Originally posted by DamonVile If there's one thing this place isn't short of, it's bitter mmo vets that hate everything new. Probably not the best place to find inspiration...other than many examples of what not to become.
Good point but where else to ask ? This website is THE reference for mmo'sI dont think myself as a bitter vet that want to old times back and curse new stuff. Mmo's and games used to play a big part in my life and somehow i lost it and i have no idea how this happend. There is a void that i wish to fill , monney for shops or subscriptions are also no problem. Im afraid that i lost my own imagination power and creativity , i dont have a TV for over a decade now because i never needed it but lately i catch myself a lot watching anime and drama streams on the net. I never liked this passive kind of entertainment but now its my reality. Did i became too old allready ?I have 3 games on my radar, DayZ , the repopulation and satelite reign. I backed the last one on kickstarter. I really hope i find something decent to sink my teeths into.
For me single and co op games have been more fun than mmos. Could be my interests have just changed, maybe mmos really do just suck. I have a hard time believing the latter with so many people playing them though :)The way I see it is, I'm a gamer at heart. I'll always play games if I can so I play what's fun. MMOs changed once and they'll change again. Maybe they'll go back to how they were, maybe they'll change to something I like even more. Till then I'll stick with the games I am having fun playing.The one thing I'll never do is sit around saying " everything is ruined forever!! " But I will enjoy making fun of people who do
I would agree if your basic premise was right. The premise that MMOs have NOT changed over the years, that these mass of new players want the same experience that most players wanted awhile back.
I disagree with that basic premise.
Is everything ruined forever? I certainly hope not, but it will take a miracle to bring back what is missing from MMORPGs. The numbers (meaning MONEY) is possibly not there. Don't really know as MMO developers/publishers have not tried in a long, long while.
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse. - FARGIN_WAR
Here is what Dr Scot recommends for your MMO ills. Find a good guild, start with old gaming mates and track down a guild that suits you. Don't worry too much about the MMO itself, todays easymode creations are all the same really. Only go for a guild that is in a MMO that was/is P2P or B2P.
Originally posted by DamonVile If there's one thing this place isn't short of, it's bitter mmo vets that hate everything new. Probably not the best place to find inspiration...other than many examples of what not to become.
Good point but where else to ask ? This website is THE reference for mmo's
I dont think myself as a bitter vet that want to old times back and curse new stuff. Mmo's and games used to play a big part in my life and somehow i lost it and i have no idea how this happend. There is a void that i wish to fill , monney for shops or subscriptions are also no problem. Im afraid that i lost my own imagination power and creativity , i dont have a TV for over a decade now because i never needed it but lately i catch myself a lot watching anime and drama streams on the net. I never liked this passive kind of entertainment but now its my reality. Did i became too old allready ?
I have 3 games on my radar, DayZ , the repopulation and satelite reign. I backed the last one on kickstarter. I really hope i find something decent to sink my teeths into.
For me single and co op games have been more fun than mmos. Could be my interests have just changed, maybe mmos really do just suck. I have a hard time believing the latter with so many people playing them though
The way I see it is, I'm a gamer at heart. I'll always play games if I can so I play what's fun. MMOs changed once and they'll change again. Maybe they'll go back to how they were, maybe they'll change to something I like even more. Till then I'll stick with the games I am having fun playing.
The one thing I'll never do is sit around saying " everything is ruined forever!! " But I will enjoy making fun of people who do
I would agree if your basic premise was right. The premise that MMOs have NOT changed over the years, that these mass of new players want the same experience that most players wanted awhile back.
I disagree with that basic premise.
Is everything ruined forever? I certainly hope not, but it will take a miracle to bring back what is missing from MMORPGs. The numbers (meaning MONEY) is possibly not there. Don't really know as MMO developers/publishers have not tried in a long, long while.
I know the feeling. Every so often I have to take breaks away from all games, just not mmo's and do something else for awhile. I really does help to be away. Might take a week, moth, or even a year or more.
Just take a break and enjoy life away from games for awhile.
I'm not an IT Specialist, Game Developer, or Clairvoyant in real life, but like others on here, I play one on the internet.
Originally posted by DamonVile If there's one thing this place isn't short of, it's bitter mmo vets that hate everything new. Probably not the best place to find inspiration...other than many examples of what not to become.
