After reading through IGN.com's hands-on of the Star Trek Online beta, the first question that comes to mind is: Where are all the other players?
Making the first levels of an MMO a single player experience utilizes a different philosophy of how best to introduce players to unique game mechanics.
The traditional MMO introduction involves putting the player down into a starter zone filled with other starting players, and letting them go through the tutorial even as all this stuff is happening around them. It’s a simple method from a time when a good part of the draw of playing an MMO was that you could be surrounded and playing it with so many other people at once.
Many of the newer MMO games of the last few years have started developing single player tutorials for new players. Tutorials that aren’t just text boxes anymore, but sometimes long scripted events, almost a game in themselves. Players are either completely isolated from each other, or require no interaction in order to progress in the game.
Interaction wise, the new method isn’t that different from that of the traditional MMO. While players were surrounded by others, the necessity of interaction was pretty much pointless until they’ve gained a few levels.
So this new philosophy of introduction is a good thing. It lets players get a feel for the game in a much more involved manner. It also has its negatives though.
An MMO game requires interaction with other players. It requires team work and communication. At some point, players are going to be forced to interact with other players if they want to accomplish specific goals in the game.
Reading about the Star Trek Online hands-on tutorial makes you wonder if there's even any MMO aspect to the game at all.
Can Star Trek Online survive as an MMO if it doesn’t actually have much player interaction? Is a game even an MMO when it uses a full blown instance system? EvE Online is a space based MMO. Star Trek Online so far is sounding like nothing more than a single player game with an online multiplayer campaign option.
Perhaps further hands-on beta testing will provide a solid sense of interactivity with other players… but if players aren’t interacting, than the game isn’t an MMO. Kind of like how Phantasy Star Online wasn’t an MMO.
Though maybe there just needs to be a new acronym for persistant interactive worlds online. PIWO sounds horrible though.
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