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Why This Old School EQ Gamer No Longer Plays MMORPGs
ColumbiaTrue
Member Posts: 47
TRAGEDY AND HOPE: MMORPG GAMING
Why this Old School EQ Gamer No Longer Plays MMORPGs
1. Group Dynamics: Discipline, Predictability, and Reward
Grouping has taken on a different life of its own: total and complete predictability. The mobs. The walkthrough. Even the rewards. The drops. Everything has been preplanned and even, literally, mapped out.
Seldom if ever is there a surprise in a group dungeon. It is usually instanced, and therefore your "community" cannot help (or hinder) you.
The whole predictable process becomes a boring chore to kill, collect, and obtain a predetermined item.
2. Community: Who Needs It?
There is a lack of a natural community in gaming. An interdependent community. We should depend on each other for items, grouping, exploring content, etc.
I will not even get into roleplaying that everyone used to participate in at least in some subtle ways, which really made gaming more immersive.
3. Adventure? Exploration?
One reason why I loved expansions in Everquest was the opportunity to explore new content, obtain new items, and encounter new mobs. The excitement of exploration that I used to experience in Everquest is lacking if not absent in today's MMORPGs.
4. Graphics Appear Cartoony, Childish
I prefer more "realism" in the game. Everything seems to be out of proportion in today's MMORPGs. Everything appears glittery, big, and gaudy - tryng to achieve a "cool" look that becomes a parody of itself.
It is all overdone.
5. Alternatives to an End Game
Crafting, ship building, house construction, player economies, and much more are alternatives to an end game that focuses on raiding. The end game so to speak is a raid game, which has devolved into a really big group or a zerg (not necessarily a raid).
Speaking of raiding, it can be made to be much more complex, challenging, and involved. Raiding should be in different forms: activities that take place across the span of the world to achieve the same objective.
"The truth is EA lies." - Youtube User
Sim City. Everquest. Civilization. Dungeon Keeper. Vampire: The Masquerade. These are the games that I love and cherish.
Comments
VISION: PLAYER EMPOWERMENT
Gaming, specifically MMORPGs, needs to reinvent itself. I believe this can be achieved with providing the players the tools and resources to grow, learn, and even wonder about their gaming worlds. Allow the community to participate in the design and expansion of cities.
Allow the players to create a dungeon with is own rewars. Of course this will be done with limitations.
Allow the players to conceive and build. Allow them to be the developers.
Player empowerment is not merely a possibility, but a reality. Developers need to give the players the hammer and chisel, and allow the community to transform not only the worlds but the very imaginations we have for virtual worlds.
PLAYERS WILL LEAD US OUT OF THE DARKNESS
The gaming world is in a period of creative darkness. Players, using developer provided tools, will use a collective effort that culminates into dynamic, changing, and creative worlds.
"The truth is EA lies." - Youtube User
Sim City. Everquest. Civilization. Dungeon Keeper. Vampire: The Masquerade. These are the games that I love and cherish.
We have the same mindset, all though im that much of a sanbox player like you. PLayed EQ alot also, but i loved the groups farming for AA's and the raids.. Ohh man, u had to spend 3 days clearing mobs to get the "Main" boss.. That was good times
Like that "pro" and "leet" stuff - we do not even speak the same language. Probably do not even exist in the same world.
The way these games are designed, and even the way the worlds look, seem immature to me. And I think it encourages these new ways of community interaction in which players do not really need each other or respect each other.
In other words, speaking of "pro." a rather incompetent player could become, let's say, a jedi - or attain a terminal level and be the most "pro" player although this person is only 14 and never has had a job.
The worlds are not challenging. The rewards are not worth the time effort. The breakdown of community and creativity is the result of a lack of player empowerment in which the creative parts of the community have no part to play other than going down a predetermined path.
"The truth is EA lies." - Youtube User
Sim City. Everquest. Civilization. Dungeon Keeper. Vampire: The Masquerade. These are the games that I love and cherish.
No, he just likes playing MMOs in a different way to you.
And they say sandboxers are trolls...
Just because he wants to play a specific kind of mmo doesn't make him someone who thinks he is better than you.
[mod edit]
And there is no real way to "lobby" the developers into providing alternatives because we are in this creative darkness period: the shadow of WoW. Edit: whose shadow was Everquest. We need to think and develop MMORPGs differently with a community-oriented focus; namely, by providing players the tools to change, develop, and add to the worlds.
Player empowerment and player impact are the concepts that need to be incorporated into mmorpgs.
The develoeprs probably mistakenly believe that player empowerment is too risky, but it is the best way to enlarge and even change the concept of the pie (market).
"The truth is EA lies." - Youtube User
Sim City. Everquest. Civilization. Dungeon Keeper. Vampire: The Masquerade. These are the games that I love and cherish.
So a guy who doesn't play MMOs comes to a website dedicated to MMOs and tells us why he no longer plays MMOs. Brilliant.