Good point but where else to ask ? This website is THE reference for mmo'sI dont think myself as a bitter vet that want to old times back and curse new stuff. Mmo's and games used to play a big part in my life and somehow i lost it and i have no idea how this happend. There is a void that i wish to fill , monney for shops or subscriptions are also no problem. Im afraid that i lost my own imagination power and creativity , i dont have a TV for over a decade now because i never needed it but lately i catch myself a lot watching anime and drama streams on the net. I never liked this passive kind of entertainment but now its my reality. Did i became too old allready ?I have 3 games on my radar, DayZ , the repopulation and satelite reign. I backed the last one on kickstarter. I really hope i find something decent to sink my teeths into.
For me single and co op games have been more fun than mmos. Could be my interests have just changed, maybe mmos really do just suck. I have a hard time believing the latter with so many people playing them though :)The way I see it is, I'm a gamer at heart. I'll always play games if I can so I play what's fun. MMOs changed once and they'll change again. Maybe they'll go back to how they were, maybe they'll change to something I like even more. Till then I'll stick with the games I am having fun playing.The one thing I'll never do is sit around saying " everything is ruined forever!! " But I will enjoy making fun of people who do
I would agree if your basic premise was right. The premise that MMOs have NOT changed over the years, that these mass of new players want the same experience that most players wanted awhile back.I disagree with that basic premise.Is everything ruined forever? I certainly hope not, but it will take a miracle to bring back what is missing from MMORPGs. The numbers (meaning MONEY) is possibly not there. Don't really know as MMO developers/publishers have not tried in a long, long while.
umm..no it wasn't ?
Y'know... Sometimes my reading comprehension leaves a LOT to be desired. Sorry about that
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse. - FARGIN_WAR
I'm not going to suggest a game (MMORPG.com has tons). Instead, I'm going to suggest how to play a game.
I enjoyed your post, OP, and probably would have enjoyed that big wall of text, too. One thing I picked up on is the fact that you miss the adventure. This kind of spoke to me. I'd been playing Skyrim for months, and listening to the NPCs say the same things over and over and over (and over) and over and over again, and I knew I needed something like it but with real people. So I got back into MMOs once again. Thing about MMOs though, for me anyway, is you need to get involved with other players to truly feel like you're on an adventure, and the further trouble is connecting with other players when you're new.
I simply chatted to a group of my friends in the real world and we all decided on a game to throw ourselves into. 2 months later, we're still playing and it's a blast.
I am in same boat OP, I have not lost my desire for MMO's I just do not like the direction MMO's have gone and do not find these new MMO's challenging or fun. Its not us we know what we like, its the games and where the market has gone too.
Waiting for:EQ-Next, ArcheAge (not so much anymore) Now Playing: N/A Worst MMO: FFXIV Favorite MMO: FFXI
Oh, wait... You see this as a bad thing? Dude, I've been trying to quit mmo's for YEARS. It's like this unrelenting, soul-sucking vice that's followed me around for the better half of my life depriving me of everything I hold dear.
I guess my advice is take this rare opportunity to do something else with your life while you have the chance, because once this next batch of mmo's release you'll be back.
Lol, we can only hope but I have my doubts. I'll be playing TESO and Wildstar someday, but I doubt on release, and I'm still playing games that released pre-2005 ><. I'm still trying to get into Rift and Tera free to play, but most of my time is spent on WoW. Which, is pretty sad given how many choices are out there and none of them are more interesting?
*sigh* I've been on break from Everquest 2 for awhile, and haven't gotten into Vanguard enough yet, Everquest 1 is far to archaic, and Lord of the Rings Online usually can only keep my interest occasionally.
I've been waiting and waiting for an awesome game to release myself like Final Fantasy 14: A realm reborn, but now it seems to be just like a lesser version of WoW.
Why can't games like SWToR and Star Trek have all of the fancy bells and whistles fun "fluff" stuff that draws me in? Just a lack of money? Yet, all of the paying cash shoppers give them plenty of money, and I'm just asking for some pretty grinding companion pet and mounts to grind for.... more reputations to grind even, though of course I wish we had more content to go along with it...
I don't blame you. MMOs are just too expensive for what they give you these days. There's not much value here anymore; there's not much quality here anymore.
Go check out some other games out there and wait for things to get better.
__________________________ "Its sad when people use religion to feel superior, its even worse to see people using a video game to do it." --Arcken
"...when it comes to pimping EVE I have little restraints." --Hellmar, CEO of CCP.
