There's a difference between encouraging people to group, and rewarding them for it, and FORCING people to. And no, that's how communities have to begin. If everyone plays alone, there is no community. You can be social in an MMO, sure. But whether or not anyone is social back to you largely depends on the culture the MMO has cultivated, and the features will dictate what that culture is. Make your game instanced and solo? No one that likes grouping will play, no one will group, no community.
I don't buy this.
AC1 and UO had way better communities than any other more modern MMORPG with forced grouping I ever played, and you could get the best gear and the max skills/levels solo if you wanted to, at no point you were forced or even encouraged to group.
The belief that grouping creates communities is for most nonsense in my opinion. Proof is all those forced raiding endgame games have among the worse communities ever.
Build a game so that cooperation is normal, not forced nor even encouraged, but just natural, and you will have a good community.
Respect, walk, what did you say? Respect, walk Are you talkin' to me? Are you talkin' to me? - PANTERA at HELLFEST 2023
AC1 and UO had way better communities than any other more modern MMORPG with forced grouping I ever played, and you could get the best gear and the max skills/levels solo if you wanted to.
The belief that grouping creates communities is for most nonsense in my opinion. Proof is all those forced raiding endgame games have among the worse communities ever.
Build a game so that cooperation is normal, nor forced nor even encouraged, but just natural, and you will have a good community.
There is literally no difference between cooperation that is "natural" and that is "forced". People will use either word depending on how they feel.
There is literally no difference between cooperation that is "natural" and that is "forced". People will use either word depending on how they feel.
You'll have to find better to counter my post. When cooperation is naturally built into the game (as in, you never have to join a "LFG" channel or use a "LFG" tool, yet you work with other people all the time WITHOUT EVEN TRYING), there's no forcing involved, it just happens, without disrupting the individual gameplay.
Respect, walk, what did you say? Respect, walk Are you talkin' to me? Are you talkin' to me? - PANTERA at HELLFEST 2023
There is literally no difference between cooperation that is "natural" and that is "forced". People will use either word depending on how they feel.
You'll have to find better to counter my post. When cooperation is naturally built into the game (as in, you never have to join a "LFG" channel or use a "LFG" tool, yet you work with other people all the time WITHOUT EVEN TRYING), there's no forcing involved, it just happens, without disrupting the individual gameplay.
But cooperation is not the same thing as socializing, what were we talking about again?
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
mmorpgs remind me a bit of those stories that pop up in the news occassionally about a student who advertised a house party on fb (while their folks were on holiday) and then it went viral and about 500 random people turned-up, trashed the place and left a huge bill of damage and a very embarrassed son/daughter.
Applicable to mmorpgs: Random people like to zerg and crash/trash other people's social events.
I play games to co-op with others in dungeon adventures, designed and implemented by professional devs. 99.9% of user generated content is crap. Social in a game should consist of cooperating and fighting together. I don't want to share my life stories with strangers on the net.
So basically, you want to play a "game". MMORPG's were much more than that at one time, not so much any more.
So you're also the poster child of anti-socialization as well, very good sir. A poster of many talents it would seem.
edit: Remember what Will Rogers said, ""A stranger is just a friend I haven't met yet."
Of course i want to play a GAME. I already have a life, i don't need a second one.
Oh, i have made friends online in games like WOW & Diablo 3 .. but that is not the focus of the GAME.
Does no one remember creating entertainment in older MMOs? No one remebers creating events with other people like creating huge armies to attack the other faction or have mount races and duel events? No one remembers the politics in older MMOs? I guess what I'm complaining about is well... The players in MMOs these days. The creativity and want to interact is gone. What the hell happened?
Things like this? Or this? Or this? It's entirely possible you're looking in the wrong place for what you want.
I won't even touch your solo = non-social rant.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein "Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
21st century devs don't get it; they just don't. They think you need to be in a "story", not a "world", and need to be led everywhere by the nose through some kind of pre-written solo adventure. Basically, they're playing your character for you.
Sorry, but the state of MMORPG affairs just sucks. And it amazes me they keep making this same design mistake in AAA MMORPG's again and again, no matter how frequently they fail to sustain sizable long term subscriptions.
