What game is OSRS please? The mmorpg acronyms I know but not that one. Point click game you say.
Old School RuneScape. Lots of different activities, athough some require lots of level grinding. However, in my opinion, the questing system is undoubtedly one of the best in any MMORPG; no kill 10 rats here, extremely well written and creative quests with great puzzles.
I'm playing as a point & click MMO (focusing on questing) while doing some grinding by the side. Check the free version https://oldschool.runescape.com/
Hi Joseph, your article really struck a chord with me, I loved it.
I've always been drawn to MMORPGs for two main reasons: competition and escapism/comfort. My journey began with Guild Wars 1, where I found the perfect balance between competitive play—being part of a top 30 guild in GvG—and immersing myself in the rich lore while farming rare items in FoW and UW.
After that, I explored other worlds such as LOTRO, ESO, GW2, BDO, SWTOR, and more. However, it was FFXIV that truly captivated me again, especially during the difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic that were accompanied by some personal health issues.
Eight months ago, I made the though decision to cancel my FFXIV subscription to focus on a solo professional adventure—creating my first indie game. It's been incredibly rewarding, but I felt drawn back to MMOs. Last week, I tried FFXIV again, but it didn't feel the same.
While I've been enjoying OSRS as a long-term side game, it's more of a casual experience that I'm currently playing as a persistent point & click aventure. I'm yearning for the full MMORPG immersion once again. Games like ESO and SWTOR offer fantastic world-building and storytelling, but I find their PvE experiences lacking in challenge.
Perhaps it's time to revisit GW2 and see if it can reignite that sense of adventure and excitement. Here's to finding the next great gaming adventure!
SWTOR class stories fit that for sure. LOTRO leveling as well. GW2 base game leveling is also immersive and a comfort game.
The problem with SWTOR stories is that they end. And after a while, you just know them. And if you are like me, you even record them. So...
...a comfort game for me mustn't end. Not truly at any rate. And must be fun in moment - moment.
I just return to it from time to time rather than continue playing it.
The one I keep playing a lot of is WOW Hardcore leveling. But I wouldn't describe that as a comfort game.
The closest to a comfort MMO I've had was Marvel Heroes Online. It was easy and chill to log in, run Midtown and get some loot on a ton of different characters.
For myself, it's city of heroes, and Diablo 3. I've tried to get myself back into the original diablos and I just can't do it. The ease of multiplayer aspect of Diablo 3. Just won me over from the start and I've always been kind of a fan hack and slash loot happy games. The story is really good too. Not a big fan of PVP but everyone has their preference.
As for City of heroes, I enjoy the creative aspect of it. So much more than the technical aspect of the game. When I log in on the server that I play on, it blows my mind the variety of characters that people create. I've seen players that play demigod characters and beast men and walking talking psychics. It's pretty neat. Not only that, players create their own bases and some of them are really amazing to see. For a classic game 20 years old, this one still has a whole lot of Life left to it and the fact that the community managed to actually rescue it from dormancy still blows my mind. But with City of heroes, you can create your own little tranquil Zen zone in these bases. And equip it any way you like. Personally, I have a little tea house that's in the works and it's quite calming to me.
For myself, it's city of heroes, and Diablo 3. I've tried to get myself back into the original diablos and I just can't do it. The ease of multiplayer aspect of Diablo 3. Just won me over from the start and I've always been kind of a fan hack and slash loot happy games. The story is really good too. Not a big fan of PVP but everyone has their preference.
As for City of heroes, I enjoy the creative aspect of it. So much more than the technical aspect of the game. When I log in on the server that I play on, it blows my mind the variety of characters that people create. I've seen players that play demigod characters and beast men and walking talking psychics. It's pretty neat. Not only that, players create their own bases and some of them are really amazing to see. For a classic game 20 years old, this one still has a whole lot of Life left to it and the fact that the community managed to actually rescue it from dormancy still blows my mind. But with City of heroes, you can create your own little tranquil Zen zone in these bases. And equip it any way you like. Personally, I have a little tea house that's in the works and it's quite calming to me.
Story is actually hot garbage in D3 if you know anything about Diablo lore(the best part is Azmodan). They kinda tried to make up for the /wrist of the base game in RoS, but it's all built on false legs in the middle of the swamp.
