The bugs spoke. If the game had launched 8 months later, with cleaned up code as it was supposed to, I do not doubt it would be the top PvE game on the market right now.
I'm sorry but I very much doubt that. SWG launched in a much worse state and still did better than VG. I think even AO is doing better than VG and that launch is legendary. History would suggest that people can deal with bugs if the game is enjoyable. VG just wasn't very much fun for a lot of people. That doesn't mean it was a bad game for everyone. I'm sure you enjoy it. On this one you are just in the minority.
I just posted a reply to Bill Murphy's latest Rant regarding Destiny, the new title coming soon from Bungie. In his rant he comments on Bungie's reluctance to use the term MMO and their use of the phrase "Persistant World Shooter".
After seeing Defiance, a game I quite liked as far as gameplay went, but with a horrible console UI and a broken chat system, and now Destiny, which is being developed for xbox 360 and PS3 (No PC version) I have to wonder.
How long before all MMO's are developed for cosoles? Are we looking at a future where all games will be developed primarily for consoles? The console market is much bigger than PC so it's a real possibility. Are we now looking at a future where we get no PC version of new MMO's, or if they do make one it is a dumbed down, console friendly version? What happens to the social aspect of MMO's that are developed for a platform that doesn't have a keyboard?
Ever since Miscrosoft decided to enter the console market and bought Bungie so they could force them to make Halo an xbox exclusive title I've had this nagging feeling that we were on a slippery slope as PC gamers. Guess what? I can feel my feet slipping.
The bugs spoke. If the game had launched 8 months later, with cleaned up code as it was supposed to, I do not doubt it would be the top PvE game on the market right now.
And i have no doubt it would be the same F2P game with little audience. See .. just your opinion vs mine. There is no evidence either way.
The bugs spoke. If the game had launched 8 months later, with cleaned up code as it was supposed to, I do not doubt it would be the top PvE game on the market right now.
I'm sorry but I very much doubt that. SWG launched in a much worse state and still did better than VG.
That's because
a) It is one of the biggest IPs in the world, which helped it get through its rough years
b) the company that made it didn't get dissolved right after launch
c) the game didn't get shelved by SOE right after launch
The user and all related content has been deleted.
Somebody, somewhere has better skills as you have, more experience as you have, is smarter than you, has more friends as you do and can stay online longer. Just pray he's not out to get you.
I agree with most of what the OP has stated, but I think (at least for me) I figured out why I am not feeling MMOs anymore. What it boils down to is that I do not think it is possible to re-live the feeling you got from playing your 1st (and maybe 2nd too) MMO years ago. My 1st MMOs were SWG with some vanilla WoW on the side. When I 1st started playing these games, MMOs were a fairly new concept (yes the was UO and others before it, not what I am arguing) for the masses. Playing these games were fresh and exciting to me as I had never played anything like it before. Today we have all these MMOs that are a clone of this or that game of old (mostly WoW, yes) so nothing is NEW to us. What I am getting at is I do not believe you can recreate that nostolgic feeling of playing your 1st mmo. People drop cash on a clone or other uninspired game then get disapointed when they don't get that nostolgic feeling when playing it. I really think we are "chasing the dragon" so to speak, and until something comes along that is fundamentally different, that nostolgic feeling will never be had again. Looking back at SWG, I do not think it was the game itself that I loved so much as the fact that it was my 1st MMO in a time when MMOs were generally new. Does this make sense at all?
I think a lot more MMOs will be on consoles but will not change thier nature. If they come out with a keyboard and mouse you really won't notice anything other than what you turn on. Having exclusive games would be a huge problem however lol.
I don't think PC development is going anywhere any time soon though. It grew 8% this year between MoP, GW2, Minecraft and D3.
On the subject of Vanguard it's the closest thing to EQ in a new game. Anyone that enjoys an open world, open dungeons, danger and grouping outside of instances should check it out.
The user and all related content has been deleted.
Somebody, somewhere has better skills as you have, more experience as you have, is smarter than you, has more friends as you do and can stay online longer. Just pray he's not out to get you.
