Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

On Sunday night, my daughter asked me to share my love of trading card games (TCGs) with her. She and I play Pokémon together, and she enjoys looking at my modest collection of Magic: the Gathering (MTG) cards. Rather than dust off my box of MTG cards, I went online to my Free Realms account to show her my virtual collection. I went through the novice card battle with Sam Potts to demonstrate how the game plays and get the feel for a beginner’s guide I might write. After my daughter was safely tucked into bed with the incorrect perception that I am the best Free Realms TCG player ever (thank you, training round!), I felt a strong urge to hop back in and try to find a live opponent with whom to play cards. That’s when a thought about Free Realms struck me: I only feel compelled to play with others for competition. Is this intended? How integral to the game is competition? And what does it all mean for the success of the game?

I concluded that most of the various minigames in Free Realms are geared toward rivalry with winners and losers (even when the opponent is yourself). Kart racing has a clear ordinal finish, and only one player can be first. Checkers and chess have winners and losers. The TCG? One winner, one loser in each match. Adventure missions have a winning objective (kill whatever or rescue somebody) and a losing objective (usually a number of knock outs). Even when I harvest, I get a score for myself. I can try to beat my own score or get the best on the server. Everything I do in Free Realms involves a contest of some kind. 

Realizing that every minigame in Free Realms is about winning or losing also forced me to recognize that it is an intentional design element. The concept of “e-sport” and reading In the Trenches came to mind. Clearly, competitive or scoreboard games are very popular on the web. Why wouldn’t someone look to combine the furor over MMOs with the thrill of a good showdown? And the short, almost episodic nature of Free Realms lends itself perfectly to this type of gameplay. Do you have only fifteen minutes between work and dinner? Log on and run a race. Or maybe you’d prefer to play a hand of cards or run an adventure instance. Whatever you decide, Free Realms has an opportunity for you to get a brief gaming fix.

The fact that you always win or lose in Free Realms gives you a sense of completion (if not accomplishment) each time you log off. It’s subtle but vital, especially for the casual gamers who will flock to this title. You always know the outcome of your play experience with Free Realms. I felt content at stopping with five out of nine harvesting items collected for a cooking recipe I wanted to try because of the minigames. In fifteen minute bursts over the weekend (between meals, while waiting for another game to patch, or just in a down moment), I was able to collect all of my ingredients and cook a new dish. I never find myself mulling over what I need to do when I play again because the world is open and, well…free.

That’s the genius behind the concept of Free Realms; I can enjoy it every time out because I feel a sense of satisfying completion and I do not feel compelled to pursue any one aspect. I don’t log on for a night of faction grinding on the same mobs or harvesting nodes monotonously in a zone. Instead I log on, follow a whim, and have fun. I may not obsess about the game when I am not playing it, but I always leave with a favorable impression. That might equate to Free Realms being my solid #2 subscription.

Parting Thoughts

Being everyone’s second subscription game might be exactly what Sony Online Entertainment wants. World of Warcraft remains the first subscription for the majority of gamers everywhere, and every game that has tried to cut into Blizzard Entertainment’s pie has come away with an empty fork. Maybe SOE has latched onto the secret everyone has been overlooking: maybe games should aim to be the number two title that complements WoW instead of trying to be a direct competitor. Lure us in with a free game (no retail box cost) that we can play for a long while for free. Make it something that draws us back with instant gratification and that doesn’t make us feel guilty about wasting progress on a title besides our primary subscription. Then maybe you’ll get our money. SOE might just have mine.

As a final note for those of you might be tempted to ask, no one has bought me. I am just impressed with Free Realms. It’s cool if it seems like kiddie nonsense to you, but I am having fun. Building off of the angle of episodic play that appeals to multiple demographics, I might look again at Free Realms as I examine another upcoming game, Lego Universe. Stay tuned.

Have you tried Free Realms? Email your thoughts or post them in our forums!