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I am bored out of my shoes with MMOs :(
Elikal
Member UncommonPosts: 7,912
Some may tell me I am burned out. Who knows, but truth me told: I rather think its the MMOs who are burned out. What we have seen in the last roughly 2 years of MMORPG development is an unparalleld spiral downwards. Every time when I thought the next best MMO cant be that shitty, even with my usualy pessimism I am surprised what new lows the next "big thing" offers.
There were days when game developers and gamers were almost one! When geeks created small garage companies, pearls like Origin or Sir-Tech or whatever they were called, and games were made by gamers for gamers. "We create WORLDS", was the motto of the long deceased company Origin. Today game companies hardly succeed in creating believable cities, let alone worlds. Everyone who recalls single player pearls like Ultima VII and MMO legends of complexity like UO likely weep and cut out their eyes at the trash and mediocrity made today. Yes, its often the case the older ones say that the grand old days were better, but younglings, in this case it may really be the truth.
Where have they gone, the developers who put their SOUL into games? Who dared to make VAST, complex worlds, games which basically were made by one person and the rest just did as his vision was?
No, today we have have bean counters at the allmighty EA, and the development of any game does not start with a dream, a vision, but with a careful calculation of market segmets and target audience and all the heartless trash. We have committees of smartasses, teenagers with university degree in game making! Folks who never yet felt love, hate, passion on a large scale and see games as business and a stock market thing! And guys, the games LOOK that like it. Those game developers are like the proverbial Procrustes Bed, what doesnt fit to the imaginary target group is cut off. Its disheartning to see.
Granted, games rarely have reached that class and style other media have, its a young genre. But when you recall the richness and wonders of the old days and look at the soulless, heartless, all-the-same fare of today, you wonder where all the dreamers and visionaries went to. And MMOs are like the trash-can of gaming. Where once games like UO, EQ and many others of the first era were DARING, demanding, complex and rich with lore and ideas, endless classes and races, places and things to do. Visiting all of Britannia in UO or all of Norrath in EQ was an endeavor of a LIFETIME; even the 2nd era had grandeur still, the complexity of EQ2, the sheer vastness of the freedom of SWG...
Since then I feel as if every new game was less a dream of freedom and complexity and more a narrow road, a theme park where people are led on their noses with a hook from event to event like in Disney World. There is no sense for exploration, for the many fantastic ways to look, to dress, to work and BE. They all look the same, do the same like robots in a programming. Look at that Warhammer trash. Yes TRASH I say! There is no soul, no spirit! All the same looking clones, following all the same exactly guided lines, no turn left or right, no alternatives, no WORLDS no LIVES to live!
Its like much of the TV programm is a mere Circus Maximus, and as once people were easy entertained by "Christians to the Lions", so people are entertained cheap in those MMOs. Where is the wonder, the sense of accomplishment, the many pathways were you could be so many things, see so many things? Instead we have guided "fun", "fun" controlled by systems, which like chains are around our feet.
I am sick and tired of all this mediocre entertainment. I am sick of developers who follow the same, trodden, simplified pathways, all doing the same over and over again. Once when people started a MMO they counted their career in YEARS, now companies must be happy to count them in MONTHS and if people dont leave in droves after a few weeks already. It just doesnt work. Sure, with simplified gameplay and world design you may catch people fast, but they dont feel connected, they dont feel at home. They didnt invest much, effortless everything came to them, and as quick as they came they leave. Its a calculation that in the long run doesnt work.
As the current bank crisis shows: bean counters are not really smarter. Its what they want us believe. But in the world, there are still things even smartassed bean-counters and skew-wise can not calculate, and rational planning, evaluations, calculation are no replacement for soul, for freedom, for FANTASY. Ponder that well, my friends.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert
Comments
Here's to hoping Darkfall brings back the garage companies with passion, soul, and vision to create a world.
Played: Runescape, World of Warcraft, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
I totally agree with that.