Originally posted by Pixel_Jockey I agree with most of what the OP has stated, but I think (at least for me) I figured out why I am not feeling MMOs anymore. What it boils down to is that I do not think it is possible to re-live the feeling you got from playing your 1st (and maybe 2nd too) MMO years ago. My 1st MMOs were SWG with some vanilla WoW on the side. When I 1st started playing these games, MMOs were a fairly new concept (yes the was UO and others before it, not what I am arguing) for the masses. Playing these games were fresh and exciting to me as I had never played anything like it before. Today we have all these MMOs that are a clone of this or that game of old (mostly WoW, yes) so nothing is NEW to us. What I am getting at is I do not believe you can recreate that nostolgic feeling of playing your 1st mmo. People drop cash on a clone or other uninspired game then get disapointed when they don't get that nostolgic feeling when playing it. I really think we are "chasing the dragon" so to speak, and until something comes along that is fundamentally different, that nostolgic feeling will never be had again. Looking back at SWG, I do not think it was the game itself that I loved so much as the fact that it was my 1st MMO in a time when MMOs were generally new. Does this make sense at all?
It does make quite a bit of sense. In terms of Nistalgia. However, I don't believe the themepark MMO's are anywhere close to what we had a long time ago. Most MMO's are just gutted down versions of the old games and I believe that's what people are missing. They're missing the connection between their character and their adventure in the world. Rather than it being just another character in another game.
I personally went back to Runescape the main reason being. It's not a linear game. I can do anything I want. While there aren't 1000's of quests for me to do. The quests are enjoyable and each one is a story all their own. In addition I don't have to always fight, there's cooking, farming, herblore, fishing, mining, smithing, runecrafting, dungeoneering, construction, the list goes on as far as skills.
Runescape also has many mini-games to go along with it. The game has advanced quite a bit over the years, graphically and content wise and I believe many people have forgotten the game as a simple childhood game that's "no longer good".
Agreed. Most games today are stripped down to appease the ADHD kids (which I would assume is a HUGE part of the playerbase). Add the fact that companies are trying to make a quick buck on initial sales and you have the formula for most of the fail MMOs out today.
Hey all.. this is my first time posting here, but I've been reading this site since as long as I've been playing MMORPGS so bear with me a little bit.
I first started playing online Role Playing games with Diablo 2.. me and my bud would co-op and play like all night. This is my first REAL experience of playing an RPG online. My 2nd was Neverwinter Nights. Neverwinter Nights is by far my favorite experience to date because the community truly believed in Role Playing, and the toolset was so easy to use that you could just go in and modify your equipment with incredible stats with maybe 1 or 2 weekneses. Want to make a new dungeon for the game? No problem. Want to download all kinds of new free stuff that the community built in the toolset? No problem. In a way, this a great early example of community created DLC that I haven't seen since.. well maybe Little Big Planet, but beyond that nothing has touched this game as far as user content goes. Then one of my good friends in NWN told me she discovered DAOC.. and my life changed forever.
DAOC was a great early example of the MMORPG. Beautiful graphics, tons of class choices, and lots of running around and killing stuff and leveling. What I found difficult was finding a group and actualy.. multiplaying. This game was out before random group finders and guild searches. You were basically thrown into the world on your own, with very little NPC interaction besides.. ok here is a quest now go do it. It was not a very noob friendly game, the graphics were very dark and tough to navigate around, and after a while I just got frustrated with it. My friend was feeling the same vibe.. and.. enter
Lineage 2. This is where I got really, truly, 100% addicted to MMORPGS. Not only was it a great kill and farm game.. it was rather mindless. Also, in the very early stages at least, there was a great feeling of comradery in your group. You're basically kiting and grinding for hours in the same room and fending off other players trying to compete for your leveling area because it's open PVP. You can't do any of this without a group and a good guild and alliance. You can't touch castle sieges without a good guild and alliance. You NEED to trust your online friends, and for a while, we actually became like family.
From Lineage 2 came City of Heroes, and even that was a great time. Me and my same friend from Diablo 2 found a great guild and we'd always be grouped up in instances, and this was a hella fun game to mess with buffs and healers and damage dealers and tanks. You could visually see the difference with the superpowers and the power animations were just phenominal to the point where you felt like a group of superheros. RIP City of Heroes servers...you shall be missed.
I discovered WoW same as everybody else did, through their love for all things Blizzard. I loved the open world of questing and being able to fly over everything. Unfortunately I got bored with that pretty quick.
