It’s crazy. We’ve not yet been a week on the TOR forums and already it’s clear to see a divide in the community.

Like many of you reading this thread, I’ve thrown a number of different topics onto the forums and, while I’m happy to say that a number of people have agreed with me and it’s good to see some real thinkers in the community, the passion — and sometimes even venom — with which other people want to tell me that my ideas are horrible, is astounding.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I have a thick skin and could care less what some faceless Net denizen thinks of my ideas on a personal level. What really gets me, however, is the extent to which people seem to want to dumb down this game in general.

It’s kinda scary, actually.

I’ve seen people suggest a robust economy, that we can have an influence on. Oh no, cry the naysayers, we don’t want that! That’s boring! That’s too much like, dare we say it, SWG. God, we don’t want any part of that!

OK, say some other people, let’s have some excellent crafting options. Oh no, cry the naysayers, we don’t want that! People don’t like crafting anymore in games. It’s all about running around and slaying things, don’t you know?

Erm, alright, so what about space combat. Star Wars, if nothing else, is a hotbed of space combat, right? Oh no, cry the naysayers, we don’t want that! We just want to concentrate on the ground game. Who cares about space?

So how about questing where we are made to feel heroic, but not a cookie cutter hero, like everyone else in the game world, who has killed exactly the same bad guys and claimed exactly the same loot? Oh no, cry the naysayers, we don’t want that! We want a very simple system where everyone can be exactly the same as everyone else. We’re paying for this, you know?

I mean… I’d like to go on, but I’m kinda lost for words as I think back over these examples in my mind.

I am actively worried, yes worried, that there is a body of people out there who are hoping for a VERY basic kind of game. Push a button, wham, you’re a Jedi. Don’t worry about the economy — there isn’t one. Crafting? Bah… that’s for the birds. Space combat? Don’t need it. It’s all about doing quests that make me feel like a god. No more, no less.

Well, folks, can I just say, very quietly… be careful what you wish for. I have this sneaking suspicion that the more dumbed down you want this game to be, the more surprised you’ll be when it launches and, after a few weeks play you’re left thinking, “Oh… is that it?” Because, honestly, that’s what’s going to happen. If all this stuff that has been the pillar of MMOs for the past decade is so meaningless and gets the old heave-ho by the devs because they think it’s what you want, you’re going to be left with a very small-minded, boxy kind of game that’s going to be fun for awhile, but probably won’t outlast the average single-player RPG.

I seem to spend half my threads pointing out that single-player RPG concepts DON’T WORK in MMOs… and, look out, I’m about to say it again: they don’t. They might be similar, but there’s enough difference that they aren’t a straight match, either.

So before you go to reply to someone’s thread about the economy or crafting or something that you might find utterly boring on a personal level, just stop and think about how far you’re potentially dumbing down the game for everyone else by demanding it doesn’t have stuff like that. The more that gets cut away from the traditional MMO structure or, if it’s retained, gets dumbed down to the max, the less there is to play. That is a stone cold fact however you want to slice and dice it. Keep it in mind, guys.