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Why do MMORPG people love to stay in the past?
adiktus
Member Posts: 128
"I'm so disappointed with today's MMOs. Why can't they release something like those in the golden age of MMOs like UO?" and many others like this.
I just started playing MMORPGs two years ago so I'm definitely not a veteran in the genre. I'm just wondering, are those games in the "golden age" really that great or are these people just intoxicated by the feeling of nostalgia, and/or the good feeling provided by their very first MMO experience which can never be replicated no matter what developers do?
Comments
First time always has a special place in your heart...
...that really applies to almost everything. MMOs included.
I'm sure part of it is nostalgia, but the core gameplay of MMORPGs has really taken a turn for the worse in the past few years. MMORPGs have been stripped of what defined the genre, in an attempt to draw in crowds from the FPS, RTS, and other genres.
The reason newer "MMORPG" players don't understand this, is because they never knew what a real mmorpg was. It's not their fault, they are just ignorant.
Combination of things I think. First MMO's I think hold a special place for people. Everything so new and unnown. There are definitely people that suffer from the rose colored glasses when talking about some of these older games because they definitely has flaws. I do believe though there were some thingd about games back then though that were great, less hand holding, not having the glut of info that can be looked up at the drop of a hat so in my opinion you had more people helping and asking about things rather than just popping online and finding everything out in minute detail.
Yes and No to more or less the questions youre asking.
Some people will say the 1st MMO will always be remembered as the best, and thats just not true.
Its the 1st MMO that took a person out of our world and made them feel a part (not apart) of this new world, is the one that is fondly remembered.
And new MMO focus less and less on that, and more and more about end game raids, or guiding a person thru a story they, the developers, created.
Its one reason why open world PvP is so popular and craved for by a lot of the people. That's when its almost the only time an individual persons charater/toon can influence and feel part of the game world. Its not a scripted or rehearsed event like a raid or a cut scene or a quest.
"I understand that if I hear any more words come pouring out of your **** mouth, Ill have to eat every fucking chicken in this room."
Some expect well developed virtual worlds, which is where the old games implied the genre was heading.
What they get today is generic fantasy MMO #1372 with little depth and no freedom.
Part is the rise of the corporate gaming culture, when a game isn't made unless it's assured it'll bring inmediate profit, but IMHO bigger part is rose tinted nostalgia glasses, and applies to almost everything (haven't you heard people complaining about how today's music sucks compared to older music).
It's actually a physical thing on the brain, there are what are called "adrenaline moments", basically our brain likes to record the peaks of anything (for example, we won't remember every single kiss we give to our significant other, but we never forget the first one).
Same thing happens with our memories of games, we will vividly remember the peaks, not the averages. The times where we had the most fun in a game is etched in our brains, along with the very bad times. Chances are, though, there are lot fewer times bad enough to be recorded than good ones, and most of it will just be average and mostly forgotten. Which is why, for example, some people in WoW yearn for the times when they were raiding Molten Core because the strongest memories they have is when they killed that boss for the first time, or when they finally got that sword they wanted and so on... and don't remember much of the tedium that filled the times between them and that caused it to be called "Molten Bore" when it was on its peak.
What can men do against such reckless hate?
That's like asking your parents why they like the music that they like.
#TeamVainlash
Why did Marceline's dad eat her fries? I mean...cause she bought them and they were hers...
Its partially reality, and its partially nostalgia. People fondly remember the good parts, and tend to gloss over the bad.
I've been playing MMO's since before EQ1 had its first expansion. And there are certainly things about EQ1 I think need to be brought back into the MMO world, and at the same time there are parts that need to be left in the dust-bin of history.
Corpse runs and overly harsh death penalties? They can go away. A map that feels more like a world than a game level? That needs to come back. Multiple starting areas and non-linear paths through the world? They can come back as well.
Grouping as a viable way to play through the game in more than "Dungeons" and "That one hard quest" should come back, but forced grouping needs to stay away.
Some dungeons being non-instanced? Keep.
So long, and thanks for all the fish!
Now explain why Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Bon Jovi songs from the 1980s still get a cheer at college parties in 2012 and why high school kids go nuts when Sweet Caroline, a song from 1969 starts playing over the loudspeaker at a football game.
First point out to me where I said that younger people don't like older things
And it goes both ways; older people just as often enjoy newer things. I was simply saying that there is no concrete reason why an older person may prefer things from their 'golden days'. Hence the comparison, trying to have your parents explain why they prefer the music that they prefer. Given that they're not into the same things you are of course.
#TeamVainlash
Why did Marceline's dad eat her fries? I mean...cause she bought them and they were hers...
For me it's just nostalgia.... i have now come to conclusion tho im just tired of games in general sadly...
"Negaholics are people who become addicted to negativity and self-doubt, they find fault in most things and never seem to be satisfied."
