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An MMO where everyone is a shapeshifter?
sunandshadow
Member RarePosts: 1,985
So, in one thread we've got discussion about non-human avatars, in another thread we've got discussion about the benefit of flexible classes allowing people to play more complex and interesting roles, and in one of the game subforums I just saw someone asking about a class where they could regularly switch between two roles. So I got to thinking about different classes that can use shapeshifts in various ways - druids, shamans, hunters, and two beastfolk classes in Perfect world, one of which is a tank and the other of which is a pet-user mage. Then there are other games where a human avatar can temporarily meld with a pet to take a hybrid form.
Back when I played WoW my main was a druid, I was always disappointed that there was no way to use animal forms to interact with NPCs, do quests, or get into otherwise inaccessible treasure caves. Of course this was because an MMO can't afford to develop much content that only one class can access. But! What if all avatars could shapeshift, and so all players had access to animal forms for special travel modes, stealth, disguise, puzzles, and other NPC/quest situations? Each major animal form could like a class in terms of having a different combat style, but you wouldn't have to pick one when creating your character. They would level up separately according to whether you spent time playing with them. If you only wanted to play one role you could level that one up fairly quickly. If you got bored of high-level content, you could revisit a low-level area to do the animal-specific quests you didn't do last time because you weren't specializing in that animal form. You would have no pressure to create an alt if, like me, you dislike alts. You wouldn't have to use up guild spaces with those alts, and you wouldn't have to log off to switch to your tank or healer or whatever the guild was short on for the current dungeon. Doesn't this sound like fun?
Back when I played WoW my main was a druid, I was always disappointed that there was no way to use animal forms to interact with NPCs, do quests, or get into otherwise inaccessible treasure caves. Of course this was because an MMO can't afford to develop much content that only one class can access. But! What if all avatars could shapeshift, and so all players had access to animal forms for special travel modes, stealth, disguise, puzzles, and other NPC/quest situations? Each major animal form could like a class in terms of having a different combat style, but you wouldn't have to pick one when creating your character. They would level up separately according to whether you spent time playing with them. If you only wanted to play one role you could level that one up fairly quickly. If you got bored of high-level content, you could revisit a low-level area to do the animal-specific quests you didn't do last time because you weren't specializing in that animal form. You would have no pressure to create an alt if, like me, you dislike alts. You wouldn't have to use up guild spaces with those alts, and you wouldn't have to log off to switch to your tank or healer or whatever the guild was short on for the current dungeon. Doesn't this sound like fun?
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.
Comments
Cryomatrix
You can see my sci-fi/WW2 book recommendations.
The concept without any thought sounds good but in practice would end up being nothing more than one player has ALL skills,all classes,all abilities and on the fly,that really cheapens a game badly.
I want ROLES,sure no problem you can learn over time all roles but should never be on the fly,you should have to go home and equip a new setup/role.
My fave mmorpg of all time already allowed players to learn everything on one player but only use what their current roles allowed.I spent many an hour thinking of a way to make it even better but i couldn't ,imo it was/is the perfect design for a character structure ever made for gaming.
A developer can most certainly make a whack load of content ,it is done via those sub fees,put that monmey and the employees to good use,keep our games evolving with content.
Problem is that devs want it all,they want to grind millions out of gamer's then have the gall to ask for more money for an expansion or DLC or if very lame,a hero.
Back on the roles/classes idea,i want each to have distinct differences,example you want fast travel,well a mage could warp/teleport you around or Airships etc etc.You want to open up quest line but need a certain role,well spend the time to raise a White mage or Redmage ,whatever it takes,players shouldn't be handed everything up front with no effort.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
Perhaps, though, instead of the tired fantasy array of classes like mage, instead we could see what kind of culture would logically evolve in a species of intelligent beings that constantly use animal forms like tools and costumes. Maybe they could have something more interesting instead of mages and airships.
A dev that wants to make something that plays like a mech game where putting on a new skin grants different ways to play and to further customize your "pilot". Is going to have to choose between a genre that has a built in fanatical community (and a bit under served) , and one that doesn't... Probably goes with the one that has the community.
In my opinion the cool part of being a shape shifter in a fantasy game, is being a shape shifter when very few others are.
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It's also worth noting that FFXIV had the ability to change your class in the dungeon. Parties would spend time looking/requiring these multi-class players, and then based on the DPS/HPS/Mitigation/Utility requirements of the next encounter would spend a bunch of time changing out gear/abilities/buffs and having everyone recheck everyone else for some really tedious gameplay... This actually got to the point where newer players who only had 1 or 2 maxed out classes (but completely competent) would end up getting excluded from group content since they couldn't min-max for each encounter, which is especially bad in FFXIV since group content is most of the game.
Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent.
"At one point technology meant making tech that could get to the moon, now it means making tech that could get you a taxi."
I think it rather interest mechanic and have collection value .
Taking a long time to change out gear does sound boring and like something that should be avoided. On the other hand, players who have only maxed one or two classes being in less demand in dungeons sounds kind of normal. Of course no one wants to be unwanted, and I've personally experienced that when I was playing a pet user or any class built for soloing rather than dungeons. But the player who has trouble getting a dungeon spot with one or two maxed classes can at least solve this problem on their own by raising another class, rather than helplessly waiting to see if the devs adjust class balance in the next round of nerfs and buffs.
Human and monster fight with other since the very begin until the godly strong monster being born and wipe out most of human and throw remain human in to dark age where they lost most of they knowledge in the destruction . Then again human venture to the remain of human civilization to regain lost knowledge to survival in world full of monster .
And it about what you mean to be shapeshifter , human to fight again monster use the monster's soul to transform to monster with the monster's ability .
I have no issues with having to interact with npcs in a human form, that's what its for. But finding secret caves, doing stuff you can't as a human, that sort of thing is what a shifter lives for.
More precisely the Transformation: and Become: devices there. It is exactly what you just described, and there are dozens of them. (more than 30 I think and they pretty often adding new ones)
Available to all (as the title, "everyone is a shapeshifter"), replace the character's look, movement, and skills. They even have the progression element you seek, with unlocking more powers on the go. There are only a few beasts though (like the different werewolves), the forms are usually monsters, robots, or just goofy stuff (like the teddy bear or the gingerbread man).
Here, a short video of the vampire from many years ago
https://youtu.be/WjwmAYh_j8c
(a weak video, not presenting the best feature of the vampire, its travel power. You turn into a flock of bats and flying around in that form)
Also you run the risk of just changing the term of "HERO!!!!!!!!!" into "SHAPESHIFTER!!!!!", and having the typical silly melodramatically epic memes that so many other games have.
Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent.
"At one point technology meant making tech that could get to the moon, now it means making tech that could get you a taxi."
Your idea takes away from an essential enjoyment of being a shifter, that there are not many of you that can do it. The only thing that would mitigate that, would be if each "class" had a different form to change into and they did different things; sea cave treasure for seals, mountain rock cave treasure for hawks and so on.
That's exactly the point, we have moved away from definition in class to a zerg class mash up. Shifters don't appear in many MMO's, I assume its the extra work involved in putting them in. So where they do its something special. But as I said if you can significantly differentiate between shifters that's one way to keep their uniqueness.