What is the apeal of MMOs...?

[feeqmatic]

So i am relatively new to the genre of RPGs, my first full experience was FF10, but since then i have delved into other FFs and pretty much everything from Bioware, other JRPGs like Tales, Lost Odessey, and Blue Dragon, and single players dungeon crawlers like Fallout, demons souls, and Elder Scrolls (didnt finish most of those, im more of a party rpg guy)

Anyway, i have recently been thinking about souping up a pc and using it to delve into the world of PC RPGs, but as far as i can tell, most of the RPGs on the PC are MMOs.

Now im not a big fan of online play personally. The only game i play online is Tekken. Im a madden fan and i wouldn't touch that online community with a 30 foot pole. What is gained/lost from a typical JRPG/western party based RPG when compared to an MMO? Why is it such a popular genre on the PC. Why is Bioware taking what was my favorite game of the last gen and making it mmo. Are there still single player campaigns on MMOs? do the story's ever end or are you just constantly looking around for bigger numbers as Yahtzee would say?

Interested to hear what everyone has to say...


P.S please dont flame until the conversation gets of the ground

 

[Qizx]

Personally I play WoW as a way to connect with my friends whom I no longer live near, or at least that's one reason. The other reason is that I truly enjoy a nice challenge and if you through in some very well made PvP I think it's phenomenal. Now I'll be the first to admit that 90% of the people I run into on MMO's are flaming idiots who do nothing more than attempt to make my life miserable either through trolling or just pure sucking, that other 10% can be really enjoyable and great people. I tend to enjoy the overall game play style of "Play how much you want. when you want," as well as that there is ALWAYS something for someone to do in them.

 

[smearyllama]

It's an RPG, but you're able to enhance the experience by sharing it with millions of people.

That's sort of it.

The point is summed up in a single equation:

A huge team of real people working together to bring down huge challenges > One man alone with some computer-controlled allies.

 

[bpm195]

An MMO is a place to hang out and kill monsters.

 

[CleverNickname]

But yeah, very Diabloesque appeal. You fight to get better gear to kill bigger and badder enemies.

I've only recently tried WoW and knowing Diablo quite well... WoW is practially endless Baal-runs wrapped in 4 continents. Leveling only really exists to rake in the subscription fee. I sorta get why it works, but I don't get how millions of people can spend long nights every day for years on it. Just WTH...

 

[feeqmatic]

I guess my friends arent really that into games. Especially something as tedious and in depth as an RPG like WoW.

 

[Frizzle]

Don't use WoW as a marker anymore, it's not the same as it used to be. The RPG element is kind of lost now.

There are some MMO's that do very well with quests and story. I only played it for a short bit, but D&D online is supposed to be good. The graphics aren't amazing, but it's a free one you could try. You really have to figure out what you like about the RPG games you play, and then get an MMO to match it.

EVE is probably not your best choice, but it's a solid game based in space and you can pretty much do anything you want if you're willing to accept the consequences. Lots of RP there if you want it, and a pretty engaging story no matter where you start.

WoW.... used to be amazing, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone anymore

Rift is pretty good on story, though it's main feature is the ability to get large groups going for world events at the drop of a hat. There are arching quest-lines though, and the game was really well thought out.

If you aren't a graphics fiend try http://www.istaria.com/ I played it like... god maybe 10 or 11 years ago now. It's changed ownership since, but it was my first MMO, and was pretty good at the time if I remember correctly. you also can play as a dragon!

Warhammer is kinda meh. Warcraft is better in my opinion, but only because Warhammer feels so unfinished.

 

[The Gnome King]

So i am relatively new to the genre of RPGs, my first full experience was FF10, but since then i have delved into other FFs and pretty much everything from Bioware, other JRPGs like Tales, Lost Odessey, and Blue Dragon, and single players dungeon crawlers like Fallout, demons souls, and Elder Scrolls (didnt finish most of those, im more of a party rpg guy)

Anyway, i have recently been thinking about souping up a pc and using it to delve into the world of PC RPGs, but as far as i can tell, most of the RPGs on the PC are MMOs.

