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Why have MMO's devolved?
Aquitis
Member Posts: 24
I mean seriously why am I still obsessed with a game that even the developer hates. I would think I could just move on and be happy playing another game and god konws I have tried. I even played WOW and all of its various incarnations by other developers. I sort of feel how Neo did in the first Matrix when Trinity is trying to convince him to stay in the car and explains that he knows exactly where that road goes. Thats how themepark MMO's are for me.
Who would have guessed that SWG would be the last AAA sandbox? I mean back t hen I was sure that other developers would have made more open ended games and thought it was the logical eveolution. Making online gaming experiences closer to reality. I just feel bad for the people in the forum above us as they have no idea they are walking on the ashes of a once vibrant game.
At this point there is only 2 senarios that are likey to pull me out of the MMO duldrums.
1. A europen developer actually pulls out a functional Sandbox MMO. They seem to cater to a more mature audience and certainly have ideas and have the desire to make a complex MMO. They simply lack the funding and experience to pull it off look at Darkfall I still give the game credit for trying though.
2. SWG is sold to another developer far away from the clutches of SOE or a good mod is created and that may take years though.
Hopefully by the Time I expatraiate to Thailand and have all the time in the world one of these senarios comes to fruition.
Aquitis
SWG Vet
Naritus
Comments
I hear ya.
I enjoyed the crafting system the most. Too bad we'll never see another crafting system as elegant and detailed as the one classic Galaxies had.
Where Darkfall went wrong is by being a PvP-centric game. You automatically cut out 90% of a potential audience of western gamers by doing that. Galaxies did it right by making the PvP entirely voluntary.
The sandbox is pretty much dead. Most people want to be given something to do. They want the guided experience. The market has spoken and that's that.
However, I can see in the future the possibility of sandpark games taking hold. Full-featured sandbox games that have themeparks situated inside of them. The cost of developing such a beast would most likely be daunting, but it may be where MMOs eventually end up. Or at least I hope so.
This is a really simple question to answer. If society was still raising kids like how you and I were raised we would. But their not. Kids have grown up liking a different style of game, these kids that have grown up a bit are now the bulk of MMO subs. We are the minority. Big companies dont make complex and deep games because thats not the style of game that appeals to todays gamer. Old gamers like us are a niche.
The market is now full of gamers that want their hands held, and they want instant gratification. The time where we were given a setting, and the ability to choose our place in that world is gone for now. I have hopes that eventually MMOs will get back to being worlds. Until then I have went back to playing MUDs. Amazingly the text based games haven't changed. They still allow me to make my own way in a world which is something that MMOs really no longer offer.
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They have devolved so as to appeal to todays "Console gamer" generation.
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I played SWG for only a short period of time prior to the whatever drastic changes they made to this game. I remember it being a great game back then. The only reason I did not continue playing was because I was heavily involved in Ultima Online, which I still play today. (Ultima Online is a true sandbox game that I highly recommend playing. There are no other mmos out there like it). So I signed up for a trial account to give SWG another try. Right now I'm questing as a Jedi and just hit level 11. I'm hopeing once I get to a certain level there will be more to do. The questing so far has been extremely easy. Am I free to level as I wish, or is it recommended to follow the main quest line I'm on? I personally hate questing as a way to build a character, which is why I love Ultima Online. But I want to give SWG a chance. Are there bosses that require multiple peple to fight as I get to higher levels?
Why have MMOs devolved?
To make more money.
Vault-Tec analysts have concluded that the odds of worldwide nuclear armaggeddon this decade are 17,143,762... to 1.
To be fair the younger gamers coming from console were never given a choice. And it was an old title by the time they entered the MMO marketplace. Also the idea that gamers want instant gratification with gaming doesnt make sence to me either SWG was one of the friendliest games to new players you could completely level in a week and top end gear was easily aquired usually free if you joined a guild. I mean lets face it pre-cu swg really went unsupported for years while SOE tried to sell us another game (JTL). How hard would it have been to enhance Commando, Ranger, Squad Leader and Creature handler? Give player cities starports and city managers the ability to decorate them so they did not look like complexes in the middle of no where. I would have added new craftable items and faction classes that were forced overt and bring back city permissions so you could kill people in your city you do not like. Also what was wrong with player bounties?
Darkfall actually took a lot from SWG. Their cities had no where near the customization of SWG cities and they ended up being nothing more then places to hang out that spawned some reasources and the walls simply were decorative as people could simply jump over them. I did not mind the full loot FFA PvP aspect but the PvP I never found enjoyable as it was very buggy. Also having no skill cap forced anyone who wanted to be competitive into an unrealisitc grind. Exploiting was necessary to be competitive and I was in a very respectable guild that never exploited in any other game.
I mean we see new games coming out and to be honest why dont they simply tell us hey this game is WOW with this added feature so we dont have to waste our time reasearching. I also think we are more then a nitche market if ever given a chace I think sandboxes could rival themeparks. As an American it is only natural to want freedom of choice why should MMO's be any different? Themepark MMO's sell but because of the built in limitations I doubt they will get the long term subs like other MMO's did. Also people are eventially going to get smart and realize that every expansion in their themeparks are simply making them level 1 again and they have to level back up with different numbers just so they can pay another 30 bucks.
SOE is a crap company but they obvoiusly had some tallented developers. I just don't think it is fair to say that the marketplace would not reward a functional sandbox there is simply no test for this.