Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
The downside of MMO's, WoW community...
beheader
Member Posts: 25
Hi all,
I'm not sure how this will be recieved, but I've been a hardcore gamer since the mid 80's. My perception is that there has been a huge change- mostly in the community area of online gaming.
While I really like WoW, I find myself agreeing with the comments about the community. That it is immature, and not terribly friendly.
In the past, game makers (MMO and non MMO) usually refrained from trying to build their own community (like most do now) with a website and forums. Rather in the past guilds and clans would usually build their own web community in conjunction with their "own way of doing things". It seems from observation that this doesn't happen as successfully as it had in the past.
I'm wondering what other long term (and not so long term) gamers think about "community" and the pattern of the MMO companies dominating that area of gaming as well as the game itself?
Comments
Now I haven't been playing WoW very long so I'm wondering if you can give a few examples of how the community is immature and unfriendly? Maybe its the server you'er on. On my server when I play only thing that bugs me is when a player who's about 6 levels above me or more challenges me to a duel. Of course I decline every time.
Now my warrior is only lvl 17, I haven't been playing everyday. So I don't know how the other zones are. The lowbie zones on my server seem to be somewhat helpfull. I was going to play it today but it seems they are down for server maitenance, so its back to playing more CoH.
Well I am quite a long term gamer (begin 90's), but not so long as beheader. And its true the game community has grown a lot, also the whole ICT world has grown a lot, especially since the 80's
The community of WoW is for a great percentage first time MMO players. Most of them played offline games or online shooters and now changing to this game. They really have to get used to its basics and new rules. Also a different social espect they need to get used too, or not and being complete *ssh*l*s.
But this kind of game rely on its community (not completely(. The public forums is there for reporting bugs and unbalanced things. You got a lot of whiners, like if they can't blast someone in 3 seconds they call for a nerf.
Ingame it is quite reasenable, depends on how open a player is to suggestions. But al lot people (in the beginning) just run into an instance and think they can blast the whole thing away. Well they get a cold shower there :P. Or not working in a group but just keep running and agroing the whole place......Or a mage(or other non tanking class) saying; Let me tank, please. I really want too....
I think a community is great if the company works with them. People can give their opinion about the game and if something needs to be changed. If enough people say that and also why, they change it. Because the public is their profit. And the game should be how the people like, they play. So its helps the company make the game better, but also helping people other people.
About in the "old days" guilds would build their own forum and arange things, I don't think that's changed. Some way its less (in the old days it was different). But With SWG/WoW I have a great time with our guild(s). We have our own forums and organise a lot which eachother....
Curious what other think.
Beheader, you are right on about the immaturity of the WoW community. Myself and some other players dropped out of our respective guilds and started a new guild, for individuals over the age 20 in an attempt to improve the quality of people we play with.
When I first started WoW I would occasionaly seek advice from the community and my response commonly was "LOOK IT UP YOU LAZY NOOB!" Usually the negative responses use very poor English and there are a lot of misspellings and lots of profanity. I found very few people who were actually willing to help. This is in contrast to other MMORPGs that I have played (SWG, DAOC, Ryzom) where the players were very helpful and supportive.
Anyways, my guild is trying to change some of that. We want our name known around WoW as the folks you can ask for help and expect respectful, helpful responses.
Good luck.
I've been interested in the community aspect of mmo's for some time. My belief is that the community is a product of the type of game, how many first time mmorpgsers, and how long the game has been in release.
Also consider where you're interacting with the community. General Forums tend to be much more inflammatory then the Server specific ones.
Give WoW a few months and like most of the other mmo games, the community will improve. For example, I can remember SWG being plagued with all the 'l337' kiddies at first, lol.
Ico
Oh, cruel fate, to be thusly boned. Ask not for whom the bone bones. It bones for thee.
-Let's all be ignorant!
i agree wit baagism
Some common things I've discovered, from my EU WoW server.
Many players are VERY young, 10-16 age group.
Not having learned to fend for themselves yet, they want everything, in-game, handed to them.
For example, they will pick every quest possible then ask in general, where can i find X? Rabid thistle bears are 30 seconds jog outside of Auberdine, so when someone asks where they are you KNOW they didn't even try to find them.
Many people /w me at lvl 59, including guildies, to help them kill an elite yellow/red mob at lvl 10,20 30 or whatever, because they just want the fastest, easiest way to complete it. My refusal often results in immature abuse.
Character naming. There are a lot of really stupid names, just today I saw "Dirtyslut with a pet named "clit".
