly because of how the online gaming industry has grown to become this monotonous, boring grump filled with overused features and underdeveloped ideas. Many people prefer single player games for this very reason, and are led to believe that single player games will always have higher quality content than MMOs.
It doesn't have to stay this way.
MMOs can take a hint from other games and utilize the special little perks that make those games addicting and successful. The Witcher 2 is an excellent example, because it is a game overflowing with depth, story, lore, and beauty. The game received extremely positive remarks, garnering near perfect scores from numerous review sites. It was greeted with warmth from the gaming community because it presented something fresh to the table instead of taking old elements and regurgitating them back out. The Witcher 2 provided gamers with hours of non-linear storytelling, believable characters with realistically flawed personalities, dynamic dialogues that shape the course of the game, a large number of alternate endings, and a gorgeous world filled with ambience and bustling with immersion and interactivity.
However, we are not here to bash MMOs and give loving praise to The Witcher 2. That would be kind of pointless. Rather, we are here to look at certain aspects of The Witcher 2 that provide refreshing, unique, and interesting gameplay, while understanding how MMOs would benefit from such implementations.
Let's take three of the stronger points in Witcher 2, and see how MMOs could utilize these features.
Non-Linear Storyline
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