What is the apeal of an MMO?
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Egh the fun I had in raid tonight is all I can say is my reason, It's just innane conversation but playing with others can make playing with sticks and rocks 100x more fun, why wouldn't the principle work for MMO's?
If you can't get... 'into the social aspect' then they're not for you, but I know all of the guildies I play with, who's married, who's from what country, what ages and a couple even what hobbies and stuff they do in their spare time.
It's quite an amazing social experiment that I enjoy participating in.
And it really is built on the foundation of communicating and connecting with people.
It's kind of why in WoW I prefer raiding, Working together for a common goal even though everyone is from different lots in life, ages, gender, capability is really special.
And those that dismiss it's significance I laugh at.
Edit: Try WoW, if you don't get sucked into the story in your first 20 levels now they've revamped everything, you're doing something wrong. And their story is Maaaassiiiive. But it doesn't take itself super serious all the time which is refreshing. Even in the end game encounters there is role play and inclusion into the plot, even if it's just "GO you 25 random people who helped us make this attack, I have subdued , Take it down!" It's often a bit more involved than that on the end bosses but you know what I mean.
If you can't get... 'into the social aspect' then they're not for you, but I know all of the guildies I play with, who's married, who's from what country, what ages and a couple even what hobbies and stuff they do in their spare time.
It's quite an amazing social experiment that I enjoy participating in.
And it really is built on the foundation of communicating and connecting with people.
It's kind of why in WoW I prefer raiding, Working together for a common goal even though everyone is from different lots in life, ages, gender, capability is really special.
And those that dismiss it's significance I laugh at.
Edit: Try WoW, if you don't get sucked into the story in your first 20 levels now they've revamped everything, you're doing something wrong. And their story is Maaaassiiiive. But it doesn't take itself super serious all the time which is refreshing. Even in the end game encounters there is role play and inclusion into the plot, even if it's just "GO you 25 random people who helped us make this attack, I have subdued , Take it down!" It's often a bit more involved than that on the end bosses but you know what I mean.
I imagine most people play for the social aspect the people above me already mentioned. I know when I played Dark Ages(I think it could be considered an MMO) years ago I enjoyed playing with some friends I made while playing. It was cool to meet people in different countries and work together to complete quests and dungeon crawl.
Social gaming for the hardcore (or hardcore-er) community of gamers, mostly. Sure, sure, WoW has a draw from all walks of life, but ultimately the most loyal customers? Yeah, it boils down to that. MMOs are by definition grindy, and boring, and stood on their own probably wouldn't see anyone past maybe level 20-30 except for the most masochistic players.
Its that community that keeps you going, and the people you meet in the game. Certainly didn't play WoW for 5 years for the exciting button mashing to kill different colors of boar.
Its that community that keeps you going, and the people you meet in the game. Certainly didn't play WoW for 5 years for the exciting button mashing to kill different colors of boar.
In my experience, the biggest part of enjoying an MMO, or any online gaming really, is love of the community. If you don't like interacting and relying on other people to help you achieve, MMOs are not the genre for you.
For people who want engaging stories and total immersion, you're better off playing single player games so you can focus and really get swept up by the plot. That's not to say there aren't MMOs out there with good plot, far from it, but if you're busy chatting it up over skype, xbl or whatever then you won't be focusing on the gripping events that are probably happening. Hence, lack of interest in the storyline, lack of interest in the general game, etc.
I myself stuck with an MMO for five years and only got 40 levels out of it at the end. The only reason I stayed for so long was because I'd made so many friends and liked hanging with them rather than leveling.
For people who want engaging stories and total immersion, you're better off playing single player games so you can focus and really get swept up by the plot. That's not to say there aren't MMOs out there with good plot, far from it, but if you're busy chatting it up over skype, xbl or whatever then you won't be focusing on the gripping events that are probably happening. Hence, lack of interest in the storyline, lack of interest in the general game, etc.
I myself stuck with an MMO for five years and only got 40 levels out of it at the end. The only reason I stayed for so long was because I'd made so many friends and liked hanging with them rather than leveling.
