The Weekly Raid: Is It Acceptable For An MMO To Have Boring Introductory Content?

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This week's Weekly Raid is brought to us by an interview with Final Fantasy XIV's director and producer Yoshi-P, who made a mind-boggling comment:

The developers understand that Final Fantasy XIV’s first half isn’t that fun, but something they wonder about is whether it’d be a good idea to introduce complicated skills and systems to new players from the get-go.

My initial reaction was bewilderment. How is this acceptable? Only in MMORPGs do people accept sub-par content for the promise of better gameplay later on. But I never imagined developers also saw their content as boring.

I understand the idea of introducing complex systems over time. You don't want to overwhelm your players with a full bar of skills. But why does that mean the "first half isn’t that fun?"

Yoshi-P's statement reminds me of commentators who say, "no, the real game begins at max level." I find the notion ludicrous. The game begins when I hit "play," and it should be fun when I hit "play;" otherwise why am I playing?

No other genre has an audience that would accept these statements. But maybe that's just, like, my opinion, man.

Is it okay for MMOs to have boring introductory content? Let us know in the comments below!

From Mega Man II to Ape Escape, I've been playing games for as long as I can remember. I've spent months killing porings in Ragnarok Online and more recently lived a second life in Eve Online. I usually play as gUMBY, gUMBLEoni, or gUMBLes in-game.