Offtopic - A deep sigh about MMORPGs

I've been a MMORPG gamer for quite some years now, and have tried 10-15 different games. Some for just a few weeks before abandoning them, others for as much as 3 years.

So, what makes a MMORPG good and worth playing, and what is a recipe for termination a year after going live ?
I'll try to list a few do's and don'ts:

1. Don't try to compete with World of Warcraft.
2. Do try to involve the players in generating content and/or develop addons for the game.
3. If you want to reap the marketing/hype benefits of making a game in an established universe like J.R.R. Tolkiens Middle Earth or Robert E. Howards Hyboria, DO stay true to the world.
4. A game should contain several (more than one) "things" to make players want to continue playing. (Improving your character is an obvious "thing", but improve it for what need?)
5. Any decent MMO has a crafting-system. Do make the crafting-system as intriguing as the most demanding players wants, but with simpler options for those that "just don't care about it".
6. Do make gathering resources fun and interesting. (Vanguard was on to something...)
7. Do introduce some new concept/mechanics in the game, which sets it apart from most others.
8. Always promote teamplay in all aspects of the game. (It should be clearly profitable to team up with others.)
9. Try to have a "living" storyline in the game, with future patches incorporating what players have accomplished.
10. Try make the system in such a way that a rookie can play together with seasoned veterans.

...end rant...

-Hans-

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