It's really hard making a game for everyone, they try not to repeat themselves what happens is gradually the whole industry changes, for better or worse its up to the people to decide which they like.
It's just a cycle of companies trying to get successful leading them to dumb down their idea's, visions, belief of their game to try and make it cater to more people.
By them doing this is lessening the quality of their image for the game which will have an effect on how good the game is.
What I'm trying to say here is that people are affecting the MMO's, companies be it game companies or any other company they will give you what people want they have their idea's and cater it for people.
e.g if the majority of people want the type of gameplay that darkfall's offering I'm sure there would be a lot more darkfall clones out in the future.
I'm totally burnt out. I can never play an mmorpfg for over a week as they're all exactly the same. Lets face it they just look a little differen't.
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Great post Elikal, I 100% agree. Very nicely said.
Tried: LotR, CoH, AoC, WAR, Jumpgate Classic
Played: SWG, Guild Wars, WoW
Playing: Eve Online, Counter-strike
Loved: Star Wars Galaxies
Waiting for: Earthrise, Guild Wars 2, anything sandbox.
As always Elikal right on the spot and nicely written
I have just one word ladies and gentlemen(mostly the latter):
Sticky.
_____________________________
At the turn of the century...
In 2008...
Cracked.com voted Roosevelt as the most badass President of all time.
This is his story....
100% agree. The sad truth is all it would take to make MMOs like that again is to remove instances and scenarios. The two things that take "Massive" out of MMO.
Testify!!! *clap*
Seriously though, I agree. I'm really starting to think that things like Metaplace are the only real hope for some of us. Anything that will give all of the dreamers out there a chance to create some thing. Sure,they won't be a multi-million dollar MMOs, but at least we're likely to see some creative worlds and designs.
Aside from that, I don't know. The one thing that many of us are looking for is a more "worldly" MMO and I don't see much of that on the horizon. Theres some skill based MMOs in development and some new ideas out there...but not much talk about creating "worlds".
Sadly, like everything else, MMO's are now being designed for 'the lowest common denominator'. The same as with warning labels on medicine. My children's cough syrup warns that it causes drowsiness and not to operate vehicles or heavy machinery. Though that was totally an off topic reference, I think you can see what I mean, and the question that needs to be asked is this. Do we really want the lowest common denominator playing our MMO?
In this day and age it's polittically correct to moan about our rights and blah blah, and how we should be allowed to play our way and so on. I say to you, if someone can only play 30 mins a day or even 2-3 hours once a week, should that realistically be the target of an MMO? Hell no. MMO's will always be trash when they try and cater to this type of player.
To jump to a paralell train of thought, I feel this applies in a limited scope to PVP'rs, you wanna kill stuff go play an FPS okay. Massively Multiplayer FPS.... suck, case in point Tabula Rasa. When I first played it is was awesome, totally different to anything i'd played before. By the time I got to lvl30 I was sick of buying ammo, shooting ppl or npc's, loot, rinse, repeat.
Even though this will probably be destroyed by veteran posters, at least I tried haha. My argument was probably incoherent but the basic thrust is until MMO's are designed for gamers and not the 30 min crowd, it's all bad news.
First off, you have "children's" and can afford to spend more than thirty minutes a day to play video games? That's amazing.
Second off, if thirty minutes a day or even 2-3 hours a week isn't acceptable, just how much time (per week and/or day) is? I'd really like to hear your opinion of what is "reasonable".
First off, you have "children's" and can afford to spend more than thirty minutes a day to play video games? That's amazing.
Second off, if thirty minutes a day or even 2-3 hours a week isn't acceptable, just how much time (per week and/or day) is? I'd really like to hear your opinion of what is "reasonable".
If you can only play 30 minutes a day, maybe MMOs aren't the hobby for you. MMOs are a time sink, plain and simple. It takes time to do anything, from traveling to getting groups together. If you don't have time to play, the game shouldn't be bent to fit your life style. Having rewards anyone can get really makes them not rewards at all.