You are the one who don't get it. Players need to play a fun game, not live in a "world". That is why ARPGs are successful. That is why linear shooters are successful. That is why WOW is successful.
There are games that have good "world" elements but never overide the more important, fun part fo the game .. like SKYRIM or FALLOUT.
I play games to co-op with others in dungeon adventures, designed and implemented by professional devs. 99.9% of user generated content is crap.
There's an entire genre of games for that. Diablo, Torchlight, all that stuff.
MMOs are about massive numbers of people, simulated social worlds.
Yeh, and i played DIablo 3, TL, and all those games. *But* if MMO is going in this direction, and i like it, why shouldn't i play MMOs too. The beauty is i have total control over how i play a game. If i want to play WOW like Diablo 3, i can and i will.
MMOs are becoming lobby co-op games. Are you disputing that? It is certainly more and more about small group, MP content and also soloable content. It may not what you want, but clearly it is what very many MMOs are about.
I cannot for the life of me find an MMO that is social at all. Sure you have guilds, but EVERY freaking MMO has content that is all soloable besides rading and dungeons. It's a joke. If I wanted to play a solo game I would just go out and buy an RPG and not be playing MMORPGs. Yes there are some social aspects to MMORPGs but what happened to player creativity? Am I the only who misses creating user content?
Does no one remember creating entertainment in older MMOs? No one remebers creating events with other people like creating huge armies to attack the other faction or have mount races and duel events? No one remembers the politics in older MMOs? I guess what I'm complaining about is well... The players in MMOs these days. The creativity and want to interact is gone. What the hell happened?
There is literally no difference between cooperation that is "natural" and that is "forced". People will use either word depending on how they feel.
You'll have to find better to counter my post. When cooperation is naturally built into the game (as in, you never have to join a "LFG" channel or use a "LFG" tool, yet you work with other people all the time WITHOUT EVEN TRYING), there's no forcing involved, it just happens, without disrupting the individual gameplay.
But cooperation is not the same thing as socializing, what were we talking about again?
And playing together is not the same as socializing either.
Currently playing: GW2 Going cardboard starter kit: Ticket to ride, Pandemic, Carcassonne, Dominion, 7 Wonders
There's an entire genre of games for that. Diablo, Torchlight, all that stuff.
MMOs are about massive numbers of people, simulated social worlds.
You keep saying that but clearly it's just not true. Why do you think you get to define what a genre is?
I don't, the people who pioneered the genres did. Why are RPGs about stats and skills and leveling up?
Use even a pinch of logic here.
If people don't like mutliplayer... but do like going through dungeons and getting loot... why would they play a massively multiplayer game? If they played something like Torchlight instead they'd be rewarded with a MUCH cheaper product, a more focused and polished experience, better combat, and better dungeons.
The only thing I can think of is the idea that people like to show off the loot they get.
There is literally no difference between cooperation that is "natural" and that is "forced". People will use either word depending on how they feel.
You'll have to find better to counter my post. When cooperation is naturally built into the game (as in, you never have to join a "LFG" channel or use a "LFG" tool, yet you work with other people all the time WITHOUT EVEN TRYING), there's no forcing involved, it just happens, without disrupting the individual gameplay.
But cooperation is not the same thing as socializing, what were we talking about again?
And playing together is not the same as socializing either.
To cooperate or play together you have to socialize on some level.
For a game to encourage socializing, it needs to give rewards to people who work together.
I thought the socalization *was* the reward?
Not for me. I don't play games to socialize. If i want to socialize, i chat with friends or go to a chat room.
Yes you spam this opinion multiple times in every thread. We get it. You don't like MMOs.
Not more than you spam the "everything is a wow clone", "i am so depressed because there is no sandbox" opinions. We get it. You don't like modern recent MMOs.
What killed the social aspect of MMORPGS is not solo content nor is it group content. What killed the social aspect is lack of downtime.
In the "olden" days people talked while they waited. They chatted while recovering from the last battle. The chatted while waiting for the camp to respawn. They traded stories on the long boat trips between continents.
Modern games don't have this, the respawn times are so quick yiu barely have time to blink. Downtime is none existant as you recover from the last fight almost before you have finished. There just isnt time to socialize.