Begging for money, items.
Then there is the juvenile language. Many European kids learn their English from US TV, and the worst sort of TV at that. Most of them sound like LA surfer kids. If I NEVER get called DUDE again I'll be truly grateful.
And this is all on a PvE server. Getting constantly pwned by a 12 yr old fleeb would really finish it for me.
There is a higher than usual % of kiddies in WOW because it is so easy to play and level, but there are mature ppl too, just takes time to seek them out.
I've went from playing on a roleplaying server for 6 months straight, got bored and decided to give a PVP and normal server a try a few weeks ago and now I see just how bad a community can get due to immature players.
And considering WoW is gaining more players than they are losing, it can only get worst.
Age has nothing to do with the maturity of a player? BS... I've played other MMORPGs with far less under-age players (Cause back then they didn't have gamecards) and the community was much better. WoW is infested with children and you can see how it ruins the game. 1 person says something stupid in 1.General Chat and 10 other people reply to continue the flame war. In previous MMORPGs, people didn't reply back, they just IGNORED HIM!
Roleplaying servers are the best! There's a lot less simply because you can tell the flamer to STFU! And I dare you to try and report someone that is speaking l33t in /say chat! It works! GMs do whisper them a few minutes later telling them to roleplay in /say chat and I love hearing them whine after that they got warned by a GM and calm down!
___________ ___ __ _ _ _
Stealth - Ambush - Hemorrhage - Sinister Strike x2 - Cold Blood - Eviscerate - Vanish - Preparation - Cold Blood - Ambush - ... you're dead! :P
I wanted to add that when I advertise my guild, that is for players age 20 and up, I am forever getting PSTs from foul-mouthed youngsters who are offended that my guild doesn't want them. I received one the other day which said, "u ass why 20 and up?" I replied to him/her how bad the WoW community was and then he/she attempted to make an argument about how it is sad that older people play this game at all. At least I think that's what he/she was saying. The English sentence construction was so bad that I had a difficult time understanding their point.
Worse, I have some guildmates from other countries who have commented on the immaturity of the American youngsters and their apparent inability to use the English language and spell simple words.
Someone on the WoW website recently made a suggestion that there be a server ONLY for subscribers that were verified adults. I don't know how this would be accomplished, but it is apparent that many older players are feeling similar frustrations with the l33t types that are ruining this game.
No offense intended, but the fact that you are indirectly saying that people under the age of 20 are immature, leads me to think that you are one with a biased mind.
---------------------------------------
Why are you reading this? This is crap compared to what's above.
I am biased, absolutely.
No offense intended, but the fact that you are indirectly saying that people under the age of 20 are immature, leads me to think that you are one with a biased mind.
But people under the age of 20 ARE immature, for the most part. You may THINK you are mature, but wait til your 30 THEN look at the attitude of many under 20s and you have perspective. I thought I was MATURE at 20, laugh.
Bias is irrellivent.
I speak from experience not predudice. Someone under 20 MAY be mature, but setting an age limit as a base line is a good place to start. If you group with someone that IS mature, then invite them. In Europe there are Spanish/French/Nordic only guilds. It's not predudice, but a desire of people of common interests to play together. And in Europe there are many communication problems caused by cultural barriers. Same for age. In real life 12 yr olds don't hang with students. Students don't go to dinner parties with young professionals. You socialise with people of your own age group and social background to share common interests.
I just quit a guild because it was full of children/teens. Most were whiny cry babies that wanted help all the time, money for stuff, high lvl aid to kill red elites, throwing temper tantrums, using guild chat to make crude jokes, be abusive, call people gay, make sexual remarks about the butt on (a bunch of pixels that make up) a fem NE.
I'd rather solo than hang out with teen like that.
unfriendly i find that to not be true....play FFXI if your want to experience a really unfriendly community, even the NA players
Actually, I find that FFXI has one of the most friendliest and mature players compared to some of the other MMORPGs out there.
The only way to get anywhere in that game is with teamwork, and without maturity, there is no teamwork; there are plenty of lvl 75s around.
---------------------------------------
Why are you reading this? This is crap compared to what's above.
Hmm..while interesting, this whole conversation is pretty much relative. It's a sure bet that when someone says a game has a poor community, someone else will come back and say that it is the best/friendliest community they have ever been a part of. Everyone simply has different experiences, that's all.
That being said though, I personally found the community in WoW to be lacking, but by simply turning off General chat, that solved a LOT of my problems
Personally, I find that Guild Wars has the worst community of any game I have played thus far (making WoW look golden), but then again, that's just my opinion (not that there is anything wrong with GW--it's a good game).
