MMORPG still refers to something that's multiplayer.
When I said, "Why not build an MMORPG around a game that's actually fun to play by yourself," I'm just talking about the gameplay. If the gameplay is something that I would not want to play single-player, why the hell should it be any different with lots of people? If I want to play an MMORPG, I do indeed want to play with other players, not just by myself. All I was saying is that MMORPGs rely mostly on the fact that it IS massively multiplayer. This should not be the only gameplay hook. Other than that, in my opinion, there is no reason that I would want to play it.
For instance, I enjoy playing most of the games of the Final Fantasy series. Most of you probably know that FFXI was the series' attempt at an MMORPG. It was
terrible. If they had made the core game engine more similar to what made the games popular in the first place, it would have been more accessible and fun to play. That's really all I meant. Also, don't flame me if you hate Final Fantasy. I don't care, I do. I really feel dumb for having to explain myself so much. Sorry everyone.
Also, on an added note, Guild Wars is probably the MMORPG that I've had the most fun with. Like I said though, it was still repetitive and slow. I did get bored of it pretty fast. I never played Ragnarok Online, but I suppose it was pretty popular, as I've heard about it a lot. An MMORPG based off of Neverwinter Nights? Not sure how that would work out, but can't say I'm terribly excited for it. We'll see.