I feel kinda sorry for you because of the trolling hell about to be unleashed upon you. I can't name names, because then I would be banned. But brace yourself.
Just saying, the game Pirates of the Burning Sea has a interdependant community aswell as a economy that does not focus on raiding..... the economy itself you collect dubloons too start up your economy, work your way up and build your own materials you can either sell them or use them to make OTHER materials and use THOSE materials to make buildings, or ships and such
That is great. That is one game I have never tried, actually. I should look into it.
It goes to the concepts of player empowerment and player impact.
"The truth is EA lies." - Youtube User
Sim City. Everquest. Civilization. Dungeon Keeper. Vampire: The Masquerade. These are the games that I love and cherish.
PCU moment! Don't be that guy
I am also an old EQ 1 vet, and I have to agree with the OP. MMOs today are lacking something. There is some depth or freedom that is just ommited from the process that leaves me wanting more. The experience is quite different that it was in the past.
It's pretty depressing to have such amazing experiences in older games and to see the gaming industry move in a different direction.
Unlike the OP, I haven't given up on MMOs completely, but I don't stay with a particular one very long. I will get excited about an MMO, play it for a month or two, and get bored because I am max level and my family life doesn't allow much time for raiding. If that is all the end-game content a game has to offer, then I'm out of luck.
I've got high hopes for Archeage. It looks like its filled with both open world and player created content. I am a little skeptical about korean games as many in the past have been nothing but grind fest, but this one looks a little different. Anyway... I feel your pain OP, believe me I do. Just gotta keep the flame burning. Eventually a game will come along that will satisfy the old guard.
Mash those hotbuttons brother!
"I am not in a server with Gankers...THEY ARE IN A SERVER WITH ME!!!"
I have to laugh because isn't "button mashing"---even buying the hardware to do it better---become the "skill." Player choice regarding which abilities/spells/scrolls to use and in which combination depending on the circumstances/encounter should determine "skill."
Some people like this creative darkness period and are "leet" or "pro" in it. That is fine. I am not even demeaning it. But I am saying there are many of us out there that have the hope of a world of natural communities, real challenges, more choice, player empowerment and player impact.
It is hard to transfer or capture the imagination of gamers that marinate in worlds that are static (not dynamic). Everquest has already earned its place as a triumph of gaming vision. Now we need to expand the concept of MMORPGs to incorporate more player impact and player empowerment in the world.
"The truth is EA lies." - Youtube User
Sim City. Everquest. Civilization. Dungeon Keeper. Vampire: The Masquerade. These are the games that I love and cherish.
It's nice that you understand and admit your short comings.
But we weren't always PRO, we had to start out like the rest of you and actually play games that were filled with team dependancies and significant risk vs reward.
ColumbiaTrue I suggest you find a sandbox game to play. It solves alot of what you were referring to. Personal recommendations being Darkfall or Mortal Online, Darkfall is more cartoony but feels more polished and Mortal is more realistic and immersive.
I agree with you primarily because my first and favorite MMO is EQ. Unfortunately, they have suffered and have to make the game less challenging to compete. I plan on rerolling on the new server and giving it a shot again. See some new content that I missed when I quit.
All I can hope for is that EQ Next is half as good as EQ1 was.
I think you are really bemoaning the loss of the kind of community that was on the internet in the early days of MMOs. Now that the audience is much more general, it's never going to be possible to turn the clock back.
Short comings? I have been playing games just as long or long than any of you. You and the OP obviously skim through my previous post but let me help you out here.
"You're an old school gamer who already knows what to expect, you are familar with the concept making it easy for you to learn and adapt to any new game released."
We all remember games when we first played them and how challenging they were regardless what style FPS, RTS, RPG,... every game released with it's own little twist that you learn and familiarized yourself with. After years and years of playing you already know what to expect your doing exactly samething over and over again. The concept of these games are all the same since the original, just made differnetly, some with more or less depth than others.
It's really sad to see such short sightedness and ignorance from a 35 year old.
Meh... It is even more general then that, the OP is simply nostalgic. It happens to the best and ofrc no modern incarnation can live up to the feeling and connection the OP have with EQ.
To give a good real world example, i really like the memories of my high school pen n paper RPG sessions. All the great stuff we did. Have never really found a group as good since... Ofc once i start picking at it i realise that i have forgoten or at least choosen no to remember a lot of the bad stuff. And ofc not even if i could get that group back would it be the same.
Sad fact of life, nothing is ever constant.
This have been a good conversation
Blasphemy!
All we have to do is exclude the masses and only allow vetted people to join a game.
Blasphemy!
All we have to do is exclude the masses and only allow vetted people to join a game.
I have started a list.Me too. I have a list of cool people from here, from gamedev, from various MMOs I have played, various game press people, irl friends and so forth.
I was thinking about having TTS come out under the RINC Virtual World Foundation Release Structure. I think the quality of the community would thusly be vastly superior and thus the game experience as well.