I experimented with other MMORPGS.. like Guild Wars, EQ2, Warhammer, Lord of the Rings, and Star Trek. Lately me and my friend have been having a blast grinding and farming in Diablo 3. So in a way we've both come full circle with gaming. Started with a Diablo, and ended with a Diablo.
So here is where I come to my point in this long winded reply. I just renewed my WoW account because I love kung fu movies and wanted to see the Chinese/Kung Fu Panda-type stuff. The game is really cool now. I do like the random cross-realm dungeons, but the actual world of the game seems just like a huge lobby where you can do a few quests on your own while you wait for your random dungeon group to start. This is all well and good but that feeling of comradere I got with say.. a game like Lineage 2 just isn't there. I was in a group the other day and I forgot it was cross realm. I picked up a new mace for my dual-wielding Fury-specced warrior and asked somebody if they can do a few quick strength enchants for me. The reply was "Sorry, we can't do that cross realm"
Crap.. yeah. That kinda made me feel a bit empty. Just going ina nd killing stuff and looting. Made me kinda wanna just play Diablo 3. So yeah you guys are right. MMORPGS just aren't the same anymore.
Well that's my conclusion after thinking about it.
While MMO do well and sell well, they are not really MMO anymore, they're all small scale dungeon instancers (LoL, Vindictus), solo quest grinders (WoW SWOTOR), , or glorified action Hack & Slash multiplayer games (Tera, GW2).
I haven't seen a game with a true community where the primary focus was the world and human interaction and the gameplay came second in MMO in a number of years. Now the gameplay is frist and if it isn't too much trouble maybe you'll be interacting with someone too, and if no ones interacts, join an artificial bubble called a guild and interact in the bubble.
Most people don't need MMO to interact online, there are plenty of chat opportunities, facebook, twitter, disqus, liveFire, forums, email, messengers, smartphones, youtube. You have all these ways to interact with people you want, there is way too much noise to make a world where people will be truly immersed and willing to spend time with each other in a game outside of gameplay.
There's no need for it anymore, there are thousands of other and arguably better ways to interact online.
I think the term MMO lives on even though the games are now becomes multiplayer action games, but the idea behind MMO is long gone I think, it's replaced by other communities online that are far easier and more effective way to interact.
MMO (massive multiplayer online games) are fine, the games you listed are ALL MMO's in the FULL since of the word.
You may mean MMORPG's (massive multiplayer online role playing game), they have taken a hit or too, but are coming back (see ArcheAge and to a lesser degree The Secret Word).
Let's be honest, young people today are used to having their hand held. I know people in their 20's who cannot cook for themselves or even know how do a load of laundry (no offense to any young people who aren't this way). In this day and age of instant gratification, I can see why we have the MMOs we have today. Doesn't mean I like it, but I can see how we got there.
The user and all related content has been deleted.
Somebody, somewhere has better skills as you have, more experience as you have, is smarter than you, has more friends as you do and can stay online longer. Just pray he's not out to get you.
Well that's my conclusion after thinking about it.
While MMO do well and sell well, they are not really MMO anymore, they're all small scale dungeon instancers (LoL, Vindictus), solo quest grinders (WoW SWOTOR), , or glorified action Hack & Slash multiplayer games (Tera, GW2).
I haven't seen a game with a true community where the primary focus was the world and human interaction and the gameplay came second in MMO in a number of years. Now the gameplay is frist and if it isn't too much trouble maybe you'll be interacting with someone too, and if no ones interacts, join an artificial bubble called a guild and interact in the bubble.
Most people don't need MMO to interact online, there are plenty of chat opportunities, facebook, twitter, disqus, liveFire, forums, email, messengers, smartphones, youtube. You have all these ways to interact with people you want, there is way too much noise to make a world where people will be truly immersed and willing to spend time with each other in a game outside of gameplay.
There's no need for it anymore, there are thousands of other and arguably better ways to interact online.
I think the term MMO lives on even though the games are now becomes multiplayer action games, but the idea behind MMO is long gone I think, it's replaced by other communities online that are far easier and more effective way to interact.
MMO (massive multiplayer online games) are fine, the games you listed are ALL MMO's in the FULL since of the word.
You may mean MMORPG's (massive multiplayer online role playing game), they have taken a hit or too, but are coming back (see ArcheAge and to a lesser degree The Secret Word).
