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Have I gotten to old for MMORPGs?
Hello everyone,
I wan't to start out by saying this is not a rant against anyones age, nationality, or sexual proficency.....
Now thats out of the way..
I would like the community's opinion, have I gotten to old for MMORPGS?
I didn't get in on the early days of UO, my first was Anarchy Online, and I have played pretty much constantly since then. There have been the good and bad.. but I have kept playing becuase I enjoy them, however...the reason I end up leaving most games is the general populace (with the exception of SWG but we're not going there).
I don't have a problem with names, if you want to go and tell your kids your name was "Ipwnj00" or "IPfreely" go for it, what ever floats your boat. I'm talking attitude in general. When I'm sitting trying to rest in a game, the last thing I want is some ass clown whose balls haven't dropped yet in his skivvies standing in front of me dancing in my face. I try to be polite and ask them to leave, but as most of you know, it never works. Then if you get into an argument with the idiot, hes just going to drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
The latest game I tried was Mabinogi, it looked interesting. I thought it would be exciting and different. Well, it was, except for all the people running around naked cursing and shouting racial slurs.....
Once again, good game except for (most) of the community.
So, what do you honestly think. Have I become the guy that goes out and yells at the kids to get of his damn lawn or is it something else?
Comments
I really don't think your too old because I'm 16 and I am getting sick of them. I just don't think I've been interested in many recently released MMOs. Hopefully I will get into Age of Conan or Warhammer, I also tried Maginogi and I just signed off after about 5 minutes (I'm going to give it a go later).
Luke,
Thanks for the reply, but I think you missed the point of the topic.
I still enjoy the games, but its the majority of the people I meet there. I'll go out of my way to help someone out. But when you rez someone, and they pop up and walk away....
Better example, I was in Mabinogi working a Grey Wolf, this guy walks up and watches me get him down to half, then jumps in. Well, the wolf turned and killed him and he had the gall to ask me for a rez. THATS what I'm talking about...
When it comes to online manners, many people don't have any and it's pretty sad.
I'm sure no one appreciates others being an ass to them online or otherwise but it's so easy to get away with it online that many people don't care and think it gives them the right to do it. If you want to continue to play online games it's just something you have to get used to and not let it bother you because it's doubtful that it will stop anytime soon. Sad but true, unfortunately.
You are describing why most of my friends only group with RL friends. You can either recluse yourself to a few peoples...or...
I would say I see what you descibe more when players are unhappy with the game. Happier players are usually friendlier. That is why I would never play a game which reward any activity which isn't linked with what peoples like (rewarding PvP/raid/RvR better, while peoples want to solo/group for example, not acceptable, the community will be harsh, ungratefull, hatefull, and worst).
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren
I understand what your saying,
I have normally been lucky enough in most games to cross paths with a mature player. Do not let the term mature fool you, I've known a few 13 year olds that were more mature than some 30 year olds I know. Its just in the past couple years they have become fewer and farther between.
%*(& NO !
and don't let anyone tell you otherwise
Sorry, I get excited.
I am just saying that if the players are HAPPY, then they will be friendlier. if the players are unhappy, they will be as you describe.
Basically, find a MMO where the BEST soloer is a soloer, the best grouper is a grouper and the best PvPer is someone who PvP, and then you will see a MUCH better community. If you play a game where the raider is better than everyone else, than all non-raiders will contribute to a poor community. Everyone want to at least dream of been the best by doing stuff he enjoys. And the devs cannot change the tastes of the players, otherwise we would be standing idly in a 3D chatroom.
See, refusing to play a game because you see how unfair it is for some players isn't as much about you and your willingness to accept to be subpar or not, but it is about playing in a game with a healthy community or with an unhealthy community.
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren
Nope
What's wrong with yelling at people to get off your lawn anyway, especially if they were damaging it?
If you like playing MMO's then don't let the anti-social minority stop you, just ignore them (or better still /ignore them) & they will just go & bother someone else.