Now im not a big fan of online play personally. The only game i play online is Tekken. Im a madden fan and i wouldn't touch that online community with a 30 foot pole. What is gained/lost from a typical JRPG/western party based RPG when compared to an MMO? Why is it such a popular genre on the PC. Why is Bioware taking what was my favorite game of the last gen and making it mmo. Are there still single player campaigns on MMOs? do the story's ever end or are you just constantly looking around for bigger numbers as Yahtzee would say?

Interested to hear what everyone has to say...


P.S please dont flame until the conversation gets of the ground

Appeal of MMOs to me:

Interaction with a lot of other people. I play Dungeons and Dragons Online. I have since February of 2006. I've met people, real life, that I first ran into during gameplay and a few have turned out to be some of the best friends I have ever made.

"The stories" are the ones you make with the people you play with. My old friend and I had a habit of being known as "crazy" to adventure with, but competent. There is universal voice-chat in DDO and the two of us would get drunk, hop on the LAN, and inflict ourselves on some poor, unsuspecting group.

Good times.

Most CRPGs are NOT MMOs - Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, Neverwinter Nights 2, Dragon Age: Origins... none of these games are MMOs and all are CRPGs.

If you're looking for a good CRPG to check out I'd recommend Fallout: New Vegas or Dragon Age 2 - both are easy games to hop right into.

 

[Vault101]

to me its really just a means to an end...I get addicted then have to drag myself away

 

[Archereus]

The appeal of MMOs is this in a nut shell

1. The social aspect, you get to play in a massive world full of people who are like you and all have the same goal, this alone can really sell a game.

2. Time waster, most MMOs are a forever expanding never expanding game, its something you can spend hours of time on and it still stays fun. (if you aren't the gamer that needs to complete the game)

3. Most MMOs are multi based, you have a lot of different small pieces making the whole game, question , pvp, crafting, farming money making so on and so on, so its appealing to many different kind of players, MMOs thrive of a massive base of serious and casual gamers.

Lastly Skinner Boxm achieve such goal and nice shiny thing will come up on the screen going YAY YOU ROCK!!

 

[Midnight Crossroads]

Griefing, collecting pets, making other people on the internet jealous of your pimped out pixels.

 

[jacx]

personally i was drawn by the community and story ( i say was because i no longer play any MMOs). when i was younger it was because i had no siblings to play with and MMOs gave me access to a large community of people who where like minded. not only that but i was treated as an adult even though i wasn't. as i got older i liked it more because it gave me a purpose and made my generic middle class standing seem more exciting.

 

[viranimus]

Yes, WoW is a horrible yardmarker for what is enjoyable about MMOs. Part of the reason is because WoWs core demographic is geared more to the shooter mentality than it is the RPG mentalist. (you know, bragging rights, competition, having to rely on other people and the inability to do anything on your own or working together as a team to accomplish what one person could never hope to do on their own, which ever you want to call it.)

Back in the day the way I saw it when I shelled out for an MMO for about 5 years straight, was that it was a simple matter of cost efficency. Paying 15$ a month plus 30 per year for an expansion is 210$ Even 60-100 hour RPGs I will only get about 1 months worth of playtime out of before I finish it. 50$ x 12 = 600 for new titles, and assuming older titles of 25$ is 300. It just comes out cheaper and long lasting single player games are still to this day in short supply.

Beyond that, what keeps you playing an MMO is finding a social environment that suits your tastes. I know I played EQ for half a year and did not leave non combat zones in that time at all, and it was because of the social interaction. I know I played WoW solo for 3 months in one stretch and was insanely bored with it, even though WoW had at the time an arguably better gameplay.

Honestly, If you like more traditional RPGs, you might want to look at MMOs along the lines of Guild wars, GW2 and ToR over the more popular WoW, because they are going to be more likely to appeal to more RPG sensibilities.

 

[OutforEC]

Personally, I've played nearly every major MMO that has hit the market since UO, and I love the persist world aspect of them. I normally (and I mean like 99% of the time) play solo even in the most group-oriented MMOs because I like to take my time, look around and explore, and generally don't like to be inconvenienced or inconvenience others because of a difference in playstyles. But even solo I really enjoy the genre.