For myself, it's city of heroes, and Diablo 3. I've tried to get myself back into the original diablos and I just can't do it. The ease of multiplayer aspect of Diablo 3. Just won me over from the start and I've always been kind of a fan hack and slash loot happy games. The story is really good too. Not a big fan of PVP but everyone has their preference.
As for City of heroes, I enjoy the creative aspect of it. So much more than the technical aspect of the game. When I log in on the server that I play on, it blows my mind the variety of characters that people create. I've seen players that play demigod characters and beast men and walking talking psychics. It's pretty neat. Not only that, players create their own bases and some of them are really amazing to see. For a classic game 20 years old, this one still has a whole lot of Life left to it and the fact that the community managed to actually rescue it from dormancy still blows my mind. But with City of heroes, you can create your own little tranquil Zen zone in these bases. And equip it any way you like. Personally, I have a little tea house that's in the works and it's quite calming to me.
Story is actually hot garbage in D3 if you know anything about Diablo lore(the best part is Azmodan). They kinda tried to make up for the /wrist of the base game in RoS, but it's all built on false legs in the middle of the swamp.
Who the fuck cares? Diablo has *always* had a subpar story, and unlike the others, Diablo 3 is actually fun. Diablo 4 is concentrated mediocrity, and Diablo 2 is about as fun as a DIY waterboarding playset.
For myself, it's city of heroes, and Diablo 3. I've tried to get myself back into the original diablos and I just can't do it. The ease of multiplayer aspect of Diablo 3. Just won me over from the start and I've always been kind of a fan hack and slash loot happy games. The story is really good too. Not a big fan of PVP but everyone has their preference.
As for City of heroes, I enjoy the creative aspect of it. So much more than the technical aspect of the game. When I log in on the server that I play on, it blows my mind the variety of characters that people create. I've seen players that play demigod characters and beast men and walking talking psychics. It's pretty neat. Not only that, players create their own bases and some of them are really amazing to see. For a classic game 20 years old, this one still has a whole lot of Life left to it and the fact that the community managed to actually rescue it from dormancy still blows my mind. But with City of heroes, you can create your own little tranquil Zen zone in these bases. And equip it any way you like. Personally, I have a little tea house that's in the works and it's quite calming to me.
Story is actually hot garbage in D3 if you know anything about Diablo lore(the best part is Azmodan). They kinda tried to make up for the /wrist of the base game in RoS, but it's all built on false legs in the middle of the swamp.
Who the fuck cares? Diablo has *always* had a subpar story, and unlike the others, Diablo 3 is actually fun. Diablo 4 is concentrated mediocrity, and Diablo 2 is about as fun as a DIY waterboarding playset.
I am going to agree with your judgments about both D4 and D3, but saying that about D2 is ... spicy. Especially nowadays when you have Median, Project D2 etc. But it's your right to dislike it. I am just interested why is it "about as fun as DIY waterboarding playset". Why?
For myself, it's city of heroes, and Diablo 3. I've tried to get myself back into the original diablos and I just can't do it. The ease of multiplayer aspect of Diablo 3. Just won me over from the start and I've always been kind of a fan hack and slash loot happy games. The story is really good too. Not a big fan of PVP but everyone has their preference.
As for City of heroes, I enjoy the creative aspect of it. So much more than the technical aspect of the game. When I log in on the server that I play on, it blows my mind the variety of characters that people create. I've seen players that play demigod characters and beast men and walking talking psychics. It's pretty neat. Not only that, players create their own bases and some of them are really amazing to see. For a classic game 20 years old, this one still has a whole lot of Life left to it and the fact that the community managed to actually rescue it from dormancy still blows my mind. But with City of heroes, you can create your own little tranquil Zen zone in these bases. And equip it any way you like. Personally, I have a little tea house that's in the works and it's quite calming to me.
Story is actually hot garbage in D3 if you know anything about Diablo lore(the best part is Azmodan). They kinda tried to make up for the /wrist of the base game in RoS, but it's all built on false legs in the middle of the swamp.
Who the fuck cares? Diablo has *always* had a subpar story, and unlike the others, Diablo 3 is actually fun. Diablo 4 is concentrated mediocrity, and Diablo 2 is about as fun as a DIY waterboarding playset.
