Mad World First Impressions (Browser MMORPG)

Various MMORPGs have come and gone, trying to add spice, or trying to revolutionize some component of this age old formula. Mad World is no exception to this pattern, marketing itself as a game centered around its cross-platform capabilities. Written in HTML5, the Korean, browser-based MMORPG virtually has no barrier to entry, requiring only a device that can open a browser.

But, novelties aside, the core question behind any MMORPG remains the same: is the game worth your time?

With a little bit of luck, I was able to get into the Alpha 01 test for the game, and had the luxury of testing out its core gameplay features, story, and overall presentation, which will hopefully help address that question a bit more in-depth. Admittedly, however, because it was only an alpha test, the game lacked a certain level of polish when it came to translations, gameplay, and completed content. Nevertheless, the game was in a playable enough state to inform a reasonable perspective on what the game could be like when it launches. Thus, without further ado, here were some of my first impressions when it came to Mad World:

In terms of gameplay, I would say it’s a mixed bag. The skills in the game have a visual and audio feedback that felt tight and responsive. The sounds were satisfying, and the animations were interesting to look at without being blindingly flashy. Previewing some of the later skills, it seemed like the art team really nailed down how to make combat feel good to play, eventually rewarding players with skills that would make them feel grandiose and powerful.

However, separate from the feel of combat, the game had a clear issue with its movement system, as well as targeting. Movement was click-based, with the option of using the directional arrow keys. Clicking to move around in a 2D space proved to be a more challenging task than it needed to be, especially for questing. Players, or even their mounts, would often get in the way of the cursor and prevent clicks on quest objectives or even mobs. This would become a tired and aggravating obstacle when it came to PvP, as mounts couldn't take damage, and acted as inane shields for opposing players, preventing them from being targeted. On the other side of the coin, spells that required channeling time were also frustrating to land on allies that were moving around, as other mobs and entities would obfuscate the person you wanted to heal. Targeting party members from the party menu was not an option which, ironically, was also an inhibiting factor in mobility - the UI (in particular, the party menu) was, at times, obstructive, prohibiting clicking on particular areas of the screen. Thus, basic activities, like keeping tabs on an ally’s health during combat, were a liability during gameplay, and punishing when it really didn’t need to be.

Open World PvP was flag-based, with a “madness” system to punish players who PK’d too often. Despite the visual indication of “madness” (via red eyes), there didn’t seem to be any apparent drawback for killing other players. Guards would only attack players if they saw them attacking others, and were relatively easy to outrun. Potions were on a short 5 second cooldown, and pretty much brought you to full health when used, making it a very abusable cheese strat.

Dungeons, bosses, and general questing were typical of traditional MMORPG standards. There were some open world dungeons, and some instanced ones. Quests were mainly kill or fetch quests, or sometimes gathering. Certain mobs/bosses had some kind of mechanics or different phases, but there was nothing overly complex or challenging that I encountered during my time in the alpha.

Character building and customization made use of tried and true systems that have been seen in other games. Leveling up, I was able to allocate my points into 1 of 4 different stats that corresponded to either physical attack or defense, or magical attack or defense. There didn’t seem to be much when it came to character growth via standard leveling. You mainly just either got more attack, or more defense in the type of damage related to your weapon of choice. Gear-wise, there were your standard 3 types of armor: cloth, light, and heavy. Wearing a full set of armor of one type granted different bonuses, such as full heavy armor granting a flat defense boost. The rarity of your entire equipment set also allocated stat bonuses, such as having full yellow, or orange gear.

The more interesting parts of customization came down to leveling skills, and the passive tree. Skills had to be unlocked via “ether points” that were found in limited quantity through interactable objects in the world called “Ether Relics”. Once you spent those points to acquire a skill, that skill could then be “leveled” through repeated use. Once your skill gained enough “levels”, you could learn new perks for that skill, such as enhancing its stun duration, its range, etc. With the limited amount of ether points, skill selection seemed to be the core feature on differentiating oneself from other players.

On top of that, there was also a passive tree that relied on “training points”, another resource found limited quality throughout the world. This skill tree is akin to something you might find in an ARPG like Path of Exile, with small nodes that typically slightly increased stats, and bigger nodes that contained more desirable traits such as things like cast time reduction. The passive skill tree is also interwoven with the skill system, as the tree contained various “mastery” nodes that are required to unlock certain skills - an example being “Magic Mastery 3” being required to unlock higher tier magic skills.

On the topic of visual customization, however, there’s really nothing to write home about. Hairstyles, faces and colors were in limited quantity, and were generally a moot point considering that armor covered most of it up anyway. The diversity of armor and looks was not entirely evident during the first few levels, but that’s to be expected of early level gameplay. The armor that the GMs showcased seemed to be much more detailed and distinguishing, but without really seeing the full catalog of possibilities, it is hard to comment with certainty.

Narrative is where the game truly shines, and demonstrates the most potential. Despite the numerous typos and sometimes incoherent dialogue, I found that the game’s story was what drew me in the most. The atmosphere of Mad World lends the story a refreshing appeal from the standard drudgery of most other MMORPGs. With the gritty and macabre subject manner, the game meaningfully approached that which would otherwise be considered taboo - topics such as rape, social outcasting, mob mentality, and overall morality.

In essence, the somberness of the game gives it a natural gravitas when it comes to making moral decisions, giving meaning to them, and making you think twice about your actions (beyond differing quest rewards). That isn’t to say that the game lacks humor either. Some quests were comically absurd or satirical, blending a dark humor into the otherwise serious tone of the game. Through the subject manner that Mad World has opened itself up to, I feel that the story may be one of its bigger selling points. The myriad, relatively untapped narratives that the game could cover is one of the more promising aspects that I hope to see more of in the future.

Graphically, the game looks unique and interesting. The art team really hit the nail on the head when it comes to defining a style that captures the grim atmosphere of the game. The environments look barren, harsh, and even alien at times. Places that you would hope to never dream of are displayed in their full, depraved glory. Enemies are also suitably grotesque monstrosities, with limbs sticking out in the wrong places, and inhuman, jittery movement. NPCs bear markers of immense suffering, oftentimes being wrapped in bandages, carrying visible mutations, or simply covering themselves up in concealing garment. The bold outlines also add a unique flair, helping to distinguish characters from the background, and adding a kind of comic-esque style to the aesthetics of the game.

Perhaps the most succinct word to describe Mad World is “potential”. There’s a lot of interesting directions that the game could go when it comes to covering narratives and styles in the MMORPG genre. The general gameplay was not incredibly mind-blowing, but it was completely serviceable (albeit generic) in the context of an alpha. The foundations and framework for a decent MMORPG are there, and with some polishing/completion of more content, it could even be a great, if not unique, MMORPG.

But with the monetization scheme of the game being up in the air, and the somewhat worrisome flags JandiSoft has raised, its efforts might be a moot point. Just the idea of crowd-funding, and the team’s consideration of pay-to-win gear is quite disconcerting, to say the least, as Mad World would not be the first MMORPG to be ruined by egregious business practices. Only time will tell what JandiSoft’s priorities are - whether it is developing a good MMORPG, or creating an easy cash-grab on desperate players. For those who are fans of games like Ragnarok, Tree of Savior, or are just looking for a refreshing take on the traditional MMORPG narrative, Mad World might be an interesting project to at least keep track of. For everyone else, your time might be better spent elsewhere.

Variety gamer. Love all kinds of games ranging from things like Tetris, to games like Alan Wake. MMOs hold a special place when it comes to gaming, particularly Aion and Vindictus. My handle is usually "TokuNiArimasen" or "TokuNiNai".