I play MMO's because when I was Six years old 2 of my older brothers sat me down one Saturday afternoon and forced me to watch the StarWars Trilogy, TWICE OVER, from which point on, I was hooked. I would think to myself, in a childlike manner: "God, how great would it be to live in a world like StarWars, imagine the things that would happen..." Well when SWG came out, I finally got the chance. I play MMO's because at the age of 12 my mother bought me 4 books from the Tolkien series and said that I could read them if I wanted, which I did over a period of time that year. I fell in love, I fell in love with the characters, the world, the different kinds of races, the lore and the adventure. Again, I thought to myslef: "Wow, what an amazing world, how great would it be to live in that type of world." Well, if I play one of the great fantasy MMO's out there now, I can really be appart of that world in an active way. I play MMO's because, how COOL is it that I live in a time where I can see an entire genre happening right in front of me, a genre that came from the games I used to play as a little girl and I can see and grow with them every year AND experience that with people from all around the world that I get to know and love and consider wonderful friends. I play MMO's because I think I'm one of the luckiest people out there to be born into a time that has this type of play and social communication and be lucky enough in life to have the oppurtunity to take advantage of it.
There are many contributing factors to why I (and possibly others assuming Im not the only one in the world who feels this way) play MMOs. Before I get into anything though, I would like to state that I play all games, not just MMOs. From third-person action/adventure games, to first person shooters and all the way around to racing, simulation and everything else you can possibly imagine. MMOs however, are completely different from their consol counterparts.
For starters, most MMOs (unless you want to get into the debate that games like Counterstrike are MMOs, but for the most part MMO is just short for MMORPG, since we are too lazy to write an extra three letters) have a greater sense of immersion when interacting with others. Every game has a level of immersion; whether its from the player getting into the shoes of Dante from Devil may Cry, or an un-named pilot in one of the countless flight simulation games out there, every gamer always like to "feel" that theyre really in the action happening on the screen.
Fans of RPGs, be it old school D&D or fans of the more current fans of hack and slash RPGs will tell you that they shine among all other games in terms of immersion. This is due to many different qualities.
One of the largest ones would have to be the simple feature of character creation. Suddenly youre no longer Mario or Link; youre whoever you want to be. You look the way you want, can have any back-story or history of your character that your heart desires, and the professions available in most RPGs, while may seem limiting on the outside, provide a basis on which you can imagine your character. Lets say you made the coolest looking character you could ever imagine, but thats it, all you have is the looks. RPGs provide a way for one to shape a character of their own without writing an entire novel. Your character soon becomes an Assassin, or a Barbarian, or even a Paladin, and in time you gather a story based of actions in game that add even more to "your" character.
The second would be the amount of content most developers put into RPGs in terms of the world and its history. As with before, this also helps one shape their character while still allowing the freedom other games just dont have. They give you ideas and a basis that you can shape and bend to your own will. Events in the games lore come into play with your character based solely upon your own imagination and knowledge of the game. There is no official word by the games standards about your tale, and usually the only people who know of such things are you and possibly other friends. But word could spread (assuming this game has a role playing community of course) and others then may except your deeds and play along with your little game, imputing their own along the way.
This interaction with other people is the third and final appeal of MMOs to me: a community driven by players. From the stereotypical nerd in his parents basement to the more real avatar of gamers (being just normal people - accept us dammit!), every gamer in MMOs want to be accepted and known by everyone. Its high school all over again. Some may claim to be the rogue, the vagabond that needs no friends, and while this may be true for some, they certainly wouldnt hate to be in the spotlight of the community.
But the politics, the (in game) hatred and rivalries between groups of people (usually called guilds of the MMO is in a Lord of the Rings type of fantasy setting, which most are) shape the very way of playing for others. Its like the idea presented above of a character making his or her own story and destiny, only on a larger scale. Some of my favorite times of gaming were about a year and a half back on Shadowbane during its height when the politics were in full swing. Its funny how conflicts in game can come to mirror those of life sometimes, and nothing shows this more then MMOs.
In conclusion, MMOs are a life away from life. Theyre an escape to the largest degree. Some may call it a weakness in not accepting life for what it is and some may call it a waste of time. But I call it a hobby, and it is one of the most fulfilling ones someone could do in their spare time.
I play MMORPGs because standard offline single player RPGs are too linear, the worlds aren't as massive as a MMORPG, they lack character customization, they have less classes & races and best of all they have great UI.
Honestly, if WoW was offline, I would be enjoying it just as much as if it were online.
Playing with a community is good and all, but half the time I want to be alone, and I hate it when I have to tell a guildie: "Not today, I just wanna solo a few quests then log" then they become all bitchy for the next few days cause they think I wanna always avoid them or something.