Tried: LotR, CoH, AoC, WAR, Jumpgate Classic
Played: SWG, Guild Wars, WoW
Playing: Eve Online, Counter-strike
Loved: Star Wars Galaxies
Waiting for: Earthrise, Guild Wars 2, anything sandbox.
Well I have two children and can make time to play 2-3 hrs/week, what about it? Gonna bring up my parenting skills without knowing what you're babbling about?
As a company, the goal is to get a playerbase large enough to sustain a profitable title. A company making a game with ONLY the casual 2-3 hr/week game won't be very popular for the hardcore crowd, will it? It has to have a bit of everything for everyone, not just one demographic. I think that's what was meant, or what I understood anyway.
MMOs that cater to the ultra-casual crowd are not a problem...until the whole genre heads in that direction. Thats the situation we're in right now. I mean, I've never really been in the "hardcore" catagory, but I'll be damned if I can get into any of these casual MMOs. Theres just not enough there to keep me interested.
Best post I've read in a long time. Well said, and totally agree.
Over the past year or so, I feel like I've been constantly kicked in sensitive body parts.
Pirates of the Burning Sea...wham! Kicked in the stomach! I double over.
Tabula Rasa...oof! Kicked in the chin. I start hopping up and down on one foot.
Age of Conan...bam! Kicked in the head (in a slow motion fatality move no less). I'm stunned and dazed.
Warhammer Online...oh god! Right in the family jewels. And I'm down for the count.
My body is now wrecked with pain. I'm on the floor and gasping for air.
The problem is...money...the true root of all evils. The developers today simply see the bottom line. Whatever the masses want, the masses get, as long as it brings in inconceivable amounts of money. They will make an MMO about knitting yarn, as long as we being sheep pay $15 per month, and they get millions of subscribers.
I get the feeling they actually develop games by first doing psychological research. They think "what game model can we make that will be the most addictive and release the most endorphines into the brain". I've often thought of the episode called "The Game" for any of the Star Trek TNG fans out there. Game development today very much reminds me of that nice little story.
In the MMO infancy years, it definitely was about "gamers making games". They were fun, adventurous, and we were transported to another world while we played them. Now it's about "investors making games". They are about overwhelming profit, marketing, and pushing sales.
Sad really...
I am a sucker.
I still have three active EQ accounts, but I barely play.
I am not sure if it is burn-out. No. It is not. I want to play MMORPGs. But I need more. Did I get old? I am much younger than my profile says. What happened?
I did not change. Developers did.
And MMORPGs keep "changing" for the worse.
Let's return to our "roots" (world immersion, story, deep questing, complex customization) and "innovate" (new levels of depth, player-empowerment, and world-evolution)
I might be able to design a golden mmo, but I dont have the money to hire a team of developers and artists.
there are probably alot of visionaries out there who could create mmo art, a masterpeice of elegant, cohesive design. but they cannot do so.
Its not as if its impossible for a game to really make you say "WOW!" is it? but it IS impossible isnt it!?
What if those visionaries got together in a garage and began creating a dream? who would provide funding? publishing? marketing? legal? distribution? infrastructure? support?
It just costs too much MONEY, and MONEY, my friend, will drain the soul out of anything.
So all you need is a full blown money-driven company, and THEN you can make your golden MMO, hahaha.. Oh but it comes to me as no surprise that a vision input to a money-driven company, outputs a soulless product, every time.
"Good? Bad? I'm the guy with the gun."
First off, you have "children's" and can afford to spend more than thirty minutes a day to play video games? That's amazing.
Second off, if thirty minutes a day or even 2-3 hours a week isn't acceptable, just how much time (per week and/or day) is? I'd really like to hear your opinion of what is "reasonable".
Originally posted by AbrahmmIf you can only play 30 minutes a day, maybe MMOs aren't the hobby for you. MMOs are a time sink, plain and simple. It takes time to do anything, from traveling to getting groups together. If you don't have time to play, the game shouldn't be bent to fit your life style. Having rewards anyone can get really makes them not rewards at all.
