Do you like MMORPGs?

[Setharian]

just curiosity....are you an active MMORPG player? if so, which one do you play? which one do you like the most? ;)

personally, I've played wow for a year and a half, but eventually stopped playing it, consumed too much time...being a good player is more time-demanding than studying or having a job :)

[Huehnerschaender]

I am playing World of Warcraft for over 2 years now. I have 2 level 70 chars and I am guild leader of a 170 member guild. I am playing only in my sparetime, never intended to be a "powergamer". And so I had fun over the whole 2 years of playing. No stress in getting the best items first etc. And since the addon is out, everything is more stressless... the normal random drops are better than epic items from the main game. The day I will quit WoW will be the day I will quit playing MMORPG I guess. It's the only MMORPG I played and I guess I will not play another one again (or better, not that much!).

[AthenaOfDelphi]

I used to play Ultima quite a lot. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Not played too much recently as I've been pretty busy.

WoW doesn't appeal to me for some reason. A friend of mine plays it. He loves it and raves about it practically every time I see him, but I'm just not interested. No idea why.

[cragwolf]

No, and not any role-playing game for that matter. Why are so many RPGs set in a fantasy world, especially a world clearly derived from English legends and myths? The real world is infinitely richer than anything a human can imagine, yet people prefer to play orcs, fairies, dwarves, charming princes and fair maidens. It doesn't make any sense to me.

[Setharian]

The real world is infinitely richer than anything a human can imagine, yet people prefer to play orcs, fairies, dwarves, charming princes and fair maidens. It doesn't make any sense to me.
well maybe because you can't be an orc/fairy/dwarf/elf in the real world ;)
people always dream about being/doing something they can't be/do....so that's probably the reason why....

[wodzu]

I've played 4 years in Lineage 2. To make a good character in this game you need to play 8 hours a day for one year I guess. It took me 2 years to make a decent character with nice items and I've played a LOT ;) Unfortunately this game is full of bots and cheating players and has awful customer support.
So now I am looking a nice hardcore MMORPG without any cheats. Anyone know some? :)

[vgo]

IMO all MMORPGs that I've seen are just plain silly and so damn restricted. I don't want to use my time to kill rats to get a few gold coins, besides what the hell are those rats doing with them anyway???

If I want to play a good RPG I'll fire up Nethack (admittedly it has limitations too, but comparing WOW to it is like comparing Pac-Man to Crysis).

[pstudio]

No I don't play MMORPGs and I'm probably not going to play them in the future. I get enough RPG from regular RPG's without the MMO in front :P

However I do enjoy reading about MMORPGs in the brilliant comic The Noob (http://www.thenoobcomic.com)
Watch out, it's damn genious :D

[cragwolf]

well maybe because you can't be an orc/fairy/dwarf/elf in the real world ;)

Well, I can't be a different species of animal either, I can't be a supermodel, I can't be a soldier from the Crimean War. There are an uncountable number of real things I can't be, things that actually exist, or used to exist, and we have a lot of information about them, rich and interesting information that only the real world can provide. So why are people choosing fantasy over reality in games (and in fiction, too, for that matter)?

[Traveler]

Why are so many RPGs set in a fantasy world, especially a world clearly derived from English legends and myths?


I dont think that is really true. Elves, giants and other fantasy creatures exist in many legends in many countries. At best you could say that they have a lot in common, or that some have influenced others.


So why are people choosing fantasy over reality in games?

To escape real life :wink:

Mind you though that, while you do assume the form of an elf/orc or dwarf, the role you play in games still remain linked to real world values, except perhaps for the magic part.
The fantasy part just makes it more interesting, more fun. Also, with fantasy you can do more without constantly having to explain why things are the way they are.
Want dragons in your game? Sure no problem! Twoheaded snakes as a pet? Sure, you got it!


As for the original question. I play Wow too, although currently less often than I used to. Time permits me to play other mmorpgs (or any other game for that matter)

[cragwolf]

So why are people choosing fantasy over reality in games?

To escape real life :wink:

No, I think you've possibly nailed it. It seems to me that it's not just games where people prefer fantasy over reality, it's other arts as well, like novels, films, even music when you read the silly lyrics of popular songs. Maybe the role of art is to act like a cocoon, provide us with comfort and protect us from the harshness of reality. Or maybe I'm just talking horse manure. Whatever the case, it's an interesting phenomenon, the prevalence of fantasy themes in role-playing games.