What exactly do you mean when you ask if the 'story ever ends'? The world doesn't end (unless they pull the plug, which has happened in the past), but individual quests within the world do end. From my experience however, the majority of quests in MMOs are pretty useless story-wise, and are only a means to advance your character in money/items/experience or some other arbitrary way. Carrot-on-a-stick and all that. It's only when you step into player-driven roleplaying that you get the truly unique and interesting storylines, and although the world offers the setting the players offer the stories.

I'd have to give the City of Heroes/Villains and the more recent Champions Online the nod when it comes to open-ended roleplaying, mainly due to the vast selection of costume and designs that the character creators offer, but for true roleplaying with consequences, EVE is definitely one of the best and most unforgiving worlds available.

 

[MellowFellow]

You are generally not a super hero saving the world. Are generally just a average adventurer who helps out.

This is one of the appeals of mmos to me. Sometimes I don't want to be the only person who can save the day, I like the feeling of being a part of a world, and not being the 'one'.

 

[PlasmaFrog]

Really, you really want to know?

It's simple, obvious really. It's because you can immerse yourself into a paralleled reality where the only thing between you is a simple computer monitor. You are a warrior named Sir Spanksalot of Goldshire! Slayer of dragons, conqueror of death, the lady's man! Fearless, driven, and determined, you grinded those dungeons for hours in search for that fabled weapon and were successful! You are a true hero in your virtual realm!

However, the reality of the situation is that Sir Spanksalot is actually a shell of a man with the boy trapped inside him that never grew up. He never finished school, experienced a teenager's life, or the joy of a healthy diet since his average serving contains a Mountain Dew and two Hotpockets. He still lives inside his parent's house, paying a menial amount of rent there from the fraction of the pay that he receives from his part-time job at Burger King. The rest of his check is spent towards junk food and the monthly membership that he's become so mentally attached to. For this shell of a man, life outside of his computer monitor doesn't exist in his eyes.

But it's alright, because he has a Level 85 Paladin with epic gear.

 

[Catalyst6]

I'm kind of at a loss for a reason.

On one hand, I enjoy playing with other people. On the other hand, almost every single person on the servers is the kind of person who you might tolerate speaking to at a family gathering if you can't escape. You know. That guy.

Yes, there's grand people on there, but they tend to get overshadowed by the idiots.

I also don't really like PvP; worlds PvP adds to the danger of running around the world, but the local equivalent of battlegrounds tend to get boring quickly.

The best way I can describe it is as a game to be explored and shared with the rest of the internet. I know that sounds weird, but it's true. I play all the classes to try them out, and try to run as many dungeons as possible. I talk with people outside the game about the game, and not in the nerf/buff sense. As in a "I found this cool thing" sense.

It's...weird. I have a rocky relationship with MMOs. My interest in them is like a sine wave.

 

[Ravison]

I play WoW, and it's really not as bad as it's made out to be, if you know how to play moderately. Right now, I'm playing a blood elf rogue and just enjoying the quests they introduced in Cataclysm. I just went through a zone this evening where you get conscripted into a certain segment of the Horde army and work your way through the ranks by actually getting things done (as the NPCs just stand around asking you to do stuff), and then at the end, your boss gets killed off by the leader of the Horde for murdering a ton of civilians, and he's about to do the same to you when this druid steps in and tells Hellscream how you saved him.

Contrary to popular belief, there is some story to immerse yourself in, if you're willing to read the wall of text that is a quest summary. A lot of it's dumb, but you can really get into the character because he's not the great hero who's saving the world all by himself, but because he's just another guy, but still better than everyone else.

 

[badgersprite]

Really addictive time sinks. Like Extra Credits episode on the Skinner Box.

Community feedback is also a big part, I guess, but really there's just so much satisfaction in advancing to the next level while you're doing it. Well, for some people at least. If you don't find grinding addictive you'll find MMOs have no appeal to you.