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Whatever happened to having conversations in towns in MMOs?
GmrLeon
Member Posts: 118
I've become curious as to why this is? Like in Guild Wars,I go into Piken Square and the first thing that pops up in the chat box is "Weapon name/item name/armor name for sell". Whatever happened to just sitting down and talking in a town? I mean they'd get tired of saying "item name for sell" in reality and yet if all they have to do is type it all they want to do is keep typing that.
Last time I checked I went to towns in MMORPGs to converse about a successful battle,a brutal fight with monsters,or just some other stuff. Whatever happened to that kind of conversation in an MMO?
"The one who begins with nothing, gains everything slowly."
Comments
I understand what your talking about, it seems people care more about making their character better and not have a good conversation. I have a lot of friends ingame from just talking about a fight,or an experience of some sort and i still am a strong player and have alot of fun, And i usually never buy from other players i like to go out and find my own wepons and earn them.
Yea,I've made a few friends by partying in Guild Wars. Me and this one dude finished my quest and then just went on to explore while having a conversation.
One of the funniest conversations I've triggered in Guild Wars would have to be where I was using the airguitar emote and saying "Playing air guitar for cash" and then a bunch of other people started to come around me and play different instruments causing a virtual band and we just started talking about random stuff,XD
"The one who begins with nothing, gains everything slowly."
If you wanna talk in town, check out Community driven mmo;s, like Ragnarok Online, the Sims Online, Second Life, and A Tale in the Desert. These games were specifically designed to be social unlike alot of popular games today. I hope no one ruins this list by suggesting something stupid is good for chatting, like Planetside.
But those games suck and some people do just want to talk after a long trek of slaughtering monsters to get to a town.
"The one who begins with nothing, gains everything slowly."
They were done a few years ago so they are obviously not the same calibur as other games, but there are a few in development that also concentrate on the community that have a pretty good combat system and nice graphics.
I'd look for a good persistent world using Neverwinter Nights (I or II). Aside from that, look for roleplaying servers of MMOG. At least for those two there is a better chance of socialness.
You really need to look at the player community. A good thing about Horizons is there are player driven social times - dragon bonding ceremony, poem readings, and other opportunities when the grind becomes boring.
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You see, every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with their surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You spread to an area, and you multiply, and you multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet.-Mr.Smith
Because games are very focused on lvling and item grinding. Everyone is either looking for a group or trying to get parts to finish a quest/item. Games are no longer open ended because people call that no content.
Whatever happened to having conversations in towns in MMOs?
All started when the CS PvP kids grew up and started playing these games, turning them from RPG's into who can kill the most people the quickiest. Just look at WoW Battlegrounds, that's just CS except with swords.
the only game I remember where that really happend was Ragnarok Online..a shame what Gravity is doing to RO2
Its a MMORPG, Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, god forbid somebody actually roleplays a character that does something other than kill monsters over and over, and scream about how they're selling some sword repeatedly....
Try Ryzom, its very very common that people will actually have RP convos in the towns, and outside the towns too
If thats what your looking for there is a 7 day free trial. Great game too
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Kibs
Avatar by Ema
Playing: The Saga of Ryzom since march 2004
I remember playing FFXI a year or so back, not a bad game.. but one glaring problem.
You got yelled at for starting a conversation in Jeuno.
Now with 57.3% more flames!
There are no good community games like UO anymore. You just go to a city, do the quests and move on in the newer MMO's. No community. No need for trustworthy friends.
I blame it on the lack of need for friends in newer games. Look at WoW. Why choose a party wisely? You don't lose anything if you die.
Your mind is like a parachute, it's only useful when it's open.
Don't forget, you can use the block function on trolls.
Because these days people generally talk in /guild
Yeah I've noticed that too. People are too worried about having the best weapons/armours and they're not about the experience.
The game I found that actually was fun to just talk was Everquest. Though I didn't play myself, I watched my sister play and it seemed like the whole community was all about that. (She might have been in a roleplaying server though).
well i for one wish more ppl who just wish to chat in town and cause major lag would take it to a spot somewhere else. i agree i like to go slow and enjoy a game and i dont need to have the best of everything in the game, but those that just stand around at the banks or major spots in a town cause nothing but lag for those that wish to play the game. please move to a more reasonable spot to chat with friends
Wrong RPG to be in, Guild Wars and instanced RPGs never have town conversations. That atmosphere is pretty limited to persistant world MMORPGs and generally those that have crafting or non-combat professions.
That is a very good question. I think that the reason why people do not attempt to have conversations in MMORPG's is because they are trying to progress in their game by earning money or leveling up in their experience, or just PK. In fact, I find it kind of odd when people try to make conversations, as though they may be a stalker
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In America I have bad teeth. If I lived in England my teeth would be perfect.