I love ArcheAge for trying to achieve an actual game world. It's looking promising. However, I personally don't like the publisher that's coming with it for the american audiance. NCSoft, sends shivers down my spine.
Why did I say NCSoft sends shivers down my spine?
Well to begin with it's a "AAA" publisher that's trying to rake in loads of money. So this is where the issue lies. ArcheAge is a F2P game at its core. However, NCSoft has the rights to sell it in anyway they see fit to their audiance. Which means that the game will become a P2P title.
In addition to my fear of a true F2P title being published in NA it will also come with a cash shop. That's right, the game is banking off of both subscription and microtransactions. This has to be one of the biggest dick moves in the industry. While the game is great, I fear that NCSoft will milk the fuck out of an all around decent game.
This will essentially piss off both audiances in the NA market. We have subscription customers who HATE microtransactions and we have microtransaction customers who HATE subscriptions.
Trion publishes ArcheAge in the west, ncsoft publishes Blade&Soul.
Iselin: And the next person who says "but it's a business, they need to make money" can just go fuck yourself.
The user and all related content has been deleted.
Somebody, somewhere has better skills as you have, more experience as you have, is smarter than you, has more friends as you do and can stay online longer. Just pray he's not out to get you.
Well that's my conclusion after thinking about it.
While MMO do well and sell well, they are not really MMO anymore, they're all small scale dungeon instancers (LoL, Vindictus), solo quest grinders (WoW SWOTOR), , or glorified action Hack & Slash multiplayer games (Tera, GW2).
I haven't seen a game with a true community where the primary focus was the world and human interaction and the gameplay came second in MMO in a number of years. Now the gameplay is frist and if it isn't too much trouble maybe you'll be interacting with someone too, and if no ones interacts, join an artificial bubble called a guild and interact in the bubble.
Most people don't need MMO to interact online, there are plenty of chat opportunities, facebook, twitter, disqus, liveFire, forums, email, messengers, smartphones, youtube. You have all these ways to interact with people you want, there is way too much noise to make a world where people will be truly immersed and willing to spend time with each other in a game outside of gameplay.
There's no need for it anymore, there are thousands of other and arguably better ways to interact online.
I think the term MMO lives on even though the games are now becomes multiplayer action games, but the idea behind MMO is long gone I think, it's replaced by other communities online that are far easier and more effective way to interact.
MMO (massive multiplayer online games) are fine, the games you listed are ALL MMO's in the FULL since of the word.
You may mean MMORPG's (massive multiplayer online role playing game), they have taken a hit or too, but are coming back (see ArcheAge and to a lesser degree The Secret Word).
I love ArcheAge for trying to achieve an actual game world. It's looking promising. However, I personally don't like the publisher that's coming with it for the american audiance. NCSoft, sends shivers down my spine.
Why did I say NCSoft sends shivers down my spine?
Well to begin with it's a "AAA" publisher that's trying to rake in loads of money. So this is where the issue lies. ArcheAge is a F2P game at its core. However, NCSoft has the rights to sell it in anyway they see fit to their audiance. Which means that the game will become a P2P title.
In addition to my fear of a true F2P title being published in NA it will also come with a cash shop. That's right, the game is banking off of both subscription and microtransactions. This has to be one of the biggest dick moves in the industry. While the game is great, I fear that NCSoft will milk the fuck out of an all around decent game.
This will essentially piss off both audiances in the NA market. We have subscription customers who HATE microtransactions and we have microtransaction customers who HATE subscriptions.
Trion publishes ArcheAge in the west, ncsoft publishes Blade&Soul.
WoW has both...I guess it depends on what is in the cash shop. I think WoW just has mounts and cosmetics.
The user and all related content has been deleted.
Somebody, somewhere has better skills as you have, more experience as you have, is smarter than you, has more friends as you do and can stay online longer. Just pray he's not out to get you.
Originally posted by Pixel_Jockey Let's be honest, young people today are used to having their hand held. I know people in their 20's who cannot cook for themselves or even know how do a load of laundry (no offense to any young people who aren't this way). In this day and age of instant gratification, I can see why we have the MMOs we have today. Doesn't mean I like it, but I can see how we got there.
Meh, people say this a lot but it's really not an age or generational issue. It's a people issue. There are people of ALL ages and generations like this. Every generation accuses the next or younger generations of this as far back as ancient Greece(Socrates wrote of similar problems with youngsters in his time). People who are like this are just more obvious since we are living in an information age( or misinformation if you will). There are people in their 50s and even 60s that still live with their parents or are dependent on other people for basic survival.
