So what? I don't want my games real. I have rl for that. I want them to be fun. And there is no such thing as what a MMO "should be". There are only player preferences .. and for my preference, they better not be predominantly grouping games .. otherwise, i am out of there.
Yes he's serious (judging from his previous posts), and I feel the same way. Do not want pressure to play in a group. :P
Same here. I like games where the focus is collaboration and interaction, not grouping. Games like EVE, UO, Puzzle Pirates, ATITD... pretty much most of the MMOs before the EQ/WOW cloning began.
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
Yes he's serious (judging from his previous posts), and I feel the same way. Do not want pressure to play in a group. :P
nah .. it is too much work. People may want to chat. Or they can be a-hole. Why do i need to play with strangers when i can enjoy the game myself. It is entertainment. I do it anyway i want to.
Yes he's serious (judging from his previous posts), and I feel the same way. Do not want pressure to play in a group. :P
nah .. it is too much work. People may want to chat. Or they can be a-hole. Why do i need to play with strangers when i can enjoy the game myself. It is entertainment. I do it anyway i want to.
Why play an MMO then? Single player games are much better in terms of quality and fun value. The mechanics MMO's themselves are very limited. The most interactive thing you can in the environment is sit down on a chair. Besides, 90% of the best content is in the dungeons and raids and if you don't play them you're pretty much done nothing in the game.
Come up with something new or at least less boring like pure skill based systems, D10 system with no restrictions or how about no level-up at all?
Not again! Fantasy worlds with fairies and trolls (pun intended) are not exciting any more. (Looking at you TESO)
Consequences. Modern MMO's are like modern schools. You can not fail, even if you tried. Make it hurt when you die, it automatically makes content more interesting and achievements more rewarding. We all know this was abandoned because of a majority of entitled, spoiled and lazy gamers. Personally i want it back.
----
Permanent death is often named as a wanted feature and to be honest, with the current generation of "casual-ized" games it would not be that big of a deal since you can level up to maximum level within a few days any way.
----
Grouping! I already hear the screams of the ADHD "texting" generation. Unable to socialize and pay attention for longer than 5 minutes. It would be interesting to see if a game could survive with forced grouping in the current environment.
Putting me in control of the entire project from gyt go.
Or said more sharingly, the devs, investors, and corporate do not have a gamer's vision because THEY ARE NOT GAMERS. And even most gamers don't get it. You have to see the whole picture - not be bent over one tiny aspect. The entire pic begins at the end. What are you trying to accomplish? It's like writing a book. You need an Outline. The game is a story that needs told. The story shouldn't be "how I made a buck and stayed afloat in the rat race no matter how many lawyers and politicians they threw at me." Do you people even know what hurdles corporate has to jump??? This planet is zoned, taxed, and lorded over. Getting together a team is another hurdle. If you were the richest person on earth this would be hard to do. Not every one jumps when money barks. You have to keep those creative people thinking. You have to feed them lots of coffee and convince them to stay tied up in a chair all day doing your bidding.
Yes he's serious (judging from his previous posts), and I feel the same way. Do not want pressure to play in a group. :P
nah .. it is too much work. People may want to chat. Or they can be a-hole. Why do i need to play with strangers when i can enjoy the game myself. It is entertainment. I do it anyway i want to.
Why play an MMO then? Single player games are much better in terms of quality and fun value. The mechanics MMO's themselves are very limited. The most interactive thing you can in the environment is sit down on a chair. Besides, 90% of the best content is in the dungeons and raids and if you don't play them you're pretty much done nothing in the game.
The short answer is .. for the IP and solo gameplay. For example, i like star trek. There is no The Next Generation era RPG, except STO, is there? Marvel Heroes is another good example. I like Captain America, and I like Diablo type gameplay. Aside from the very old Marvel Ultimate Alliance & MUA2 (which i have already played), there is no other marvel character based RPG with diablo-ish combat, is there?
You can fail in all MMOs today. In fact, try going to a raid, and wipe it every time, and see how the raid leader will make you feel your failure by verbally belittle you.
when's the last time this happened to you? roughly what year?