Other mmorpgs have specific chats. For example in Anarchy Online, you would never see in chat a weapon for sale. There are specific chat channels ONLY for selling items. Same in SWG. Classic SWG had such good revolutionary features that were soo good, it was rare to ever see a player announcing items for sale - many venders had their own stores. Some even sub-leased their stores to smaller player venders.
On to the main subject of your thread. IMHO there are two major reasons for the problem you are bringing attention to:
1. In mmorpgs that are 2 years or older, that have 1 expansion or more, they never ever never "re-use" their original world. EQ for example keeps expanding its gameworld. Never ever introducing new content that re-uses the towns in the "old" world. Result? The huge cities present when it originally released are all empty, or near empty. Same in AO. When they introduced the Shadowlands expansion, it doubled the size of the gameworld, but there was no need for players to crowd around in the "oldworld" cities. They became far more desolate.
The solution would be for older mmorpgs to re-use their "oldworlds", "oldcities". Like adding new dungeons, dungeon entrances, underneath, and inside the original cities. Adding new HIGH LEVEL, midlevel, quests that take place, or partially take place, in the original cities. Heck, add a few new buildings in the original cities. Another BIG idea, make it so players can get apartments, stores, shops, of their OWN in the original cities. In classci SWG, players lamented over how there were some NICE looking skyscrapers in lots of the NPC cities. But players could not get apartments inside them. There was no reason for players of all levels, to hang around them.
2. There is a sad social, societial, thing going on. I will give an example first. Many years ago someone in a newspaper, or magazine, brought up the point of how newer, younger, sci-fi fans, geeks, nerds, do not know how to act. Some one countered that ALL new generation, young, kids in any genre do not "know how to act" AND in addition, they learn from the older generation of "elders" in whatever genre - comic book fans, gamer fans, music fans, goth fans, heavy metal fans, computer programmer fans, car fans, clothing fans, shoe fans, etc... etc....
In the world of mmorpgs, there has suddently be a HUGE influx of ultra new players to mmorpgs. Starting with SWG, then even moreso with WoW. Players who never played a mmorpg ever before, many never a computer game before. So far so good. The problem is where are all the VET mmorpg players? To teach them the social ropes, to keep it being a "home"? SWG is no longer Classic SWG - Smeadly and LucasArts have decimated the Vet community. 90% of all the vet fansites are all gone.
Far too many NEW mmorpgs are dumbing theirselves down. Aiming for the short term player. The result? It turns off vet players. There is a never ending turnover of virgin mmorpg players. They have no experience in role playing. No idea what it is, is about, what the positives of it are. No idea of the social positives of mmorpgs..... such as you mention - simply talking to others. Really understanding that behind EVERY single character is a REAL, live person, from some OTHER part of this world! Here's a CHANCE to talk to someone, a chance ONLY MADE POSSIBLE through the power of mmorpgs.
The solution? I will say it, even though it will never take place... anytime soon. MMORPGs need to be like Classic UO, Classic EQ, Classic SWG, like CURRENT EvE, and aim for the longterm. Cater first to the primary longterm vet playerbase. The ones who have been there years before release, at release, and stay with the mmorpg years after release. How to keep them? It is sooo simple! Communicate with them! In old classic RS the game DEVs would actually go insite the game and play with the vet players. In the days of classic SWG the game DEVs would play vs the vet players in other games. As well as consistantly talking to vet players on the forums. One favorite example that comes to mind is when on the old SWG forums the game DEVs asked players their opinions and suggestions on some topic. The players would resopnd and post. THEN the game DEVs would litterally quote every single post, and go through them, responding why they would/would not use the stated suggestion.
Further example, in AO the game DEVs have the vet players volunteer for a program called "Advisors of Rubi-Ka". Because they understand in the LONGRUN it is the vet players who keep the virgin mmorpg players playing LONGER. It is the vet players who build up the community, who make it a "home". Who "show the new players how to act". Which includes just chilling in town and talking.
Last, GW is known for overdoing instancing, putting more into instancing than into the permenate gameworld that every single player is in. Players are less likely to run into each other in other parts of the gameworld. (Example, in EQ while waiting for the ship to come into port.)
Old SWG did it right with the need to go to town and rest while watching entertainment and healing up. It was enough socialization to immerse you in the world but not so much you felt like it was detracting from other parts of the game.
what Kibs said. I spend massive chunks of my online time bumming around chatting to people
think that's why Ryzom is still a niche game - there is a big social element but sadly a lot of people just wanna kill stuff or grind away so dont give it a second look 