The only thing that has killed MMO's is the shift towards huge publishers buying everything out. We have a scenario where 2 or 3 publishers control 90% of game releases, which they aparently can't do very well in the first place. It's the video game version of Hollywood, where we get a bunch of disposable franchises and sequals, none of which are very entertaining.
The user and all related content has been deleted.
Somebody, somewhere has better skills as you have, more experience as you have, is smarter than you, has more friends as you do and can stay online longer. Just pray he's not out to get you.
The user and all related content has been deleted.
Somebody, somewhere has better skills as you have, more experience as you have, is smarter than you, has more friends as you do and can stay online longer. Just pray he's not out to get you.
Comments
If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe. - Carl Sagan
I'm sorry but I very much doubt that. SWG launched in a much worse state and still did better than VG. I think even AO is doing better than VG and that launch is legendary. History would suggest that people can deal with bugs if the game is enjoyable. VG just wasn't very much fun for a lot of people. That doesn't mean it was a bad game for everyone. I'm sure you enjoy it. On this one you are just in the minority.
so wow isn't a mmorpg?
People bash me when I make claim that some people on this forum believe wow isn't a mmorpg.
I'd rather roll with my 56k and ICQ than with what is going on today.
There are a couple decent sandboxes coming out though. We'll see.
I just posted a reply to Bill Murphy's latest Rant regarding Destiny, the new title coming soon from Bungie. In his rant he comments on Bungie's reluctance to use the term MMO and their use of the phrase "Persistant World Shooter".
After seeing Defiance, a game I quite liked as far as gameplay went, but with a horrible console UI and a broken chat system, and now Destiny, which is being developed for xbox 360 and PS3 (No PC version) I have to wonder.
How long before all MMO's are developed for cosoles? Are we looking at a future where all games will be developed primarily for consoles? The console market is much bigger than PC so it's a real possibility. Are we now looking at a future where we get no PC version of new MMO's, or if they do make one it is a dumbed down, console friendly version? What happens to the social aspect of MMO's that are developed for a platform that doesn't have a keyboard?
Ever since Miscrosoft decided to enter the console market and bought Bungie so they could force them to make Halo an xbox exclusive title I've had this nagging feeling that we were on a slippery slope as PC gamers. Guess what? I can feel my feet slipping.
And i have no doubt it would be the same F2P game with little audience. See .. just your opinion vs mine. There is no evidence either way.
That's because
a) It is one of the biggest IPs in the world, which helped it get through its rough years
b) the company that made it didn't get dissolved right after launch
c) the game didn't get shelved by SOE right after launch
Somebody, somewhere has better skills as you have, more experience as you have, is smarter than you, has more friends as you do and can stay online longer. Just pray he's not out to get you.
I don't think PC development is going anywhere any time soon though. It grew 8% this year between MoP, GW2, Minecraft and D3.
On the subject of Vanguard it's the closest thing to EQ in a new game. Anyone that enjoys an open world, open dungeons, danger and grouping outside of instances should check it out.
Somebody, somewhere has better skills as you have, more experience as you have, is smarter than you, has more friends as you do and can stay online longer. Just pray he's not out to get you.
Agreed. Most games today are stripped down to appease the ADHD kids (which I would assume is a HUGE part of the playerbase). Add the fact that companies are trying to make a quick buck on initial sales and you have the formula for most of the fail MMOs out today.
Hey all.. this is my first time posting here, but I've been reading this site since as long as I've been playing MMORPGS so bear with me a little bit.
I first started playing online Role Playing games with Diablo 2.. me and my bud would co-op and play like all night. This is my first REAL experience of playing an RPG online. My 2nd was Neverwinter Nights. Neverwinter Nights is by far my favorite experience to date because the community truly believed in Role Playing, and the toolset was so easy to use that you could just go in and modify your equipment with incredible stats with maybe 1 or 2 weekneses. Want to make a new dungeon for the game? No problem. Want to download all kinds of new free stuff that the community built in the toolset? No problem. In a way, this a great early example of community created DLC that I haven't seen since.. well maybe Little Big Planet, but beyond that nothing has touched this game as far as user content goes. Then one of my good friends in NWN told me she discovered DAOC.. and my life changed forever.