Very simply, I play MMO's to escape the pressure of the workday. Whether the theme is scifi or fantasy, the escape is the same. To me, it is a lot better than TV and it is a lot cheaper than the movies.
Someone earlier posted that they play MMO's because single player games have died for them. I would have to agree. I've been playing single player video games for over 15 years. I've been playing RPG video games for better than 10 years. Once you get to a certain point, even the innovation of the Final Fantasies begins to expire. Don't get me wrong, Squenix has put out some amazing titles. Their stories are, in my opinion, better than most of what Hollywood puts out. However, it's the time between the story elements that never changes. Whether you're killing mages in the Tower of Gogo in Final Fantasy 3 or fighting dingos on Besaid Island in Final Fantasy X, you still have to spend a considerable amount of time in one place, redundantly fighting enemies for the sake of gaining levels. Now, anyone will tell you that this is just as true in MMORPG's, if not more so. However, the difference is in the social aspect. In one player RPG's you're sitting in a room by yourself while you do this, whittling away the hours of the day in an effort to be able to attain a level that will allow you to see the next cut scene, or reach the next plot twist that makes the time spent seem worthwhile. However, what I learned 3 years ago when I started playing MMORPG's is that you're no longer doing this alone. If you're a social person, or if you come into the game with friends that you've made in previous games, there is almost always someone else to talk to. This makes the time much more enjoyable, and, in my own unprofessional opinion, is much less likely to lead to psychological problems.
Now, the escapism of MMORPG's does have its downside. There is a certain breed of player who, for better or worse (obviously worse in my opinion) sees the lack of reality as a chance to leave social constructions behind. They act in extremely anti-social ways, exhibiting behaviors that would lead to jailtime in the real world. These people often go unpunished due to the ways in which MMORPG's are administered, and many of them come to forums and the like and brag about the things they've done to hurt others. However, while this may be frustrtating in the game environment, it does allow for this sort of escapism, and, hopefully, prevents these people from exhibiting this sort of anti-social behavior in the real world.
I guess, though, the best answer to your question for just about all of us is that we play because we enjoy it.
I'd have to agree about single player games. Its not that they've lost their appeal to me so much as it seems developers arent really trying to make them good anymore. Most single player games of any one genre today are in too many ways identicle. Maybe the effort just isnt there, or maybe they've just run out of fresh ideas.
The Final Fantasy series used to be my favorite line of RPG's, but to me the fun peaked at 6, 7 was not as good, but still enjoyable, and then it all went to crap. Somewhere around the time when Sqaresoft was eaten by SquareEnix (There was no merger, it's all a lie! SquareEnix devoured my beloved Squaresoft!) they started to decline. The games became very linear, and more like interactive movies where you're watching the story rather than playing it out. That's where a good part of the appeal for me comes from in MMORPG's. Although FFXI did a decent job of recreating that old school Final Fantasy feel.
Pretty everyone here says the same thing... to have fun and escape.
But the question would be "Why is it so much fun and why does it relax you?"
1. Because it's fun to run around a slay ORCS, it blows some steam off.
2. It's even more fun to team-up with a group of people that are from all around the world, and even more fun when you keep grouping with the same people and a real friendship starts.
3. It stimulates the creative flow (for me)
4. It provides that rush of exploring new areas and meeting new people, finding that awesome treasure, seeing that cute barbarian wench with the short loincloth........
First of all, I want to thank all the people who spent a few moments (and, in some cases, obviously more than a few moments) to help me out here. Our magazine has one issue a year that is completely devoted to MMOs, and this year, were trying to focus on the genre mostly as it relates to players' experiences rather than to do just another roundup of "what's out there."
There are countless studies (check out www.nickyee.com, if you havent already) about this topic (the pychology and sociology of MMOs). Ianubisi alluded earlier to Richard Bartles Quotient. In Chapter 3 of his book Designing Virtual Worlds, he describes a system he devised to classify players of MMOs based on what they consider to be fun. So yes, its certainly not a new question, but fresh points of view are always valuable. And thanks again for taking the time.
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Since it behooves me to keep your initial phrasing, when some kid gets it into their head should be when some kid gets it into his or her head. MMOs is not a plural. It indicates that the MMO possesses something, as in, an MMOs storyline or an MMOs development team. The widely-accepted plural is "MMOs." I mean, its not like it is a big secreat or anything :P
WOMBATICA
P.S. I lurk here a lot... truly like this community
******************************************
If its impossible to kill them all, I usually run away
Comments
I play MMO's because when I was Six years old 2 of my older brothers sat me down one Saturday afternoon and forced me to watch the StarWars Trilogy, TWICE OVER, from which point on, I was hooked. I would think to myself, in a childlike manner: "God, how great would it be to live in a world like StarWars, imagine the things that would happen..." Well when SWG came out, I finally got the chance.
