strangely in a cynical way.. (can't believe I'm about to say this) but EG is correct... all mmo's, FFXI, EQ2, WoW, SWG, etc.. etc.. are really at the core about gaining more power and gear.. and being able to see more of or do more in that virtual world..
some have higher degree's of true storyline driving the events you take part in.. but that's really just icing on the proverbial cake.
and it WOULD be interesting to create a world where events shape the direction of the game.. if you *COULD* aid in the rebuilding of cities ravaged by war and actually SEE it happen over time and once it's done it's permanent.. I don't think these events are quite as easy to code as EG thinks.. but I do see things eventually heading in this direction...only STRANGE thing about it would be several factors:
people advance differently.. in real life, things happen.. in game events you might have started but alas something happens and you can't log in for about a week (work or whatever), now some in-game war is over or city has been defended or lost... and you just missed out on these events, in a world shaped totally by player actions you simply missed out.. that wouldn't be fun IMO.
for some this fact would actually create a new stress... you would HAVE to log in before someone else killed "X" high level creature.. because once it's dead, it's gone from the world forever. The game would truly become a race for all players because whoever is first would experience the main game content.. laggers would not..
and what about the laggers? give them content of course.. but that wouldn't work either.. because among the "laggers" would be a few who would get the new content first.. the game from a content perspective would be a never-ending battle to give lagging players something to do and there would never be an end to lagging players because *SOMEONE* would log in for the first time...
now the first thought that comes to mind is make it an instance.. so that it only affects you and that way other people can experience the content and it will only be gone for them..
EverQuest 2 does that allready, but for the sake of arguement, let's imagine it like this.. what if it was like this, the first person to unlock Fallen Gate made it such that the quest was gone.. forever.. add to that lets assume once a named is killed it is gone, once again this leaves behind the people who don't level as fast.. or get there first..
simply put, no matter how you slice it.. in some way, shape, or form.. a game where "the early bird gets the worm" and once gone there are no more worms.. will be a race, and how do we race in MMO's??? we grind.. we crank that XP through the factory as efficiently and effectively as possible... such an mmo would be the ULTIMATE grind soly because you would HAVE to be first to get the best non-grind content.. that's amazingly ironic.
and so.. the thought shifts to new content.. add more.. well I assure you that level 50 will be able to do the new content FAR FAR sooner than that level 10 ever will...
Level Cap the content, once past a certain point in levels you can't do it.. though unrealistic (and I'm assuming EG is wanting a level of true realisim in this arguement) it wouldn't really solve anything.. so the level 50 can't do it.. but the level 20 can, and will and that's yet another quest removed from the world forever while the level 10 new player is STILL out in the cold.
I've never played WoW, so I don't know it's system from first hand experience as far as questing goes.. but I HEAR it's pretty much similar to EQ2's.. and honestly the current setup is simply the best way.. in a world where people simply don't level at the same rate, but feel they are entitled to the same content.. the best thing to do is make the content availble to everyone equally.. once the individual does it, it's done.. and a new individual who has not done quest "X" can.. and can enjoy it and benefit. It's not the most realistic system.. but with respect to fairness to the players it's the best there is.
The best thing for MMO creators to do is to make these quest more engaging.. stronger storyline ties (though heavily flawed, FFXI DID have great little storylines to nearly every quest), more useful and with greater purpose (be it gear, XP, exploration, etc) but honestly they can't do more than that.. gameplay logistics and equality simply do not support the concept of a totally player changeable world.