What about Game play?

SEANMCAD

I have been viewing gaming forums for years, here, other places, game specific forums the whole '9 yards'
I have to say about 90% of all posts are questions about the developer, pricing models, community. I dont think I have ever seen a OP thread that discussed actual game play. I have seen comments about actual game play within threads but I dont think I have ever seen one as an OP. That doesnt mean they dont exist, I bet they do, but they are rare are they not?

I want to get ahead of the response by saying if you are going to post and example of a thread that does talk about game play, please post 10, not 1

cameltosis

From the Pub:

http://forums.mmorpg.com/discussion/468999/should-best-in-slot-exist
http://forums.mmorpg.com/discussion/468853/so-what-is-old-school-mmo-really
http://forums.mmorpg.com/discussion/469064/that-old-school-feeling
http://forums.mmorpg.com/discussion/469024/thoughts-on-item-systems-how-would-you-create-your-items-in-your-mmo
http://forums.mmorpg.com/discussion/468635/old-school-design-flaws-are-they-real-problems

These are just from the first page of the pub, but this is 5 separate discussions about gameplay. Some are a bit abstract - how the gameplay of old mmos gave us a different "feeling" - whilst some are more direct, like discussing crafting mechanics and itemisation. 

I had a quick scan of the next few pages and the ratio seems to be about the same: roughly 5 non-gameplay discussions for every 1 gameplay thread. 


My guess though is that you're looking for specific discussions about gameplay mechanics, rather than gameplay as a whole. Different types of crafting mechanics, tab-target vs action combat, different ways to implement mounts, should games have enrage timers etc. Whilst I enjoy those types of discussions immensely and would like to see more of them, they are of limited value.

First, the overwhelming majority of us lack the imagination or technical skill to invent new gameplay mechanics, or lack the communication skills to properly explain what we've invented. I came up with a new way to implement tanking, for example, and I think I only got 2 responses. 

Second, gameplay mechanics don't exist in a vacuum. They are just one part of the overall game and must mesh well with all the other decisions that have been made. Again, the majority of us lack the comprehension required to understand how different gameplay mechanics would affect the overall game. For example, its common to see things like "I wish Battlefield had combat more similar to Rainbow Six: Las Vegas" but most of us can't conceive of how the cover system, or thermal goggles, would change the way the overall game felt. 

Third, there are no correct answers. When it comes to discussing gameplay mechanics, the best we can do is say what we like, what we don't like, potential improvements and our opinion. Once we've expressed that.... Its like the sandbox vs themepark discussion. We all have opinions and preferences, but there is no right answer. The threads only get active when people start saying false things. 

Finally, gameplay mechanics don't change very often and how we feel about them cannot be separated from the rest of the game. For example, I absolutely loved LotRO's combat but disliked SW:TORs combat. They both used tab-targeting and toolbars, both had GCDs, both had classes and specs. So, whilst the gameplay mechanics were the same, the other design decisions (skill design, resource management, content design etc) all resulted in LotRO having vastly superior gameplay. 

postlarval

OP, you forgot to tie in your "early access is God - AAA is the devil" message.