Did MMOs ruin it for me?

[Anjel]

Warcraft isn't a MMO..?

No it isn't. Warcraft, Warcraft II and Warcraft III are real-time strategy games (with RPG elements). World of Warcraft is an MMO.

Yes but when I said it I was also talking about Ultima Online. It surely couldn't have been that taxing for Grufflenark to understand I was referring to World of Warcraft.

 

[Cridhe]

Again. I simply have no interest in being slumped over a keyboard/mouse all day, especially to play games. I have no choice when playing DAoC.

As you say, but not to put too fine a point on it, your choice to play them on console meant you get a short-changed experience from them. They are alright console games, in the same way Street Fighter IV or Need for Speed are alright PC games (NFS isn't a good console game either, bad example!), but on the PC they are incredible; Oblivion in particular is vastly different and superior to the console version.

Warcraft isn't a MMO..?

No it isn't. Warcraft, Warcraft II and Warcraft III are real-time strategy games (with RPG elements). World of Warcraft is an MMO.

Yeah I don't see it. It's the same game, controlling it the way I prefer to control it doesn't make it a different game.

 

[the-kitchen-slayer]

P.S. I have no solution to this problem. Only frustration. Well, unless you count "wait until Guild Wars 2 and Star Wars: The Old Republic comes out" to be a solution. But that might make the problem worse, haha.

Eh, it may make the problem worse, but hey, I for one would enjoy the problem getting worse if Guild Wars 2 is as good as Arena Net and most other people claim it will be.

Maybe my problem is the lack of socializing, and the lack of proper competition. I mean... fighting against AI can be very predictable as opposed to a game like Dark Age of Camelot where you're fighting against two other realms controlled by actual people. Also what I HATE about this game is the whole cookie-cutter must have the best template or die routine. THAT is indeed sucky about any MMO.

Then try Guild Wars. It's very setup is every character has about the same amount of health, but radically different abilities. Sure, it's quite easy to build the build everyone else uses, but literally last night I randomly said a build I wanted to try out to a couple of several year vets and got both of them to say "I'd like to see that". (I started in January)

But then again, there are still the "cookie cutter" builds I hate to say... "LFG, SS!" (looking for group, spirit spammer) ~shudders~

 

[Seraj]

Oh is it because I called it an MMO instead of an MMORPG? They're the same thing.

I know, apparently there's a subtle difference, but I don't see it

 

[Anjel]

Oh is it because I called it an MMO instead of an MMORPG? They're the same thing.

I know, apparently there's a subtle difference, but I don't see it

After reading it again I think he meant "Warcraft (referring to Orcs and Humans, II and III, rather than World of Warcraft) is not an MMO" instead of "Warcraft isn't a MMO..?"

It's the bloody question mark throwing everything off. Someone punish the question mark.

 

[Zeekar]

After playing DAoC for the first time, I became more picky about what singleplayer games I enjoyed since it took up so much of my time and that has stuck with me. I wouldn't say that I can't like other games now, but I'm much more picky. Hell, I'm still waiting for The Last Guardian to release for me to get a PS3.

There are other games for that system, but I'm holding out for one exceptional one.

Really, really picky. Maybe you just haven't found the right game for you.

PS: MMO usually implies a persistent world in which any player can join or leave at any time without interrupting the game. Specifically, a game only needs be massively-multiplayer (50+ 100+ people?) and online to qualify.

An MMORPG is specifically a role-playing game set in a persistent Massively Multiplayer world.

If that doesn't clarify -- Second Life is an MMO, not an MMORPG. There is no gameplay, much less RPG gameplay. Therefore, it is just a massively-multiplayer online world.

 

[cerealnmuffin]

I can kind of understand the OP's situation. I get really lonely playing single player games (survival horror or fallout series are the exception... not sure why, maybe cause it only immerses me in). Though I love playing or even more so watching a friend play a single player game while we both do running commentary. I used to play mmo's a lot and thinking about getting back into one due to wanting to socialize but not be drained by in person encounters all the time.

 

[Drunkbot]

The only thing from MMOs that I find the latest crop of single player RPGs sorely lack is an auto-run function.

Since I play most of them on my PC, it is especially problematic, since I will actually hit an auto-run button from the MMOs and invariably be disappointed all over again that it didn't work.

Since I have a keyboard with macro buttons, I probably ought to bind one to toggle W on and off.

edit: My macro keys work wonderfully. One to toggle W on, one that is a simple W keystroke to turn it off. Not the most elegant solution - that would be an actual auto-run toggle function in the game - but it definitely is easier than holding down a button to travel in a relatively straight direction for five minutes or so at a time.