If you learn to laugh at them, sometimes they can be funny. Last night I reluctantly agreed to join a random pickup group in EQ2, you know the ones where they shout & send tells until someone gives in. I think it was the most dysfunctional group I have ever been in, I couldn't stop laughing.
The leader kept shouting "WE RULE!" at almost every minor victory, members would run off randomly to pull new monsters before anyone was ready & one guy kept abandoning the group in the middle of battles to 'Chop Wood' for tradeskills.
Perhaps not an experience I will repeat that soon, but It was absolutely hilarious!
I saw Mabinogi as well but I didn't like the "'Logan's Run" aspect. What's wrong with a character showing their age! You should never admit to being too old for anything!
If you can't "Have your cake & eat it too", then how can "The proof of the pudding be in the eating"?
Take the Hecatomb? TCG What Is Your Doom? quiz.
You're not too old, but you're not alone is getting irriateted by some of the antics of less mature players.
It seems clear to me that some games attract more of the idiots who have no manners. Stay away from the games that reward players for shafting others.
I've played the following games where I have found the community to be good (and mature) in general; FFXI, EVE, Vanguard, EQ2. Perhaps you might consider these a try. With EVE and FFXI you are reliant on other players so will lose out if you are a complete idiot and Vanguard and EQ2 have tended to attract players that are a little older because of the history and background behind these games.
RP servers also tend to attract more mature players from my limited experience.
To some extent you are the guy that tells the kids to get off the lawn. You can still avoid the idiot kids though if you avoid the games they love. If you really like the games they play then you'll have to learn to put up with them, but a good guild of similar minded players can help you stay sane.
Well OP I am with you 100%. I sometimes think I am too old for MMO's. I am 62 and have been playing since they started. I have played most online games, except for the ones that use anime, but that is another story.
I think there are many factors that have led to this influx of cretins in online games. One is they are getting more popular, When you cast a wide net you get the dregs also.
Also I think (WARNING OPINION FOLLOWS) that another major cause is a lot of people now like to solo. If you look at the forums of the games and on this forum you will find posts that say "What is the best class for soloing". I always cringe when I see a post like that. Now before the entire world starts flaming me I am all about playing a game anyway you like.
However, when you don't need other people to do well in a game a lot of people will start treating others badly. When games required other peoples help you were kind of forced to behave yourself or no one would group with you. I see a lot of posts about how bad EQ2 was when it started. Well I was there the day it started and I thought it was wonderful. Then you needed a group to survive and crafting required the help of others to make ingredients that you were out of your expertise. But they changed it so you can do about everything solo. I left the game soon after these changes occurred. I dont blame SOE for doing that as I understand they wanted more $$$$.
I will admit that as I get older my tolerence level for bad behavior is getting less and less. I can see myself quitting MMO's but I am sad about this as I had so much fun from them in the past.
That is one old fart's opinion.
To the OP: age is not an issue. Sometimes its the feeling of weariness. Can't blame you after the waves of irresponsible immature players swarming all channels with spams. The only spam more irritating is "We sell gold and powerlevelling".
The kids that dominates the channels have too much ego and taken the game avatars too seriously. They have to kill themselves when they lose a blade during PVP. They have to go out and physically beat up the other side when losing a PVP city siege. Speaking rude to you is already very gentle.
Like many others here, I would suggest ignoring them. Using the ignore list is not good enough, there is after all a limit to the list. If you try to ignore every kid you come across, your list will be full in 10 minutes. I would suggest you learn to mentally block them out. Remove the channels from chat box, go play games where there are less babes, hence no WoW and no f2p games. Stick with the few mature players you encounter, and use the friend list more than the ignore list. After all, we play to enjoy, not to avoid the lesser community. If I have to pay to play a game in which I rely on the ignore list, I would rather go fishing or just take a stroll.
Think positive. There should be at least 5 players in the entire game that is mature enough to worth staying in touch. That 5 will form a group for chatting at least. If you can only find 4 or less, find another game.
I too sometimes ask myself this question.
