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Sandbox vs Theme Park
MasterCrysis
Member Posts: 94
which do you prefer for an MMO.
Comments
I like Theme Parks, you can get cotton candy, go see an attraction, and all the rides are designed so you don't die.
I like both, because after I leave Disneyland I want to be able to do whatever I want, be it kick it in the pool, head down to the "Lost Bar" and grab some expensive drinks, do some shopping in Down Town Disney. xD
.. It's funny.. the majority is "Sandbox" but in actuality..
It's themepark (just look at the subs folks)..
"Luckily I know that while you make nonsnese baiting threads that get locked....threads I make get sticked by the mods on this forum...." -imbant (greatest board warrior EVER)
Darkfall Countdown: http://darkfallreleasedate.com/
I think too extreme of a sandbox would fail and too extreme of a theme park would fail.
You have to find a good balance of both.
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Guys! I'm hopelessly lost in a mountain of mole hills! Them damn moles!
Yeah, no one wants to play Second Life.
I don't mind either personally. If it's a good quality game with beautiful art/graphics design , good game play and a nice community then I could go either way.
Hybrid for the love of god...
/Agreed! There is no reason why in todays MMOs there cannot be a hybrid of games in one. A person who just wants to be free to hunt for exp shouldn't get less exp than the person that follows the quests/storylines. And no reason why a pvp/pve community couldn't be formed to play together on same servers. Kinda like civilians n army. But I guess in reality, it wouldn't follow the WoW model so any game that is not is destined to fail....
I want a themepark inside a sandbox.
All kidding aside, that's the way you should design your sandbox. There should be a meta game taht players can engage in, if they want to. But themepark players should have fun, and not even realize there is a meta game if they dont' want to delve into it.
I'd rather look at the feature list of the game.
-skill based system
-player driven economy
-large, instance free game world
-live events
-tools for players to build, create, and alter the game world
-dynamic mob spawns
You get a good amount of those a new MMO and I'll be very interested.
Doesn't matter to me as long as the game is fun. Every game has its own pros and cons but without the fun factor I won't continue playing it.
So far the sandbox is getting the majority vote here... now if devs would quit chruning out the trash they keep pumping out and focus on long term viability and not cash cows, chasing the golden POW sub numbers we might start seeing some quality MMOs again.. not the same tired old themepark crap, now the next big hyped game and their gimmick is with flying combat and wings... whoopdie doo.....
i love the sandbox.
Gamers are going to play the best games in their favorite genre.
How many truely sandbox games are there currently that are as polished and have either an intellectual property or a setting that is as intriguing as the best theme park games? EVE Online is the only one that comes to mind and certainly not any fantasy based MMOs.
Since fantasy games are by far the the most popular and since there aren't any polished or intriguing sandbox games in the genre, then fantasy-liking gamers are going to play theme park fantasy games.
the obvious answer is both.... WoW meets SWG pre-CU.
Grymm
MMO addict in recovery!
EQ,SWG preCU,L2,EQ2,GW,CoH/CoV,V:SOH,
Aion,AoC,TR,WAR,EVE,BP,RIFT,WoW and others... no more!
After 10+ years of MMO's who wants another grind and level style game? I sure don't i'm sick of that gaming concept entirely. Sandbox equals never ending grind and Themepark is grind just not as bad and for what. Just so we can reach max level and roll another alt? I want an MMO with no levels or grind that has whats lacking in most every modern day MMO *FUN*.
Themepark all the way!!!
My top-6 list:
1. I want to be led by my hand through activity that "pretends" to be difficult, BUT doesn't allow me to make any choices (to protect me from screwing up).
2. I want a game that makes me feel like a studly L33T Gamah (despite the fact that a 2nd grader could easily match my performance given a bit of practice).
3. I want to play the biggest baddest CLASS, so I can be a "special" player (just like everyone else on the server).
4. I want to have the biggest baddest GEAR, so I can be a "special" player (just like everyone else on the server).
5. I want to have the highest LEVEL, so I can be a "special" player (just like everyone else on the server).
6. I want the entire game to be soloable, because neither myself nor most others in the game are sufficiently skilled in communications or teamwork to be able to produce a meaningful group.
Despite my sarcasm, I really do prefer Themepark MMOs. On the other hand, I can significantly relate with the sandbox fans wanting a game with something more substantial than "Hello Kitty". Good-luck with that. I'm just doing my own little project for now.
Ken
I respectfully disagree, WOW is the biggest selling MMO on the planet and it's extreme Theme Park. Outside of UO & old school SWG, I've seen few examples of an succcesfull extreme sandbox MMO.
While I agree a balance would be nice, I've yet to see a true middle ground struck.
Dutchess Zarraa Voltayre
Reborn/Zero Sum/Ancient Legacy/Jagged Legion/Feared/Nuke & Pave.
People that like themepark MMORPGs play games.
People that like sandbox MMORPGs post on forums.
I respectfully disagree, WOW is the biggest selling MMO on the planet and it's extreme Theme Park. Outside of UO & old school SWG, I've seen few examples of an succcesfull extreme sandbox MMO.
While I agree a balance would be nice, I've yet to see a true middle ground struck.
I've seen to few examples of a successful extreme theme park. WoW is the only 1 that comes to mind. yet you've already named more successful sandbox games, and haven't named L2 or AO.
you could go as far as saying Everquest was an extreme theme park mmo, I never played it, but am told theres quite a few sandbox elements mixed in as well.
EVE has all of these things except the dynamic mob spawns. If you change the mob spawns to other players then that's pretty dynamic. But I do believe that EVE has all the other things you're looking for. If you haven't given it a try, please do.
haha! nice post :P
But I think 2009, we will get more sandbox MMOGs.
I really prefer a mix of both.
And some people seems to think that level system is a must for themeparks but it ain't.
Anyways, I can play any of those but I want a real bloody RPG game in any case. The RPG feeling is the most importent aspect for me.
I prefer the longevity of a persistant world. Every MMO I have played that was a sandbox I played for years. Every theme park game I have played I barely lasted a few months with the exception of WOW, and that was only because I played it with my kids.
Could you share what kept you playing?
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