3 years ago .. when i still raided .. in fact, right up to when i quit progressive raiding (too much work, not enough fun). We practice hard core raids ... and let me tell you ... there are lots of wipes before the guild was geared enough to put the content on farm.
And 30 min ago .. when i play D3 and got owned by elites with chains. At least in D3, i can fail by choosing the right level of challenge.
Makes sense..was your guild founded during Wrath by any chance?
No ... the guild was before that .. i joined during WOTLK, around the end of tier-9. The dates are of course a bit fuzzy since i don't generally remember detailed dates of when I play what games.
An MMORPG based on the real Elder Scrolls series, pre-Skyrim. - Skill based progression. (No general XP.) - Factions/Guilds galore that are the main source for questing. - Well defined classes with the option to create your own with the skills you want your character to use. - Skills that matter to character development, other than combat.
And most importantly: The ability to FAIL.
Keeping everything else more or less the same, it would still be a "typical MMO" in my book.
Come on. Stretch your imagination a little.
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been-Wayne Gretzky
As someone who only plays MMORPGs with persistent worlds you would kill my hobby with that suggestion.
They have barely even tapped the possibilities with current MMOs. Imagine a MMO where everyone played as different animals, on land, in the ocean, and everything interacted. Just the amount of themes alone, western, horror, gothic, anime, fantasy, sci-fi, modern, historical, mythical or any unique IP that could be a MMORPG. A MMO based on controlling the weather to terraform the land with rain, lightning, volcanoes, etc. A MMORPG entirly underground, or on a huge space station.
The possibilities are endless. The potential is limitless.
That's why the four pillars of MMORPG design are rubbish. You could make an MMORPG out of pretty much anything and have so many different mechanics and features. If the best you can come up with to make a MMORPG stand out is getting rid of the world it's pretty cringe worthy but not as bad as the copy WOW game design some of these MMORPGs have. How hard is it to do something creative and innovate?
Sure the possibilities are endless, but realizing those possibilities in a good game is a whole other thing. Terraforming or controlling the weather could easily get out of hand, playing an animal could easily be a boring gimmick... the pitfalls are also endless.
Granted, playing animals only in a nature type of simulation would be a new thing. Don't know how fun it would be in the long run tho. Don't see much room for progression either.
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been-Wayne Gretzky
Originally posted by ArakaziWhy play an MMO then? Single player games are much better in terms of quality and fun value. The mechanics MMO's themselves are very limited. The most interactive thing you can in the environment is sit down on a chair. Besides, 90% of the best content is in the dungeons and raids and if you don't play them you're pretty much done nothing in the game.
Why do people keep asking this question over and over... have you somehow not seen any of the previous times it has been answered here in the pub???
Anyway, a fairly large number of MMOs don't even have raids, so that can't be where the best content is. Dungeons can be soloed if the game is nice and adjusts them to party size, or if there is no feature for that then you just have to be high enough level to solo the boss. But solo players as a whole tend to prefer questing, crafting, and sim/sandbox play such as growing plants, breeding pets, building one's house, customizing one's character, playing the auctionhouse, etc.
No matter what kind of gameplay you like within an MMO, MMOs provide a virtual world experience that single player games just can't - no matter how gorgeous and cool the world in a single player is, it doesn't feel alive or important because there aren't other people there playing it. Playing directly with multiple other players can be too intense for many people, but seeing someone nearby doing the same gameplay you are can be reassuring. Having a chat channel you can casually join in for a minute to talk about something in the game with other people who are playing the same game and have something to say about it is great. Being able to see other people's feats of housebuilding and other customization is inspiring to one's own urge to do these things and have your creations admired by others. Trying to become an auctionhouse tycoon is also a fun kind of gameplay that requires other players.
I want to help design and develop a PvE-focused, solo-friendly, sandpark MMO which combines crafting, monster hunting, and story. So PM me if you are starting one.
Putting me in control of the entire project from gyt go.
