What do you want in a MMO that will help RPing?

MimiEZ

What kind of things would you want a MMO  to implement, so that you could do decent roleplaying?

Would you like it to have special servers? Have a variety in...clothes? What?

I'm not a very big roleplayer in MMO's, so I just want to know what type of things a normal RPer looks for to determine if a game is good for RPing.

Athcear

To have a truly immersive RP game, you need GMs.  There will always be things that players want to do that the coding is not set up to receive.  Another human being at the other end of the RP conduit cannot be replaced by any automated system.

Bazharkhan

What a question... I could go on for some time about this one, but I will try to keep it short.  Then I will fail to do so and ramble on for days.  Eh... either way.

I suppose first and foremost I want a world with as few atmosphere-breaking mechanics as possible. 

The odd glitch, etc doesn't bother me, but killing a named NPC and seeing him respawn has always annoyed me.  It breaks immersion very quickly, and unfortunately it isn't the easiest mechanic to solve from a programmer's perspective, unless you use heavy instancing.  A lot of pros and cons to that one that the devs have to weigh; but all in all it is a little annoying.

Next, I would applaud a game where RP is a significant part of the progression/leveling/advancement process.  Let a bunch of non-RPers have some fun and actually be rewarded for following a coherent, well-written story and suddenly you have a few more RPers.  You'll never convert all of them, but that's fine.  I don't need a 99% RPer base in a game.  10% who care and participate is perfectly fine by me.

GM/World/Epic events.  The holy grail of MMOs.  The bane of devs who think GMs are only worth hiring for their admin ability.  Let something happen that isn't scripted, or at least isn't a simple random event, and you bring a lot of people together.  Let a major NPC on a couple servers do something fun, cool, amazing or just out of the pre-determined norm, and you have people wanting to gather, grab their friends, and try to participate in some way.  GM events don't have to crash servers; they can be short, unscheduled (at least as far as players are concerned) but still relatively accessible by their periodicity.

Quests that mean something.  I don't want to be told that by gathering a wizard's pet poodle's droppings and filtering through them for a lost magical key I will become in any way, shape, or form HEROIC.  Balvor the Bold is not going to make his name gathering pages from some lackey's book, carryinng a random book from one room to the next, or killing 5 wolves for their naughty bits so that a witch-doctor can make more mojo.  (Granted, not everyone starts out a hero, but at some point no sane person is going to seriously consider asking Han Solo, Aragorn or the Grey Mouser to massage a gnome's pet gerbil until it vomits up a missing magical ring.)  Heroes should do heroic things, and quests should reflect this - not merely in the strength of the enemies encountered, but in the strength of the saga itself.  Hercules didn't just slay a hydra or clean some stables of equine poo (well, he did, but ... nevermind); he redeemed a terrible sin he had committed by accomplishing what could not be accomplished.  Create quests that matter to players, and you will have a game that matters to players.

Finally, (and I know that this is a bit of a sticking point for some people) names.  Names, names names.  BAAH!!!  If 99% of the players you see running around have bright bloody neon signs over their heads proudly proclaiming them to be none other than NOOBPWNZOR and JUSTINBUBBLER and LULZHAHA, poor little Aegwyn the Good is going to hang herself with her pretty little Scarf_of_No_Stats_at_All_but_it_Looks_Kinda_Good_on_Her_+1.  RPers are largely non-confrontational, relatively quiet sorts (when trapped amongst you so-called NORMAL people anyway) who just want to play a game and immerse themselves in a (hopefully) good storyline for a while.  You can't get rid of morons, but you can perhaps limit the names a player can choose to those that fit with your world's flavor, history or whatever -- or just choose not to display player names at all. 

rr

 

vajrav

There's nothing that would me make roleplay in a medieval-like fantasy MMO. I feel silly typing in Olde English and writing descriptions about my past and such.

I imagine that I would more easily feel immersed in a modern day or futuristic setting.

Loktofeit

Originally posted by Athcear

To have a truly immersive RP game, you need GMs.  There will always be things that players want to do that the coding is not set up to receive.  Another human being at the other end of the RP conduit cannot be replaced by any automated system.

I think this is one of the single most important components. As a Seer in Ultima Online, I had the opportunity to experience first hand how much more immersive an experience can be when the organizers can react on the fly to player numbers, player responses/reactions, ability to handle the content, etc. Although several recent PC games (Left 4 Dead, for example) monitor the condition and ability of the adventurers and manage the environment accordingly, they still rarely ever address dialog or emergent behaviour.

