[poll] How do you see yourself in game?

KenFisher · October 2012

Which one fits you best:

1. "I am Heldor, champion of the Imperial forces. I've been given a mission by Graxnok to travel through the Unholy Valley to the Forsaken Swamps and find the missing courier Drednok or determine his fate. My mission is vital to the Empire. I have no fear of the perilous journey."

2. "I'm a level 14 champion. I just picked up a new quest. My objective is to travel a zone, retrieve a package from a corpse and take it to the turn-in at the next town. East, then south, then east. Corpse is at coords 1142,2177. Reward is a Merglethorpe Hammer of Dexterity, level 14 blue. If I skip the trash mobs I can do it in 20 minutes."

KenFisher · October 2012

I might start out as a #1 if the storyline is engrossing (few achieve this, AOC's Tortage did it well). But after a while in the game, instead of looking and feeling like a world, it starts to look and feel like a game. I no longer see the world, just the game mechanics.

I do what's needed to achieve MY goal, usually stats, gear and level, in order to catch up to friends and run dungeons with them. By that point, I couldn't care less about the storyline. In fact, it becomes more of an annoyance.

I don't know if my perception of gaming is odd this way. That's why the poll. Thanks for voting.

Schwa · October 2012

An interesting question. I don't think I could ever fall into category one. I just can't get into an actual roleplay mindset. My brain just WORKS like number 2. However, I would consider a good game to be one that makes me not notice that my brain is thinking that.

The difference between a good theme park and a bad one is that one MAKES me read quest text, and one can still present the story in other ways.

Ortwig · October 2012

Agreed -- interesting question. I lean towards #1, but am more focused on the storyline or quest than I am my own character. When actually playing the game, I am not thinking about stats, but when I take breaks to review gear, I'll look at the stats and think about optimization and so forth. So, it's more of a mode of playing at different times than anything else -- nice poll!

stygianapoth · October 2012

all i want in am mmorpg is to find my gear and use it for pvp. i hate categories so much that i can't even play any mmorpg these days.

phantomghost · October 2012

Neither I do not play games that revolve around questing for leveling any more.

Terranah · October 2012

I don't need to be the hero. I go where I want, when I want, ignoring the story if exploring a far off vista is more enticing. Linear thinking is boring to me. There is no point a to b. I like all the letters of the alphabet at once, and in the order that i want them.

I don't really care how I stack up to other players. I measure success by how disappointed I am to log off, and how excited I am to log on.

just1opinion · October 2012

Originally posted by stygianapoth
all i want in am mmorpg is to find my gear and use it for pvp. i hate categories so much that i can't even play any mmorpg these days.

Were you also the person whom, in another thread, chose Wurm Online and one other game as the best games you've ever played and called all other MMOs "shit?" If that wasn't you, I apologize. If it was, you've just given me one more reason to feel sad for you.

edit:

OP,

I'm definitely a little of both 1 and 2, but I went with 2 because it sounded more like what happens in my head when I'm playing. Incidentally, I LIKE that this is what happens in my head. I'm very aware that I'm playing a game, but the story matters to me as well, so it sneaks into my thoughts too.

Purutzil · October 2012

Number 2 primarily, but there are games (particularly those 'dreaded' themepark games, single player mostly) where I do go towards number 1. Its really depending on how its done. SWTOR (beta, sorry didn't feel it was good enough to bother buying) I basically listened to the stories and went through since it felt right. Granted it got stale quick (stories just weren't that appealing) but thats just the MMO. Single player games I'm far more story caring then an MMo. It takes a real drive to keep me involved in a story and MMos typically lack that, and often times will suffer if they try to enforce the story too much.

reb007 · October 2012

When I first started playing MMOs, I was a #1. I remember going to work (I roofed houses at the time) and thinking about my character in FFXI. I was a mighty warrior, a knight of darkness who sapped the strength from my enemies. Hauling stacks of shingles up and down roofs for 8+ hours a day really fed my evil dark knight persona. Also I used to consume a lot of recreational substances during those times, which made it even easier to lose myself in the fantasy.

Now, i'm a #2. Been sober for several years and work full time in a corporate setting, so it's not as easy to "be my character."