But I have a different take on this. The last few major MMo releases have been really dumbed down. Devs need to understand there is a difference between an easy game, and a game thats easy to play.
UO was my 1st game. Since then It seems like, with a few exceptions, the devs are targetting younger and younger audiences. Its not a mistake that all this years major releases are due out just as school gets out. I dont mind young players, i just dont want the game to designed for just them. Take WoW for example, it has a lot of fantastic features, but anyone who argues that game isnt dumbed down, is just a liar or is dumbed down themselves.
Apparently you aren't old enough to know the "to" "too" rule.
Beyond that you added to the thread in what way? In fact what I'd like is that on all forums if they perma banned grammar nazi's (no offense but you aren't adding anything to this discussion aka you're off topic)
To the OP, old is not a problem with MMO's.
Either you like the EQ1->WoW order of clones that is going to continue.
Or you long for the days of UO/Pre-CU.
Or you just liked the way EQ1 worked (penalties and incentive to group).
Most all of that is non existant in todays MMO's.
MMORPG is for all ages.. dont worry
I understand what you are saying. The idiots in MMO's can be put into the same bracket as the real life kids that us oldies can no longer catch due to a few too many years of accumulated burgers and a few thousand too many pints of best. Fortunately they gravitate naturally to certain types of MMO and are for the most part easy to avoid. When choosing a game to play steer clear of firstly the free to play MMO's which by definition are fertile ground for the pubeless, credit card disadvantaged masses. Secondly as posted above stay clear of the games that reward arseholes, games with for instance open world PvP that also have little or no penalties for those that find fun in ganking players 20 levels or more below them. The third category includes the games that are so dumbed down and easy to play that a monkey could hit top level in a week. Games that utilise a total of zero in the brain-cell department because the idiots don't have that many to spare ( I would say that WoW falls into this bunch /puts up WoW anti-flame brolly ).
Conversely, the more complicated games like Ao tend to be a little too deep and involved in character advancement to keep the morons interested and after a few levels they are seen less and less due to the irresistable urge to gather around the 'this game sux' posts on internet forums.
Some games with decent communities have been mentioned already, EQ2, EvE etc. although I will say that although the EvE community are helpful and always willing to give advice to new players I have seen my fair share of asshats as well and the EvE players all know the type I'm talking about. As for the new crop of games coming out soon I had high hopes for AoC before the FC devs became fixated on the fact that the game has tits which will attract the immature like flies around dog crap, as will the mature rating because there are enough dumb parents out there that just don't give a damn and will pay the sub just to keep little asswipe happy.
Warhammer looks like it may have the needed complexity of advancement to keep some of them away and if Mythic manage to cultivate the same feeling of realm pride that DAoC had then idiots should be thin on the ground, but that remains to be seen.
As for your original question the answer is no, you are not too old. Hell, I'm coming up to my 47th birthday and still play, as do some real life friends that have already passed the big 5-0. Oldies unite :P
You run into asshats everywhere online. Its just how it goes. Just keep in mind, if you pay attention to them and let them annoy you, then you're doing exactly what they want you to do. If its obvious that you are either not there or don't care, they get bored and go away. Being bored is why they're being asshats in the first place. That or you take off all your clothes and go dance with them.
http://mmo-hell.blogspot.com/
http://www.mmorpg.com/blogs/rejad
Glad to see your time riding the jerk cain wasnt wasted...
Anyhow, i think the problem is game developers have left you , me and other older gamers.
Games have become simplistic beyond belief and lack any real depth. Its like a one way track to shits ville and i cant get off. No matter how hard i work at it i still cant get off. Games dont have that good old feeling, that rush they use to have. Its like missionary everytime all the time. Sure it looks good, but it doesnt have any spirit, and it always wants money!
Id suggest fps's. Its like viagra for us gamers. Its a quicky without all the fuss, for the cost of a dinner and movie you can play with it any damn way you like, in a tree, behind a bush, in a pond down a hole and it just keeps on giving. And the rush, lol dont get me started on how hard it will make your blood pump. Many times it can intice you to turn on the old cam and record some of your glory moments, and post it on the net. And thats something guys and girls alike can enjoy.
it'll hold you over till you feel like you are able to commit again to something more serious and long term.