Grouping is in my opinion almost worse for socilizing than solo play people get together do the task and split up often without a word being spoken. Why because while you started to talk the party has already moved to the next objective killed it and heading for the third. Groups dont want to talk they want do the task and go on their way.
Currently in modern games if you want to socialise you have to stop playing or use some sort of voip service. Which for some of us isnt practical.
There's an entire genre of games for that. Diablo, Torchlight, all that stuff.
MMOs are about massive numbers of people, simulated social worlds.
You keep saying that but clearly it's just not true. Why do you think you get to define what a genre is?
I don't, the people who pioneered the genres did. Why are RPGs about stats and skills and leveling up?
Use even a pinch of logic here.
If people don't like mutliplayer... but do like going through dungeons and getting loot... why would they play a massively multiplayer game? If they played something like Torchlight instead they'd be rewarded with a MUCH cheaper product, a more focused and polished experience, better combat, and better dungeons.
The only thing I can think of is the idea that people like to show off the loot they get.
Pioneering the genre 15 years ago means very little now. Genre is defined by current work.
And you post have so many factual inaccuries.
"If people don't like mutliplayer... but do like going through dungeons and getting loot... why would they play a massively multiplayer game" - AH, showing off .. seeing the crowd. There are plenty of articles on why people solo in MMORPGs. Do you need me hand holding you for a google search, or can you beat that challenge on your own?
"If they played something like Torchlight instead they'd be rewarded with a MUCH cheaper product" ... hmm .. many MMOS are FREE. How can TL be cheaper? It still costs money, right?
"a more focused and polished experience, better combat, and better dungeons." .. well it depends on the game, and how good the developers are. I will say many WOW dungeons are better than TL, just because they are hand made and less generic.
What killed the social aspect of MMORPGS is not solo content nor is it group content. What killed the social aspect is lack of downtime.
In the "olden" days people talked while they waited. They chatted while recovering from the last battle. The chatted while waiting for the camp to respawn. They traded stories on the long boat trips between continents.
Modern games don't have this, the respawn times are so quick yiu barely have time to blink. Downtime is none existant as you recover from the last fight almost before you have finished. There just isnt time to socialize.
Grouping is in my opinion almost worse for socilizing than solo play people get together do the task and split up often without a word being spoken. Why because while you started to talk the party has already moved to the next objective killed it and heading for the third. Groups dont want to talk they want do the task and go on their way.
Currently in modern games if you want to socialise you have to stop playing or use some sort of voip service. Which for some of us isnt practical.
Yes. Downtime force one to play a GAME like a chatroom. I will pass.
I play games to co-op with others in dungeon adventures, designed and implemented by professional devs. 99.9% of user generated content is crap.
There's an entire genre of games for that. Diablo, Torchlight, all that stuff.
MMOs are about massive numbers of people, simulated social worlds.
Yeh, and i played DIablo 3, TL, and all those games. *But* if MMO is going in this direction, and i like it, why shouldn't i play MMOs too. The beauty is i have total control over how i play a game. If i want to play WOW like Diablo 3, i can and i will.
MMOs are becoming lobby co-op games. Are you disputing that? It is certainly more and more about small group, MP content and also soloable content. It may not what you want, but clearly it is what very many MMOs are about.
Becoming? I'd have to say they pretty much are already there, more so now than ever in the genre's history. So much so it's probably fair to say they aren't MMORPG's anymore, but rather some new genre, say the MMOARPG (A for Action)
But to bastardize what Tony Stark recently said, "If we can't save the MMORPG genre, at least we can Avenge it!"
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
I play games to co-op with others in dungeon adventures, designed and implemented by professional devs. 99.9% of user generated content is crap.
There's an entire genre of games for that. Diablo, Torchlight, all that stuff.
MMOs are about massive numbers of people, simulated social worlds.
Yeh, and i played DIablo 3, TL, and all those games. *But* if MMO is going in this direction, and i like it, why shouldn't i play MMOs too. The beauty is i have total control over how i play a game. If i want to play WOW like Diablo 3, i can and i will.
MMOs are becoming lobby co-op games. Are you disputing that? It is certainly more and more about small group, MP content and also soloable content. It may not what you want, but clearly it is what very many MMOs are about.