Or said more sharingly, the devs, investors, and corporate do not have a gamer's vision because THEY ARE NOT GAMERS. And even most gamers don't get it. You have to see the whole picture - not be bent over one tiny aspect. The entire pic begins at the end. What are you trying to accomplish? It's like writing a book. You need an Outline. The game is a story that needs told. The story shouldn't be "how I made a buck and stayed afloat in the rat race no matter how many lawyers and politicians they threw at me." Do you people even know what hurdles corporate has to jump??? This planet is zoned, taxed, and lorded over. Getting together a team is another hurdle. If you were the richest person on earth this would be hard to do. Not every one jumps when money barks. You have to keep those creative people thinking. You have to feed them lots of coffee and convince them to stay tied up in a chair all day doing your bidding.
Oh nvm.
+1 Truthiness
Not that I'd actually want to be "in control" of a game development project, but wow would it be the answer to so many problems if I could do a substantial portion of the design work behind an MMO. *drools over the idea*
On the realism side of things, it's completely true that money and business sense have such a big role in game production that artistry has to compromise severely with them. I'm hopeful that in the future there will continue to be better 3rd party tools that will allow a single gamer to turn his or her own vision into a game with both pretty graphics and good game play, the way it is now possible for one music composer to create a whole digital orchestra performance. Bbut so far copyright laws have really slowed down the progress that could have been made in this direction, and they will continue to keep it slow. Meanwhile there's kickstarter if we want to put our wallets behind games we want to play.
I want to help design and develop a PvE-focused, solo-friendly, sandpark MMO which combines crafting, monster hunting, and story. So PM me if you are starting one.
As someone who only plays MMORPGs with persistent worlds you would kill my hobby with that suggestion.
They have barely even tapped the possibilities with current MMOs. Imagine a MMO where everyone played as different animals, on land, in the ocean, and everything interacted. Just the amount of themes alone, western, horror, gothic, anime, fantasy, sci-fi, modern, historical, mythical or any unique IP that could be a MMORPG. A MMO based on controlling the weather to terraform the land with rain, lightning, volcanoes, etc. A MMORPG entirly underground, or on a huge space station.
The possibilities are endless. The potential is limitless.
That's why the four pillars of MMORPG design are rubbish. You could make an MMORPG out of pretty much anything and have so many different mechanics and features. If the best you can come up with to make a MMORPG stand out is getting rid of the world it's pretty cringe worthy but not as bad as the copy WOW game design some of these MMORPGs have. How hard is it to do something creative and innovate?
Sure the possibilities are endless, but realizing those possibilities in a good game is a whole other thing. Terraforming or controlling the weather could easily get out of hand, playing an animal could easily be a boring gimmick... the pitfalls are also endless.
Granted, playing animals only in a nature type of simulation would be a new thing. Don't know how fun it would be in the long run tho. Don't see much room for progression either.
Plus I play existing games .. i can't play possibilities. Ideas are a dime a dozen. Good implementation and well calibrated fun is hard to get.
Originally posted by nariusseldon Plus I play existing games .. i can't play possibilities. Ideas are a dime a dozen. Good implementation and well calibrated fun is hard to get.
Although it's true that you can't play possibilities like you play a game, personally I think it's a lot of fun to play with MMO design possibilities with other amateur game designers.
I want to help design and develop a PvE-focused, solo-friendly, sandpark MMO which combines crafting, monster hunting, and story. So PM me if you are starting one.
Originally posted by nariusseldon Plus I play existing games .. i can't play possibilities. Ideas are a dime a dozen. Good implementation and well calibrated fun is hard to get.
Although it's true that you can't play possibilities like you play a game, personally I think it's a lot of fun to play with MMO design possibilities with other amateur game designers.
oh i have no problem talking about design possibilities on a forum like this. But you can't really "play with MMO design possibilities" in actual products that you can use.
And good games is a lot more about implementation, than just ideas and possibilities.
Originally posted by nariusseldon Plus I play existing games .. i can't play possibilities. Ideas are a dime a dozen. Good implementation and well calibrated fun is hard to get.
