It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
The Broken Mirror, the 22nd (!) expansion for the original EverQuest, will launch on Wednesday, November 18. The Daybreak developers recently demoed the expansion during a livestream event, and we’re recapping it all for those who missed it.
Comments
Yep. We live in a time where boxing multiple accounts to play by one's self is preferable to actually playing with others.
And yet some will tell you this genre hasn't fallen greatly from what it once was.
That's exactly what these games target. SOE learned that trick years prior. SWG was designed to be multiboxed with 1 character limit per galaxy per account. Everyone did it. It was expected. This is the exact reason I quit Anarchy Online. As the population began to decline, Funcom shifted it's development strategy towards remonetizing (exploiting?) the current loyal player base. It was almost impossible to play the game and experience it fully without at least a 2nd account.
MMOs allow you to choose your level of engagement with others. Joining others is often assisted by some for of matchmaking or fast travel, and leaving a group is as simple as hitting the Recall button. Forums are no different. Some passively read these forums. It may be for info, or entertainment or just to be part of the group. Others engage. Some engage a LOT. When you are interested in engaging, you enter the conversation. When you're done, you can stop responding or close out the browser. Complete control over the level of engagement. Is there something wrong with someone that jsut reads the forum and doesn't post? Of course not.
But it's also worth noting that just because someone is playing alone in one MMO or one aspect of an MMO, that does not necessarily mean they do not interact in other MMOs or other areas of that MMO. This has a lot to do with the communities and social circles in different areas as well as the type of entertainment or activities there.
If you get a chance, check out Sherry Turkle's book "Alone Together". It explains a lot of how we got to where we are, and the good and bad of it. If can handle mention of World of Warcraft in a positive light (some here can't), then also check out "Alone Together?" by Nick Yee, Nicolas Ducheneaut, and others. The latter a much shorter read and much more MMO-focused.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
The graphics of EVE Online are beautiful* because their art team never rests. On the flip side, World of Warcraft was praised for its polished, stylized graphics at release and those same graphics have stood the test of time with few graphics upgrades over the past 10+ years.
*PVPers, zoom in. There's really cool looking 3D ships behind those colored squares.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre