Who else is sick of goth MMORPGs?

Keii

I've got many questions and things I'm looking for in an MMORPG, but above all I have to say I'm sick of serious, action, badass, dark, etc etc etc online games.  Medieval/futuristic/the hell ever games that take themselves entirely too seriously are just entirely too common.  That ask us to put ourselves in a world where darkness is abundant and war is everywhere and blah-di-blah.  For us people who actually want to escape a rather dim reality, (I sorta thought that was the entire point of these things?,) our few choices are...Ragnarok Online?  This new 'Fairy Land'?  Toontown Online?  A small handful of flawed products.  In summary, more lighthearted titles, less cookie cutter medieval bash fests that people think are 'revolutionary' because you can mine diamonds with three less clicks.  Wooh.

darkman

Well you can look into City Of Heroes. That is an MMORPG that is based on superheroes, which get super powers and kill monsters and stuff. The game is slated to hit shelfs I think April 28th? Or something like that. It will have a subscription price of course, don't know it's price. Check it out in the game list, I heard it was a great game, I haven't heard anything bad about it yet.

Gnarled

I'd say WoW is also looking slightly more fantastical than goth. . .

A fronte precipitium a tergo lupi

ChronicRick

FFXI is very light-hearted.

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Adreal

I'm not sick of gothic games; I'm just tired of most medieval fantasy games that have the gothic feel but screw it up.

ramadin

Gothic games?  I dont know of any Gothic MMORPG's.  What else are people that  play a MMORPG gonna do?  All get together and play online scrabble or tennis?  MMORPG's are the way they are because thats what people want, you dont like it you prolly should play some PS2.

 

City of Hero's Characters:
- Black Samurai - Mezmo Man - Flare -

Keii

Do realize that by goth I mean just...overly serious, overly dark, trying to be cool.  I love GTA and Postal more than anything.  I also equally play Klonoa and Mario.  Oh, and by the way, since it doesn't seem you saw what I was talking about at all, I don't mean play Scrabble and freaking tennis, I just mean a game that isn't freaking like, "OMG LOOK BE A HERO HERE'S A WAR BE AN EVIL KNIGHT!!1  THE WORLD IS DANGEROUS SO MUCH DEAFFLOLBEC AREFUL OMG," and more in the direction of RO.  Which has battle and cool little things and all kinds of crazy crap but has a lot of silly, laughable bits, too.  And by the way, 'what people want' is in no way a good thing.  See Tomb Raider.  People wanted that.  It outsold hundreds of less 'desirable' games that beat it in everyway.  And that's just one example.

On this note, I should probably clarify my opinion a bit.  There are a few games that don't go for shear cool factor and have some cuteness or comedy in them, like FFXI, and CoH (which I look forward to trying.)  I sort of have a dual meaning in this post, in that, one, just tired of seeing online universes that look like they're made to be LOTR with less comedy, or any equally 'hip' action/drama thingy, and I'd like to see more stuff like RO, Fairyland.  That's about it.

viet_boy33

     People don't always play MMORPGs because their life sucks. I have tons of friends and still able to have fun with MMORPGs. I say most people play MMORPGs because it's like having 2 lives. 1 is the real world with money, jobs, and people. 2nd is a fantasy world where you can actually have an adventure like old days and role play and live up to your dreams like in movies, where theres a part where you wish you could do those things, but you can't. That's why some people play. MMORPGs aren't really just dark and evil magic. It's mainly a Good VS Evil kind of thing. No conflict (evil) equal no story at all and their wouldn't even be a reason to make a RPG, or MMORPG. So games aren't all evil because some classes like paladin and priest show the good sides.

.99999999999~=1?
I want to cast magic missle.
http://www.flashplayer.com/animation/8bitdnd.html

GEOHDE

Hey you can always try FairyLand  very light hearted and you can still kill all the mobs you want ..i know what you mean there are far to many games that try to act drak and spooky .. they think people like it and some do.. i'd like to play a real dark mmorpg  an all out blood and guts type game for only 18 and up something that will make you feel kinda creeped out when you log in.. gross and nasty thing all over.. i'd atleast try it out.

what what can i say i scored 100% killer and the worse the kill looks the better .. i'd like to see some blood spray out of my foe's body after i slay him/her..or maybe some limbs fall off as he/she hits the ground...

Kuzzle

 I know what you mean, things are too dark... I'm rather looking foreward to True Fantasy Live Online, that looks a bit more light hearted then most the others. I don't like the dark ones, it just makes me think of all the bad things... Can't win 'em all...

 Good Luck. No I don't know with what, it just seemed to fit.

Keii

TFO looks perfect, here's hoping. o.o  I don't mind the drama stuff where they ask you to play in some medieval dark world, eh.  It's just, we've got a hundred of them and two light hearted games, (by comparison,) so it's starting to get on my nerves.  I'm also a customization/clothes freak, so the now deceased Shining Lore would've been perfect, but unfortunately...

