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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ForceUser" data-source="post: 3864639" data-attributes="member: 2785">I agree. D&D has definitely taken on the feel of a fantasy MMO---I don't recall there ever being discussions about "class balance," for instance, prior to 3rd edition, which hit two years after fantasy MMORPGs really took off with the success of EverQuest. I also don't recall 2nd edition being at all concerned, as a game system, with the sort of magic item proliferation we've seen in 3rd edition---the drive to fill out the paper doll (that is, to get a magic item in every available slot), the same way characters do in MMORPGs. A strong concern over a feeling of progression is also a new element that arrived with 3rd edition, and mirrors the concern that MMORPG designers have with enabling a constant series of minor upgrades in character power, to foster a sustained sense of accomplishment in a persistent game world. In an MMO, this is the primary driving factor behind playing, and it has clearly become a strong factor in the development of D&D. In 4th edition this is being taken a step further, with an expansion of the core levels from 20 to 30, and a stated desire by the D&D developers to spread out the acquisition of class and racial features along the 30-level path, in exactly the same fashion that video game designers sculpt character classes in level-based MMOs.In short, it is obvious to me that MMORPGs now influence D&D game design, whereas originally MMORPGs and their predecessor MUDs were inspired by D&D. This doesn't surprise me, given that at least one D&D developer plays World of Warcraft enough to have a high level character in a hardcore raiding guild. I have no doubt that other D&D developers have also become avid MMORPG fans. As gamers, we gain from this influence a transparent and uniform system of rules mechanics that is designed to be fair and dynamic, and is built with room to evolve. What we lose, however, is that childish sense of magic and wonder that propelled us to play D&D in the first place, since the game is so patently mechanical and polished now. There was a rough-edged charm to previous editions of D&D that modern editions of the game will never regain.</blockquote>

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