I am going to agree with your judgments about both D4 and D3, but saying that about D2 is ... spicy. Especially nowadays when you have Median, Project D2 etc. But it's your right to dislike it. I am just interested why is it "about as fun as DIY waterboarding playset". Why?
Oh, there's a LOT I don't like about D2. Inventory Tetris, the general glacial pace of combat, stamina for running, stingy loot, slow xp gains. Random miss chance that massively favors the AI rather than the player. Permanent stat assignment and ability ranks are both sources of fake depth. I just don't think it's good. At all.
A question about comfort games: Do you ever get bored of them? What do you do if that happens?
That's the thing. For me, new games are rarely "comfort games", as I
understood that analogy to be akin to "comfort foods". I enjoy being
adventurous and trying new foods, but "comfort food" is something very
familiar without any surprises, something that takes me back to some happy, familiar place. I tend to enjoy playing and experiencing
new games, but I wouldn't call any of that "comfort gaming". That's why
the experience that came to my mind was returning to WoW when Classic
released, since there were no real surprises, no rush to get anywhere,
and a ton of nostalgia. In that sense, if I'm bored of comfort then it
just means I need to get out and do something fresh, get challenged and
be adventurous.
I always go back and play Runes of Magic when I'm feeling burnt out on what to play. It was my first MMO I really got into and I loved the community when it first came out. During the time it came out I was going through some rough personal things and the community really got me through those tough times. Thankfully the game is still up, but the player numbers are nowhere near what they were. But there is still a really helpful and friendly community that plays, there's still active guilds to help you with quests and dungeons or whatever else you need so it's nice to hop on and catch up with people.
I haven't played SWTOR forever; I should check it out again since bought the boxed collectors edition at launch, which is somewhere.
I still log into GW2, BDO, ESO but mostly for the dailies. I might do an event from time to time, but don't really invest much time into them anymore. As far as paid MMOs my main would be FFXIV, but only when expansions launch.
I guess if we are using the comfort term for an MMO that I put more time into than others it would have to be STO. Even though the ground combat is kinda shit, and I hated it when I first tried it, I still find their events fun and engaging to jump into and earn rewards daily. It actually has a really active medium sized community, and some nights you can find a group of players hanging out dancing to live DJ on Risa.
Mine is EVE Online, an amazing MMO.When I need something really, really chill, I'll do some mining in EVE, but otherwise, it's a bit too nerve-wracking times to be a "comfort" game for me.
This forum has been getting a lot of "1st time" (or so) posters that are bots. They post one or two times and then suddenly an advert link appears. So "welcome to the forums!"
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
I see games as a fun hobby, and I only play games that I find fun. MMORPG's used to be my favorite genre and my go to. However, I haven't adapted with the bulk of the MMORPG community.
You see, I began MMORPG's with DAOC in 2021 and because of this site, I found out about many other MMORPG's and in 2003 I started playing SWG, then CoH, and so on. I didn't adapt to a solo quest game like WoW until WoTLK released and I only gave it a shot because I was a WC3 fan. Anyways, what I found fun about this genre was the cooperative play. I primarily enjoyed leveling up in group play and experiencing that beautiful synergy when several classes group together to shore up each other's weaknesses and be a cohesive unit.
I never adapted to the rush mentality, the min/max culture, the watch videos and read guides for everything before you play, Discord, virtual item collections, RMT, and the many other things people care about in games over the last decade.
I'm a parent of two, a husband, and I have a career. So, when developers create games with the sole intent of milking you for money through any means necessary to include game features and mechanics to extend your playtime arbitrarily, I immediately lose interest.
I don't have time to waste like I perceived I did when I was in my 20's when the genre first got started. I value my time and refuse to waste it doing time wasting activities in a video game. So, I haven't played a MMORPG in a while and have been working through single player games I've added slowly over the years to my Steam library, but never played.
I hope that one day a MMORPG will be made that's worth my time, but seeing how the community has become and where game companies' priorities are, I doubt that'll ever come to pass. The community seems to be comprised of a bunch of addicts that'll buy up anything new, whether the RMT it contains, or the development decisions made are anti-consumer; while game companies focus don't seem to be making games to be fun, but instead to maximize profit.