Viridia

I can kinda see what you are talking about, I used to do alot of text mudding and many of the text mud worlds are like that, they are written on the whole by people more on the players lvl who have the ability to make up a text MUD for free in their spare time, and can use it as an outlet for their sense of humour.    I also wonder why their is such a big gap in the game play between text muds and MMORPGs, i mean they are both a new world, an escape, and while MUDs do not have the glossiness of games like EQ i do know at least one guy who failed university because of one so for some people at least, they are just as addictive.  

I guess the problem is that people who like dark and gruesome and tragic are in the majority so the people with the big money cater for them.

   Maybe one day it will get to a point where MMORPGs are common enough to cater to everyone, just like MUDs are now.   I mean, referring back to one of Kuzzles earlier posts where he wanted to walk around with his own designed clothing in a MMORPG, well you can do that in MUDs, in Achaea (which I used to play) you could learn tailoring and write your own clothes descriptions and then wear them, show them off, or even open a shop and sell em to other people :-)  (although even that could get dark at times i guess... i mean when i saw 'black socks of death' in a shop once in achaea i just couldn't resist buying em  )

  I do think its funny, that big companies that make games go for the super serious fantasy stuff, but when people write their own MUDs all the more popular ones tend to have a sense of humour creeping in there somewhere, even if they are vampire based or something (and ya can't get more Goth than that )

    As MMORPGs get more common though, more and more personality types are being catered for which is nice, I mean CoH has been mentioned here as a more lighthearted MUD, but while I actually kinda disagree with that (as going into hazard zones full of wrecked buildings and trying to break up satanic rites or attempts by the Vahzilok at committing live organ donations is not really that up-beat),   it does have some humour and definately appeals to a different kind of player than the classic fantasy game.   

    I can't wait to see how the MMORPG genre developes as more and more freedom comes into the games and more and more of them go down new routes in an attempt to catch a slice of the player pie.   CoH with its costume and character customisation is a good start, I think all we are waiting on is the computer power.   As more and more people get better computers and Net access this has got to be a fertile area for growth.

   But right now, if you can bear to go back to the stone age you could always try the text MUDs

 

waveslayer

A little FYI : Goth actually is  a term that describes a style of building structures that have high pointy roofs, and in the terms of novels ,movies and games it would be horror.

I fail to see any MMo out on the market that fits this description. 

When I think about the MMos I have played, "overly serious, overly dark, trying to be cool." dosnt fit any of them.

Look at the games you say you like, maybe MMos arnt for you..well Toontown which my 6 yr old daughter loves may fit your tastes. Oh ya the Sims Online prolly has nothing to do with the "LoTR with less comedy".

Godz of War I call Thee

FlamingBoi

aww.. my post got deleted.. lmao..

ramadin

Yeah I dont know of any MMORPGS that are overly serious.  Unless youre playing on a roleplay only server.  I hate kiddie type games like FFXI and RO.  If I wanted games like that I would play Mario brothers.

 

City of Hero's Characters:
- Black Samurai - Mezmo Man - Flare -

FlamingBoi

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Originally posted by ramadin

Yeah I dont know of any MMORPGS that are overly serious.  Unless youre playing on a roleplay only server.  I hate kiddie type games like FFXI and RO.  If I wanted games like that I would play Mario brothers.
 

City of Hero's Characters:
- Black Samurai - Mezmo Man - Flare -

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FFXI is not a kiddish looking game..  you should just shut up and play ur mario brothers

Viridia

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Originally posted by waveslayer

A little FYI : Goth actually is  a term that describes a style of building structures that have high pointy roofs, and in the terms of novels ,movies and games it would be horror.

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lol your definition is for Gothic if ya going to be overly pedantic get it right.    Quoting from Websters dictionary

Main Entry: Goth
Pronunciation: 'g

waveslayer

Doh, you are correct Viridia, I should have made the word Gothic instead. Now go get your " The  New American Webster Handy College Dictionary 3rd adition" and look up Gothic please.

But I still disagree that tribes of peoples from the dark ages translates to: overly dark, overly seroius, trying to be cool.

Alot of games revolve around conflict of some type, if you dont like it there are many that dont..play them instead.

Godz of War I call Thee

Viridia

Lol, no need to get tetchy Waveslayer, I am happy to look up Gothic in the dictionary, as, due to linguistic drift it can refer to everything from the Goths, through Gothic revival architecture, to people with too much eyeliner who hang around in nightclubs pretending to be vampires

However, I can still see the guys point, it would be nice to have some kind of MMORPG which was more based on success and general happiness rather than struggle against oppression.   Where you could get away from your boring job and feel like you have acheived stuff.   Help build a new city or civilisation, generally explore, make friends, make a bit of an impact on the world.   I was kinda hoping SoR might have some of this.  While there is a threat of a sort hanging over the world in SoR, it seems the emphasis is meant to be more on comunity building, guild building, and exploring the storylines.   It is not set in a Tolkeiner-than-thou setting and does not have an orc in sight.  Also for me at least some of the comedy factor is provided by the fact that alot of people seem to be wearing giant leaf clothing .  However I don't know much more than that cos they haven't let me into Beta yet, Grrrrr.

