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How do you measure your character? Poll
Ihmotepp
Member Posts: 14,495
How do you measure your character in an MMORPG?
I measure my characters in terms of hours played in the game.
I view an online character just like a character in an offline RPG. I start playing a single player RPG. I save the game, and stop playing.
My character has entered suspended animation. His or her "life" happens in the game. Whether I start the game again tomorrow, next week, next month, or a year from now, I'll start right where I left off.
If the character was level 10 with x amount of gear, that's exactly how I will find the character when I start playing again. I don't expect to buy xp potions, or gear, because I didn't play the game for a week.
And that's how I play online games. I measure the character by hours played in the game. When I log off, I expect the character to enter suspended animation. I'll pick up where I left off, and I don't expect to speed up the game with xp potions, gear, or anything else becaues I didn't play for a week.
I think many casual players measure their character by REAL LIFE TIME. Instead of entering suspended animation when they log off, they expect their character to grow in power as long as they are paying a subscription, or buying items.
So if they don't play for a week, they expect to buy xp potions, or gear, to make up for that real life time they didn't play.
To be fair, there is a difference in single player RPGs, nad MMORPGs. IN an MMORPG, OTHER PLAYERS are leveling up in the game even when you are not playing.
That doesn't happen in an RPG. So, I think many people compare their character advancement to OTHER PLAYERS, rather than just hours played in teh game.
So if we have characters that are one month old in real life time, (we've been subscribed to the game for one month), our characters should be the same. Doesn't matter if you played 40 hours a week, and I played 1 hour a week. I should just buy xp potions or gear, so we'll be the same after 1 month of real life time. Because I'm comparing my character to yours in terms of real life time, not to hours played in the game.
I don't think either perspective is wrong, but they are going to create different expectations in a game.
How do you measure your character?
Comments
... I think you might be a bit challenged to find somebody who will say 'I measure my character by real life time, and think that a month of non-gameplay should be equal to a month of gameplay'
In fact, I'd say that's suspiciously close to bordering on a strawman argument. ... but good job beating up on an imaginary perspective that I've never heard anybody profess before.
omfg. I don't even want to look at hours played. It makes me feel terrible.
Good question but I guess I just measure my success, even being an elitist, on whether I had fun that day.
Not even trolling. I don't care about characters/games that are no longer fun.
Spec'ing properly is a gateway drug.
12 Million People have been meter spammed in heroics.
I measure it on what i have "achieved" in the game. In WoW it would be content cleared, gear, lvl, etc. In EVE , skills, standings, kills, isks, etc. So kinda depends on what you can achieve. But time for me is irrelevant, i could spend 5 hours spinning my ship in a station and i wouldn't feel like my character has progressed in any way, even if he has 5 more hours of game time.
Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt.
Among those who dislike oppression are many who like to oppress.
I don't understand the question.
I measure a game as in "fun to play". If it's fun to play or not. I don't measure my character at all. I never payed any attention to "time played" in a single-player game and I'm not going to start in multi-player.
What I measure is "fun I had compared to money I spent". If I don't get enough fun for my subscription, I cancel.
So far, I've quit all the mmorpgs and concentrate on buy-to-play or free FPS pvp games. Much more fun in a limited time I have.
Funny thing, eh: subscription games are interested in having you playing them for many months. Therefore, they need to slow you down, so you wouldn't burn through content in days. They concentrate on time sinks instead of gameplay... and time sinks are boring, so they just shoot themselves in the leg.
I think eventually "subscription" model will show itself a dead end.
I think that's fair, however, you can also look at it this way.
HOW do you achieve in the game?
WoW is a subscription game without a cash shop for xp potions and gear. To acheive in WoW, takes TIME.
Nothing else, except TIME, will get you there. You can't buy xp potions to level faster. You can't just keep paying the sub, and get more powerful.
the only way you progress, get more levels, more gear, in WoW is by TIME PLAYED IN THE GAMe.
So, sure you can say it's what you've "achieved" but you had to do it with TIME PLAYED, and nothing else.
EVE is a combination. It's TIME PLAYED, but also TIME SUBSCRIBED. You get bonuses just for being subscribed, whether you play the game or not.
In a cash shop game, it's a combination of Time Played, and MONEY SPENT.
How much did you play, but also how much did you PAY.
If you PLAY more than me during the month, I can PAY to catch up to you.
I can't do taht in WoW.
I either PLAY as much as you, or I won't be the same level, have the same gear.
Why would I PAY to catch up to you?
It only seems to make sense if you are measuring your character in terms of REAL LIFE TIME, not HOURS PLAYED.
You are free to say you measure your character by REAL LIFE TIME, and you don't expect to be the same in a month of game play as everyone else that has been signed up for a month.
I wanted to put in a qualifier, but ran out of space.
I wanted to say "expect your character to be similar in levels and gear" to other characters that have been signed up for a month, but that was to long.
How do I measure my character? Time doesn't come into it. I measure my character in terms of progression through the game.
Is my gear good for my level? How is my crafting levelling coming along? That kind of thing.
In contrast to Meowhead I have seen people looking for implementation of RL measurements - looking for being awarded levels for not playing the game for a certain period of time (for example). I don't understand that mindset. As for time spent in the game - well if I log in and sit around all day RP-ing, should I still be at the same level as the pedal-to-metal leveller that is logged in for the same amount of time but is more focused on XP and is racing to endgame? Nah, it doesn't work that way - nor should it.