I play MMO's because at the age of 12 my mother bought me 4 books from the Tolkien series and said that I could read them if I wanted, which I did over a period of time that year. I fell in love, I fell in love with the characters, the world, the different kinds of races, the lore and the adventure. Again, I thought to myslef: "Wow, what an amazing world, how great would it be to live in that type of world." Well, if I play one of the great fantasy MMO's out there now, I can really be appart of that world in an active way.
I play MMO's because, how COOL is it that I live in a time where I can see an entire genre happening right in front of me, a genre that came from the games I used to play as a little girl and I can see and grow with them every year AND experience that with people from all around the world that I get to know and love and consider wonderful friends.
I play MMO's because I think I'm one of the luckiest people out there to be born into a time that has this type of play and social communication and be lucky enough in life to have the oppurtunity to take advantage of it.
Important Information regarding Posting and You
There are many contributing factors to why I (and possibly others assuming Im not the only one in the world who feels this way) play MMOs. Before I get into anything though, I would like to state that I play all games, not just MMOs. From third-person action/adventure games, to first person shooters and all the way around to racing, simulation and everything else you can possibly imagine. MMOs however, are completely different from their consol counterparts.
For starters, most MMOs (unless you want to get into the debate that games like Counterstrike are MMOs, but for the most part MMO is just short for MMORPG, since we are too lazy to write an extra three letters) have a greater sense of immersion when interacting with others. Every game has a level of immersion; whether its from the player getting into the shoes of Dante from Devil may Cry, or an un-named pilot in one of the countless flight simulation games out there, every gamer always like to "feel" that theyre really in the action happening on the screen.
Fans of RPGs, be it old school D&D or fans of the more current fans of hack and slash RPGs will tell you that they shine among all other games in terms of immersion. This is due to many different qualities.
One of the largest ones would have to be the simple feature of character creation. Suddenly youre no longer Mario or Link; youre whoever you want to be. You look the way you want, can have any back-story or history of your character that your heart desires, and the professions available in most RPGs, while may seem limiting on the outside, provide a basis on which you can imagine your character. Lets say you made the coolest looking character you could ever imagine, but thats it, all you have is the looks. RPGs provide a way for one to shape a character of their own without writing an entire novel. Your character soon becomes an Assassin, or a Barbarian, or even a Paladin, and in time you gather a story based of actions in game that add even more to "your" character.
The second would be the amount of content most developers put into RPGs in terms of the world and its history. As with before, this also helps one shape their character while still allowing the freedom other games just dont have. They give you ideas and a basis that you can shape and bend to your own will. Events in the games lore come into play with your character based solely upon your own imagination and knowledge of the game. There is no official word by the games standards about your tale, and usually the only people who know of such things are you and possibly other friends. But word could spread (assuming this game has a role playing community of course) and others then may except your deeds and play along with your little game, imputing their own along the way.
This interaction with other people is the third and final appeal of MMOs to me: a community driven by players. From the stereotypical nerd in his parents basement to the more real avatar of gamers (being just normal people - accept us dammit!), every gamer in MMOs want to be accepted and known by everyone. Its high school all over again. Some may claim to be the rogue, the vagabond that needs no friends, and while this may be true for some, they certainly wouldnt hate to be in the spotlight of the community.
But the politics, the (in game) hatred and rivalries between groups of people (usually called guilds of the MMO is in a Lord of the Rings type of fantasy setting, which most are) shape the very way of playing for others. Its like the idea presented above of a character making his or her own story and destiny, only on a larger scale. Some of my favorite times of gaming were about a year and a half back on Shadowbane during its height when the politics were in full swing. Its funny how conflicts in game can come to mirror those of life sometimes, and nothing shows this more then MMOs.
In conclusion, MMOs are a life away from life. Theyre an escape to the largest degree. Some may call it a weakness in not accepting life for what it is and some may call it a waste of time. But I call it a hobby, and it is one of the most fulfilling ones someone could do in their spare time.
I play MMORPGs because standard offline single player RPGs are too linear, the worlds aren't as massive as a MMORPG, they lack character customization, they have less classes & races and best of all they have great UI.
Honestly, if WoW was offline, I would be enjoying it just as much as if it were online.
Playing with a community is good and all, but half the time I want to be alone, and I hate it when I have to tell a guildie: "Not today, I just wanna solo a few quests then log" then they become all bitchy for the next few days cause they think I wanna always avoid them or something.
___________ ___ __ _ _ _
Stealth - Ambush - Hemorrhage - Sinister Strike x2 - Cold Blood - Eviscerate - Vanish - Preparation - Cold Blood - Ambush - ... you're dead! :P
Very simply, I play MMO's to escape the pressure of the workday. Whether the theme is scifi or fantasy, the escape is the same. To me, it is a lot better than TV and it is a lot cheaper than the movies.