"It's like they took a gun, put it to their nugget sack and pulled the trigger over and over again, each time telling us how great it was that they were shooting themselves in the balls." --Exar_Kun on SWG's NGE
That's quite a mindbender-jump from "I don't like this kind of gameplay personally" to "There is no quality".
Unless you are talking cheap F2P grinders, there is more quality in modern games than in the old ones. More polish, more content, more options.
It is just simply not your gameplay style because you are not the target audience anymore. The market shifted.
Don't misunderstand me, I am in the same group, I don't enjoy most modern MMOs either. But that doesn't mean they are generally bad. Obviously some people are enjoying them, they are making a ton more money than the old games did.
I am in the same boat as the OPer. I have kind of come to terms with it and kind of discovered why MMOs are no longer my cup of tea. I blamed everything from the new generation of players to over-reaching game designers when the true culprit is really life. MMO requires a lot of time. They have done a good job of making MMOs require less time but that kind of takes away what I loved about MMOs when I was young and had a lot of time. That sense of accomplishment that can only come when you spend a lot of time and energy is gone if you make the game too easy and too quick. It took freaken forever to level in EQ1 but I loved it when I finally accomplished it. Now you can get to max level in the first week and then you just grind out for loot. I know, do I really want to wait in line to get a chance to kill a frog for hours so I get a chance at a Yakesha? No I don't so it is a lose lose situation for the devs. I think there comes a time when age changes gaming for you. You can try to hold on but it will be met with frustration.
I break down my motivation to play games into two reasons.
1. To occupy my time. This is what I did when I was young. For all the beauty and imagination that was the original MMOs (including MUDs) they were time sinks, nothing more. They were in fact detrimental time sinks as the # of years I spent in college will attest to. Now at my current life stage I don't have a lot of time to sink. I want play a game that is challenging and gets my blood pumping. That is no longer running around looking at pretty graphics, no matter how amazing they are. Before a 2 hour movie was not enough time to occupy all the time I had. Now 2 hours is almost too much.
2. To occupy my mind. What is the difference? There are certain challenges to MMOs but for the type of player I was, it was near mindless. I use to play chess a lot and that is not a fun game, but it occupies your mind. When I first played Morrowind I must have spent a good two days just running around and not caring about "finishing" the game. Now I get annoyed if the MMO does not have a port system splattered all over the map. If I have to run more than 2 minutes I get upset. Therefore I play more strategy games now and yes back to Chess.
I think this is the breakdown between PVP and PVE type players. PVE don't want the stress and mental strain of PVP. PVP require that stress. Of course there is that rush that PVP crave so much but most good PVP players like the "challenge" that the environment cannot offer.
My humble advice to the OP, maybe it is time to move on or just enjoy playing a title for the 1 or 2 months. I will play ESO, EQN and Wildstar and I fully expect to only play for a couple of months at most. Not the games fault, nor the community, it is all me and I have to accept I am not going to devote 3 years to a game like I did with UO, EQ and Eve. Nor do I have to since a new game comes out like every 6 months. And really, what is 60 bucks every 3 months?
They've released some pretty interesting board games in the past few years. Try them.
There are certain queer times and occasions in this strange mixed affair we call life when a man takes this whole universe for a vast practical joke, though the wit thereof he but dimly discerns, and more than suspects that the joke is at nobody's expense but his own. -- Herman Melville
I don't blame you. MMOs are just too expensive for what they give you these days. There's not much value here anymore; there's not much quality here anymore.
Go check out some other games out there and wait for things to get better.
What "too expensive"? They are mostly f2p. I may not play a particular mmo because of the game, but price is seldom the issue because they r mostly free.
Unfortunately, the "problem" the OP suggests is not limited to the MMORPG genre, it's much worst than that. Let me put you an example:
In 2013 there were released the sequels of 2 of the franchises with the most loyal and dedicated fanbases one can find among PC-Gaming: Rome 2 Total War and Simcity 2013. Both were received with negative reviews from independent (AKA not-bribed) media and the utter dissapointment of their loyal fans.
The reasons for both cases were pretty similar: excessive simplification, lack of scope, removal of beloved features that added longevity, depth and immersion and, over all, a worrying lean towards the arcade and the instant gratification.
The pretexts that were put on the table by the DEVs and Publishers were that they wanted to make their products more accesible to a potential public that saw the previous installments as too complicated and tedious.
Sounds familiar?