^MMORPG.com
I dont know about EQ or UO but i played Asherons Call back in those days and it is still right now far better than any other MMO i have played.
people allways look back to the UO/EQ/AC days because those games were better than the games out now, plain and simple.
Well while alot of modern day MMORPGS are quite generic I also disagree with the dwelling on the past. There are great games out there, and even if they do bad or arent a huge hit they still bring in new idea's and innovation to the table (TERA's aim combat, SWTOR personal story). Now story and combat alone dont make a game, Im well aware, however these things are all steps up the right direction into future MMO's and overall just the progression of the industry. Some will learn, some will fall and try to replicate like others have.
Played-Everything
Playing-LoL
Many people have their rose coloured glasses on when they talk about their favourite old school MMO. The problem is that very few people really want to go back to the past. The only reason they put up with EQ's bullshit is because they were tired of UO's bullshit and they only reason they put up with UO's bullshit is because there was nothing else.
Is a man not entitled to the herp of his derp?
Remember, I live in a world where juggalos and yugioh players are real things.
Because the games back then were much better. They had more content, deeper lore, open worlds and open dungeons, much more content and challenge than todays watered down MMOs.
I know this is directed at me and I was just curious as to what others think about the current MMOs out today, compared to the old ones we used to play that were much more bang for their buck.
That statement could not be further from the truth.
I still play UO and EQ today and currently play Vanguard as my main MMORPG.
If something along those lines came out in 2012/13 with today's graphics, I would throw handfuls of money at the company who made it and I mean handfuls of money!
They could charge $30-$50 per month subscription and I would invest in multiple accounts.
Back in the day the graphics, animation, art style and UI was awesome though, looking back today they seem old and outdated obviously but back when they were new, they were the best thing ever to millions of gamers!
Congrats on hanging on for so long. 99.9% of everyone else who's ever played those games has moved on and have no intention of going back. Unless you're Brad McQuaid.
Is a man not entitled to the herp of his derp?
Remember, I live in a world where juggalos and yugioh players are real things.
People are going to tell you its rose colored glasses and nostalgia, but that only goes so far. There is a reason there are still well over 100k active subscribers to these old games, and before you guys act like that isnt a lot because of WOW's super huge number, realize that at the very height of their popularity (EQ was the biggest) these games had around 400-650k subscribers. That was at the height, so the fact that 13 years later these games still have well into the 100's is very telling.
There are a lot of people who wont play old games because of the bad graphics, despite how good the games are, which hinders a big portion of where these games could have more subs. The other issue is all of us veterans already exhausted most of the content, so that whole "if they're so great why dont you keep playing them" card is just a huge load of crap. Thats like saying you've been to the same Six Flags 12 times in a year, and you would like to go to a different six flags. Doesn't mean the old six flags isnt still awesome, it just means you personally have gotten worn out on that particular "content".
It also doesnt mean the format of that content is bad either, which is a fallacious assumption many people make.
The other mistake people make is assuming that us vets liked EVERY SINGLE part of the way those old games were. If you sit down and talk to us you'll find that we will readily admit there were stupid aspects to the games. Corpse retrievals for example, or extremely severe death penalties. But there were fantastic things as well.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
Old MMORPGs had a number of good qualities that newer games are lacking, but the majority of people whining on these forums sound like crusty old people who always go on about having to walk to school FIFTEEN miles uphill in the snow and back.
I miss the old days because just about every single new MMO is nothing more than a FPS wannabe. The age of tactical, slower and more thoughtful combat appears to be gone forever. I didn't like that monsters could take 10 minutes to kill, but I hate even worse mobs and players that die in 5 seconds or less. Developers either don't want to or can't figure out how to find a nice middle ground.
I played EverQuest for about a year before I moved on to EverQuest II, and the one thing I miss about EQ and similar games was how easy you could socialize even while in the middle of a fight. I could tank a dungeon all while carrying on seperate conversations with my group, my guild, and friends with next to no difficulty. Even in raids, no one had any use for Teamspeak or Ventrillo because it was so easy to give orders via chat. I've always thought MMORPGs were first and formost about social interaction, and I think somewhere along the way, that focus was lost in favor of Diablo-esque dungeon loot grinding. Dungeon loot grinding is fun, but I still miss the community aspect of traditional grind groups in EQ and FFXI.
People rarely talk in dungeon groups these days because about the only time you can talk is when you're not fighting or moving through a zone. In modern MMORPGs, such an occasion is rare.
You will never replicate the feeling of your first mmo.
And nostalgia is a hell of thing.
Yes, they are. They're so vastly different from modern day WoW clones it's almost impossible to translate the ideals to a modern audience. We now live in a genre where Massively Multiplayer means 5-10 players, and the word "no instances" is seen as a bad thing.
I barely played Ultima Online, and it was not my first MMO. Same with EQ, or AC, or SWG.
My first MMO was DAoC. Yet I still think all these games were great, despite WHEN I played them. The only one I'd be nostalgic over is DAoC.