This guy's got it.Zhukov said:
Well, from my perspective at least. And really, that's all it's about--why play any video games? Why eat certain foods? Why have personal preference? Maybe I want to play as some generic adventurer in a hugely gigantic epic world, without the depth and complexity of a full-price game, but one I nonetheless pay $15 a month for!
But while I'm in the mood for posting in forums I'd much rather troll in on normal days, let's do some comparative analysis!
MMORPGs (on average) include:
- Task Based Leveling Progression
- Expansive Character Customization
- Gargantuan Environments
- Multiple Roles (Classes)
- Large Co-Operative Community (Player vs. Environment)
- Some form of Competitive Community (Player vs. Player)
- Subscription Rate
RPGs include:
- Story Based Leveling Progression
- Little to Expansive Character Customization
- Smaller, more Detail-Oriented Environments
- Multiple Roles (Classes)
- Limited to Non-Existent Community (Diablo 2/Two Worlds Two have cooperative modes, Oblivion/Mass Effect do not)
- Fixed Price (Purchase)
JRPGS include:
- Scrawny angsty sexually ambivalent dorks with silly hair (Ha! Knew I'd get some trolling in there somewhere!)
Anywho. MMORPGs progress through numbers, and by giving the player small tasks to accomplish before they can reach the next stage of their questing. Your attacks are based on numbers, your numbers depend on other numbers, and once you have certain numbers, you can do certain tasks/quests/missions. RPGs generally involve story-based skill progression, where you unlock more of the story by acquiring better skills (also level based), but with more interactivity and less random chance. Your progression as a whole is also based on completing an over-arching story.
RPGs and MMORPGs both tend to have large-scale environments for the player to explore, but RPGs are usually the more detailed, and MMORPGs are usually the more expansive. It's the realm of virtual society that sets the MMORPGs and RPGs apart the most, however, and that's probably the biggest selling point of any MMO: community.
Sometimes I want to be the lone adventurer, traveling to and fro aiding kings and queens and vacant-eyed NPCs who just stand completely still and stare directly at me while talking with out any form of emotion. Sometimes, I want to be a superhero with all sorts of wild powers, going about beating up thugs along side other empowered superblokes with horrible fashion sense.
Darn, running out of steam. In short, I've played WoW and City of Heroes. WoW was nostalgic when I played it the first four months it game out, but City of Heroes has kept me in play for nearly a year now, and I enjoy it because of the range of things it lets me virtually become. It's character customization is gigantic, it lets you choose from an immense catalog of super powers, and it lets you join up with similarly minded folks to accomplish a common goal: beating up bad guys, or flogging the good guys! $15 per month is a rather hefty amount for this sort of thing, but it all depends on your sense of worth. I can afford it, I enjoy it, so I'm appealed to it.
But I also play Oblivion from time to time...when I've got seven hours to install a billion modifications to make the game actually good, and all that jazz.
I go into it for the story. I'd love to get sucked up into a mass of intricate lore and history built around making the world real. Sadly, the only games that have come close to this are EVE, (Which i can't afford) and WoW. I also find that I don't like some lore, Warhammer 40k for example. So I guess it's just my willingness to except the story they're trying to tell me.
For me personally it's not only the feeling of belonging to an incredibly varied community of people who otherwise may never have even spoken in a much more interesting environment than standard online chat and messaging but just being there for the journey.
One of the main arguments that people seem to bring up against MMO's is the lack of a finish that it's just work work work with no ending and no definite reward but for me personally I absolutely love the whole journey that it takes you through, the people you meet, NPC or otherwise, the quests and the environments and the living breathing world you become a part of. I don't need some big ending to satisfy me, everything a long the way while I am there is more than enough.
Also no other genre can make a world feel so alive, the players themselves creating immersion. Obviously this will never last forever and the games will die out but getting in there while it is at it's peak is fantastic.
One of the main arguments that people seem to bring up against MMO's is the lack of a finish that it's just work work work with no ending and no definite reward but for me personally I absolutely love the whole journey that it takes you through, the people you meet, NPC or otherwise, the quests and the environments and the living breathing world you become a part of. I don't need some big ending to satisfy me, everything a long the way while I am there is more than enough.
Also no other genre can make a world feel so alive, the players themselves creating immersion. Obviously this will never last forever and the games will die out but getting in there while it is at it's peak is fantastic.