Onizuka

I think Shadowbane was the most gothic MMORPG ive played yet.

Everywhere you go you would hear music that would make you depressed and sleepy, and there wasnt many tracks so you would hear the same one over and over again.

Plus you always lived in fear of your lvling group breaking apart because of some pk'er.

To face defeat is to face death.

Adreal

Plus you always lived in fear of your lvling group breaking apart because of some pk'er.

I've heard the PKing in that game was bad. The lag was horrendous too lol... I never played it much but when my older bro did he was fighting this huge black dragon creature with a small group and it lagged for 15 mins straight and then would clear up for like 1 min and then lag for another 15 mins(and by lag I mean freeze up totally-believe me, we timed it)... We've got cable too. It was the laggiest game (besides playta Anarchy Online) that I had ever seen. The music was sort of bad too. It just wasn't my taste. Horizon's music rocked though. Shadowbane was the first real mmorpg to incorporate realm V realm combat, right? That was one good aspect about it... Didn't care for the graphics either.

Onizuka

Ya pk'ing was pretty bad, you could literally kill your own party members by accidentaly targeting them if your not careful.It should be more balanced too, I mean there we were lvl 16s hunting down mobs and this R5 minoutar barbarian comes out of no where and wipes the floor with us.

I wouldnt really consider it realm vs. realm (that would be DAoC). In shadowbane if one guild was big and strong enough to take on another they would declare war and attack the other guild, which would lag the crap outta the servers sometimes.

To face defeat is to face death.

Keii

Just like to make it clear I've heard every goddamned definition of Goth there is.  I know about the huns, and I'm entirely aware of the fantastic architecture.  I have friends who are utterly in love with a lifestyle they call their way of 'goth', I accept that entirely.  Let's also understand, if we're keeping up with the media, the 'goth' stereotype made clear by platforms like the beloved South Park, and try not to get our panties in a twist over all this now.  Without anybody being a total spaz over a buzzword like that, lemme restate it.  Dark things are popular.  Evil angst is in style.  That's what I mean by 'cool'. 

If you just prefer more dark games, (please, let's refrain from calling them more 'mature' or 'adult', that's complete BS,) that's fine.  But if you're going to insult those of us who want something different, or you actually have a problem with them, (comment deleted).  People are going to keep making things you don't like, people are going to like things you don't like, I never insulted anyone for playing these darker games, I just said I wanted something new. I mean, hell, if you have a problem with more lighthearted games in the first place then you probably have some issues in the first place.  But don't take those out on me.  I play GTA, I've played these MMORPGs I'm calling dark right now.  It's not that I have such a gigantic freaking issue with this darker stuff; I love it in moderation.  But godDAMN it's just all over the place.  All I'm saying is that I'd like more variety. 

 

Alient

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Originally posted by Keii
Just like to make it clear I've heard every goddamned definition of Goth there is. I know about the huns, and I'm entirely aware of the fantastic architecture. I have friends who are utterly in love with a lifestyle they call their way of 'goth', I accept that entirely. Let's also understand, if we're keeping up with the media, the 'goth' stereotype made clear by platforms like the beloved South Park, and try not to get our panties in a twist over all this now. Without anybody being a total spaz over a buzzword like that, lemme restate it. Dark things are popular. Evil angst is in style.

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The whole darkness and depressive stereotype for modern goths does have a root in Gothic architecture. One of the best goth phrases I ever heard in a movie came from Lisa Bonet in A Knight's Tale (ok, the movie isn't great but I'm talking about a phrase). She gave a reason why she liked to visit the churches (which basically copied the Gothic architecture). She basically said that she went for the stain glass, such a beauty of colors in a dark dreary world (I wish I knew the exact quote). This is the basis of modern Goths, finding beauty in a dark dreary depressing world.

I would have to agree with you that the majority of MMORPGs do have an underlining dark theme and that people do find beauty in them. Doesn't matter if it's a fantasy game or even a futuristic Sci-Fi one like Neocron (very dark theme). I would like to see some developers get away from this trend and do something like a Leisure Suit Larry Online (can you imagine people trying to level their pimp skills?), but the nature of MMORPGs seem to like this dark theme and I don't think many developers will get away from this trend.

forgotten33

Yea, i think Blizzard is making World of Warcraft serious, but they're throwing in humor.

Adreal

All I'm saying is that I'd like more variety.

Then try puzzle pirates... jk I know what you mean. I could go for some fairly light-hearted fantasy with a bit of a struggle in it to keep it exciting. The whole evil-undead-VS-fading-goodness gets a little tiring. For the most part though, anything that's high-fantasy, good graphics, and d&d mechanics with a twist sits pretty well with me. All pain and suffering shouldn't be taken out of a game because then what do you have to risk? What's so exciting about it that will keep your interest? Fishing? Buying a house? or even building a kingdom that can't be destroyed? Not exactly.