new quasi MMORPGs on mobile

[Don]

So I noticed quite a few quasi MMORPGs came out after Genshin Impact like Noah's Heart or Tower of Fantasy, but the whole game play seems like you just hit one button and hit the dodge button when the red circle shows up, which is like a simplified form of 'don't stand in red' in WoW like 20 years ago. Does the collective gaming industry just have amnesia and forgot WoW was like a thing? Sure, the graphics on these look pretty nice, but I don't know if they're even better than any random newish MMORPG that failed if you're not particularly attached to cel-shaded graphics. I noticed they make flying a big deal of these things and again it's like people forgot there are flying mounts in WoW or even if you go further in EverQuest there's like levitate and it's pretty easy to get high enough altitude to float across most maps (in fact it's pretty crucial in zones where it's way too hard to fight your way through to avoid stuff by floating over it).

I guess at least these games aren't strictly inferior to PC/console versions, which is the case for most RPGs especially RPGs from Japan on mobile that isn't a Summoner's War clone, but it certainly doesn't feel like there's any progress on these games that make way too money on the mobile. It's not even like Summoner's War where its system is at least pretty unique, or at least I can't think of a standalone RPG that has a similar system before it, and yet even if it was a standalone game it'd play reasonably well (ignoring how you'd figure out to balance limited resources in a single player game). It feels like paying $15 a month for WoW or FF14 is apparently too expensive so let's put like $200 on an inferior game for a low chance of getting something useful instead?

[Julius Seeker]

I’ve not played any traditional mmorpgs on mobile, but I have played some casual style ones. I also worked on developing a few mobile games with RPG mechanics for over a decade. Although, I haven’t worked in mobile gaming for a few years now.

I think mobile is a great platform for casual games. Traditional bingey games are better suited to PC and console, although I did used to play a number of classic-style RPGs and simulations on mobile: Kairosoft games, Phoenix Wright, Dragon Quest, Seiken Densetsu… Square almost always messed up their interface on Final Fantasy games (IMO) going for style over functionality a lot of the time.

Currently, I’m playing a mobile RPG called X-Hero, and I really like their progression. Their marketing has been effective, they essentially attached on one of those really bad mini games that seem to be eye catching to a lot of players, put it in the game to get some extra premium and grind currencies, but the game is a straight up casual RPG with multiple progression paths, events, and features that unlock along the way.

[Eric]

I'd like these games a whole lot more if gacha wasn't their primary way of fleecing money out of you. It's so incredibly predatory.

[Don]

I'm not opposed to something just because it's gacha but it seems like most of the time it's just a game that charges you way more for the same thing that you could get elsewhere without offering anything new. I don't know if 'casual' is the right word, more like mobile is good for game with a different take on gameplay compared to traditional game. That's why I always thought it's weird mobile games that try to be a traditional MMORPG can even succeed because it's generally just a strictly inferior game on control mechanics alone. I don't mind spending more if a game is unique and covers a role that PC/console games don't, but most don't have any innovation. Like I said, at least Summoner's War has a unique RPG system compared to RPGs you can get normally. Don't know if it's necessarily worth it since it has aggressive monetization but at least it's something. Zlongame came out with some decent SRPG on mobile like Langrisser M and again you can't get a high quality SRPG game very easily with the same elements so maybe it's worth spending a premium. Megaman X Dive somehow is surviving despite being a pretty greedy and bad game and at least it's got Megaman long after Capcom gave up the series for dead. Those are all valid reasons for an aggressive monetization model but so many games offer absolutely nothing for such a model.

To be fair games like Genshin Impact or Tower of Fantasy would be good enough for a second rate action MMORPG, like say Guild Wars 2, but I don't know if it's even better than Guild Wars 2 other than the graphics and it's not as much as you'd think unless you're someone who totally overvalues cel-shaded style over all else. MMORPG has been kind of stale but that's because it was probably too competitive so nothing really interesting came out when you got WoW and later FF14 which is somehow like a casual WoW that's prettier in some sense.

[Julius Seeker]

I'd like these games a whole lot more if gacha wasn't their primary way of fleecing money out of you. It's so incredibly predatory.

Haha, if you can fight back the urge to spend, then it’s all good. I know exactly what you mean, though.

[Julius Seeker]

When I say “Casual” it’s less about the depth of mechanics (though simple and intuitive are benefits) and more about the style of game.

While traditional games are intended to be played for long sessions, and mostly have an ending state, casual games are meant to be played for short sessions without any obvious ending state.

Traditional games can be played in a big binges on weekends, while mostly being ignored during the week. Casual games are made more for daily play with weekends and weekdays having roughly the same play time.

The casual games that tend to be the most successful are the ones that allow players to have meaningful things to do 3-5 times a day, and keep those play sessions of meaningful things down to 3 minutes or less—that doesn’t mean all casual games get this, some have normal sessions span into the 10-30 minute range, Animal Crossing games (for example). So, with X-Hero (the one I’m currently playing), it limits players from doing too much at once, there’s stuff to do every 15 minutes, but if logging in every 15 minutes, sessions will probably include 3 battles, which could take as little as 30-40 seconds (on auto-complete). There are long term things to do—hero combinations, upgrading equipment, and that sort, but there’s not a particular deadline for it.

Animal Crossing, people don’t like it being called “casual” because in Nintendo circles “casual” became a pejorative that got tagged to any game with motion controls. But Animal Crossing, despite being a retail game, and despite having some players that spend long periods designing, has a core loop that is designed for casual play.