Players measure their character based on their playstyle, goals and gear... or at least I do. Time /played is irrelevant. An explorer type can play a game for longer than a killer type, and be a lower level but know a lot more about the game-world than the killer does. It depends what you're looking for from the game. In the example I gave, both players are fulfilling thier own goals, but those goals are very different, and measuring the explorer's character against the killer's character would be pointless.
I measure my character in terms of achieving my own goals...
Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt.
Among those who dislike oppression are many who like to oppress.
Seriously, you're making up this completely wacky viewpoint.
Look up what a strawman argument is.
Nobody is saying 'I measure by amount of time I own a game'.
I measure my character the same way any sane person does.
By badassness.
Okay, fine, these people may exist, but they're the minority, they're not this huge bloc of people consisting of everybody who disagrees with the OP's point of view. ... and I find it weird that he's dividing people into his camp, and people holding this minority viewpoint, when there's so many other SANE alternatives to both.
I think standing around chatting works the same in all games.
IN WoW you don't progress if you're just chatting, or wondering around admiring the scenery.
The same thing happens in a F2P game with a Cash Shop, no matter how many XP potions you buy.
The same thing happens in EVE. You get some progression points for being subscribed, whether you play, don't play, or log in and just chat.
This may be the simpleton point of view but I measure my charcater by how much fun they are to play. If they become more fun to play as I progress (level, group up, explore, learn new stuff), I play them more.
That is ridiculous. What sort of person plays a game to have FUN?
I think we should all gather around and mock this person for holding a completely unreasonable point of view that obviously misses the point to playing games.
(edit: I've had a post or two like this mod-edited or deleted, so I feel a need to point out that perhaps my tongue is somewhere in the vicinity of my cheek.)
*picks up his torch* Where does this mad man live?!
Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt.
Among those who dislike oppression are many who like to oppress.
How is this "wacky"?
Many "casual" players are exactly like this.
The complain they can't keep up with teh "hardcore" players.
But if you measure your character by HOURS PLAYED IN THE GAME, that's not true at all.
If all 40 hour characters are equal, and that's how you measure your character, by HOURS PLAYED IN THE GAME, then no one can ever pass you in leveling or gear, or get ahead of you, or level faster than you.
Your 40 your character will be roughly the same as all players that have been in the game playing for 40 hours.
So how is the "hardcore" player leveling "faster" than you are?
Because you are measuring the progression terms of REAL LIFE TIME, not HOURS PLAYED IN THE GAME.
I sorry. "Goes slams hand repeatedly in door while screaming I am a troglodyte"
I think EVERYONE plays for fun. Why else would we play?
The important thing to recognize is that we enjoy different things, which means different game designs.
I'm discussing HOW you enjoy playing the game, and what type of game you enjoy playing.
It's a given that we play because we enjoy it.
Well, DUH.
that's not the question, is it? The question is, what type of game do you find fun? P2P games with a subscription fee, or F2P games with an item mall, or a game like EVE where you pay a sub and go up in progression just for being subscribed?
I'm guessing you have a preference. ARe you playing an equal number of F2P games with cash shops and P2P subscription based games right now?
Are you looking forward to a game that's coming out soon? Which one is it?
It's wacky because nobody says 'I think that I should have to own the game for 30 days, in order to hit the 30 day content point'. They either want content gated lower (Less max amount of hours needed to reach that point), based off of purchase (I own the game, therefore I should be able to access all content, not because I owned the game for 30 days), or based off of skill.
You don't hear a lot of people saying 'I owned the game for 60 days, I should be superior to the guy who owned the game for 30 days!'.
If I'm wrong and that's the majority viewpoint, feel free to point out where people are saying that, but I think you're dividing people into an artificial camp that is actually relatively small (The amount of people who say things like 'I've owned WoW for a year, so I should be better than people who owned it for 6 months, but not as good as people who owned it for two years.)
I think the issue was with him saying "many casuals" whereas you or I might say "a very, very tiny minority of players".
I only know they do exist because I have seen /headdesk inducing suggestions on forums, but I'd never claim there are "many" of them (thankfully).
I'm pretty sure the mindset stems, not from casual playing, but from utter laziness: "I cba levelling or even logging in so I demand free levels be granted to me, oh and uber gear too - I pays my subs fee dontchaknow!!!111eleventy!! ps - I also like cookies"
Casual does not equal lazy.
Tbh the OP says more about the OP's feelings about casual gamers (rather, um, shall we say skewed?) than highlighting something that is a real problem in the MMO space today.
In the words of the great Chevy Chase "By height"
I wasn't trying to be obtuse, I just don't compare myself to other players as a method of progression. The only time I worry about gear/levels/gold is when it prevents me from grouping up with others because of game mechanics. Then, I'll put some time in to catch up. So, going off that and looking at the original poll, I'd have to say time based progression.
GW2! You can scale back to an area/event and join in the fun!
I almost said that...you made me raugh.
I almost said 'With a tape measure'. I think this topic is attracting a lot of smartasses.
Okay, I initially said by time played, but what you said here is actually the truth for me, with the addition of collections and housing decor. The fancier and more expensive the items in my house, the more a reflection of my success. Also, some of my household items come from different mile markers in the game and some are rare and come from memorable experiences, etc. and some....I made myself as a carpenter. My house really reflects my journey.
President of The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club