Do you want me to admit to it? FINE! I'm getting old... well, twenty-two is old to people who are twenty-one. And I'm twenty-one, going on twenty-two, so I feel incredibly old. Why do I bring this up? Well, in my hastened decline in years I've found an odd side to my heart: the pacifist.

Yes, oh dear Lord, I have become my greatest enemy. I miss my High School years when I had liberty spikes and played bass in an irish punk band. I got drunk so much I only remember a few of those nights, but that's not the point. I was the video evidence to prove it happened and thus I hold onto it like a prize. Unfortunately, now as I descend into my senior years, I have found myself changing as a human being. Yep, I am evolving.

Firstly, and clearly most importantly, I actually want a bank account. I'm ont entirely sure why, but those free checks you get whenever you sign up sounds like a good deal. Secondly, I am finding myself feeling bad whenever I play a horribly violent video game. Yep, I'm becoming my worst nightmare: my parents. Now, keep in mind that this does not stretch into my Call of Duty time, I actually still quite enjoy killing me some Nazi Zombies. That, however, is different... not sure why, exactly. Nevertheless, Call of Duty is off limits to my morality.

So why am I posting this? Well, maybe I'm becoming too sensitive, but I've grown real shocked as of late at the horrible amount of games coming out which have little to do with actual fun and instead revolve entirely around violence. Prototype, for example, is a game based entirely around the so-called hero, Alex Mercer, who kills thousands of American soldiers, New Yorkers, and zombies. What did the zombies ever do to you, Mr. Mercer?! The game is bland, boring, repetitive, and, worse yet, has an Emo for a protagonist. By the way, since when are protagonists clumped in the same pack as mass murderers?

It just seems like the game industry is very quickly becoming little more than an actual rap song, sans the black people. No, I did not mean that in a racist way. I'm just convinced that black protagonists must be side kicks or, at the very best, stereotypes forced into the role of the gangsta pimp. God damn it, I am becoming more like my parents. Alright, let's do a new comparison: games like Prototype are very quickly becoming to the game industry what German Scheisser is to porn; shocking, disgusting, and clearly unhealthy.

God damn it, I sound exactly like my parents now.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say we shouldn't be allowed to play, make, or think up games like this. Actually I am in full support of both it being designed and sold to mass audiences. I am just not a fan of it myself and I have to wander whether or not its because I am becoming far more mature than I was when I was fourteen and could get away with the slaughter of thousands.

Alright, I know I'm going to catch some slack for this, so let me say here and now: I play World of Warcraft. Yes, I know, all you people who dislike Wal-Mart, think MacDonalds is a terrible company, and percieve Capitalism as a Russian lady stabbing communists while riding a train probably think I am nothing but a sheep. Fine, to each his own.

Bahhh.... crap. It's hard to keep them in sometimes.

Anyhow, on to the subject: MMO creators and your foolish, foolish idealization of we, the consumer. Firstly, I must tell you, you picked a horrible market to suck up to. We are really hard to attract because we've become so jaded as of late with games like Auto Assault and The Matrix Online. Yeah, I know, people actually paid others to make that stuff. Horrible, I'm quite aware.

I know what many of you are thinking: but Zweikin, whoever you are, people will buy the game, play it for a few months, and then quit. In theory it's a success since most people buy console games, play it for a month, then sell it. Sure, I suppose in that light it is a success. However, they are ruining not only the genre but their own chances of ripping us off again. Do you honestly think I will ever, EVAR play another NCSoft game? Well, maybe I will, but chances are I won't because I don't trust them. The same can be said for S.O.E. Blizzard, on the other hand, has grabbed me in their little web.

That's right, brand loyalty. Do you know why I will be play The Old Republic? Simple and easy: because I trust them to deliver. Sure, it might suck, but I don't think it will, so I'll buy it and Dragon Age and anything else they poot out. The same can be said for Blizzard and Square-Enix and Bioware (I know, I mentioned them already) and even Rockstar!

Secondly, and perhaps worst of all, you did it all wrong! Bad game studio, bad! You have been making games about things we have NO idea about. Ask yourself honestly: would you ever play a game which costs a regular fee each month if you had no link, connection or otherwise tie to its story, characters, and squishy bits? Of course you would... wait, what? Well, you would for a month, then you would quit. Think Age of Conan or Warhammer Online.

Oh, and to all of you people who are yelling at me right now because you play those games... yeah, sure, you do, but how many others are? I'm sorry, it just does not match up to World of Warcraft. And, before you start crying, I can defend WoW entirely because this is a free market and we use profit and durability as a sign of success. Can you say that any game I have listed has even touched a half of WoW's success? No? It's not worth it then.

World of Warcraft is not undefeatable. Anyone, and I do mean anyone, could make a better MMO and do it with more success, but they don't follow the obvious signs:

1. It has to have a defined video game base, not one which comes from miniatures or card battles.

2. Everyone must be able to run it! I'm sorry but if 90% of your audience can't play your game, they don't care about it.

3. You must attract EVERYONE! Not just PvPers or PvEers. EVERYONE! Inclusion my friends, it's called inclusion!

That's it... seriously. Now, you have to take into account that each of those steps has about a million more, but the simple truth is that MMO's are incredibly easy to make in theory: make it fun, friendly to casuals, and rewarding to hardcore players.