DAOC was a great early example of the MMORPG. Beautiful graphics, tons of class choices, and lots of running around and killing stuff and leveling. What I found difficult was finding a group and actualy.. multiplaying. This game was out before random group finders and guild searches. You were basically thrown into the world on your own, with very little NPC interaction besides.. ok here is a quest now go do it. It was not a very noob friendly game, the graphics were very dark and tough to navigate around, and after a while I just got frustrated with it. My friend was feeling the same vibe.. and.. enter
Lineage 2. This is where I got really, truly, 100% addicted to MMORPGS. Not only was it a great kill and farm game.. it was rather mindless. Also, in the very early stages at least, there was a great feeling of comradery in your group. You're basically kiting and grinding for hours in the same room and fending off other players trying to compete for your leveling area because it's open PVP. You can't do any of this without a group and a good guild and alliance. You can't touch castle sieges without a good guild and alliance. You NEED to trust your online friends, and for a while, we actually became like family.
From Lineage 2 came City of Heroes, and even that was a great time. Me and my same friend from Diablo 2 found a great guild and we'd always be grouped up in instances, and this was a hella fun game to mess with buffs and healers and damage dealers and tanks. You could visually see the difference with the superpowers and the power animations were just phenominal to the point where you felt like a group of superheros. RIP City of Heroes servers...you shall be missed.
I discovered WoW same as everybody else did, through their love for all things Blizzard. I loved the open world of questing and being able to fly over everything. Unfortunately I got bored with that pretty quick.
I experimented with other MMORPGS.. like Guild Wars, EQ2, Warhammer, Lord of the Rings, and Star Trek. Lately me and my friend have been having a blast grinding and farming in Diablo 3. So in a way we've both come full circle with gaming. Started with a Diablo, and ended with a Diablo.
So here is where I come to my point in this long winded reply. I just renewed my WoW account because I love kung fu movies and wanted to see the Chinese/Kung Fu Panda-type stuff. The game is really cool now. I do like the random cross-realm dungeons, but the actual world of the game seems just like a huge lobby where you can do a few quests on your own while you wait for your random dungeon group to start. This is all well and good but that feeling of comradere I got with say.. a game like Lineage 2 just isn't there. I was in a group the other day and I forgot it was cross realm. I picked up a new mace for my dual-wielding Fury-specced warrior and asked somebody if they can do a few quick strength enchants for me. The reply was "Sorry, we can't do that cross realm"
Crap.. yeah. That kinda made me feel a bit empty. Just going ina nd killing stuff and looting. Made me kinda wanna just play Diablo 3. So yeah you guys are right. MMORPGS just aren't the same anymore.
MMO (massive multiplayer online games) are fine, the games you listed are ALL MMO's in the FULL since of the word.
You may mean MMORPG's (massive multiplayer online role playing game), they have taken a hit or too, but are coming back (see ArcheAge and to a lesser degree The Secret Word).
Somebody, somewhere has better skills as you have, more experience as you have, is smarter than you, has more friends as you do and can stay online longer. Just pray he's not out to get you.
Trion publishes ArcheAge in the west, ncsoft publishes Blade&Soul.
Somebody, somewhere has better skills as you have, more experience as you have, is smarter than you, has more friends as you do and can stay online longer. Just pray he's not out to get you.
WoW has both...I guess it depends on what is in the cash shop. I think WoW just has mounts and cosmetics.
Somebody, somewhere has better skills as you have, more experience as you have, is smarter than you, has more friends as you do and can stay online longer. Just pray he's not out to get you.
Meh, people say this a lot but it's really not an age or generational issue. It's a people issue. There are people of ALL ages and generations like this. Every generation accuses the next or younger generations of this as far back as ancient Greece(Socrates wrote of similar problems with youngsters in his time). People who are like this are just more obvious since we are living in an information age( or misinformation if you will). There are people in their 50s and even 60s that still live with their parents or are dependent on other people for basic survival.
You make me like charity
Somebody, somewhere has better skills as you have, more experience as you have, is smarter than you, has more friends as you do and can stay online longer. Just pray he's not out to get you.
Somebody, somewhere has better skills as you have, more experience as you have, is smarter than you, has more friends as you do and can stay online longer. Just pray he's not out to get you.