Features That Would Make MMO Games Too Realistic

By: Kei Beneza (dividelife), Onrpg Journalist

As you may know, MMO serves as a pseudo life simulator that lets players live in a fantasy world beyond their wildest imaginations. Game developers always find a way to make the experience 'tangible' on a highly interactive level that makes this world extremely addictive for gamers who crave for more than what the real world has to offer. But what if games entered an era of pushing reality over gameplay? Here are some things that will make games too realistic.

Toilet Time

"Quietly! We must break into the Firelord's chambers!"
"Oh man... this castle is so huge.... where's the bathroom?"
"Stop dancing around, Altarenius!"
"I gotta go!"

If MMOs were to simulate real life accurately, you should know that 'bio breaks' are a big part of it. Since humans are not really capable of holding it in for countless hours per day, it would probably take a big toll on their progress. Imagine one of the items you need to check off with your raid group before entering a 2 hour dungeon is who still has to pee? Sometimes having the technology to create a feature doesn't justify actually implementing it.

Another thing is the lack of public toilets in the MMO world. As far as I can remember, I was only able to spot one toilet in all my years of playing MMOs (it's from World of Warcraft, located in the Silverpine forest, if you have to ask).

Hunger And Thirst

"Hey man! You don't look so good... here's a potion"
"I don't need potions, man! I'm really hungry! Still got that bear meat from earlier?"
"Yeah! Right next to the prospectors head in my inventory"

Being hungry is a big deal; in fact, gamers would normally stop gaming for a while just to raid the fridge. Since the MMO world has no decent place to get water, other than the countless natural streams in the forest regions, players may invest a gratuitous amount of time looking for both food and water. Props to them if they go vegetarian, since herbalism skills may come in handy here.

While cooking has been a staple feature in various MMOs, we still have not seen the hunger meter extend far beyond The Sims and Fallout. This would have serious strategic impacts on how a player on a grinding spree would plan out their trip and time tables.

The True Horrors of Marriage

"Hey honey! I'm going out to collect my reward from the Emperor."
"You can't! I'm going to go hunting today, and no one's going to take care of the baby!"
"Let's just pay someone to do that."

Most Asian RPGs have implemented the marriage system, allowing players to gain skills like 'Summon Spouse' (a wife's dream and husband's nightmare) and other buffs that most classes cannot gain when single. But what if online marriages functioned as real world marriages? Some games even go as far as to let couples have babies in the virtual world, and realistically speaking, having a baby is no easy feat.

Not only will you have to buy a house to nurture him/her, you will run into more costs associated with their hunger level. Once he is of proper age, you will have to send him to Mercenary School (Starfleet School if you're playing a sci-fi MMO!). It's already enough that they charge players a huge sum of money to get married, but I can only imagine games that are heavily reliant on cash shops milking their players for all they are worth to stay competitive AND raise a child (or three).

Realistic Mortality

"LOL Tank died"
"I blame healer..."
"I will cast revive!"
"Can't. This isn't EZ mode anymore!"

If you have played hardcore mode in Shaiya Online and Diablo 2, then you pretty much know what I am talking about. Let's face it, real people don't have a respawn time, and once they hit the dirt, they are sent six feet under. MMO characters face more dangers than the entire volume of Rambo movies. Realistically mortal characters may just stick to courier quests after losing a limb. Damn, all this realism is starting to paint a bleak picture.

Go ahead, try killing 10 of me. It will be the end of you.

Real Jobs

"Hey Nero! What are you doing here?"
"I'm the Emperor's guard now!"
"ORLY? What do you do?"
"Stand here <_<"

No, I'm not talking about Herbalism, Blacksmithing, or Fishing. I'm talking about real jobs, sort of like what those NPCs are doing in town. I mean, surely they're getting paid, or else those common item vendors wouldn't have enough to feed their undead, elven, darkelven, orcish, halforcish, and draconic families. So what if players are forced to contribute to the MMO world in such a way that they will have proper roles to play in the community, like a guard or maybe a barkeep?

This could be you!

Heck, if you are not content with your position you could even run for mayor. I have seen browser games tackle this system, where one ends up as the leader of the entire town, but after experiencing it myself, the only thing I did was steal from nobles and raise taxes. A word of advice: don't vote for me.

I'm sure everyone has their own ideas on how to make MMOs more realistic. I for one am just glad publishers are not pushing such ideas mainstream. There can always be niche games like Salem to fill in the lust of the few who need realism. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it