When I realized the concept of building a better virtual world was no longer of interest to developers of MMOs, or most of the people they were catering to.
Except you people don't want a virtual world. You want a dead static online gameroom that never changes not a living breathing virtual world. Virtual worlds evolve over time. Your people ditch a game as soon as they don't like something. Why would the industry invest in you?
So yeah, no one wants to build those dead static "worlds". The vast majority of people don't want to play in a dead world.
I'm not sure why people like you and your ilk don't just play single player games? They provide a much better static non-changing experience than mmos do. You're in the wrong genre.
That's a super narrow definition of virtual world.
Yes, we'd like virtual world that change and stories and worlds that change based on player actions. However, some semblance of a virtual world can exist permitted the world is created around player independence, and provides a variety of forms of gameplay. That creates a much more social and cooperative atmosphere, with no groundbreaking evolving world or storyline necessary.
A narrow definition in what way? What exactly is narrow about it? I left it open and broad. It just needs to evolve over time like anything living. A language that doesn't evolve is dead. A world that doesn't grow, evolve, and change over time is dead.
I never said anything about story or narrative. I didn't include that as a virtual world attribute at all. So that's you, not me. A Pre-defined directed narrative (storyline) is not necessary for a virtual world. You threw out a bunch of stuff that might make a game world appealing to you but aren't attributes or traits of a virtual world.
We haven't had an mmo yet where that is true unless you count superficial cosmetic changes like building a house in the open world so how can you say you want a world where players affect real change. Nothing does actually changes though. It's static, until the developer adds content and changes the world. Players don't change the world in any way but the most superficial and cosmetic - like building a house in the open world.
In essence you never want any new content added or the world changed in any way (which is what I said before). You want a static world. Most developers and players don't want to be stuck in the same thing forever.
Again, you're going through a lot of trouble to pigeonhole what constitutes a virtual world. I threw out story as an element of change. We would expect with a "changing world", criteria you claim is a necessity, the story would change and evolve. That could be the story of the world determined by player actions, or a developer narrative.
Either way, and as I already said, you can have a virtual world without those changes. It's the players and their interactions that create the sense of a virtual world. Not some mechanics that allow players to change the game world itself or it's story.
Older MMOs were virtual worlds in many ways, because people played in many different ways, and interacted in different ways. They were open-ended and did not have a set path for everyone to travel. People played as adventurers and explorers casually, you had heros that raided, villains (and griefers), people engaging in commerce, and people that simply played for the social aspect and roleplaying. That is the major difference between the virtual world aspect today, and the contrived, gamey massively singleplayer online games that pass as mmos today.
honestly...when people say 'mmos of the past' the first thing I think of is this question
'I can only think of about 3 titles pre-2004 what the fuck is this guy talking about?
It all comes down to pre WOW days, so this includes quite a few titles including EQ 1/2, Lineage 1/2, AC1/2, AO, SB, EVE, VO, SWG, E&B, UO, Ragnarok Online, COH, FFXI, Meridian 59, Runescape and of course one of my favorites, DAOC. (there were more)
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
Yep people simply can NOT relate to earlier games because of the majority,they were brain washed into thinking Wow was THE game you had to play,the bandwagon to jump on.
I never followed Blizzard at all back in the day,never considered anything in their portfolio to be even remotely interesting so i never had any type of fanbois mentality towards Wow when it came out.So i was shocked to say the least when i saw Wow gathering up steam and large numbers.I tried both EQ2 and Wow at the same time,there was no comparison far i was concerned.
So i guess i can say that seeing Wow a game i considered sub par to be getting all the support and big money numbers was going to set a bad precedent for game design and the future of games to come and man was i right.Chat forums began using the term CLONE because thousands of upstart devs wanted to make some of that big money like Blizzard was. The market is set by buyers,whatever they demand /support that is what we are stuck with.We are stuck with an ERA of gamer's that can last MANY years,similar to music trends and fashion,it can take a long time before we see a positive change.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Yep people simply can NOT relate to earlier games because of the majority,they were brain washed into thinking Wow was THE game you had to play,the bandwagon to jump on.
I never followed Blizzard at all back in the day,never considered anything in their portfolio to be even remotely interesting so i never had any type of fanbois mentality towards Wow when it came out.So i was shocked to say the least when i saw Wow gathering up steam and large numbers.I tried both EQ2 and Wow at the same time,there was no comparison far i was concerned.
So i guess i can say that seeing Wow a game i considered sub par to be getting all the support and big money numbers was going to set a bad precedent for game design and the future of games to come and man was i right.Chat forums began using the term CLONE because thousands of upstart devs wanted to make some of that big money like Blizzard was. The market is set by buyers,whatever they demand /support that is what we are stuck with.We are stuck with an ERA of gamer's that can last MANY years,similar to music trends and fashion,it can take a long time before we see a positive change.
I was the total opposite and have been playing games since i could pick up a controller. I loved every game blizzard made up to WoW BC, after that they have only let me down since with starcraft 2, d3 and other WoW expansions. But to me vanilla WoW was one of the best games i had ever played. EQ2 always felt like the older ugly brother that was not worth playing.
I never loosed hope. Or maybe I did, if you count saying hopeful things as loosing hope. Or maybe being kind, encouraging, or somehow being a positive influence on someone.
However, I have lost hope in the currently available to play MMORPGs. (Note: I don't count it as available to play unless it's actually been officially released.)
The exact moment I lost hope was when I realized that, in the vast majority of so-called MMORPGs, I was being treated like a hamster spinning on a wheel. Or like a rodent chasing a piece of cheese. Then I began to wonder if the developers were laughing at me for choosing to subject myself to such treatment. That was when I had finally had enough.
Comments
did it for you man......Did it for you
It all comes down to pre WOW days, so this includes quite a few titles including EQ 1/2, Lineage 1/2, AC1/2, AO, SB, EVE, VO, SWG, E&B, UO, Ragnarok Online, COH, FFXI, Meridian 59, Runescape and of course one of my favorites, DAOC. (there were more)
Guess you had to be there.
"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
I never followed Blizzard at all back in the day,never considered anything in their portfolio to be even remotely interesting so i never had any type of fanbois mentality towards Wow when it came out.So i was shocked to say the least when i saw Wow gathering up steam and large numbers.I tried both EQ2 and Wow at the same time,there was no comparison far i was concerned.
So i guess i can say that seeing Wow a game i considered sub par to be getting all the support and big money numbers was going to set a bad precedent for game design and the future of games to come and man was i right.Chat forums began using the term CLONE because thousands of upstart devs wanted to make some of that big money like Blizzard was.
The market is set by buyers,whatever they demand /support that is what we are stuck with.We are stuck with an ERA of gamer's that can last MANY years,similar to music trends and fashion,it can take a long time before we see a positive change.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Well, I appreciate it. I guess. O.o
I was the total opposite and have been playing games since i could pick up a controller. I loved every game blizzard made up to WoW BC, after that they have only let me down since with starcraft 2, d3 and other WoW expansions. But to me vanilla WoW was one of the best games i had ever played. EQ2 always felt like the older ugly brother that was not worth playing.
If you are interested in making a MMO maybe visit my page to get a free open source engine.
However, I have lost hope in the currently available to play MMORPGs. (Note: I don't count it as available to play unless it's actually been officially released.)
The exact moment I lost hope was when I realized that, in the vast majority of so-called MMORPGs, I was being treated like a hamster spinning on a wheel. Or like a rodent chasing a piece of cheese. Then I began to wonder if the developers were laughing at me for choosing to subject myself to such treatment. That was when I had finally had enough.
That one for @delete5230?