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Why Realism is so important
geld
Member Posts: 129
When I look for an mmorpg, the number one thing I look at is realism. It is the most important thing for me, and here I hope to explain why.
It is a common misconception that realism = EXACTLY like real life. Thats not what quite what I mean when I talk about realism. Most mmorpgs have created a fantasy (or sci fi) world, even a backstory to go with it, but just using the fantasy based system as an example, we have mythical creatures, magical spells, magical weapons/armour etc. These things are part of that world, they ARE realistic within that context, so when I look for realism I am not excluding these things.
The things that are unrealistic are:
- You cannot use this weapon/item until you reach a certain level.
- You cannot use this weapon/item because you are not the right class.
- NPCs that stand in one spot forever.
- Instant chat across the world without any attempt to explain how.
- Names above heads.
- Monsters that drop unrealistic items (like a bear dropping gold and a rusty spear).
- Monsters that don't drop what they were fighting with.
- No PVP or Full Loot.
These are some of the things that really ruin immersion, and thus ruin the game for me.
I want to BE my character, I want to LIVE in a realistic fantasy world. But these features constantly remind me that this world is not real, it is just a bunch of code, and the fantasy world shatters around me leaving me sitting in front of my computer playing another game. This is why realism is so important.
*Signature*The Pessimist says the cup is half empty. The Optimist says the cup is half full. The Pragmatist says the cup is half full of air. The Engineer says the cup is operating at 50% capacity. The Psychologist says the cup is your mother. The Punk Kid also says the cup is your mother. The Cricket Player says his cup is definately full. Everyone knows that Pamela Andersons cups are full. The Defendant says it was like that when he found it. Me, I just ask the waitress for a refill.
Comments
Change my mind so much I can't even trust it
My mind change me so much I can't even trust myself
for one if you want to live it than ur pathetic man...
for two.. the guy above is right...
and for three...how dumb do you gotta be... its called a fantasy!!! realistic fantasy?!?!?! wtf is that? if you want realism than go play a simulation
than why play? why not get all items and max lvl and just fight monsters!?!?!!?
seriously where would the fun be?!?!!?
Look up the word fantasy.
kthxbai.
For one, It's easy to use insults when you have no idea what they're talking about.
For two, The 'guy' you are referring to made 2 points, one is this: 'All the ppl would be pretty much the same if they could hold weapons' which is obviously wrong, and the other is a question.
For three, again you throw in a useless insult, and you make a point that I have already explained. Realism and Fantasy are not mutually exclusive. Think of ANY fantasy that has ever been created and it has it's degree of 'realism'. Lets use some examples from the movie Harry Potter. What if everyone in the movie had a neon sign above their head with their name on it? What if Harry picked up Rons rat and out of it's pocket fell 5 gold pieces and a rusty battleaxe? What if Harry couldn't ride the Nimbus because he wasn't a high enough level?
Do you understand now? Maybe not.
*Signature*The Pessimist says the cup is half empty. The Optimist says the cup is half full. The Pragmatist says the cup is half full of air. The Engineer says the cup is operating at 50% capacity. The Psychologist says the cup is your mother. The Punk Kid also says the cup is your mother. The Cricket Player says his cup is definately full. Everyone knows that Pamela Andersons cups are full. The Defendant says it was like that when he found it. Me, I just ask the waitress for a refill.
Coudlnt agree more. Alot of those points are why I liked UO so much.
actually people would be almost exactly alike... besides color prefrences, diffrent styles and weapon preferences...
if you have unlimited choice amongst which weapon you would pick... than of course you would pick the better more damaging ( warrior ) weapon...
thats not a variety
secondly i didnt make it as a insult... but in a game a realistic fantasy isnt real... its like taking roallercoaster tycoon and adding a dragon to it... it just doesnt happen... wild west... you drop in the master seargent from halo 2...
but yes realism and fantasy can mix... but you said you look at realism...
Realism <--------------------------------------> Fantasy
where are you gonna put the fully REALISTIC fantasy?
Firstly, what if there were hundreds of weapons that could be argued are the 'best'? They simply have different strengths/weaknesses and require different skills to train up to use. Would everyone then use the same Weapon? What if players created the Weapons, and they could customise them with different shapes/sizes/decorations. Would everyone be the same then? Of course not, you are thinking inside the box, you need to step outside your small world and look around.
Secondly you are WRONG, I already explained this. Realism and Fantasy are NOT opposites. Real Life and Fantasy are. Realism <> Real Life, as i said in my original post. Realism simply means believable. Does that object belong in this fantasy world? Your examples are good, Master Seargent from Halo 2 doesn't belong in a Wild West fantasy world. So in a Wild West Fantasy having a Master Seargent is UNREALISTIC. Even though the world itself is not like real life.
*Signature*The Pessimist says the cup is half empty. The Optimist says the cup is half full. The Pragmatist says the cup is half full of air. The Engineer says the cup is operating at 50% capacity. The Psychologist says the cup is your mother. The Punk Kid also says the cup is your mother. The Cricket Player says his cup is definately full. Everyone knows that Pamela Andersons cups are full. The Defendant says it was like that when he found it. Me, I just ask the waitress for a refill.
geld's points are interesting because today we see a lot of unrealistic and copy cat mmorpgs that are in no ways realistic ie wow.
Most mmorgs have large amounts of magic in them which only caters to little kids i would like to see more realistic non magic mmorgs that try to resemable an actual historical time.