Although it's true that you can't play possibilities like you play a game, personally I think it's a lot of fun to play with MMO design possibilities with other amateur game designers.
oh i have no problem talking about design possibilities on a forum like this. But you can't really "play with MMO design possibilities" in actual products that you can use.
And good games is a lot more about implementation, than just ideas and possibilities.
I dunno - I kinda think all good implementations are good in the same way, while terrible implementations can be terrible in a few different ways (but still not that many). But ten games built on the same engine, from the same graphics pack, could be completely different if the designs are different.
The extent to which one can play with an MMO possibility is also dependent on how high one's ability to imagine oneself within the hypothetical game is. This is much more difficult for some people than others, because it depends on some specific areas within the brain that are bigger and more well developed in some people than others. And having lots of memories of playing a wide variety of games is also important as building blocks for the brain to build a vivid daydream about playing a hypothetical daydream out of.
I want to help design and develop a PvE-focused, solo-friendly, sandpark MMO which combines crafting, monster hunting, and story. So PM me if you are starting one.
Putting me in control of the entire project from gyt go.
Or said more sharingly, the devs, investors, and corporate do not have a gamer's vision because THEY ARE NOT GAMERS. And even most gamers don't get it. You have to see the whole picture - not be bent over one tiny aspect. The entire pic begins at the end. What are you trying to accomplish? It's like writing a book. You need an Outline. The game is a story that needs told. The story shouldn't be "how I made a buck and stayed afloat in the rat race no matter how many lawyers and politicians they threw at me." Do you people even know what hurdles corporate has to jump??? This planet is zoned, taxed, and lorded over. Getting together a team is another hurdle. If you were the richest person on earth this would be hard to do. Not every one jumps when money barks. You have to keep those creative people thinking. You have to feed them lots of coffee and convince them to stay tied up in a chair all day doing your bidding.
Oh nvm.
+1 Truthiness
Not that I'd actually want to be "in control" of a game development project, but wow would it be the answer to so many problems if I could do a substantial portion of the design work behind an MMO. *drools over the idea*
On the realism side of things, it's completely true that money and business sense have such a big role in game production that artistry has to compromise severely with them. I'm hopeful that in the future there will continue to be better 3rd party tools that will allow a single gamer to turn his or her own vision into a game with both pretty graphics and good game play, the way it is now possible for one music composer to create a whole digital orchestra performance. Bbut so far copyright laws have really slowed down the progress that could have been made in this direction, and they will continue to keep it slow. Meanwhile there's kickstarter if we want to put our wallets behind games we want to play.
Very few have struck rich by designing games. Often the money is not worth the hours. Certainly not the flak you may catch from fans (and there is always some). It is definitely a calling and you can bet your ass game designers are gamers themselves. If you didn't love games why the hell would you be in the business?
You think every movie director gets to make exactly the movie they want to make? Sometimes the funding decides what the game is going to be like. I don't think there are many devs who could get funding from serious investors without changing their vision at the moment. Nearly all of the "big names" in the business have turned out to be one-hit-wonders. There's no faith in them anymore - and I don't blame them.
If development doesn't fall short on design, it may still fall short on execution. Overreaching is all too common. Managing and pulling through these projects is no easy feat. Then reading fans commenting on how lazy and greedy you are; and how you aren't even a gamer... no wonder devs quit.
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been-Wayne Gretzky
Originally posted by ArakaziWhy play an MMO then? Single player games are much better in terms of quality and fun value. The mechanics MMO's themselves are very limited. The most interactive thing you can in the environment is sit down on a chair. Besides, 90% of the best content is in the dungeons and raids and if you don't play them you're pretty much done nothing in the game.
Why do people keep asking this question over and over... have you somehow not seen any of the previous times it has been answered here in the pub???
Anyway, a fairly large number of MMOs don't even have raids, so that can't be where the best content is. Dungeons can be soloed if the game is nice and adjusts them to party size, or if there is no feature for that then you just have to be high enough level to solo the boss. But solo players as a whole tend to prefer questing, crafting, and sim/sandbox play such as growing plants, breeding pets, building one's house, customizing one's character, playing the auctionhouse, etc.