Becoming? I'd have to say they pretty much are already there, more so now than ever in the genre's history. So much so it's probably fair to say they aren't MMORPG's anymore, but rather some new genre, say the MMOARPG (A for Action)
But to bastardize what Tony Stark recently said, "If we can't save the MMORPG genre, at least we can Avenge it!"
Well, you can call it what you like, although i highly doubt the common usage "MMORPG" will change.
Avenge it? How?
Avenger is a great movie ... but you are not tony stark.
I cannot for the life of me find an MMO that is social at all. Sure you have guilds, but EVERY freaking MMO has content that is all soloable besides rading and dungeons. It's a joke. If I wanted to play a solo game I would just go out and buy an RPG and not be playing MMORPGs. Yes there are some social aspects to MMORPGs but what happened to player creativity? Am I the only who misses creating user content?
Does no one remember creating entertainment in older MMOs? No one remebers creating events with other people like creating huge armies to attack the other faction or have mount races and duel events? No one remembers the politics in older MMOs? I guess what I'm complaining about is well... The players in MMOs these days. The creativity and want to interact is gone. What the hell happened?
Well sir,as of right now you are correct but at one time ,THAT game was FFXI,it was NOT a solo game.As a matter of fact ,it is still not really a solo game but is done in a really bad way,which is why i quit.
There lies the difference that so many just cannot grasp when arguing over solo versus group.The FORCED grouping brings players together,even those that are not usually social.I think a lot of people are just shy,you sort of nudge them and force them to group up and they soon open up and befriend many new people.This is what FFXI did and imo has been the best community game i have ever played.yes it has changed alot but at one time ,i would go 2-3 years anot see the kind of chat i see in all other games on a day by day basis.
My point is that it is all about the game design that brings out the community.FFXI did it absolutely perfect becuase they made it so you would solo to about level 10-12,just long enough to learn a bit about your class and experience death [lol].
It reall ybaffles me how anyone could say a game like Wow does anything right,when you design a game to solo throughout,then make end game content that asks for grouping lmao,it makes zero sense.You have players solo an entire game,they have no sense of community at all,then tell them "ok now interact with other players",imo a brutal design.
I don't liek the way EQ2 does it either becuase the ONLY reason people group is to get the better loot,that is not what Role play gaming is all about.
sadly i wil lhave to say as much as i don't like pvp in a rpg,it is right now about the only tool that could bring at least half the community together,the other half fighting against them lol.We have a game like GW2 now doing a lot of bragging yet it doesn't even have guilds let alone any type of community tools.Even their events are just jump in and auto group,so yo udon't even need to talk to anyone,can't make a more community LESS game design than that can we?We are definitely going in the WRONG direction removing maybe the most important part of gaming,the community.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
There is literally no difference between cooperation that is "natural" and that is "forced". People will use either word depending on how they feel.
You'll have to find better to counter my post. When cooperation is naturally built into the game (as in, you never have to join a "LFG" channel or use a "LFG" tool, yet you work with other people all the time WITHOUT EVEN TRYING), there's no forcing involved, it just happens, without disrupting the individual gameplay.
But cooperation is not the same thing as socializing, what were we talking about again?
And playing together is not the same as socializing either.
To cooperate or play together you have to socialize on some level.
The difference is in the goals, which directly affects the type of interaction. If the goal of the players is to play with others, they will interact. If the goal is to get a specific rank, xp, item, etc then the others are just a tool to reach that end. Forcing random people together to reach a desirable end has never really proven to foster interaction or community beyond the group or guild unit. However, when players choose to band together, interaction and community expands beyond the group and guild unit.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein "Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
The difference is in the goals, which directly affects the type of interaction. If the goal of the players is to play with others, they will interact. If the goal is to get a specific rank, xp, item, etc then the others are just a tool to reach that end. Forcing random people together to reach a desirable end has never really proven to foster interaction or community beyond the group or guild unit. However, when players choose to band together, interaction and community expands beyond the group and guild unit.
From what I have read and experienced personally is that humans perfer to work together on a collective goal where their indivdual efforts get recongized. This gives people a deeper statisfcation then working solo or hanging out together socially but with no goal in mind.
