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I would love to be part of a living world,
Something beautiful and lasting. Something where I would have to keep a good reputation with the community from the start or else. A game from the first level I'll know it can be played for years. In the beginning I can take my time, create a character, put him in the world then make a cup of coffee without crazy shit blowing up obnoxiously. Kind of boring infact. But there would be plenty of time for crazy when I feel like finding it at my leisure.
The game would be large ware I could seek out simple task or hard stuff when the stars all line up and I have hours to play DEPENDING ON MY MOOD. In my mind this is what an mmo is........choices.....not obnoxious, scripted, get things done in a flash kind of stuff. I don't need my level one character to be dodging fireworks to grab my attention to justify $60. Or worst, grabbed by the first NPC to start my story line. I would really like to make my own. Story lines take me away from other players, and them away from me.
Story lines sets me up to play solo. It sets the stage to HAVEING TO DO IT, OR I'M MISSING OUT ON THE GOOD STUFF. Everyone knows if you didn't follow the designed plan, it shows. People say you don't have to do it, Yes you do !......You have to play solo.
Remember crafting ?......That worth while mini game you can loose yourself in ?......Well it's not worth it anymore when no one wants your stuff because theirs only 30 days worth of content, and you get that stuff anyway.
I wish Dungeon Finders would go away too. Faster travel would have been a more natural option. LFD was a bad invention made by Blizzard. World of Warcraft continued on because it was well established, they could afford mistakes................All other mmos, this is a downfall.
Comments
The fall off of population took place as the game was simplified and turned into more of a hub-based dungeon crawler by virtue of the various finder tools. Whether this is correlation or causation I don't know, but it is quite a coincidence.
You want a game with long term investment? Play EVE.
Tanks and healers sucked in WOW because they were designed around support roles? No duh, they are support, plenty of other class choices for those not intetested in the role.
Faster travel is "natural" (I'm picturing "Speedy Gonzalez") but LFD is not?
WOW continues to succeed in spite of itself. Yeah, I can agree there, some folks like it this way.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
But as far as the LFG goes, I do agree that the way they implemented it has ended up being a overall negative to community building. Being able to instantly teleport to the dungeon ect also made the world feel alot smaller.
Having played WoW for such a long time and since its beginning it has defently changed into a different game then what it was during closed beta and launch. The WoW today is way more focused on end game grinding, dungeons and raids and almost instantly hands you that max leveled character to achive that. Where the WoW at the start was way more focused on the story and journey as opposed to the destination at the end.
You are using a strange term to describe something that takes you away from other players. To me, a "living story" is just that: a story that is alive. This means that it can change. In other words, it is something on which players have an impact. By definition, this means it requires more than one player, and therefore is inherently not a solo activity.
Perhaps you meant a (scripted) "life story"; something that has already been written about your character, having little to do with your actual choices within the world.
When I write missions, I try to bring aspects of game lore to life; in other words, I try to imagine characters that inhabit a world, and allow players to interact with these characters in as many ways as possible without having any preconceived notions about who the player is, other than choices I know the player has made so far (such as nationality, or other assorted flags concerning the player i.e. 'did you agree to deliver that datapad 2 missions ago?').
It can get very complicated, but I think it leads to a richer experience, and is more along the lines of a "living story" than a perscribed "life story".
Other people will tell you that a "living story" is something that is completely unscripted, and dependent on only what players come up with; however, I think you have to have a little of both: there needs to be some structure, but it should be dynamic and multifaceted, giving the player as much agency as is feasible within the framework of the game: allowing a player to pursue the role of a humble shopkeeper if that's what he/she chooses, and providing a rich set of experiences to go along with such a path.
I'm not going to comment on the rest of your post, because it more or less looks like a rant against Blizzard / World of Warcraft. However, there are some games out there geared toward the design philosophy you outline in your first few paragraphs.
...the other quintessential example, which I am sure someone will mention after me, is EvE (edit: I see @Kyleran beat me to it)
"The simple is the seal of the true and beauty is the splendor of truth" -Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Authored 139 missions in Vendetta Online and 6 tracks in Distance
Then all mmos followed. They never took into account Dungeon finders were a bad idea.
Only Blizzard could withstand such a bad mistake, they were established !
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Actually, I am.....just got off the island and trying to figure out the archery.
"This may hurt a little, but it's something you'll get used to. Relax....."
What's SMH ?
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All Kyl ever does is spam threads with Eve...relevant or not.
"This may hurt a little, but it's something you'll get used to. Relax....."
I've noticed, you would think he has stock in it.......I just let him go, I don't feel the need to argue with him much.
So just sit back and wait for pantheon like the rest of us, also would you really want pantheon to be such a big success if it was it would take on all types of gamers bringing in more toxicity, hacks, RMT to the game. Honestly I would prefer it stays a nitch.
Try these!
Classic FFXI - http://nasomi.com/
Classic EQ - http://www.project1999.com/
And if you really want a new type of addiction try this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methamphetamine
I get your point Keeno,
I'm clamoring away......But its to combat several heavy posters that are sooooo wrong.
Games are not lasting, why ?.....Because their so superficial and cheaply made. So many people hate cash shops, way more than do, except the tons and tons of freebee players.
Now were at an even lower low, crap Asian games .....They just have to market them and bam, instant cash flow.
So we have the same posters day in and day out saying everything is great......We all know it's not.
Chill Pills ?.......Got any ?.......I'm only kidding, I'm straight as an arrow. I'm relaxing and on vacation, I'm not angry at all, just typing away, putting out fires of all the misinformation we get here.
Edit:
I just dropped a blueberry on my blue floor......I guess I'll find it when I step on it !
This mindset is exactly what I am focusing on for my own game design.. Choice and Immersion are the highest priority.. Sadly, thats about all I can really say.. But anyhow, for the meantime, players are pretty much at the mercy of how the market is being perceived by Devs and marketing..
..because we're gamers, damn it!! - William Massachusetts (Log Horizon)
Playing the same game for years on end gets old, it is nice to have games to 'retreat' to for a change of pace. I was huge into City of Heroes, but I took breaks from that game so I did not quit in frustration.
I would say that to Kyleran EVE sets the standard for the 'retreat' games in his targeting computer.
The world is going to the dogs, which is just how I planned it!
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Guilty as charged because it does provide a long term investment which is what the OP keeps asking for in thread after thread after thread.
Why would you think my answer is any different?
I will say, Albion Online has recently caught my interest, would be nice to swing a broadsword once again.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
"This may hurt a little, but it's something you'll get used to. Relax....."
EQ2 keeps screaming that my bags are too full, I would need to sub to get rid of that.
Even though I was at the cutting edge in DCUO, after stepping away for two years it will take me one hard year to catch back up; not into it.
SW:TOR - I have a pair of level 50s (the level cap when I stopped playing) in that one, including one that was VERY well equipped - for a level 50. Now, in order to do anything constructive I need to sub. I want to try before I buy, but can't do anything in free mode.
WoW - *puking noises when I remember what the community did to me*
CoH - *starts the game and the screen is black*
Tabula Rasa - *starts the game and the screen is black*
AoC - NO MORE FUNCOM EVER!
So I am looking at Bless Online, Revelation Online, Sea of Thieves, and No Man's Sky. One of those at least will fill the void!
The world is going to the dogs, which is just how I planned it!
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I seriously think crafting need to be improved both compared to old and new MMOs. Minigames are fine but only for the top gear (and those minigames can be more advanced then). Also, crafting needs to have more design in it, both in appearance and stats.
Otherwise you do have a point.
That's when I stopped playing, the mystery of doing the content could be completed in less than a week when I didn't have to work to get a group together