A GM can identify if the group is enjoying the hack-n-slash more or the dialog more and 'adjust the dials.' If the players are finding the traps to be more challenging they can plug more in. If the players are having difficulty with an area, the GM can ease up the challenges or drop hints of some sort.

In extended plots and storylines, GMs can rally players for or against a cause. They can also, like any given reality show on TV, manipulate the players to work together or clash with one another.

 

One big hurdle is the massive cost of the staff and supporting resources for any large MMO. It's much easier to pull off on a smaller scale for games with only a server or two and a small tight community. As the size of the community and the number of players grows, it seems to grow exponentially in what is necessary to accomplish live events and RP events with any level of regularity and fairness.

Which brings us to the second hurdle - the concern about abuse and favoritism. This concern is shared by both players and developers, causing devs to often tread very lightly into live event waters.

 

The smaller the population and the fewer the shards, the easier it is to make something like live GM events a reality.

warmaster670

Nothing should need to be done to hep roleplaying, if your a roleplayer you should be able to roleplay no matter what game your in, you should be able to roleplay with nothing but a chatroom

Loktofeit

Originally posted by warmaster670

Nothing should need to be done to hep roleplaying, if your a roleplayer you should be able to roleplay no matter what game your in, you should be able to roleplay with nothing but a chatroom

You don't need a diamond to play a game of baseball, but it's a lot more fun when you have the mound, the baselines, the scorebaord and all the other amenities.

Scot

We need AI that can act as a GM, voice software that makes you sound like your charecter and development tools that can construct worlds on the fly.

So we have quite a way to go as yet.

ste2000

Originally posted by MimiEZ

What kind of things would you want a MMO  to implement, so that you could do decent roleplaying?

Would you like it to have special servers? Have a variety in...clothes? What?

I'm not a very big roleplayer in MMO's, so I just want to know what type of things a normal RPer looks for to determine if a game is good for RPing.

A Community and a developers that keeps the community clean by enforcing the rules

Nilwarp

Choices.

My RP credo is "the more choices, the better".

I dislike having limited choice or even worst, being told what to choose.

I need to have mutiple choices in order to build the role I want to play.

That applies to in-game activities of course, but also to the character set-up and progression.

Edit: specifically about dialogues for example, I hate DA:O with its basic black and white alternative - or dark grey and light grey if you want to play with words - and I love Fallout (1 and 2) with almost all possible options you can think of.

Mezner

Originally posted by Athcear

To have a truly immersive RP game, you need GMs.  There will always be things that players want to do that the coding is not set up to receive.  Another human being at the other end of the RP conduit cannot be replaced by any automated system.

I'm not really much of a role player but I have to agree with this post since I have seen this in action and can agree that it is truly the main course if you wish to truly enjoy RPing. I would also like to add that FFA PVP is another must in most games however, that is my opinion. I feel that it brings people together in order to fight against the evil murders (PK's).

 

http://gamerlimit.com/2009/12/tales-of-an-omnipotent-public-servant-part-6-i-now-pronounce-you/

eye_m

I would really like to see an improved mechanic in regards to questing similar to how (as previously mentioned) the Fallout series worked. You have different solutions to each quest chain, and the greater the diversity of options available the better. I would also like to see a perk or title system that would compliment it. For example, completing a set of quests for a town could title a person "Savior of Town X"  or if completed differently " Villian of Town X" etc

I would also want to see a lot of costume or casual clothing options. RP flourishes in diversity.

Though I don't know how to impliment (and therefore properly explain) a mechanic of heirarchy within the social caste of players, I think it would really improve the players RP naturally.  For example: I thought about this new mmo CCP is coming out with about vampires and such. Now in alot of the vampire movies (forgive me, I don't know much about the actual games lore so I may be quite a ways off from what they have in mind) there is a distinct heirarchy of vampires, and if they chose to make it so that this sort of heirarchy was kept in game, the RP aspect would follow naturally.  A vampire would have higher levels of players to not alienate and lower level players to keep in line.  It would be interesting to have each player start out as human and released into the world, and if a vampire successfully bit them, they would end up being in that vampires clan.  Not being effective with defending yourself could make you end up in a clan you don't want and being to aggressive as a vampire could end up having players in your clan that you don't really want.  It could really push the RP activity up a notch, or possibly lead to all sorts of other problems.

Also, a huge amount of emotes, and possibly trigger emotes that allow for other emotes from different players.

