What do you "expect" when you launch an MMORPG?
I got to thinking after reading this:
SWG was a simulation escape for some, but it was missing that game feel for others.
"Simulation." That's an apt word for what I look for. I look for a world that makes sense and "feels feasible." I'm not looking for an epic storyline like a single player RPG or a simply murder simulator. Fill that world with deep lore and allow me discover that lore.
I look for good NPCs that are my window to the world. They may have tasks for me to do. Maybe I just feel like killing monsters and seek others to do likewise. Maybe I feel exploring anywhere in the world and if I die, I die. Perhaps becoming a good craftsman tickles my fancy or learning a new language.
I expect alts. Lots of alts. I expect reasons to have alts like differing starting areas in this world.
I expect many activities that will keep me busy and engaged in the game. I expect deep systems that take me awhile to discover the nuances. I expect enough time to learn new skills and abilities before becoming inundated with even more skills and abilities.
I'm a carebear, so I expect a "safe environment" where I get to choose when to face danger, not being some other player's plaything or content. I'd like things I build to have a chance to be whittled away by time.
Again, what do you expect from an MMORPG?
PS: Is "Epic Quest" kind of redundant? Aren't Quests supposed to be epic by nature? Otherwise, aren't they just "tasks?"
Comments
Easy to use movement controls (WASD)
PvP is voluntary
My computer can handle running the game
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Above the line items are absolute requirements, without which I won't play
Decent graphics
Immersive world
Lots of choices for who and what I play, and how I build that character
Slow progression
Lower levels are fun, not just upper ones
High Fantasy, not silliness
EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests
Nice post, @VestigeGamer
"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
The currency system is actually really smart in there imo. I wouldn't mind a game with something as similar as possible to poe orbs. Or maybe someone invents an absolutely new market system, something that makes sense. The thing I love about path of exile market system is that you can buy poe currency to use what u farmed to kind of have fun with rng and roll items, and then if ure lucky enough u can actually buy currency in exchange for these items. And it is actually quite easy to spend just some orbs and make an item that is worth a lot more than just these few different orbs.
I'm not a huge fan of PvP so I don't mind a game where it wouldn't mean much, I'm all for this sweet PvE content, and I love grinding so wouldn't mind spending hours to farm exalted orb stuff - like in L2 for example.
Another thing is I definitely prefer the games based on subscription. It makes it so that there is less of younger players who often make the gameplay less pleasant...
And I wish every game had developers similar to poe developers - who ACTUALLY listen to what people have to say about different game mechanics.
I do want open world PvP, but with rules that make random PKing expensive to those doing it. I want a working justice system where victims can avenge the crimes against them, or done in their name through a social order. And it has to hurt the perp.
"Hurt The Perp!"
Say it with me, everyone, "Hurt The Perp!" lol
I expect more than just to go look around for exploration. I want discoveries.
Like discovering valuable resource centers, Boss Mob dens, caves and other places you can turn into a home or encampment, ruins that you can explore for loot and artifacts, ancient burial sites, passes and shortcuts through mountain ranges, entrances to a vast underworld, buried treasures, the works. And ancient spells, power sources, rituals, and the like. And knowledge of the secrets of the world.
And related to that discovery, I want a deep lore that has layers of eras of ancient domination. Some good, and mostly evil. Like an Age Of Dragons, Ages of Demons and Cults (under humanoid control), a long lost "Golden Age", etc.
I want a very deep economic system that doesn't have the game systems that current games have, like universal banks and trade houses. I want the players to build that, and have the tools to do so.
And I want it in a Sandbox world where I can choose my courses of action.
Once upon a time....
Logic, my dear, merely enables one to be wrong with great authority.
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.- FARGIN_WAR
VG
I believe the "Golden Age" of MMORPG's is forever gone. Perhaps the possibilities offered by new tech like SpatialOS may hold some hope, but given the fact that "more complexity" means higher development cost probably makes the ROI even less attractive...
Gamers have proven that "MMO" is very desirable.
Make a great game that plays different, that's an exciting and adventurous world to play around in, and polish it well, and you've got something.
Once upon a time....
Though something like that could cause oversaturation and destroy the genre. Unlike other gaming genres numbers matter to the individual game. I don't know.
Once upon a time....
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Only MMO I ever played that stuck to their guns was Wizard 101. They picked their audience, catered to it and raked in the money and love because of it. Never played Eve Online, but they seem to get it as well.
If it fails... so what...
VG