No matter what kind of gameplay you like within an MMO, MMOs provide a virtual world experience that single player games just can't - no matter how gorgeous and cool the world in a single player is, it doesn't feel alive or important because there aren't other people there playing it. Playing directly with multiple other players can be too intense for many people, but seeing someone nearby doing the same gameplay you are can be reassuring. Having a chat channel you can casually join in for a minute to talk about something in the game with other people who are playing the same game and have something to say about it is great. Being able to see other people's feats of housebuilding and other customization is inspiring to one's own urge to do these things and have your creations admired by others. Trying to become an auctionhouse tycoon is also a fun kind of gameplay that requires other players.
Look, I don't read every article or post on here, I just look at the titles from time to time and read what I think is interesting. I'm not going to tell anyone how to play their game, but I can't really imagine playing an MMO solo. The challenge for me as a player in a group is adjusting my game to whats happening around me. Typically that means people screwing up and me putting out the fires, but every now and again people do something crazy that turns the game on its head or a group just clicks and we go on a roll. The challenge and fun isn't really within the mechanics, such things can be memorized and guessed at. It's the unpredictability of people, particularly large groups that gets me interested. MMO's are boring without people, sure there are asshats aplenty in MMOS but all my best memories in MMOs are with people and I can't imagine playing any other way.
Look, I don't read every article or post on here, I just look at the titles from time to time and read what I think is interesting. I'm not going to tell anyone how to play their game, but I can't really imagine playing an MMO solo. The challenge for me as a player in a group is adjusting my game to whats happening around me. Typically that means people screwing up and me putting out the fires, but every now and again people do something crazy that turns the game on its head or a group just clicks and we go on a roll. The challenge and fun isn't really within the mechanics, such things can be memorized and guessed at. It's the unpredictability of people, particularly large groups that gets me interested. MMO's are boring without people, sure there are asshats aplenty in MMOS but all my best memories in MMOs are with people and I can't imagine playing any other way.
You don't have to. I can tell you.
Let's use an example.
I log into Marvel Heroes. Go to click on the red terminal ... pick a mission I want to play ... and immediate (after the loading screen), i am in an instance all by myself, and I play through it like a level in a SP game.
Look, I don't read every article or post on here, I just look at the titles from time to time and read what I think is interesting. I'm not going to tell anyone how to play their game, but I can't really imagine playing an MMO solo. The challenge for me as a player in a group is adjusting my game to whats happening around me. Typically that means people screwing up and me putting out the fires, but every now and again people do something crazy that turns the game on its head or a group just clicks and we go on a roll. The challenge and fun isn't really within the mechanics, such things can be memorized and guessed at. It's the unpredictability of people, particularly large groups that gets me interested. MMO's are boring without people, sure there are asshats aplenty in MMOS but all my best memories in MMOs are with people and I can't imagine playing any other way.
You don't have to. I can tell you.
Let's use an example.
I log into Marvel Heroes. Go to click on the red terminal ... pick a mission I want to play ... and immediate (after the loading screen), i am in an instance all by myself, and I play through it like a level in a SP game.
Does that help?
okay I get it, you just like to play with yourself...
Look, I don't read every article or post on here, I just look at the titles from time to time and read what I think is interesting. I'm not going to tell anyone how to play their game, but I can't really imagine playing an MMO solo. The challenge for me as a player in a group is adjusting my game to whats happening around me. Typically that means people screwing up and me putting out the fires, but every now and again people do something crazy that turns the game on its head or a group just clicks and we go on a roll. The challenge and fun isn't really within the mechanics, such things can be memorized and guessed at. It's the unpredictability of people, particularly large groups that gets me interested. MMO's are boring without people, sure there are asshats aplenty in MMOS but all my best memories in MMOs are with people and I can't imagine playing any other way.
You don't have to. I can tell you.
Let's use an example.
