When I quit my last MMORPG, I was having more fun trolling zone chat than actually playing the game.
I would like an MMORPG made for adults who know how to tie their shoelaces. And for those of who know that 2 + 2 = 4.
generally speaking marketing companies like to keep people in somewhat of a pre-adolescent mindset if they can because its easier to sell. So companies in which the marketing departments have a say in design we might not be lucky in the future.
But there is hope, one just has to dig and at the moment almost exclusively outside of the MMORPG market specifically.
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
Yeah. In my mind, if adults at the age of 30+ years-old are playing a game that is easy enough for the average 9-15 year-old to play, perhaps some serious questions should be asked of themselves by these same adults. I asked myself these questions, which is why I quit playing MMORPGs.
The first time I ever saw Everquest, I was living in the U.S. Army barracks at the Presidio of Monterey in California (where I was studying Arabic). My roommate was playing a female character on that game. I think she was an elven wizard possibly. I might have tried it, but I was paying off credit card debt at the time, so I couldn't afford to buy a new computer. Did play some MUDs on my old Macintosh though, I admit.
When I left the Army back in late 2000 (due to my being an incorrigible drunk at the time), I eventually got back together with my old friends. A couple years later, some of my friends were playing Final Fantasy XI online. Because I figured I would probably get addicted, I refrained from joining them. Bought a copy of World of Warcraft in 2006 when I was working for a Sport Chalet in Huntington Beach, CA, but I returned it without opening it. Decided I didn't want to get addicted. I was already having enough problems with alcohol. Didn't need another dependency issue in my life.
The MySpace games called Heroes, Mobsters, Outworld, and Bloodlines (mainly text-based with some images) were among the first massively multi-player online games I ever played (if you don't count the 2 or 3 MUDs I had tried in the past). Heroes was the very first. I initially started playing them because I was severely depressed due to being rejected by a girl I liked. But then I eventually got tired of those and tried World of Warcraft. Didn't get any quests, just messed around killing things a bit, then quit. Went back to the MySpace games, then finally got completely tired of them and played Runes of Magic. And that was the beginning of the end.
Actually, no, I didn't keep playing MMORPGs after I got one max level character in RoM in 2009. Only messed around with a few here and there. Played a paladin in WoW to level 60 for 5 bucks in 2010-2011. But I was completely bored with it by then, so I quit. Even though they sent me a free month to play Burning Crusade in an email. I actually did start to do a couple quests in that expansion, but I thought to myself, no, no more. I can't possibly take any more of this crap. Then, several rehabs later, at the very end of 2013 in extremely late December, I made a character on Everquest 2. That was because I was extremely stressed-out, even traumatized by something that had been happening in my personal life for a few months. However, I found EQ2 to be far more enjoyable than WoW. Also, playing EQ2 for seven to seven and-a-half months straight helped me stopped drinking. So, it definitely wasn't all bad.
Okay, one more thing. I tried Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter right after I got sick to death of Everquest 2. That's the last mmorpg I've played a character (or characters) to max level in. I had never played an mmorpg with action combat before, so that was interesting. Also, there was basically no grinding (as in no necessary/un-optional repeating of quests) until level 60 (in August 2014, before the cap increase 70). But after I played two characters to max, and ran campaigns for a week or so, I quit. That's how sick I was of grinding. Didn't come back until early 2015. Returned because I just wanted to scratch my MMORPG itch again by that time. Played Neverwinter on-and-off until recently. Sampled many other mmorpgs before, after, and during, but I never found another one that interested me enough to keep playing for long. At the present time, since I can't get Wurm to load, and I don't want to pay to play any game before it's released to the public, I have pretty much quit playing MMORPGs. I may actually decide to mess around with Everquest 2 again for the heck of it, but I haven't decided yet. Because the only thing I feel I'll really be doing in that game is wasting time.
But I haven't totally given up hope on MMORPGs. Which is why I decided to start posting on this forum again.
It seems that I can suggest another reason to play MMO.
I would like to share my recent project - mmoDesk, first specialized gaming freelance platform ever: http://www.mmodesk.com
mmoDesk team is inspired with idea of giving people opportunity to make their living by the thing they really love to do - gaming. That is why we developed web platform, which allows freelancers get paid gaming jobs or solve their tasks with help of reliable performers.
Right now it is beta version. We are working on new UI design, which will be released within a month. At the meantime, I will be grateful if you share your experience of using beta, and help us improve it.
Thanks!
www.mmodesk.com - first gaming freelance platform ever
What a shallow reason, "having fun." I don't play any game for "fun." I don't really do anything to have "fun." What does that word mean anyway.
I play MMORPGs because it is a means to immerse yourself in a completely different world where the rules are different. While real life is somewhat monotonous and limited, in an MMORPG you get to be the hero, becoming a person of importance and building a fictional career as an adventurer compared to the rather humdrum life as a technical writer, software developer, etc. This isn't "fun" to me per se: on the contrary, most of the time is spent doing a number of tasks.
For me, an MMORPG and an FPS are two sides of the same virtual reality coin: an FPS is sensually immersive, putting you literally into the virtual eyes of another person, whereas an MMORPG is functionally immersive, in that you become another persistent person who has a name, personality, etc. When these two elements are combined into true virtual reality, both genres as separate parts will become irrelevant, and we will able to really immerse ourselves into another world in what could only be described as a godlike triumph of human innovation.
