Newbie Friendliness
Everquest II
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What it promised?
The game was supposed to be aimed at the regular player. As such it was promised that players new to the world of Everquest (and possibly new to the world of MMOs) will have no problems learning how to survive in the dangerous world called Norath.
A huge marketing point was that the team behind the game had 5 years of experience gained in working on Everquest (1) and as such will be able to provide us with the perfect experience for both old and new players.
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What it delivered?
At the start of the game players found themselves on a ship in the middle of the ocean. On this ship we were taught how to use the interface, how to get quests and how to complete them.
After this we were left on the Isle of refuge. This is the place where we learned more about the different classes the game offered, made the choice and then started down the path of one of the 4 archetypes (mage, fighter, scout and priest). On the island we would complete a chain of quests that would teach us the basics of the class we have chosen and give us some basic equipment.
There was also a quest that introduced us to crafting, but in the end most players learned about crafting later on in the game from other players.
As a whole this introduction into the game world was easy enough for someone who was familiar with the basics of RPGs, but a total newbie easily got lost in the interface, which was far from perfect.
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What it offers now?
Not much changed about the way the game introduction works. New players still visit the Isle of refuge where they learn how to fight. Figuring crafting on your own still takes a bit of time, but there are always enough people around to help you get started.
One thing got better though – the interface. I will return to this later on. As far as a beginner is concerned, the new interface is far more intuitive, the information it offers is better distributed into the various game windows and it is nicer too look at.
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World of Warcraft
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What it promised?
Since the day WoW was announced, we were promised that this will be the most beginner friendly MMO out there.
Seeing that the authors (Blizzard) are known for the fact that they make games that have an almost perfect control scheme, most players expected the interface to be near flawless.
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What it delivered?
When the player created his character he was put into a starting zone (specific to the race he chose) with a quest giver in front of him. The game offered tool tips for the first few steps, after which we were left pretty much on our own.
Although I made this sound bad, it is in fact quite the opposite. Since the interface the game offers is so intuitive most players got the hang of it by the time the tool tips stopped displaying. As such, any additional tool tips would only bother most players.
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What it offers now?
Hardly anything changed concerning the beginning of the game. It is still newbie friendly and as such no changes were needed.
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Conclusion
Both games promised to be newbie friendly, and they both kept the promise. While EQ2 was not as newbie friendly at launch as WoW, things have evened out with time. Today both games are easy to get into, regardless of your MMO experience
