MMORPG games have been following the same formula since the time World of Warcraft showed it to them. Hoping to ride WoW's train of success, these games have not risked deviating from the formula by much. The setting might change, the graphics, the style, the animations, but its still a "theme-park" - a linear game experience tailored by the developer and not the player.
What if the players had control over the game world? What if they worked together to create a world of their own in the setting and with tools that the developers provide? I am talking about a player-interaction-based, or sandbox, MMO. The players would establish cities of their own making, delve into the politics of their realm, create quests according to current demand, and have professions other than fighting - to support this player-driven world.
A sandbox MMO would become a very user friendly engine rather than a theme-park. It will be dynamic and endless in every aspect, as it is player controlled and sustained. The developers will be in charge of improving this engine and the publishers will host it. Not only will it be less work for the game developers, as they don't have to roll out new expansions and level cap raises every so often because the players will be the source of new content, it will also be way more fun for the players. The game will truly feel like a dynamic world instead of a theme-park, and MMOs will finally be able to take advantage of having a large online player-base. Theme-parks should be left to single and multi-player games, as they don't have access to a large and persistent number of players. While the community can contribute to a game with mods, those mods create separate worlds, and not a persistent one.
The MMO game model is ideal for the sandbox upgrade, and its about time the MMO developers took that step forward.
The following video showcases some of the upcoming sandbox MMOs. While these MMOs are not quite like I have described in my post, they are taking steps in the right direction.
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