I don't think that is shallow at all. It's an entertainment product. Entertainment is the sole reason it exists. For that person fun is entertaining. For you being the hero and immersing yourself is the entertainment.
For others grind may be entertaining. Don't kid yourself though. Your reasons for playing an entertainment product are no more valid, superior or shallow than anytime else's.
Fun is individual. Immersion is individual. Grind (the subjective part) is individual.
Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it is bad.
Comments
generally speaking marketing companies like to keep people in somewhat of a pre-adolescent mindset if they can because its easier to sell. So companies in which the marketing departments have a say in design we might not be lucky in the future.
But there is hope, one just has to dig and at the moment almost exclusively outside of the MMORPG market specifically.
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
Please do not respond to me
The first time I ever saw Everquest, I was living in the U.S. Army barracks at the Presidio of Monterey in California (where I was studying Arabic). My roommate was playing a female character on that game. I think she was an elven wizard possibly. I might have tried it, but I was paying off credit card debt at the time, so I couldn't afford to buy a new computer. Did play some MUDs on my old Macintosh though, I admit.
When I left the Army back in late 2000 (due to my being an incorrigible drunk at the time), I eventually got back together with my old friends. A couple years later, some of my friends were playing Final Fantasy XI online. Because I figured I would probably get addicted, I refrained from joining them. Bought a copy of World of Warcraft in 2006 when I was working for a Sport Chalet in Huntington Beach, CA, but I returned it without opening it. Decided I didn't want to get addicted. I was already having enough problems with alcohol. Didn't need another dependency issue in my life.
The MySpace games called Heroes, Mobsters, Outworld, and Bloodlines (mainly text-based with some images) were among the first massively multi-player online games I ever played (if you don't count the 2 or 3 MUDs I had tried in the past). Heroes was the very first. I initially started playing them because I was severely depressed due to being rejected by a girl I liked. But then I eventually got tired of those and tried World of Warcraft. Didn't get any quests, just messed around killing things a bit, then quit. Went back to the MySpace games, then finally got completely tired of them and played Runes of Magic. And that was the beginning of the end.
Actually, no, I didn't keep playing MMORPGs after I got one max level character in RoM in 2009. Only messed around with a few here and there. Played a paladin in WoW to level 60 for 5 bucks in 2010-2011. But I was completely bored with it by then, so I quit. Even though they sent me a free month to play Burning Crusade in an email. I actually did start to do a couple quests in that expansion, but I thought to myself, no, no more. I can't possibly take any more of this crap. Then, several rehabs later, at the very end of 2013 in extremely late December, I made a character on Everquest 2. That was because I was extremely stressed-out, even traumatized by something that had been happening in my personal life for a few months. However, I found EQ2 to be far more enjoyable than WoW. Also, playing EQ2 for seven to seven and-a-half months straight helped me stopped drinking. So, it definitely wasn't all bad.
Okay, one more thing. I tried Dungeons & Dragons Neverwinter right after I got sick to death of Everquest 2. That's the last mmorpg I've played a character (or characters) to max level in. I had never played an mmorpg with action combat before, so that was interesting. Also, there was basically no grinding (as in no necessary/un-optional repeating of quests) until level 60 (in August 2014, before the cap increase 70). But after I played two characters to max, and ran campaigns for a week or so, I quit. That's how sick I was of grinding. Didn't come back until early 2015. Returned because I just wanted to scratch my MMORPG itch again by that time. Played Neverwinter on-and-off until recently. Sampled many other mmorpgs before, after, and during, but I never found another one that interested me enough to keep playing for long. At the present time, since I can't get Wurm to load, and I don't want to pay to play any game before it's released to the public, I have pretty much quit playing MMORPGs. I may actually decide to mess around with Everquest 2 again for the heck of it, but I haven't decided yet. Because the only thing I feel I'll really be doing in that game is wasting time.
But I haven't totally given up hope on MMORPGs. Which is why I decided to start posting on this forum again.
I would like to share my recent project - mmoDesk, first specialized gaming freelance platform ever: http://www.mmodesk.com
mmoDesk team is inspired with idea of giving people opportunity to make their living by the thing they really love to do - gaming. That is why we developed web platform, which allows freelancers get paid gaming jobs or solve their tasks with help of reliable performers.
Right now it is beta version. We are working on new UI design, which will be released within a month. At the meantime, I will be grateful if you share your experience of using beta, and help us improve it.
Thanks!
I play MMORPGs because it is a means to immerse yourself in a completely different world where the rules are different. While real life is somewhat monotonous and limited, in an MMORPG you get to be the hero, becoming a person of importance and building a fictional career as an adventurer compared to the rather humdrum life as a technical writer, software developer, etc. This isn't "fun" to me per se: on the contrary, most of the time is spent doing a number of tasks.
For me, an MMORPG and an FPS are two sides of the same virtual reality coin: an FPS is sensually immersive, putting you literally into the virtual eyes of another person, whereas an MMORPG is functionally immersive, in that you become another persistent person who has a name, personality, etc. When these two elements are combined into true virtual reality, both genres as separate parts will become irrelevant, and we will able to really immerse ourselves into another world in what could only be described as a godlike triumph of human innovation.
For others grind may be entertaining. Don't kid yourself though. Your reasons for playing an entertainment product are no more valid, superior or shallow than anytime else's.
Fun is individual. Immersion is individual. Grind (the subjective part) is individual.