I log into Marvel Heroes. Go to click on the red terminal ... pick a mission I want to play ... and immediate (after the loading screen), i am in an instance all by myself, and I play through it like a level in a SP game.
Does that help?
okay I get it, you just like to play with yourself...
You may want to brush up on your English ....
I just like to play BY myself, not play WITH myself. OTOH, may be you are trying to be cute .. and i would say my wife would not appreciate that joke. If I am playing WITH anything .. it would be her :P
Comments
Same here. I like games where the focus is collaboration and interaction, not grouping. Games like EVE, UO, Puzzle Pirates, ATITD... pretty much most of the MMOs before the EQ/WOW cloning began.
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
nah .. it is too much work. People may want to chat. Or they can be a-hole. Why do i need to play with strangers when i can enjoy the game myself. It is entertainment. I do it anyway i want to.
Why play an MMO then? Single player games are much better in terms of quality and fun value. The mechanics MMO's themselves are very limited. The most interactive thing you can in the environment is sit down on a chair. Besides, 90% of the best content is in the dungeons and raids and if you don't play them you're pretty much done nothing in the game.
Putting me in control of the entire project from gyt go.
Or said more sharingly, the devs, investors, and corporate do not have a gamer's vision because THEY ARE NOT GAMERS. And even most gamers don't get it. You have to see the whole picture - not be bent over one tiny aspect. The entire pic begins at the end. What are you trying to accomplish? It's like writing a book. You need an Outline. The game is a story that needs told. The story shouldn't be "how I made a buck and stayed afloat in the rat race no matter how many lawyers and politicians they threw at me." Do you people even know what hurdles corporate has to jump??? This planet is zoned, taxed, and lorded over. Getting together a team is another hurdle. If you were the richest person on earth this would be hard to do. Not every one jumps when money barks. You have to keep those creative people thinking. You have to feed them lots of coffee and convince them to stay tied up in a chair all day doing your bidding.
Oh nvm.
I am glad you ask. Here is the long answer:
http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/634/view/forums/post/5903599#5903599
The short answer is .. for the IP and solo gameplay. For example, i like star trek. There is no The Next Generation era RPG, except STO, is there? Marvel Heroes is another good example. I like Captain America, and I like Diablo type gameplay. Aside from the very old Marvel Ultimate Alliance & MUA2 (which i have already played), there is no other marvel character based RPG with diablo-ish combat, is there?
3 years ago .. when i still raided .. in fact, right up to when i quit progressive raiding (too much work, not enough fun). We practice hard core raids ... and let me tell you ... there are lots of wipes before the guild was geared enough to put the content on farm.
And 30 min ago .. when i play D3 and got owned by elites with chains. At least in D3, i can fail by choosing the right level of challenge.
No ... the guild was before that .. i joined during WOTLK, around the end of tier-9. The dates are of course a bit fuzzy since i don't generally remember detailed dates of when I play what games.
Keeping everything else more or less the same, it would still be a "typical MMO" in my book.
Come on. Stretch your imagination a little.
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been -Wayne Gretzky
Sure the possibilities are endless, but realizing those possibilities in a good game is a whole other thing. Terraforming or controlling the weather could easily get out of hand, playing an animal could easily be a boring gimmick... the pitfalls are also endless.
Granted, playing animals only in a nature type of simulation would be a new thing. Don't know how fun it would be in the long run tho. Don't see much room for progression either.
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been -Wayne Gretzky
Anyway, a fairly large number of MMOs don't even have raids, so that can't be where the best content is. Dungeons can be soloed if the game is nice and adjusts them to party size, or if there is no feature for that then you just have to be high enough level to solo the boss. But solo players as a whole tend to prefer questing, crafting, and sim/sandbox play such as growing plants, breeding pets, building one's house, customizing one's character, playing the auctionhouse, etc.