 

[Sephael]

I was practically born with a controller in my hand starting with the Atari 2600 all the way through the age of the PS2, mainly having a distinct love for RPGs like Final Fantasy (1-6... 7-10 meh). Then I discovered MMOs. Starting with Asheron's Call and moving on to Dark Age of Camelot (which I still play for the PvP).

I recently purchased my first console in the last 6 years, an XBox 360 to experience all the rantings and ravings of games like Dragon Age: Origins and Elder Scrolls IV. Digitally purchased KOTOR 1 and 2 and I have to say... I just can't seem to really get into these game. I can't find any love for them or any desire to keep on playing them.

It's really disappointing. I really feel like I WANT to love these games as much as a lot of other people I know, and heard talking about but it's just not happening for me. Did MMOs ruin it for me? Anyone experienced this sort of thing?

I know what you mean, and yes, the MMOs kind of ruined it for you (and me).
I personally can't seem to get too attached to any offline/single player games anymore either, I need the online factor involved, otherwise I get bored quickly.

 

[danintexas]

Started with MMOs since UO and have played nearly every MMO since then.

Personally I am done with them. Nothing is new - all the same - huge grind fests with no point.

I am going back to my console WRPGs and JRPGs and loving them. After grinding character #234234 in WoW to 85 - grinding for 40+ hours to get a bunch of toons in Disgaea up is nothing. I find it more satisfying as well.

Not to mention prob being considered an ancient on these forums (36) I am finding the older I get the less patience I have for rude selfish people and MMOs these days are filled with them.

 

[00slash00]

I urge you to rethink as it is one of the few games in japan that received a perfect score in mutliple game rating magazines and was a record seller [...]

wow. well sales dont mean much and im confused by the good reviews it got. the combat sucked. it was buggy as hell. the gambits either didnt work at all or worked too well. countless times a character would die because my healer, rather than heal would just stop what they were doing and stare blankly at me. when gambits did work it felt like i didnt even need to be there. combat isnt much fun when you arent even doing anything. during the final battle i literally put the controller down and made myself a sandwich because my participation was not necessary and the fight was so long and boring.

because of final fantasy 12 in actually didnt mind the linearity of final fantasy 13, because at least that was better than wandering through empty screen after empty screen. the voice acting was the ONLY saving grace. aside from balthier, all the characters sucked. vaan shouldnt have even been in the game. balthier should have been the main character. but even balthiers one liners couldnt save the game from the horrendous and laughably stupid story (even for a final fantasy game) and non-existent character development

 

[A Weakgeek]

Well As I see it, MMOS and RPGS have VERY VERY little in common in the first place. You see in MMOs the mainpoint is the gameplay and interaction, where as in common rpgs it is immersion story and roleplay itself. If you have played MMOs too much, then i can see you not getting KOTOR since, if you don't immerse yourself, it will seem like shit.

I understand mmos have story aswell, but it is from a much different angle. A normal rpg is like a novel, with a overarching story that, for example, follows some characters journey through a world. We see all the things about the world that have matter in the grandscheme of things. Where as a MMO is like those starwars books wich have seemingly random information about ships, weapons, planets and so on. Meaning that you will learn select bits that interest you, or in a MMO's case is a part of a quest or a task you have, losing (or not even having) the big picture.

 

[Trevel]

It depends on what you're looking for in the game.

I describe RPGs as generally being two games. Because they are, IMHO; there's the Talking game and the Fighting game. Sometimes they're very well integrated together -- sometimes they're not.

For the Talking game part of jRPGs, it tends to be very story-driven; on rails, as it were. You start at the beginning, and you end at the end. (Or you get bored and stop playing at the middle.) There are side quests that you can do or ignore, but generally that's it.

For the traditional wRPG, the story isn't driving. It's there, in some form, but the real 'story' is exploring the world. The quests exist as a reason for you to go out in the world, and to try to take you to as many places as possible.

As part of that, your choices matter; they have to, or you'd have no real interaction with the main character of the story. Roguelikes are the root of them; a game where you have no story but yourself and your struggle for survival.

Bioware began more world based -- they're very much leaning towards Story now, and are more so with each game. The Final Fantasy games are strongly about story.

MMOs are about worlds, and generally have weak stories -- and they suffer from the inability to make a real impact on the world. The story progresses, whether or not you in particular have anything to do with it. (And they tend to have NPCs take all the good parts. No one gave *me* the option to have my character become the next Lich King.)

So if you want a world-based RPG? Yeah. MMOs are close to that, as long as you don't mind that nothing you do matters. For single player, Bethesda, CDProject, then Bioware... tend to be mostly about the world, although story gets more and more important as the years progress.

EDIT to add http://spiderwebsoftware.com/ to the list of world-based RPG game makers.