Naw..you're not pulling out of your arse--I totally understand what you are saying. I agree that you can make certain generalizations based on other MMO's, and I will also agree that the WoW community is pretty immature. The only thing I was stating was that for every naysayer on a topic such as this, you will invevitably have someone who will say the exact opposite.
Of course, this can be said about pretty much any topic in general, so I guess I should just quit my rambling now...
Wow, just wow. I mean, really. I just glad that none of you are in my guild.
Glander- setting an age limit is just stupid. Someone who is 30 years old can be far more immature and a far worse player than someone who is 16 years old. But since he was just plain older he got the guild invite. People have asked several times how old I am and I just respond with "old". You don't need to know how old I am and I don't care how old you are, I only care if you can play the game well and with a good attitude.
Finduilas- why don't you help anyone with anything? If a low level guildie needs help with a hard quest, I will help them. If they want help with an easily soloable quest I will tell them where to go and what to do but not help them with it. If you won't even help out guild mates then why are you even in a guild? People form guilds to help each other with stuff.
Also, I have rarely EVER run into trash talk or name calling in the game. Maybe you guys are just on really crappy servers. If someone asks over General where to find something, even if it's terribly simple, they will get several responses within a minute. There is no reason not to help because if you don't then you are the horrible player and not them. The problem with MMOs isn't the immature players, it's the elitists who think they are better than everyone else.
Yes, out of all played MMO's WoW have he worst one, but that is no surprise. As many have said the bulk of the players are not only young but first time MMO players as well. The "give me plz" approach is a very obvious give-away. Of course most youngsters behave that way, it is how they live for the most part, you can not take with you anything but your previous experiences. And it will change of course, as every youngster change as time goes by. May even be that their fresh MMO gaming will make that happen faster.
I think some of the faulth lies with us "oldies" trying to approach these people as you would anyone, if one keeps in mind that they are indeed kids it is easier to not get upset at their behavior.
I tend not to get to involved in the community for this reason, but it will be fun to see it evolve, surely even the dumbest juvenile will someday look back at how they behaved back in the days and wonder "WTF what I thinking?", i mean who doesnt?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Jerek_
I wonder if you honestly even believe what you type, or if you live in a made up world of facts.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I find it the opposite.
Sounds like the power of suggestion to me
seems like poeple hear that the community is sub par so they go in with an attitude expecting that it will be subpar and they pick apart the personality flaws of every individual in the game.
The community is fine its the people who whine about every slight that was commited against them by another person whos the real problem,
hey isent your guild on silverhand?
i may or may not have fought with a few of your guildies before
(pretty sure i won to)
your alliance yes>
Finduilas- why don't you help anyone with anything? If a low level guildie needs help with a hard quest, I will help them. If they want help with an easily soloable quest I will tell them where to go and what to do but not help them with it. If you won't even help out guild mates then why are you even in a guild? People form guilds to help each other with stuff.
I didn't say I didn't help with ANYTHING, however:
A guildie sent me a tell asking for help with a quest. At the time he was lvl 27 and I was lvl 58.
I looked up the quest on Allakazam, and saw that the mob he needed to kill was lvl 31-33 and eilte. I was in Felwood at the time, he was in Duskwood. So he wanted me to travel right across the ocean to help him kill a red eilte, simpy so that he could gain max exp, with NO effort on his part.
Those quests were designed by Blizzard to get lower lvls to start grouping and learning tactics, because later on MOST of the best quests require a group. If a player goes through the levels getting high level help, gaining max exp, but not really developing any skill, how will they do at lvl 55 and up, when that high end help is no longer there?
I WILL help ppl on occasion, but there are players that join a guild and do nothing BUT ask for help, with everything. Some NEVER have enough money, want stuff made for them, want quests completed for them...
And I know, because I asked for ages, that ALL of these were under 20. In my guild in HZ everyone was over 20, some over 30, and were far more mature. As I said, this is not prejudice, or bias, but simply experience.
uhh seriously, your a prick to play with.
Plain, simple, nothing else to it.
I hope i never end up playing ont he same server with you even IF we were differnt factions...
because then I might still have the off chance of having to interact with you.
Chances are the guildie had no idea you were in fel wood, he jusr knew you where a high lvl and wanted to know if you would help him out.
Not everyone has the time to go through the entire quest and ti would be nice for a guildie to help out once in a while... but not alllll the time.
Dont be so damn stuck up.