KenFisher · October 2012

Originally posted by just1opinion

, I LIKE that this is what happens in my head. I'm very aware that I'm playing a game, but the story matters to me as well, so it sneaks into my thoughts too.

I like it when storyline feels significant also. It's something I struggle with. My temptation is to strip storyline out completely, but then things feel too mechanical. On the other side, storyline that sucks you in is good fun.

My strong dislike is when storyline is intrusive, especially in multiplayer. It seems wasteful also. Why spend all that time and money when I just press spacebar to skip?

tank017 · October 2012

Number 2, im not a role player

Sevenstar61 · October 2012

Definitely number 1.

Probably why I love SWTOR so much LOL. This is the only MMO so far that I can completely get into my character skin and act like I am them. I absolutely love it!!!!!

Edit. Tried it in LOTRO too, but there is no comparition to SWTOR.

Vhaln · October 2012

Really depends on how the game presents it. If they emphasize stats and levels everywhere, then that's how I'll see it, too.

fenistil · October 2012

Interesting question.

I never defined myself in mmorpg mainly via main story. Main quest line was something I do as a side thing or because I have to.

That may explain why more mmoprg is personalized, streamlined and fouced on brining story right to player the more I get irritaed.

I prefer what was done in early mmoprg's - that you're just a normal inhabitant in a world and story and world is shown to you by world itself rather than personalized stream of story. I cannot really get into being a hero along thousands of other heroes and I cannot get in playing as toon that need to get 400 more xp for next level and 10 more tokens for "epic" (*rollseyes*) armour.

Both of those options are *bleeegh*.

Sadly those are only options left and feeded by all mmorpg's aside of those really low budget ones (and EvE).

FrodoFragins · October 2012

Almost always #2. The one exception was in SWTOR when I leveled my Sith Assasin. I did role play a bit more there because I love the universe ever since I saw the OT. Games like WOW, LOTRO, AoC and GW2 had me solidly in #2.

Jaedor · October 2012

Neither except sometimes #1 when the story/lore is very good. My most illuminating experience of #2 clashing with #1 was in vanilla WoW, at the end of an long, epic questline when I suddenly felt like a hero for the very first time. It was wonderful and sad all at once (Ony chain anyone?).

rygard49 · October 2012

Originally posted by gigat
When I first started playing MMOs, I was a #1. I remember going to work (I roofed houses at the time) and thinking about my character in FFXI. I was a mighty warrior, a knight of darkness who sapped the strength from my enemies. Hauling stacks of shingles up and down roofs for 8+ hours a day really fed my evil dark knight persona. Also I used to consume a lot of recreational substances during those times, which made it even easier to lose myself in the fantasy.

Now, i'm a #2. Been sober for several years and work full time in a corporate setting, so it's not as easy to "be my character."

This for me. Minus the roofing and the drugs.

When I was younger I really wanted to be the characters I played. Now I just play for the fun of the game. If the story is engrossing enough I slip back in #1 for brief periods, though.

Foomerang · October 2012

Always #1

Goatgod76 · October 2012

Why do the results not surprise me. This is part of the problem with MMORPG's and their communities anymore. I mean, you don't HAVE to be a super nerd and RP everything....but treating them like a race and a console game is ruining what seperated them from other genres too.... IMO of course.

TheDarkrayne · October 2012

I'm definately number 2 but I still think I appreciate and enjoy the environments, lore and details in these games. I'm big on my fantasy... read a lot of it, play a lot of it and watch a lot of it. But, a game is a game.. no one plays football (or any sport) and admires and appreciates the stadium in the middle of a game. When they arn't busy doing something they pay attention to those kind of things, not during.

Regarding number 1 though, there is no kidding yourself. No matter how deep into roleplaying you are there is no escaping that you only have to kill 4 more wolves and then you can/will move on. I doubt many will keep killing those wolves purely for roleplaying purposes... and if they do, they shouldn't be playing a themepark anyway.

DSWBeef · October 2012

Mix of both. While i do look at the loot a quest gives me i do go into a minro RP mode IF a quest is cool enough. Like in SWTOR i was in RP mode all the time same with TSW. While in WoW i just get the quest and finish it as quickly as possible. MMOS need to put more story into their quests, SWTOR and TSW were a step in the right direction.

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