Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.
Bad games. I played LOTRO for two years until they turned it into a raiding/gear-grind MMO. And don't get me wrong, I did raid. But once you spent two weeks getting your Annuminas armor, you never had to gear-grind again. And that was easy to get, just run the 3-man School & Library instances for a couple of weeks and you had all the tokens and commendations needed. But after RoI... It just became a pointless grinding nightmare.
Fallen Earth was great, but Icarus ran out of money and the game had some issues. Still, it was a great six months and I loved that game and my old clan Exile. I also liked GW1 and DDO. Both having the advantage of being playable with a low monetary and time commitment. If I don't play for a month or two... No big deal, I can jump right in and not miss a thing. And there are a couple of more I played for at least a year.
But recently, a number of AAA titles have come out that I've tried and they've all left me flat... I look back on them and think, the issue seems to be the failed games were made to cash-in on the MMO craze rather than be good MMOs that happened to make money because they were good MMOs. I think I'm like many MMO gamers in that I'm willing to pay a lot of money for the MMO experience. When it's a good MMO designed around community play. But I get fairly offended and quit early when it seems that the game is more about cashing-in on MMO gamers than providing fun, at a cost, to MMO gamers.
As you get older you find that you have to spend more and more time in the real world and that's hard for some people to accept. They keep looking for the perfect game where they can abandon their real life in favor of a fantasy world where they can feel needed or more powerful than they actually are in the real world. Unfortunately it is unrealistic to expect to be able to replace your real life with a game life and it can be upsetting when people are faced with this reality.
This would be a valid argument if it werent for the fact you're 100% wrong.
I have very high self esteem, am very valuable in the real world, feel valuable, and have a ridiculous amount of free time.
I play video games not to make myself feel more powerful than I actually am, but to have fun because I like video games.
WHY do I like video games? It's a much more simple than a subconscious pop-psychological need for self validation. They're fun entertainment. If there's ANY truth to what you're saying, it's that I play video games to be a medieval adventurer in a world of magic, because I can't go around killing people or monsters IRL with full plate armor and a bastard sword. The police would probably consider me a mass murderer.
This just in: I also don't watch Game of Thrones because IRL I am not strong enough to wield a sword or smart enough to strategize a clever plot. I don't watch The Walking Dead because I am desperate for the world to end so I can be a zombie hero, because I'm a pizza boy IRL.
My life is very happy, I feel I have tons of self worth and high self esteem. Thus my very existence proves you should go back to your Psych 101 class and ask your teacher why people play video games. (I am only being rude because my degree is in the field of psychology, and I find this post to be very misinformative and horrendously incorrect. It makes REAL psychology look bad).
Honestly, did you really feel it necessary to validate yourself on a video game forum?
Back on topic: When I read or overhear through some interview that another developer is using World of Warcraft as their basis for the structure of their "new" MMORPG, I cringe.
We're seeing the backlash of this, as games like SW:TOR, RIFT, the upcoming Elder Scrolls Online, and numerous lesser known MMORPGs all attempt to follow the 'WoW Money Train', and openly admit it.
Does that make them bad? It depends on how different you expected the experience in your new game to be.
I think it's ludicrous to expect players to invest long periods of time and funds (if it's subscription based) on an identical experience elsewhere. They've most likely already invested hundreds of hours in another game, and now some fledgling game expects them to drop their established character and start all over again, climbing back up through the same experience in a somewhat different setting.
Reminds me of an extra credits episode. The basic jist of what they said is that you shouldn't use a game as the basis of an idea for a new title. You were simply just supposed to have an objective, or something along those lines. If i can remember the episode or quote I'll post it.
As someone who has been gaming my whole life, and I am now 40 years old, I say this discussion is subjective. I'm sure some people are burned out, especially people who have been playing for 8 hours per day for years, but I also believe strongly that the genre has stagnated.
I've been playing FPS games since Quake 1 and prior (Wolfenstien, Doom, Descent ,etc). I've never grown tired of the FPS genre in all these years because it has continued to innovate. Some years it's the same, but the FPS makers know they need to continously move their technology forward in their games, or they will be in the bargain bin soon after shipping.
