Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Walkthrough my ideal innovative MMO
AndrewGoat
Member UncommonPosts: 160
Before I start this tirade, I wanted to let everyone know something bizzare I saw at Walmart the other night. I was going through the Electronics section and actually saw a copy of Fury for sale. Like, brand new looking. You know, the game that went under 2 years ago. Really bizzare.
At any rate, lets take a look at a typical MMO experience for me right now, and compare it to what I wish we had.
I log into my character on WoW. I don't have a guild on this character. It's a character I've been working on lately. I run around for a bit, look at my quest log. I go do quests. I get bored, and lonely, and I quit because I've experienced this game gameplay for 10+ years now.
What I would like to see:
I go to a store, buy in this case "Innovative MMO". I take it home, I install it, it doesnt take 30gb to install. I patch it for a bit, I log in. I make my character, which is comprised of many different races, which is simply a cosmetic difference, and not a statistical one. I select a Guild or Organization. Based on my guild or organization, I get my class. In this way, different 'sides' in the game could have different philosophical standpoints, but the same skills. Such as a Peaceful Monk, or an Evil one.
I finish creating my character, and I go through a tutorial. It not only explains the gameplay, but the story, and my role in it, in depth. It gives me a sense of identity, rather than being an electronic instruction booklet. In my character creation, in addition to a class-based organization, I selected a city. Each city could have a different overall philosophical side and opinion and base their housed guilds upon that.
So, upon logging in, I am in a class based organization of some sort, and I am part of a city, which is entirely comprised of player characters who are also part of the same 'city' organization. Our government is player elected through elections, our shops are ran by SOME NPCs, but the majority are ran by players.
Levels are a means to an end and not entirely necessary to enjoy the game. You don't even necessarily need a sandbox, but simply an overarching purpose, in this case, the superiority of your guild and/or city over the other sides. Cities would be one big capital cities, but also be able to branch out with towns, with caravans being able to be ran back and forth for money and experience, with the risk of death from other players.
Overall, in this game, you roleplay not because its necessary, but because it gives you a sense of purpose and pride. Rather than trying to 'hit the end game', there is no end game.
The problem with current persistent worlds is not the lack of an endgame, its the endgame scenario itself. Why do raids have to be 'end game' activities? Why can't they be something everyone can contribute to, like a real war effort?
In order for MMOs to evolve, the thinking concerning them must evolve too. And I have noticed lately that every time a new MMO comes out, it usually fails, because it fails to evolve. Developers are forced by big Publishers to take "proven" methods in developing MMOs.
The reason why WoW succeeded so massively is because it always gave someone something to do. It might not be something you really 'enjoy', but you always had something to do. Leveling, raiding, crafting, pvp, etc. Honestly, I don't enjoy most of these, but doing them gives you, guess what, a SENSE OF PURPOSE.
Who really believes that that sense of purpose has to be so lame? Why cant our sense of purpose be creative in nature, and give us as players something to unite together with against other players.
Most people will just be like 'lulz tl;dr'. I don't really care. If you want a simple, quick action level based game, play a console game, or something like Torchlight. Quit accepting the drivel that's given. Quit trying to relieve the old days. Embrace the new ones, but don't be told that 'New' is the same game in a new skin.
Comments
No progression at all? Not even gear? What's the motivation?
Hmmm. I don't know. Too bad a person can't experiment with a game and a diverse group of players without having to spend millions.
Second Life is the closest MMO I can think of. No progression, find your own adventure, etc.
Well shave my back and call me an elf! -- Oghren
No, there would be gear. It just wouldn't be a focal point. You could get a sword, or a scimitar, or a staff, but it'd be that, and wouldnt be SUPER FLAMING SWORD OF DOOM THAT I HAVE TO HAVE TO BE USEFUL. There would be skillsets, rather than skills. There would be progression, but your progression would be what you define it to be, rather than what the developer says. Instead of leveling to raid and raiding to get gear, it'd be more like, being political with other players in order to further yourself politically, or killing lots of other players simply to become infamous and renowned with the playerbase, etc.
That's my point. You say, no gear, no progression. You don't think that you should make your own idea of progression. You simply think that 'progression' is what the developer says it is.
You could create such a game in second life.
Thing is, how hard would it be to get a couple hundred people to try it out.
Well shave my back and call me an elf! -- Oghren
I want to play a game made by the developers, not made by myself. I have real life for that already.
I want to not be forced to make my own "progression" which feels fake because it's not really the intention of the game, it's just artificial goal made by me. I can never finish the game because there is no finish. I can decide it for myself but that doesn't feel right to me. I want to play a game, not live in another world.
So, I don't think your ideal MMO would be my ideal MMO. Respectfully I disagree.
LOL .. these posts always cracked me up. Pipe dreams in the sky.
How many here have written multiple-thousand words essays about what sounds good on paper. All of them have ZERO idea of how to actually make a MMO realty. Leave it to the professionals, boys!
As I read your post, the thing that kept occuring to me was how awesome it would be to have a Discworld MMO, with an Ankh-Morpork built to the scale of some of the more detailed maps I've seen. You have your guilds-- Assassins, Thieves, uh... "Seamstresses" *cough*, etc... There are districts, such as the shades, docks, Unseen University, and so on.
It's hard to imagine an MMO set entirely in one city, since our concept of "city" is constrained to capital cities in games like WoW, EQ1/2, etc., but if the city were to be to scale and take up the same amount of landmass as another game, it might work.
Besides, Discworld is awesome. Who wouldn't want to be a part of the City Watch?
"You'll never win an argument with an idiot because he is too stupid to recognize his own defeat." ~Anonymous
thanks for confirming my idea that World of Warcraft players play not necessarily because they enjoy what they're doing, but because it's better than doing nothing at all.
Also, some of the older games are far more advanced than the modern ones, it's a real shame when the genre gets downgraded. It's a real shame that a game like Asheron's Call didn't become the template for modern MMORPGs, because otherwise we'd be enjoying massive world changing events and an active story that the players actually get involved in, and all kinds of high quality quest content.
Here you go AndrewGoat: https://www.fallenearth.com/trial
Now lets see if you really are true to your words in what you want.
I agree with the other poster. Disco world MMO.
Lusternia is a near perfect fit for you.
I find it amazing that by 2020 first world countries will be competing to get immigrants.