FoE Fist of the Empire
If you don't feel too old, you aren't too old.
If you feel too old, then you're too old.
Point is: do what you enjoy.
I am somewhat in the same boat as you, but I find it pretty easy to ignore immature players. Just smirk and continue my business. They are reluctant to pester someone who doesn't care much about them, regardless.
Anarchy Online in the beginning was also my first big experience. I had played Ultima Online, but not extensively, until later.
Everyone in Anarchy Online was so nice, though. I hardly remember any immaturity. Even my guild, which was definitely the most accomplished, 'strongest' guild in the game at the time, was nice to everyone.
That's an experience I'll always miss and probably never match.
I guess I can add my 2 cents as someone who has played MMOs for 10 years (starting with EQ). I began playing them because I could seem to connect to people through a medium in which you are not face to face. This is because of my anti-social background I lived all during my primary school years. Sure, the graphics and the idea of playing a D&D-like game without all the hassle of rules (God bless Gary Gygax! R.I.P) was an amazing step, and still is. But this leads back to that word, anti-social. I am an exception to the rule, I feel, as I broke the cycle of being reclusive, decided to go to college after high school (still going, last year until I have my B.S. in Computer Science in a decently large school of my home state). Alas, I am still in love of the genre. But like I said, I am atypical, the norm generally are people who really do not understand right from wrong. So they cause mischief in a virtual world, not unlike the real world in which they desperately needed a rude awakening in to open their eyes. But times are changing and MMOs are being accepted by more and more people and soon, the norm will be different. The recent number of female players in games in general should be a huge sign of this change. Just fyi, Nick Yee, a psychologist, has a good website on an on-going study of MMOs which had gathered some interesting information about the demographics and psychology of people in MMOs (his research showed there were many more female gamers than he had originally thought before we actually saw the influx of females into games). Anyways, I am kinda getting off topic, but yes, in general, like some have posted above, the definition of an MMO is to bring anti-social people into a social environment and if they do not have those skills in the real world, why would they act any different in a digital world? Really, the best thing to do is use as much of the power that a particular game allows you to ignore that certain person and get into a group of people who have similar interests and your gaming experience will be much improved. Hope this helps and happy gaming to you in the futures! Hope to see you in the next world!
MMOs Played: I can no longer list them all in the 500 character limit.
No never too old.
Computer gaming as a hobby is relatively new. In another 20 years gaming will be just a no-brainer for society like watching movies.
As for the bad community: You will find immature players everywhere and somehow the percentage of morons is steadily increasing. I believe this to be an effect of either evil rays from outer space or because western society is going down the wrong path. In either case just ignore the affected mentally. Try to find a game with a healthy community, get into a mature guild and just laugh about those kids. Just imagine that they are trying to overcompensate for something lacking in RL or are simply too stupid to understand what they are doing and you might even pity them.
As for games I recommend trying to get into a game that is not about being getting the fastest to maxlevel or achieveing maximum ranking or collecting item sets. THe gameplay itself has to be fun. Balance and possible playstyles are important and play games that are complex and hard. Immature players tend to play the easy instant gratification games.
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Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
After reading your post it seems you have your question backwards! It should read like this:
Have MMORPGs gotten too old for me?
I am 41 and have played a lot of MMO titles and just came to the realization in a very short amount of time that all online games have bad and ignorant people playing them. The quicker you accept this the better off you will be. That is when you will start having fun no matter what someone does in-game!
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Control is an illusion!
That's exactly it.
Im 30 and so are alot of my guild mates in many games yeah i get tired of alot of the game play but if you play a mmo for whats its intended for it never really gets stale.Get a good community such as a great guild and a bunch of friends and its fun right now me bein ex military online game are away for me too keep in contact with many of my military friends because some if not all play them like wow or eq2 i stay in contact go out play and adventure together it isnt about the uber loot or whos better at pvp,all about community.