All this week, Kill Ten Rats has had posts about games that do things right. They’ve had commentary on the good elements of Eve Online, ATITD, and Puzzle Pirates.

I’ll toss out some game elements I really like from the games that I have played:

• Housing in EQ2 and SWG - Consistently, whether it’s a hardcore raider or a foofy RPer, I’ve yet to meet a MMOG player who didn’t like the idea of character housing. The idea of having a place to hang your hat is really appealing, and both EQ2 and SWG do a great job with their systems.
• Class System in FFXI - Being able to try out different class roles with the same character is wonderful. I (as with many MMOG players) get attached to my main character, and I’d love to be able to experience new things with him. Deleting him and rerolling is not the ideal.
• Puzzles and Traps in DDO - The best thing in that game, in my opinion. Real-time interaction with traps and puzzles made for some actually quite enjoyable moments.

I’m not all that nice, though. Here are some things I have yet to really see nailed:

• Combat - My favorite combat system is probably WoW’s, and I still don’t like it that much. The idea of MXO’s combat is terrific, but the implimentation sucks. I was really looking forward to the crazy customizability of Tabula Rasa’s combat, and then they changed the game design. Considering as much combat as I’ve done in MMOGs, you’d think I would have a better time doing it. Learn from console games! Fresh experiences on the lowest level leads to fun further up the food chain.
• Crafting - I love Puzzle Pirates‘ system, about 50%, and I love SWG’s system about 50%. If those systems had the sex and made babies, I would be in luuuuuuve.
• NPC Interaction - Please see Oblivion and Mass Effect for what you should be aiming at, developers. Eye contact, please! Also: if you have to voicecast every role make sure they don’t sound bored at talking to my awesome self, okay?