Of course it does, it is the very same trend the MMORPG genre has been experiencing throughout the last 10 years. It started to happen first in the MMORPG genre as this is a social genre.
My dear fellows, it's not an exaggeration to declare that Mainstream Gaming is hopelessly fucked up. It is not worthy any more. Don't come to me with the "rose tinted nostalgia", "give it a break", "basement dweller" bullshit, please. Don't insult my intelligence. Don't insult my memory. As a 33yo SAP consultant with family, house and even a cat I don't have too much time to play, but when I do, I expect quality and fullfillment. I don't like to waste my time in arcade timewaters. By the way, I'm still playing...10 yo games: Simcity 4, Medieval 2 Total War and EVE. And still having loadsafun!
But nowadays mainstream gaming? Insulting crap:
- Nowadays genres are misnomers: Everything is arcade with a couple of touches to the genres they make reference to.
- They have removed the thinking out of gaming to replace it with the use of nervous impulses: the definition of arcade, the first genre ever created. Thus a regression is term of scope, purpose and depth.
- Regression in terms of longevity and functional framework.
- Very, very easy and full of bells, flashes and whistles to help keep attention. The same trick the gambling machines use.
- They are based on addiction and compulsive behaviour instead of on creativity, challenge, ability to sort out problems . They don't contribute anything interesting to the user.
"War and Peace", "On the road", "El Quijote", "Watchmen" are considered as paramount works of art. Put them in the hands of an imbecile, an inept or an illiterated and he/she will say that "they are too complicated", "tedious", "don't make any sense", etc.
Unfortunately, the predatory, immoral way of doing business model we have currently caters to the latter. A perfect model for a society of happy slaves that are always in a rush even though they don't know where they are going to.
Sensible gamers, abandon all hope!
Thanks for reading me. Have a nice day.
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.
Play a type of MMO different to what you played before. Often this is a case of just being bored with common MMO mechanics.
If you don't care about graphics try a MUD like this that really does things different to your typical MMO.
Take a break from online gaming for a while and play single player games.
This. While I'm not sure about trying a MUD. I took the plunge this summer and tried DFUW and found it to be much more to my liking than linear themeparks I had been playing. I still don't love PvP but there are enough other things I like about the game to sustain my interest from July to now. Try something you had written off for whatever reason, would be my advise.
You could always go back to Eve online if you enjoyed it. I agree there are so many poor mmos on the market today they all feel the same. The most exiting one i found last year was darkfall. Now playing eve, battlefield4 and dayz.
I don't blame you. MMOs are just too expensive for what they give you these days. There's not much value here anymore; there's not much quality here anymore.
Go check out some other games out there and wait for things to get better.
What "too expensive"? They are mostly f2p. I may not play a particular mmo because of the game, but price is seldom the issue because they r mostly free.
Even subscriptions are 'cheap' so if anybody finds those hard to 'fund' then even F2P games are going to be too expensive to play. If there is one thing that MMO's even F2P ones aren't is expensive, well except maybe Entropia Universe
Maybe its time you give the goverment something back- instead wasting all your valuable ressources to games.
Games are nothing more then luxuries.
I have the same feeling like you describe. I come and visit this forum just because i used to play lots of mmos.
But instead of playing them i rather inform myself and watch some gameplay vids. I know the time to spend on these is not my idea of life anymore- but im still hooked to technology since i was young. Its not like i posse expensive hardware and so on, but i like the direction the industry is moving, so im always watching and reading to get a image.
I also do not play competetive games anymore- i know for fact that when you age- your reactions become tedious- so i will never be able to be on top. But that doesnt matter, since ive other goals- and they have nothing to do with games.
I think you should step back and focus more on your real life goals- something that everyone around you will benefit- not just you and your avatar in a imaginary world.
Comments
I disagree with that basic premise.
Is everything ruined forever? I certainly hope not, but it will take a miracle to bring back what is missing from MMORPGs. The numbers (meaning MONEY) is possibly not there. Don't really know as MMO developers/publishers have not tried in a long, long while.
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.- FARGIN_WAR
Don't worry. You'll retire in your 60's and have all the time in the world again
In about 30 years half of the population in any given game will be old retired men and women lol
umm..no it wasn't ?
I know the feeling. Every so often I have to take breaks away from all games, just not mmo's and do something else for awhile. I really does help to be away. Might take a week, moth, or even a year or more.
Just take a break and enjoy life away from games for awhile.