Geld,
I wish you good luck. But personnally, I rather stay clear from a MMORPG that try to be ''immersive'' to such an extend, I recognize differents players have differents tastes however, but, let's just say that reading your post would make me do nightmares if I would believe all GAMES to become like that.
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren
FANTASY
1. The creative imagination; unrestrained fancy. See Synonyms at imagination.
2. Something, such as an invention, that is a creation of the fancy.
3. A capricious or fantastic idea; a conceit.
4.
1. Fiction characterized by highly fanciful or supernatural elements.
2. An example of such fiction.
5. An imagined event or sequence of mental images, such as a daydream, usually fulfilling a wish or psychological need.
6. An unrealistic or improbable supposition.
7. Music. See fantasia.
8. A coin issued especially by a questionable authority and not intended for use as currency.
9. Obsolete. A hallucination.
Read number 5 and 6.
Unrealistic.
Unless if you have your own definition of "fantasy", which is beyond me.
I don't play games to live it, I play to have fun.
I don't consider not being able to find your own friend "fun".
I don't need any "realism" in mmorpgs, fantasy is fantasy, what the developer wants is up to them.
Thank you very much, have a nice day.
I agree with you Geld and I did a reply but it was so darn long i just made it another post title Realism II.
Cat Ironheart
Geld - I understand what you mean by realism (which others are mistaking for 'reality'), and I agree to an extent. Developers attempt to balance realism and gameplay, so that things which make the game easier to play are introduced, although may not be realistic. This cuts down the learning curve in some situations.
Unrealistic items dropping from mobs is stupid, and probably first on my list of the things you mentioned. I can also relate to not seeing the logic behind race/class requirements on weapons, armor, etc. The better solution always seemed to be all/all, with skills and attributes that raised as you went along - and started off somewhat decent, unlike what EQ tried to do with their recommended levels.
I disagree with the player names overhead, however. Until character advancement reaches a point where every player can have something different about them, and once an appearance customization is set it becomes "locked" (or after a few times it's chosen) I don't see how it would work. Many combinations are very popular within a given game, thus making it extremely difficult to identify most people based upon look alone. In my opinion.. the names overhead may drop a bit from immersion, but it helps with community and forged friendships within games. Community, after all, is one of many aspects that keeps players interested - and helps new players when they enter the game.
The same can be said for PVP. The level of complaints about griefing outweighs the benefit of including free-for-all PvP. I'm not a big fan, myself.. but I find that I do prefer to have it as an option in the game simply for the realism of things. I don't really agree with "safe areas", as they can be exploited in most cases. The "choose your path" deal works better, in my eyes. PVP should be encouraged, but not forced.
- Nellus
[*]You cannot use this weapon/item until you reach a certain level.
True, unrealistic. You would always be able to use for example a flail. You might use it so badly you qualify for a Darwin award, but meh.
[*]You cannot use this weapon/item because you are not the right class.
Same as above, you could use it, but it might be so badly it wouldn't really help anyway.
[*]NPCs that stand in one spot forever.
If hundreds of better armed/more skilled/teams of players were hunting me (with healers!!! no fair), I know I would be with my back to the wall.......and wouldn't blink.
[*]Instant chat across the world without any attempt to explain how.
What you can't whisper furthur then you can yell? How strange
[*]Names above heads.
Well where do you suggest I put it? No wait, don't answer
[*]Monsters that drop unrealistic items (like a bear dropping gold and a rusty spear).
You found him? I've been looking for the guy for ages. I lost my spear in that guy, and then he stole my wallet!!! Son of a *bleep*
[*]Monsters that don't drop what they were fighting with.
To make sure you don't loot thier valubles, they shove all thier valubles in a place no one wants to dig in. With thier dying breath.
[*]No PVP or Full Loot.
See above.
For those who mentioned the names above heads things, I do see what you're saying, In reality we can discern faces well enough to identify each person but it's not likely that this will be possible in any mmorpg any time soon.
My main concern with the names above heads thing is when the fact that you know everyones name as soon as you see them. I think a better idea would be to have to ask them their name, and then, if they tell you, you can label them yourself with that name (or another name if you feel inclined) which will appear above their head ONLY if their face is clearly in view and within a reasonable range.
*Signature*The Pessimist says the cup is half empty. The Optimist says the cup is half full. The Pragmatist says the cup is half full of air. The Engineer says the cup is operating at 50% capacity. The Psychologist says the cup is your mother. The Punk Kid also says the cup is your mother. The Cricket Player says his cup is definately full. Everyone knows that Pamela Andersons cups are full. The Defendant says it was like that when he found it. Me, I just ask the waitress for a refill.
The split is not between realism and fantasy but rathe between realism and playability. The problem with realism is that it rarely makes for a fun game. As long as you as the user are willing to suspend disbelief of things like magic or warp travel, it can make for a good simulation. But does a good simulation make a fun game.
The problem with most MMORPG is that they are not a simulation of reality in any way. The level by level system that almost all MMORPGs use is an artificial game mechanic and there fore trying to enforce other mechanics that simulate reality onto this format causes the game to become unbalanced.
To truely simulate reality, the level mechanism would have to be removed and a number of other game aspects changed such as perma death added, instant kill bullets or sword blows. Personally I'd like to see this in a game, but I realise I'm in the minority here and the simple fact is that a game of this nature would fail to make money for the producer.
A Korpz in all things
When game makers decided to put the names above the heads , I instantly got this image in my head. ALl of us wearing name tags stuck to our shirts.
"Hi my name is Bob"
I disliked that from the first time I saw it in a game, and I still have an aversion to it. Then again, that is just me.
One player's great game is another players derisive snort!
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