Someone earlier posted that they play MMO's because single player games have died for them. I would have to agree. I've been playing single player video games for over 15 years. I've been playing RPG video games for better than 10 years. Once you get to a certain point, even the innovation of the Final Fantasies begins to expire. Don't get me wrong, Squenix has put out some amazing titles. Their stories are, in my opinion, better than most of what Hollywood puts out. However, it's the time between the story elements that never changes. Whether you're killing mages in the Tower of Gogo in Final Fantasy 3 or fighting dingos on Besaid Island in Final Fantasy X, you still have to spend a considerable amount of time in one place, redundantly fighting enemies for the sake of gaining levels. Now, anyone will tell you that this is just as true in MMORPG's, if not more so. However, the difference is in the social aspect. In one player RPG's you're sitting in a room by yourself while you do this, whittling away the hours of the day in an effort to be able to attain a level that will allow you to see the next cut scene, or reach the next plot twist that makes the time spent seem worthwhile. However, what I learned 3 years ago when I started playing MMORPG's is that you're no longer doing this alone. If you're a social person, or if you come into the game with friends that you've made in previous games, there is almost always someone else to talk to. This makes the time much more enjoyable, and, in my own unprofessional opinion, is much less likely to lead to psychological problems.
Now, the escapism of MMORPG's does have its downside. There is a certain breed of player who, for better or worse (obviously worse in my opinion) sees the lack of reality as a chance to leave social constructions behind. They act in extremely anti-social ways, exhibiting behaviors that would lead to jailtime in the real world. These people often go unpunished due to the ways in which MMORPG's are administered, and many of them come to forums and the like and brag about the things they've done to hurt others. However, while this may be frustrtating in the game environment, it does allow for this sort of escapism, and, hopefully, prevents these people from exhibiting this sort of anti-social behavior in the real world.
I guess, though, the best answer to your question for just about all of us is that we play because we enjoy it.
Escapism - plain and simple.
Deep down in my heart I am a halfling thief wielding twin short swords. Why in hell did the fate bring me to this bleek concrete filled world?
"Before this battle is over all the world will know that few...stood against many." - King Leonidas
I'd have to agree about single player games. Its not that they've lost
their appeal to me so much as it seems developers arent really trying
to make them good anymore. Most single player games of any one genre
today are in too many ways identicle. Maybe the effort just isnt
there, or maybe they've just run out of fresh ideas.
The Final Fantasy series used to be my favorite line of RPG's, but to
me the fun peaked at 6, 7 was not as good, but still enjoyable, and
then it all went to crap. Somewhere around the time when Sqaresoft was
eaten by SquareEnix (There was no merger, it's all a lie! SquareEnix
devoured my beloved Squaresoft!) they started to decline. The games
became very linear, and more like interactive movies where you're
watching the story rather than playing it out. That's where a good
part of the appeal for me comes from in MMORPG's. Although FFXI did a
decent job of recreating that old school Final Fantasy feel.
Pretty everyone here says the same thing... to have fun and escape.
But the question would be "Why is it so much fun and why does it relax you?"
1. Because it's fun to run around a slay ORCS, it blows some steam off.
2. It's even more fun to team-up with a group of people that are from all around the world, and even more fun when you keep grouping with the same people and a real friendship starts.
3. It stimulates the creative flow (for me)
4. It provides that rush of exploring new areas and meeting new people, finding that awesome treasure, seeing that cute barbarian wench with the short loincloth........
Witty saying to amuse you goes here.
First of all, I want to thank all the people who spent a few moments (and, in some cases, obviously more than a few moments) to help me out here. Our magazine has one issue a year that is completely devoted to MMOs, and this year, were trying to focus on the genre mostly as it relates to players' experiences rather than to do just another roundup of "what's out there."
There are countless studies (check out www.nickyee.com, if you havent already) about this topic (the pychology and sociology of MMOs). Ianubisi alluded earlier to Richard Bartles Quotient. In Chapter 3 of his book Designing Virtual Worlds, he describes a system he devised to classify players of MMOs based on what they consider to be fun. So yes, its certainly not a new question, but fresh points of view are always valuable. And thanks again for taking the time.
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Finally, Elnator, Elnator, Elnator
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Sorry if I'm sick of answering this question every one or two weeks when some kid gets it into their head to write a paper about people who play MMO's
It's not like it is a big secreat or hard to figure out.
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Since it behooves me to keep your initial phrasing, when some kid gets it into their head should be when some kid gets it into his or her head. MMOs is not a plural. It indicates that the MMO possesses something, as in, an MMOs storyline or an MMOs development team. The widely-accepted plural is "MMOs." I mean, its not like it is a big secreat or anything :P
WOMBATICA
P.S. I lurk here a lot... truly like this community
******************************************
If its impossible to kill them all, I usually run away
******************************************