No matter what kind of gameplay you like within an MMO, MMOs provide a virtual world experience that single player games just can't - no matter how gorgeous and cool the world in a single player is, it doesn't feel alive or important because there aren't other people there playing it. Playing directly with multiple other players can be too intense for many people, but seeing someone nearby doing the same gameplay you are can be reassuring. Having a chat channel you can casually join in for a minute to talk about something in the game with other people who are playing the same game and have something to say about it is great. Being able to see other people's feats of housebuilding and other customization is inspiring to one's own urge to do these things and have your creations admired by others. Trying to become an auctionhouse tycoon is also a fun kind of gameplay that requires other players.
+1 Truthiness
Not that I'd actually want to be "in control" of a game development project, but wow would it be the answer to so many problems if I could do a substantial portion of the design work behind an MMO. *drools over the idea*
On the realism side of things, it's completely true that money and business sense have such a big role in game production that artistry has to compromise severely with them. I'm hopeful that in the future there will continue to be better 3rd party tools that will allow a single gamer to turn his or her own vision into a game with both pretty graphics and good game play, the way it is now possible for one music composer to create a whole digital orchestra performance. Bbut so far copyright laws have really slowed down the progress that could have been made in this direction, and they will continue to keep it slow. Meanwhile there's kickstarter if we want to put our wallets behind games we want to play.
Plus I play existing games .. i can't play possibilities. Ideas are a dime a dozen. Good implementation and well calibrated fun is hard to get.
Although it's true that you can't play possibilities like you play a game, personally I think it's a lot of fun to play with MMO design possibilities with other amateur game designers.
oh i have no problem talking about design possibilities on a forum like this. But you can't really "play with MMO design possibilities" in actual products that you can use.
And good games is a lot more about implementation, than just ideas and possibilities.
I dunno - I kinda think all good implementations are good in the same way, while terrible implementations can be terrible in a few different ways (but still not that many). But ten games built on the same engine, from the same graphics pack, could be completely different if the designs are different.
The extent to which one can play with an MMO possibility is also dependent on how high one's ability to imagine oneself within the hypothetical game is. This is much more difficult for some people than others, because it depends on some specific areas within the brain that are bigger and more well developed in some people than others. And having lots of memories of playing a wide variety of games is also important as building blocks for the brain to build a vivid daydream about playing a hypothetical daydream out of.
Very few have struck rich by designing games. Often the money is not worth the hours. Certainly not the flak you may catch from fans (and there is always some). It is definitely a calling and you can bet your ass game designers are gamers themselves. If you didn't love games why the hell would you be in the business?
You think every movie director gets to make exactly the movie they want to make? Sometimes the funding decides what the game is going to be like. I don't think there are many devs who could get funding from serious investors without changing their vision at the moment. Nearly all of the "big names" in the business have turned out to be one-hit-wonders. There's no faith in them anymore - and I don't blame them.
If development doesn't fall short on design, it may still fall short on execution. Overreaching is all too common. Managing and pulling through these projects is no easy feat. Then reading fans commenting on how lazy and greedy you are; and how you aren't even a gamer... no wonder devs quit.
I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been -Wayne Gretzky
Look, I don't read every article or post on here, I just look at the titles from time to time and read what I think is interesting. I'm not going to tell anyone how to play their game, but I can't really imagine playing an MMO solo. The challenge for me as a player in a group is adjusting my game to whats happening around me. Typically that means people screwing up and me putting out the fires, but every now and again people do something crazy that turns the game on its head or a group just clicks and we go on a roll. The challenge and fun isn't really within the mechanics, such things can be memorized and guessed at. It's the unpredictability of people, particularly large groups that gets me interested. MMO's are boring without people, sure there are asshats aplenty in MMOS but all my best memories in MMOs are with people and I can't imagine playing any other way.
You don't have to. I can tell you.
Let's use an example.
I log into Marvel Heroes. Go to click on the red terminal ... pick a mission I want to play ... and immediate (after the loading screen), i am in an instance all by myself, and I play through it like a level in a SP game.
Does that help?
okay I get it, you just like to play with yourself...
You may want to brush up on your English ....
I just like to play BY myself, not play WITH myself. OTOH, may be you are trying to be cute .. and i would say my wife would not appreciate that joke. If I am playing WITH anything .. it would be her :P