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
Comments
I don't buy this.
AC1 and UO had way better communities than any other more modern MMORPG with forced grouping I ever played, and you could get the best gear and the max skills/levels solo if you wanted to, at no point you were forced or even encouraged to group.
The belief that grouping creates communities is for most nonsense in my opinion. Proof is all those forced raiding endgame games have among the worse communities ever.
Build a game so that cooperation is normal, not forced nor even encouraged, but just natural, and you will have a good community.
Respect, walk
Are you talkin' to me? Are you talkin' to me?
- PANTERA at HELLFEST 2023
There is literally no difference between cooperation that is "natural" and that is "forced". People will use either word depending on how they feel.
You'll have to find better to counter my post. When cooperation is naturally built into the game (as in, you never have to join a "LFG" channel or use a "LFG" tool, yet you work with other people all the time WITHOUT EVEN TRYING), there's no forcing involved, it just happens, without disrupting the individual gameplay.
Respect, walk
Are you talkin' to me? Are you talkin' to me?
- PANTERA at HELLFEST 2023
But cooperation is not the same thing as socializing, what were we talking about again?
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
mmorpgs remind me a bit of those stories that pop up in the news occassionally about a student who advertised a house party on fb (while their folks were on holiday) and then it went viral and about 500 random people turned-up, trashed the place and left a huge bill of damage and a very embarrassed son/daughter.
Applicable to mmorpgs: Random people like to zerg and crash/trash other people's social events.
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014633/Classic-Game-Postmortem
You keep saying that but clearly it's just not true. Why do you think you get to define what a genre is?
Played: UO, EQ, WoW, DDO, SWG, AO, CoH, EvE, TR, AoC, GW, GA, Aion, Allods, lots more
Relatively Recently (Re)Played: HL2 (all), Halo (PC, all), Batman:AA; AC, ME, BS, DA, FO3, DS, Doom (all), LFD1&2, KOTOR, Portal 1&2, Blink, Elder Scrolls (all), lots more
Now Playing: None
Hope: None
Of course i want to play a GAME. I already have a life, i don't need a second one.
Oh, i have made friends online in games like WOW & Diablo 3 .. but that is not the focus of the GAME.
Things like this? Or this? Or this? It's entirely possible you're looking in the wrong place for what you want.
I won't even touch your solo = non-social rant.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
Not for me. I don't play games to socialize. If i want to socialize, i chat with friends or go to a chat room.
You are the one who don't get it. Players need to play a fun game, not live in a "world". That is why ARPGs are successful. That is why linear shooters are successful. That is why WOW is successful.
There are games that have good "world" elements but never overide the more important, fun part fo the game .. like SKYRIM or FALLOUT.
Yeh, and i played DIablo 3, TL, and all those games. *But* if MMO is going in this direction, and i like it, why shouldn't i play MMOs too. The beauty is i have total control over how i play a game. If i want to play WOW like Diablo 3, i can and i will.
MMOs are becoming lobby co-op games. Are you disputing that? It is certainly more and more about small group, MP content and also soloable content. It may not what you want, but clearly it is what very many MMOs are about.
mainstream internet acces is what happend
Yes you spam this opinion multiple times in every thread. We get it. You don't like MMOs.
And playing together is not the same as socializing either.
Currently playing: GW2
Going cardboard starter kit: Ticket to ride, Pandemic, Carcassonne, Dominion, 7 Wonders
I don't, the people who pioneered the genres did. Why are RPGs about stats and skills and leveling up?
Use even a pinch of logic here.
If people don't like mutliplayer... but do like going through dungeons and getting loot... why would they play a massively multiplayer game? If they played something like Torchlight instead they'd be rewarded with a MUCH cheaper product, a more focused and polished experience, better combat, and better dungeons.
The only thing I can think of is the idea that people like to show off the loot they get.
To cooperate or play together you have to socialize on some level.
Not more than you spam the "everything is a wow clone", "i am so depressed because there is no sandbox" opinions. We get it. You don't like modern recent MMOs.
What killed the social aspect of MMORPGS is not solo content nor is it group content. What killed the social aspect is lack of downtime.