Recently, I started playing Tribes:Ascend, which is the spiritual successor to Tribes 2, and I am absolutely loving it. They have moved this old game forward, added unlocks, a cash shop and other cool things, and people are eating it up. I would buy more skins from their cash shop if they will hurry up and put some more in there. The game is an absolute joy to play, and requires much more skill than any of the other modern FPS games out there.
What I have seen in my time with MMO games, is that they have slowly been dumbed down. The games have been getting simpler, and people are getting bored. It's fine that WoW brough millions of 'casual' gamers to the market, but I believe it is a mistake to believe that these casual gamers are not going to evolve and want more depth in these games. Unfortunately, the refinements to the theme-park and story aspects of these games has meant removal of the virtual world aspects of them. We also haven't seen much innovation in how the world responds to us and that interaction, and AI in these games is pathetic. Many people who love PvP love it for the same reason I love playing FPS games; because AI doesn't come close to the wit and skill of a real player on the other end of the network.
At any rate, it's up to the individuals to decide how they see the genre, but from my view, MMO's really need to start making some new leaps. People evolve, and even casual players who make up the lion's share of the market are asking for more now. Remember, most of these new people never had the joy of playing the old hardcore games, or a good fun sandbox with a rich community. I don't believe those days are gone, and I feel there will be room for them again, only with the polish and refinement we have come to expect these days.
Quoted because it is true, especially the part about games being dumbed down.After WoW brought millions of "casual" gamers in making it the bigest online game around, every other company is trying to duplicate that "miracle" and that aint gonna happen.WoW opened the door for many new gamers but those gamers are sure to evolve they will start wanting a more involving and complex game and the current companys are kind going on the complete oppositive direction, simplifing every game aspect in hopes to do as WoW did and bring in wilder audience.Their current moto seems to be the simpler = the more people we can draw in = the more money we can make, and that is starting to break down.
Comments
Denial--not just a river in Egypt.
Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.
Bad games. I played LOTRO for two years until they turned it into a raiding/gear-grind MMO. And don't get me wrong, I did raid. But once you spent two weeks getting your Annuminas armor, you never had to gear-grind again. And that was easy to get, just run the 3-man School & Library instances for a couple of weeks and you had all the tokens and commendations needed. But after RoI... It just became a pointless grinding nightmare.
Fallen Earth was great, but Icarus ran out of money and the game had some issues. Still, it was a great six months and I loved that game and my old clan Exile. I also liked GW1 and DDO. Both having the advantage of being playable with a low monetary and time commitment. If I don't play for a month or two... No big deal, I can jump right in and not miss a thing. And there are a couple of more I played for at least a year.
But recently, a number of AAA titles have come out that I've tried and they've all left me flat... I look back on them and think, the issue seems to be the failed games were made to cash-in on the MMO craze rather than be good MMOs that happened to make money because they were good MMOs. I think I'm like many MMO gamers in that I'm willing to pay a lot of money for the MMO experience. When it's a good MMO designed around community play. But I get fairly offended and quit early when it seems that the game is more about cashing-in on MMO gamers than providing fun, at a cost, to MMO gamers.
Reminds me of an extra credits episode. The basic jist of what they said is that you shouldn't use a game as the basis of an idea for a new title. You were simply just supposed to have an objective, or something along those lines. If i can remember the episode or quote I'll post it.
Quoted because it is true, especially the part about games being dumbed down.After WoW brought millions of "casual" gamers in making it the bigest online game around, every other company is trying to duplicate that "miracle" and that aint gonna happen.WoW opened the door for many new gamers but those gamers are sure to evolve they will start wanting a more involving and complex game and the current companys are kind going on the complete oppositive direction, simplifing every game aspect in hopes to do as WoW did and bring in wilder audience.Their current moto seems to be the simpler = the more people we can draw in = the more money we can make, and that is starting to break down.