Another thing that I think is important is the aspect of PvP within the world. Even though I'm really not much for PvP I can still see the benefit of having a PvP component in OW.

thorppes

Ongoing story line, separate story lines for different NPC characters.

Things to fight over with meaning and significance.

Good world interaction, planting trees, sitting on benches and more.

A lot of customisation not only in looks but in character and skills to make your character the one you'd like to roleplay and not just another rogue, priest, warrior class type.

MMOmaker

 

You guys are right. Having a GM or more than one makes a world of difference. I agree with most of the other stuff you are talking about, too such as PvP, not so you can just cause grief for others, but because of the way it changes the dynamics of the game and makes the struggle of good vs. evil more real. Ongoing story line, no stupid character names, no respawning of named NPCs who have been killed, etc. Absolutely, all this stuff is critical.

It's so obvious how to make a good, no, a GREAT role playing game. I know it can be done, too, because I did create one. It's offline now, but it was called Magic of the Gods. It had all that and more.

It went offline about two years ago due to technical problems with the software development tools we were using and due to me not having the time and money to continue.

I'm thinking of creating a new MMORPG with a different concept from my last game, but still incorporating the concepts you are talking about here. I'm thinking sci-fi this time and much simpler to implement. All I really need is one php programmer and one graphics guy and I already have a graphics guy.

Someday there will be more games like you guys are talking about. The gaming industry will probably get around to doing it eventually if you keep asking. Even if they don't, I will.

 

 

 

 

 

 

drake_hound

Well truth is not much is needed to roleplay , but creatiivity and a GM if only to keep trouble makers away .

Thats what most roleplayers want , its not a GM to reward them or help them , its more a GM to keep away trouble makers.

 

Example when reasons doesn´t work , and on a roleplay server people keep being a idiotic asshat .

It totally makes roleplay undesirable , roleplayers easily can ignore one and other and reach a comprimise .

 

Roleplayer just want nifty clothings , simple stuff like functional furniture , exciting or gorgeous envoirement .

We are not talking about ERP , those have different demands of good looking toons and other stuff .

But in general Roleplayers themself clothings and nifty worthless visual items are a great help .

Other thing that really helps out is a meeting place , usually in a form of a pub disco or simply put a social hub .

 

What roleplayers dont like, but sadly attracts is the duelists , the L33T , the neo nazi´s or forced roleplay rules .

It sounds little wierd the forced roleplay rule , but its a double sided sword nobody want to be restricted in there freedom.

But other side roleplay is about creativity , rules that force people to act certain way , is usually a barrier that most roleplayers want to break .

 

Well a roleplay event is always good , once in  a while a GM or SERVER owners event , even if some elitist complain .

Is always good for roleplaying .

What i notice lately in roleplayers , is the lack of tutors (or maybe it was never there ) that can explain the new generation .

What roleplay is , you have enough people interested in roleplay , and its not hard cause roleplay is affection with your toon.

And acting the way the toon should act , good roleplayers usually detach themself from the toon .

Like reading a book watching a movie but its interactive . just need emotional detachment in the end its not real .

I think good roleplay tutors are the thing that the next generation really lack , I really dont know if GM squads should get involved , but maybe that could help the most for roleplay .

patient32

Minigames! That's the ticket laddie. Though they'd have to be fully integrated into the game and not feel like a minigame as though i just did /tetris ingame and am now playing a wee bit of tetris while I wait.................

Also I would love this for my roleplaying games.... There's a game called Face of Mankind, which is an entirely player driven world........ Sadly it's not so great (last time I played) as it's just a deathmatch with some fancy decorations on it..........

However there was a great idea.. Player specific "serving your time/repeatable" quests based on the faction you sign up with.

What I mean is ....... For example, in say a fantasy mmo. I'd like to be able to sign up with the city guards and then serve some time patrolling, being rewarded for sticking to the patrol......... Or perhaps someone could decide to become a merchant and get rewarded by being a merchant (which might sound silly) but minigames are the key. So long as they are brain-engaging and not ridiculously difficult, it's reasonably entertaining and if it's fun then all the better.

 

Of course I only want to see this in my dream mmo that has no levels....... Only AA. New players, veteran players they can all group together and do any content anywhere in the game but the AA makes some players stronger than others (which might even be required to defeat the "end game" type big boss stuff)

 

 

PS: If anyone replies to this and says that minigames are not fun then that person is completely delusionally insane. Since that's what a game is.... A serious of connected minigames creating an illusion of cause and effect, action and reward making a difference.......... Otherwise known as - GAMEPLAY!