WoW, the game is chill and colorfull, I always feel relaxed when I play it....LotRO is another one, more so in the past but I still pop in now and then becuase I love the shire in that game, been getting into Fallout 76 past couple months, really love the exploration in that game, considering I was born and grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains, but the NC part of them
Comments
I'm playing as a point & click MMO (focusing on questing) while doing some grinding by the side. Check the free version https://oldschool.runescape.com/
The one I keep playing a lot of is WOW Hardcore leveling. But I wouldn't describe that as a comfort game.
The closest to a comfort MMO I've had was Marvel Heroes Online. It was easy and chill to log in, run Midtown and get some loot on a ton of different characters.
As for City of heroes, I enjoy the creative aspect of it. So much more than the technical aspect of the game. When I log in on the server that I play on, it blows my mind the variety of characters that people create. I've seen players that play demigod characters and beast men and walking talking psychics. It's pretty neat. Not only that, players create their own bases and some of them are really amazing to see. For a classic game 20 years old, this one still has a whole lot of Life left to it and the fact that the community managed to actually rescue it from dormancy still blows my mind. But with City of heroes, you can create your own little tranquil Zen zone in these bases. And equip it any way you like. Personally, I have a little tea house that's in the works and it's quite calming to me.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
That's the thing. For me, new games are rarely "comfort games", as I understood that analogy to be akin to "comfort foods". I enjoy being adventurous and trying new foods, but "comfort food" is something very familiar without any surprises, something that takes me back to some happy, familiar place. I tend to enjoy playing and experiencing new games, but I wouldn't call any of that "comfort gaming". That's why the experience that came to my mind was returning to WoW when Classic released, since there were no real surprises, no rush to get anywhere, and a ton of nostalgia. In that sense, if I'm bored of comfort then it just means I need to get out and do something fresh, get challenged and be adventurous.
I still log into GW2, BDO, ESO but mostly for the dailies. I might do an event from time to time, but don't really invest much time into them anymore. As far as paid MMOs my main would be FFXIV, but only when expansions launch.
I guess if we are using the comfort term for an MMO that I put more time into than others it would have to be STO. Even though the ground combat is kinda shit, and I hated it when I first tried it, I still find their events fun and engaging to jump into and earn rewards daily. It actually has a really active medium sized community, and some nights you can find a group of players hanging out dancing to live DJ on Risa.
This forum has been getting a lot of "1st time" (or so) posters that are bots. They post one or two times and then suddenly an advert link appears. So "welcome to the forums!"
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
You see, I began MMORPG's with DAOC in 2021 and because of this site, I found out about many other MMORPG's and in 2003 I started playing SWG, then CoH, and so on. I didn't adapt to a solo quest game like WoW until WoTLK released and I only gave it a shot because I was a WC3 fan. Anyways, what I found fun about this genre was the cooperative play. I primarily enjoyed leveling up in group play and experiencing that beautiful synergy when several classes group together to shore up each other's weaknesses and be a cohesive unit.
I never adapted to the rush mentality, the min/max culture, the watch videos and read guides for everything before you play, Discord, virtual item collections, RMT, and the many other things people care about in games over the last decade.
I'm a parent of two, a husband, and I have a career. So, when developers create games with the sole intent of milking you for money through any means necessary to include game features and mechanics to extend your playtime arbitrarily, I immediately lose interest.
I don't have time to waste like I perceived I did when I was in my 20's when the genre first got started. I value my time and refuse to waste it doing time wasting activities in a video game. So, I haven't played a MMORPG in a while and have been working through single player games I've added slowly over the years to my Steam library, but never played.
I hope that one day a MMORPG will be made that's worth my time, but seeing how the community has become and where game companies' priorities are, I doubt that'll ever come to pass. The community seems to be comprised of a bunch of addicts that'll buy up anything new, whether the RMT it contains, or the development decisions made are anti-consumer; while game companies focus don't seem to be making games to be fun, but instead to maximize profit.
Godz of War I call Thee
My hometown of Final Fantasy XIV
Fishing on Gilgamesh since 2013
Fishing on Bronzebeard since 2005
Fishing in RL since 1992
Born with a fishing rod in my hand in 1979