Rift: Planes of Telara Preview
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All the Extras I've always been of the opinion that MMO's (at least in the traditional sense - which takes us up to today's and into the foreseeable future) need at least these three ingredients to make it big. I'll preface this with saying that these ingredients are more like milk, sugar, eggs, and flour rather than (if you have *only* these, your game will be a success) - like in cooking, you usually need key ingredients but there's no guarantee it will be edible.
Number one: well-done characters. If there aren't some that look good (Night Elves and Humans originally in WoW, Elves and Eth in Rift) then players just aren't as attached (for example an alien MMO with only strange looking characters). Namely I'll spell it out. It needs at least decent looking female characters so males can fantasize. Ouch that was rather blunt! But true. I believe you'll agree once you see the screenshots that Rift has this covered. The only catch was that there's a current bug where my character didn't actually look exactly like I created him (a global bug which I'm sure they'll have fixed by release) and that the customization options for overall styles could have been a little more varied, even though the final results were highly impressive.
Number two: easy to be social, make friends, enjoy company. Most MMO's these days follow a similar design and most are typically easy enough to get into, so this is a given - but it needs to be done as intuitively as possible. It's also where I think many current MMO's could use an overhaul. Rift does this about as well as any major MMO, and I didn't see anything that stood out in this respect. Typical slash commands and emotes. I did not see a (looking for group) interface yet but I wouldn't be surprised if something like that is released post-launch (if not already and I may have just missed it).
Number three: enough content. Rift nails this right out of the gate with a dynamic Rift and invasion event system that not only encourages social gameplay, but is built right into the lore of the core story. If that's not enough it has two strong factions, collectible books to read and other trinkets for those that like their lore (in addition to quest lines), PvP battlegrounds and post-level 50 reward system, and from what I've seen, a large world with thematically varied areas. I cannot wait to see what the others look like.
Number three point five. Intuitive interface. While I don't think, for example, that EQ's original interface was the most intuitive at the time (a lot has been learned since then), it was functional. I think players are willing to forgive interfaces if they fall somewhat short of perfection in lieu of other excellent attributes which is why it's arguably not a definite key for successful games, though it certainly can help.
Rift clearly has all three core ingredients plus a good interface, and if it also includes well-executed end game play and content that is as rewarding as that in the Beta, I have no doubt it's going to be a success. In fact, it was really nice to see the game being so positively received so often just in the common chat channel in-game. Not a lot of complaints and a whole lot of (wow, this is really cool) and many comparisons with the current champ. I have a feeling a lot of positive buzz is because of the dynamics of the Rifts themselves. Who knows if that will get old as time goes by (I'm sure to *some* extent) but they can probably use the tech to create new types of dynamic content down the line which no doubt they have in store. For me the entire experience in Beta was wholly positive and I can't wait to play again.