I'm not an IT Specialist, Game Developer, or Clairvoyant in real life, but like others on here, I play one on the internet.
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.- FARGIN_WAR
lol no worries, I did do a wtf on that one though
I'm not going to suggest a game (MMORPG.com has tons). Instead, I'm going to suggest how to play a game.
I enjoyed your post, OP, and probably would have enjoyed that big wall of text, too. One thing I picked up on is the fact that you miss the adventure. This kind of spoke to me. I'd been playing Skyrim for months, and listening to the NPCs say the same things over and over and over (and over) and over and over again, and I knew I needed something like it but with real people. So I got back into MMOs once again. Thing about MMOs though, for me anyway, is you need to get involved with other players to truly feel like you're on an adventure, and the further trouble is connecting with other players when you're new.
I simply chatted to a group of my friends in the real world and we all decided on a game to throw ourselves into. 2 months later, we're still playing and it's a blast.
I suggest you try the same thing!
A great list of free games (mostly MMORPGs): http://www.mytop10games.com/
Isn't it pretty obvious? If you lost the desire for MMOs .. do something else. It is not like there is a lack of entertainment.
I don't see a good reason why you have to "love" this hobby.
Waiting for:EQ-Next, ArcheAge (not so much anymore)
Now Playing: N/A
Worst MMO: FFXIV
Favorite MMO: FFXI
Congratulations!
Oh, wait... You see this as a bad thing? Dude, I've been trying to quit mmo's for YEARS. It's like this unrelenting, soul-sucking vice that's followed me around for the better half of my life depriving me of everything I hold dear.
I guess my advice is take this rare opportunity to do something else with your life while you have the chance, because once this next batch of mmo's release you'll be back.
Lol, we can only hope but I have my doubts. I'll be playing TESO and Wildstar someday, but I doubt on release, and I'm still playing games that released pre-2005 ><. I'm still trying to get into Rift and Tera free to play, but most of my time is spent on WoW. Which, is pretty sad given how many choices are out there and none of them are more interesting?
*sigh* I've been on break from Everquest 2 for awhile, and haven't gotten into Vanguard enough yet, Everquest 1 is far to archaic, and Lord of the Rings Online usually can only keep my interest occasionally.
I've been waiting and waiting for an awesome game to release myself like Final Fantasy 14: A realm reborn, but now it seems to be just like a lesser version of WoW.
Why can't games like SWToR and Star Trek have all of the fancy bells and whistles fun "fluff" stuff that draws me in? Just a lack of money? Yet, all of the paying cash shoppers give them plenty of money, and I'm just asking for some pretty grinding companion pet and mounts to grind for.... more reputations to grind even, though of course I wish we had more content to go along with it...
I don't blame you. MMOs are just too expensive for what they give you these days. There's not much value here anymore; there's not much quality here anymore.
Go check out some other games out there and wait for things to get better.
__________________________
"Its sad when people use religion to feel superior, its even worse to see people using a video game to do it."
--Arcken
"...when it comes to pimping EVE I have little restraints."
--Hellmar, CEO of CCP.
"It's like they took a gun, put it to their nugget sack and pulled the trigger over and over again, each time telling us how great it was that they were shooting themselves in the balls."
--Exar_Kun on SWG's NGE
That's quite a mindbender-jump from "I don't like this kind of gameplay personally" to "There is no quality".
Unless you are talking cheap F2P grinders, there is more quality in modern games than in the old ones. More polish, more content, more options.
It is just simply not your gameplay style because you are not the target audience anymore. The market shifted.
Don't misunderstand me, I am in the same group, I don't enjoy most modern MMOs either. But that doesn't mean they are generally bad. Obviously some people are enjoying them, they are making a ton more money than the old games did.
Try to give a game sometime before you decide to play or not.
One thing I notice is I never enjoy learning to play a new mmorpg. So I pretty much dislike every game I tried.
But some of them I grow to love if I sink some time in to them.
I am in the same boat as the OPer. I have kind of come to terms with it and kind of discovered why MMOs are no longer my cup of tea. I blamed everything from the new generation of players to over-reaching game designers when the true culprit is really life. MMO requires a lot of time. They have done a good job of making MMOs require less time but that kind of takes away what I loved about MMOs when I was young and had a lot of time. That sense of accomplishment that can only come when you spend a lot of time and energy is gone if you make the game too easy and too quick. It took freaken forever to level in EQ1 but I loved it when I finally accomplished it. Now you can get to max level in the first week and then you just grind out for loot. I know, do I really want to wait in line to get a chance to kill a frog for hours so I get a chance at a Yakesha? No I don't so it is a lose lose situation for the devs. I think there comes a time when age changes gaming for you. You can try to hold on but it will be met with frustration.