[WILL]

I'll weigh in on this one. :)

I'm a bit stand-off-ish about current day MMORPGs or any MMOGs to be honest. The reason is because I don't really think that anyone has gotten it 'right'.

Now I'm not talking about how you have to buy the game then keep paying to play, --even though I completely despise that idea-- instead I mean the gameplay it's self.

I view games like World of WarCraft and Ultima Online as 'really neat' at best. Maybe it's just that the technology hasn't gotten to the point where you can support a large and lofty plot for all to take part in, instead there are small cookie cutter missions you end up playing instead. Or worse the gameplay just isn't as varied or interesting enough.


In my own honest opinion, a great RPG has to have some sort of larger goal than to simply level up. And I don't just mean mini-missions and the like. Those are meant to be distractions to the larger encompassing end goal to expand the adventure and add anticipation to the continuing of the evolving story or plot.


On the flip-side to all of this, if you were to create a semi-ambiguous end goal, or just have the game remain 'never ending', you'd had better make the gameplay varied, complex and bloody enticing. A simple hack-n-slash does not do this. A spaceship game might be able to, but you'll need more than just blasting other ships getting money and upgrading your ships (same thing as WoW imo), you need to have more complex gameplay.


Now, I'll admit I'm a picky gamer, I usually only stick with or want to pay for the really good ones. (well... why shouldn't I ask for quality? ;)) It's the way I am. Example, WarCraft III was like half a game to me. Max units was too restricting (each unit cost WAY too much) and the games features were reached way too soon. Should have had the expansion pack as a part of it's initial release. But thats me. ;)


To make things interesting, here is what I think could make a great MMORPG game if a company had enough passion to put into it. 2 Ideas really...

Idea 1: You play a cop among many other cops in a HUGE city where crime is at it highest it's ever been and it's growing at an overwhelming pace. You have robberies, hostage situations, assaults, drug busts, small misdemeanors, organized crime, murders, etc. requiring all kind of different skills (sniper, assault, negotiation, knowledge of law, investigating) to keep these criminals in jail and help try to clean up the streets.

Each criminal would have it's own auto-generated name, nickname and profile and would go on creating their crimes with or without others and the players have to stop them. If they become more successful you get to read about them in newspapers and FBI top 10 lists, etc...

Also your character would go up in rank and get to choose different departments, districts to work in, etc...

Idea 2: A perfect type of game (with a some additions and enhancements) would be Shadowrun for the Sega Genesis ('http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadowrun_(Sega)'). I'm not kidding, this game would be a perfect template to build onto. Cyber-punk has never been so perfect for gaming since MMOGs. :)

You can take or leave all the fantasy bits (I'd get rid of em myself, but thats me.), but you enhance the skills feature of your character, add all kinds of new jobs, expand with either a much larger city or a bunch of cities. Give the city a mayor, chief of police, etc... have real AI controlled or players in these roles and allow them to be killed, replaced and/or have a contract on their heads.

For those that have never played the game (oh... how sad. :() the gameplay of Shadowrun is where to take contracts or 'jobs' to earn money for equipment, weapons, technology enhancements (for 'jacking in' to networks via your brain) hospital bills should you be hurt and so on. The jobs are anything from taking package from point A to point B, extracting some thing from a corporate building, hacking a computer system to extract information, protect someone going from one point to another, etc... You could even add other things like 'hits' or espionage, etc...

:lol: It's kind of the opposite of Idea 1, but in that it's all set in a darker future setting where there isn't much difference in right and wrong. :)


Well those are my ideas of great MMORPGs. Should any of you guys make one or know of one, be sure to let me know about it! ;)

[Eriken]

Yes, but apparently not for the reasons I would think when starting.. Never been the "I want to be best"-kinda guy I am more into playing WoW for having some fun with friends you cant necessarily visit and do other things with.

So, apparently it's about the MMO-bit for me more than the RPG-bit ;)

I've played WoW quite abit, but the game itself isn't really about skills.. it's about experiencing the stuff enough times until you know what button to push ;) Every "Doorknob" can do that ;)

I don't play it anymore though, I moved, got a job and haven't got internet atm so life goes on ;)
_____
Eriken