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The Daily Grind: Do you like minigames in MMOs?

by Justin Olivetti on Aug 2nd 2010 8:00AM

Quick: What does cooking in Free Realms, diplomacy in Vanguard, fishing in World of Warcraft and horse racing in Lord of the Rings Online have in common? Other than being fantastic wastes of time (I kid, I kid), they're all types of minigames added to our MMOs by ambitious developers who were looking for ways other than "smash with club" to accomplish tasks in game.

Some minigames are little more than whimsical diversions, set out for players looking to blow a few minutes on a cute activity. Other minigames are crucial to achieving goals, as players engage in them to get money, level up professions or even succeed at a raid.

So how do you feel about minigames in MMOs? Are they too "kiddy" and should best be left for Nintendo DS players and Flash game fanatics? Do you like the variety and spice they add to the game? Do you even want to see more of them as alternate ways to advance other than combat?

Tags: flash, free-realms, lord-of-the-rings-online, lotro, minigames, nintendo-ds, opinion, raid, tdg, the-daily-grind, vanguard, world-of-warcraft, wow

Reader Comments (23)

As opposed to the mini-game where I play whack-a-mole with the button bar, firing every attack when it recharges, to make the other guy's red bar go down?

As far as I'm concerned, well-designed minigames aren't "minigames." They're gameplay. And I'm all in favor of gameplay.

I agree, a well made mini-game can add diversity to an MMO.

Anything that adds to the overall experience and keeps folks from being bored is a success.

when and if i find a minigame that makes me not get pissed off I'd change my mind. Sure like infamous brad said it could be gameplay.

more times than not, so far it hasn't been done right for me at least. I like minigames, but a la free realms or wizard 101 where you whole game is a series of minigame... passss

In the spirit of Brad's response I have to say: If a "mini-game" is identifiable as such, then no, I do not like it. The very fact that it is not seamlessly integrated into the rest of the game systems for me means it is flawed and an indication of poor game design.

AOC pvp mini games are a sad joke

No Mini GAMES!

Fishing in WoW is kinda silly...It's not really fishing tbh
I think most games have followed suit on LotROs Horse racing
And Free Realms honestly has some very fun minigames.

I like the general concept of a minigame but I am opposes to it in situations where if you do not participate it puts you at a disadvantage. Example: Fishing in wow is great because whether or not you choose to participate there is nothing gained exclusively from it that offers a real boon to anything other than fishing.

However in the case of jousting for the argent tournament, there are four daily quests and a dungeon that all involve the same minigame. If you choose not to participate you are blocking yourself out of a whole slew of lucrative and beneficial rewards.

Achievements. That's where the real draw to fishing is. The edible and cook-able ones add to your cooking skill and eating achievement too!

I think first you have to define a mini-game.

To me, they are anything that happens outside of the 3D gameworld... and I don't like them.

Anything that happens within the 3D gameworld isn't a mini-game in my opinion, it's an activity just like anything else. Especially when it contributes to progression or other elements like crafting, such as WoW's fishing.

Fishing in WoW is not really a mini-game. Like Lethality, I consider a minigame that happens outside of the game world. If you consider fishing a minigame, then you have to consider crafting a mini-game as well.

I think Free Realms does a great job of making their mini-games varied, and a great way to kill some time. However, that works for that game, because the whole game world is to be taken lightly, and mini-games are all part of that world of fun. I couldn't see any serious game having mini-games tied into their game world, unless it was in a lobby in a main city.

I'd love to see Blizzard add an RTS mini-game to WoW, as a way to kill some time. If there is anyone who could make a mini-game as addicting as the rest of the game, it would be Blizzard.

Minigames are only decent as long as the minigames are fun, End of line.

If the mini-game is well integrated into the game, I like it. The tile puzzles in DDO are a good example. They fit the theme and are incorporated directly into regular play.

Fishing is another good example, since it's something that you do with your character within the game world.

The games they have in Free Realms, on the other hand are a distraction from the MMO. They basically take you out of the world while you play them. I hated that enough that I spent all of about a day in FR and have never gone back.

The crafting in EQ2 is somewhere between these two. It's definitely a mini-game and has its own window. However, the window is small enough that you're not removed from the world and there is a logic behind the game that makes it feel a lot more integrated than FR's variations on Bejeweled and the like.

I've had too many games ruined for me by immersion-breaking, aggravating little mini-games.
Whereas I do like non-combat activities like crafting or gathering to involve some real interaction (rather than just "click on the glowy thing"), anything that deserves the moniker "minigame" is a poor choice of game mechanic. And even if one should be lucky enough to be treated to a minigame that is actually fun, it is hardly ever fun the thousandth time around.

In short, not only "no", but "Hell No!"

I'd rather the time spent on mini-game mechanics was spent on actual game mechanics. Maybe it's just me, though.

Some mini-games are okay like the scanning mini-game introduced in STO Season 2 patch: It's short and it gives a pretty satifactory reward. The dabo mini-game however is a sad joke which never should have been implemented.

matching minigames are highly addictive if you ask me. I have no idea why. Not a good idea for combat, but for gathering and crafting, minigames are awesome. Now if only the number of metal bars didn't depend on your ability to pour the melted ore...

I'd like to see to pay to play mini-games that give a chance at winning an item from the cash store.

freerealms has a daily wheel! (kind of like neopets but I don't think there's an NCcash wheel lol).

*NCash

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The Daily Grind: Do you like minigames in MMOs?

Reader Comments (23)

Posted: Aug 2nd 2010 8:07AM J Brad Hicks said

Posted: Aug 2nd 2010 8:11AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Aug 2nd 2010 8:46AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Aug 2nd 2010 9:37AM Ayenn said

Posted: Aug 2nd 2010 8:23AM Shadanwolf said

Posted: Aug 2nd 2010 8:30AM TheJackman said

Posted: Aug 2nd 2010 8:33AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Aug 2nd 2010 8:35AM Belghast said

Posted: Aug 2nd 2010 10:58AM mattwo said

Posted: Aug 2nd 2010 8:57AM Lethality said

Posted: Aug 2nd 2010 9:09AM Dandmcd said

Posted: Aug 2nd 2010 9:18AM Scuffles said

Posted: Aug 2nd 2010 9:37AM aurickle said

Posted: Aug 2nd 2010 9:51AM Thorium88 said

Posted: Aug 2nd 2010 9:54AM (Unverified) said

Posted: Aug 2nd 2010 9:55AM Faryon said

Posted: Aug 2nd 2010 10:58AM mattwo said

Posted: Aug 2nd 2010 4:08PM (Unverified) said

Posted: Aug 2nd 2010 4:55PM mattwo said

Posted: Aug 2nd 2010 4:56PM mattwo said

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