In the "olden" days people talked while they waited. They chatted while recovering from the last battle. The chatted while waiting for the camp to respawn. They traded stories on the long boat trips between continents.
Modern games don't have this, the respawn times are so quick yiu barely have time to blink. Downtime is none existant as you recover from the last fight almost before you have finished. There just isnt time to socialize.
Grouping is in my opinion almost worse for socilizing than solo play people get together do the task and split up often without a word being spoken. Why because while you started to talk the party has already moved to the next objective killed it and heading for the third. Groups dont want to talk they want do the task and go on their way.
Currently in modern games if you want to socialise you have to stop playing or use some sort of voip service. Which for some of us isnt practical.
Pioneering the genre 15 years ago means very little now. Genre is defined by current work.
And you post have so many factual inaccuries.
"If people don't like mutliplayer... but do like going through dungeons and getting loot... why would they play a massively multiplayer game" - AH, showing off .. seeing the crowd. There are plenty of articles on why people solo in MMORPGs. Do you need me hand holding you for a google search, or can you beat that challenge on your own?
"If they played something like Torchlight instead they'd be rewarded with a MUCH cheaper product" ... hmm .. many MMOS are FREE. How can TL be cheaper? It still costs money, right?
"a more focused and polished experience, better combat, and better dungeons." .. well it depends on the game, and how good the developers are. I will say many WOW dungeons are better than TL, just because they are hand made and less generic.
Yes. Downtime force one to play a GAME like a chatroom. I will pass.
Becoming? I'd have to say they pretty much are already there, more so now than ever in the genre's history. So much so it's probably fair to say they aren't MMORPG's anymore, but rather some new genre, say the MMOARPG (A for Action)
But to bastardize what Tony Stark recently said, "If we can't save the MMORPG genre, at least we can Avenge it!"
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
Well, you can call it what you like, although i highly doubt the common usage "MMORPG" will change.
Avenge it? How?
Avenger is a great movie ... but you are not tony stark.
Well sir,as of right now you are correct but at one time ,THAT game was FFXI,it was NOT a solo game.As a matter of fact ,it is still not really a solo game but is done in a really bad way,which is why i quit.
There lies the difference that so many just cannot grasp when arguing over solo versus group.The FORCED grouping brings players together,even those that are not usually social.I think a lot of people are just shy,you sort of nudge them and force them to group up and they soon open up and befriend many new people.This is what FFXI did and imo has been the best community game i have ever played.yes it has changed alot but at one time ,i would go 2-3 years anot see the kind of chat i see in all other games on a day by day basis.
My point is that it is all about the game design that brings out the community.FFXI did it absolutely perfect becuase they made it so you would solo to about level 10-12,just long enough to learn a bit about your class and experience death [lol].
It reall ybaffles me how anyone could say a game like Wow does anything right,when you design a game to solo throughout,then make end game content that asks for grouping lmao,it makes zero sense.You have players solo an entire game,they have no sense of community at all,then tell them "ok now interact with other players",imo a brutal design.
I don't liek the way EQ2 does it either becuase the ONLY reason people group is to get the better loot,that is not what Role play gaming is all about.
sadly i wil lhave to say as much as i don't like pvp in a rpg,it is right now about the only tool that could bring at least half the community together,the other half fighting against them lol.We have a game like GW2 now doing a lot of bragging yet it doesn't even have guilds let alone any type of community tools.Even their events are just jump in and auto group,so yo udon't even need to talk to anyone,can't make a more community LESS game design than that can we?We are definitely going in the WRONG direction removing maybe the most important part of gaming,the community.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
The difference is in the goals, which directly affects the type of interaction. If the goal of the players is to play with others, they will interact. If the goal is to get a specific rank, xp, item, etc then the others are just a tool to reach that end. Forcing random people together to reach a desirable end has never really proven to foster interaction or community beyond the group or guild unit. However, when players choose to band together, interaction and community expands beyond the group and guild unit.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
From what I have read and experienced personally is that humans perfer to work together on a collective goal where their indivdual efforts get recongized. This gives people a deeper statisfcation then working solo or hanging out together socially but with no goal in mind.
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
Please do not respond to me