Response to some confusion about "lifers"

jonsnow13

I think a lot of us take for granted our uncanny abilities to be really suave in real life social situations (sarcasm).  However, Second life was made with the idea in mind to help people who have disorders, etc... that keep them from socializing, to find a social environment they feel comfortable in.  It's an ongoing psychology experiment, and they believe it to help people who fear social interaction, or any other problem prohibiting them from having a normal life... so before you diss on a person playing second life, remember you may be dissing on someone that just can't help there weird way of chatting...  I was more writing this toward the strange speaking "Joel" and the responses he gathered.

To say second life achieves any of this is beyond me, for all I know it could be a capitalist ploy... but lets not disregard that some of these people may have serious problems so be careful about what you say.  Not that anyone else should be treated any less then with compassion, respect and kindness... as we all know everyone is so kind around here and do not resault to trolling first possible chance they get .

manday

What I'd like to ask to most ppl who don't understand WHY there's games like this... What else are MMORPGs besides glorified chatrooms?

Sure, you can fight stuff. You can hit lvl cap. You can craft. You can trade. You can duel or PK. But what does that matter?

Especially with games coming out now. Oldschool gamers are not exactly impressed with the new stuff, they may play it, but they get bored fast. This means that the games are short lived, for most. The only thing you keep after you quit, (and you WILL quit, eventually), are the friendships.

So, MMORPG = glorified chatroom.

puffdragon

I've played second life and i dont have social problems. Actually there are some very normal people there along with the not so normal people.  In second life you can do animation, 3d modeling, scripting, pretty much whatever you can dream up. Hopefully when they get the new game engine going the physics will be better. People make games in second life, flying vehicles of all sorts, guns, art. I had one friend that made a can of spray paint that your avatar would sniff then fall on the ground. Its pretty cool to let your imagination run wild.

LuRavi

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Originally posted by manday

What else are MMORPGs besides glorified chatrooms?
Sure, you can fight stuff. You can hit lvl cap. You can craft. You can trade. You can duel or PK. But what does that matter?
So, MMORPG = glorified chatroom.

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     Manday, you are so wrong on this account that MMORPGs are simply glorified chatrooms, it kills me. I speak from a background of UO mostly. People on there complain about the idea of grouping to kill the top monsters. Ultima Online has become so broken that Paladins and tamers will solo the top monsters on their own all the time. Bard/paladin Templates will solo Lvl 5 treasure maps/chests on their own and they yell when anyone suggests making them harder. The developers being the cowards they are refused the nerf the skills so they simply created Lvl 6 treasure maps that, were supose to be forced grouping to complete but I've often read stories by others who say they solo those and or work in groups of two to complete THE MOST HARDEST treasure map in game. They created this new form of a monster called a Paragon, people solo those easily at the highest level monster.

     People complain on Ultima Online boards daily anytime anyone suggests any forms of forced grouping. They simply want to log on and kill stuff by themselves and then they expect to be able to kill the best monsters in the game!

manday

I don't see what that has to do with what I said. Sure, there's other content, but it doesn't mean anything. Look how many subscribers UO has now. Most of the ppl have moved on to other games, or gosh, maybe quit gaming.

Also, wanting to solo doesn't automatically mean anything. Even I would prefer to solo a lot of the time, especially while farming. Does that mean that I no longer think that MMORPGs are glorified chatrooms? No. I can't chat while grouping to powerlvl, cuz I'll be too busy making sure the exp/hour is decent. But while I'm soloing, I can type anything, cuz others aren't depending on me

Puoltry

There is a book called "Snowcrash" that talks of a "metaverse" in wich people can create avatars and build homes for themselves etc etc.

Ive met people in mmo's before that are homebound that use these games as a way to socialize.2nd life and There are perfect examples of this.In the book it is not a game but a way for players to meet from around the world and socialize as well.

These 2 "metaverse's" quite simply push the envelope of what a virtual world is and is becoming.The ability to create an avatar and build whatever you want is amazing.

Developers should be looking to these 2 games as shining examples of a world that is heavily influenced by the players themselves.

Heres a link to the book im talking about:http://project.cyberpunk.ru/idb/snowcrash.html

The book was written 14 years ago and has been read by most CEO's of major technology companies.Microsoft,linksys,AT&T.It actually predicted the genre we have come to love.