In reply to hanshotfirst I think Abrahmm in his reply there summed up what I was trying to say quite elegantly with regards to what is 'reasonable'
Wholeheartedly agree with the OP, to the point where i really dont have any desire to play any new mmo's anymore, my favourite pasttime has past time.
I hope Funcom and Mythic learn this by the clear emmigration of thier customer base after 1 month of release, but more than that i hope the upcoming mmo's and those mmo's that havent even been considered yet pay close attention to the failings of both these gaming developers and thier clonified 'we want to be WoW' ideology.
Until then i say a fond farewell to mmo's. Shame really.. now what am i going to do with my time and money?
Elkial ,
Same here mate...
And this time i am really giving up. I mean whats left to play ? Go back to WOW ? EVE to ruin your day?
Its either happy puppy pony land mini grind game , or paranoid i am better than you spreadsheet game/job.
For me MMO's are supposed to be VIRTUAL FANTASY WORLD SIMULATIONS
But today they are infact multiplayer mini games (with added grinding)
And this seems like it is going to stay that way...heck even Bioware is making one
In this moment only hope is some indie developer, it is in their hands to save MMO genre....
But until than. I am out of here!
The problem is this:
MMOs used to be populated solely by the geeks and computer nerds, but since WoW has hit the scene, every retard with a computer thinks that they are "leet gamers", it is this "lowest common denominator" who the MMO companies are trying to woo right now so they can rake in the cash like Blizzard. They don't care about creating unique games, or epic stories, they just want as many folks to play as they can lure in.
These companies don't give a damn about the real gamers anymore, we are in the minority, they know they can throw out garbage and the "wow kiddies" will eat it up and ask for more. while the people that actually enjoy complex gameplay and a unique experience are left by the wayside...
Im bored out of my skull with Fantasy MMO's and to be honest just the whole fantasy genre all together. I had Oblivion and The Witcher on my computer but uninstalled them and put Fallout 3 on. Im really digging the post-nuclear setting. I really hope Fallen Earth will be a great game when its done, It seems to be a cool game so far.
I think after im done with Fallout 3 I'll get Mass Effect and play through that again on my computer. I sold all my 360 games cuz it was dead for awhile untill i fixed it myself. I use it as my DvD player now, sure was a damn expensive dvd player I should have got a PS3 back then atleast I'd have a blueray player.lol
But anyways, I guess playing mostly fantasy MMO's for 7 years takes its toll. Fallen Earth will probobly be the next MMO i give a shot at and see what happens. Untill then I might just be playing offline games for awhile.
Its not related to if game is fantasy or sci-fi or whatever setting.
Thats the mistake. Producers think that STORY makes the MMO ... nothing is as wrong as that (just look LOTRO or WH)
Make complex , living , breathing world , and let it be MY LITTLE PONY ONLINE , and I will play it.
Just stop making this games that are more linear than even JRPGs!!!!
lol what happened to you and WAR? I thought you were enjoying the game.....
Playing: EVE Online
Favorite MMOs: WoW, SWG Pre-cu, Lineage 2, UO, EQ, EVE online
Looking forward to: Archeage, Kingdom Under Fire 2
KUF2's Official Website - http://www.kufii.com/ENG/ -
part of the problem is the gamer. I'm not saying its 50/50 by any measure but we all have preconceived notions of what has come before.....take for example the experts in this thread telling people how long they have to play the game. Take for example the comment that MMOs are meant to be time sinks.
Part of the problem is we are desensitized to what has come before. This golden rosetta stone of how to make a wow clone is the problem.
We need to do away with tedius quests, levels and any other worn out mechanic that has been tried over and over. But for every 1 person disheartened with the genre there are 4 new ones taking up their place.....these people DO have preconceived notions of what games are and they have more buying power than us UO vets.
The worst thing to happen to the genre was for it go mainstream even if it was invarialbly going to happen.