I break down my motivation to play games into two reasons.
1. To occupy my time. This is what I did when I was young. For all the beauty and imagination that was the original MMOs (including MUDs) they were time sinks, nothing more. They were in fact detrimental time sinks as the # of years I spent in college will attest to. Now at my current life stage I don't have a lot of time to sink. I want play a game that is challenging and gets my blood pumping. That is no longer running around looking at pretty graphics, no matter how amazing they are. Before a 2 hour movie was not enough time to occupy all the time I had. Now 2 hours is almost too much.
2. To occupy my mind. What is the difference? There are certain challenges to MMOs but for the type of player I was, it was near mindless. I use to play chess a lot and that is not a fun game, but it occupies your mind. When I first played Morrowind I must have spent a good two days just running around and not caring about "finishing" the game. Now I get annoyed if the MMO does not have a port system splattered all over the map. If I have to run more than 2 minutes I get upset. Therefore I play more strategy games now and yes back to Chess.
I think this is the breakdown between PVP and PVE type players. PVE don't want the stress and mental strain of PVP. PVP require that stress. Of course there is that rush that PVP crave so much but most good PVP players like the "challenge" that the environment cannot offer.
My humble advice to the OP, maybe it is time to move on or just enjoy playing a title for the 1 or 2 months. I will play ESO, EQN and Wildstar and I fully expect to only play for a couple of months at most. Not the games fault, nor the community, it is all me and I have to accept I am not going to devote 3 years to a game like I did with UO, EQ and Eve. Nor do I have to since a new game comes out like every 6 months. And really, what is 60 bucks every 3 months?
Quit video games for a while. It helps.
They've released some pretty interesting board games in the past few years. Try them.
There are certain queer times and occasions in this strange mixed affair we call life when a man takes this whole universe for a vast practical joke, though the wit thereof he but dimly discerns, and more than suspects that the joke is at nobody's expense but his own.
-- Herman Melville
What "too expensive"? They are mostly f2p. I may not play a particular mmo because of the game, but price is seldom the issue because they r mostly free.
Unfortunately, the "problem" the OP suggests is not limited to the MMORPG genre, it's much worst than that. Let me put you an example:
In 2013 there were released the sequels of 2 of the franchises with the most loyal and dedicated fanbases one can find among PC-Gaming: Rome 2 Total War and Simcity 2013. Both were received with negative reviews from independent (AKA not-bribed) media and the utter dissapointment of their loyal fans.
The reasons for both cases were pretty similar: excessive simplification, lack of scope, removal of beloved features that added longevity, depth and immersion and, over all, a worrying lean towards the arcade and the instant gratification.
The pretexts that were put on the table by the DEVs and Publishers were that they wanted to make their products more accesible to a potential public that saw the previous installments as too complicated and tedious.
Sounds familiar?
Of course it does, it is the very same trend the MMORPG genre has been experiencing throughout the last 10 years. It started to happen first in the MMORPG genre as this is a social genre.
My dear fellows, it's not an exaggeration to declare that Mainstream Gaming is hopelessly fucked up. It is not worthy any more. Don't come to me with the "rose tinted nostalgia", "give it a break", "basement dweller" bullshit, please. Don't insult my intelligence. Don't insult my memory. As a 33yo SAP consultant with family, house and even a cat I don't have too much time to play, but when I do, I expect quality and fullfillment. I don't like to waste my time in arcade timewaters. By the way, I'm still playing...10 yo games: Simcity 4, Medieval 2 Total War and EVE. And still having loadsafun!
But nowadays mainstream gaming? Insulting crap:
- Nowadays genres are misnomers: Everything is arcade with a couple of touches to the genres they make reference to.
- They have removed the thinking out of gaming to replace it with the use of nervous impulses: the definition of arcade, the first genre ever created. Thus a regression is term of scope, purpose and depth.
- Regression in terms of longevity and functional framework.
- Very, very easy and full of bells, flashes and whistles to help keep attention. The same trick the gambling machines use.
- They are based on addiction and compulsive behaviour instead of on creativity, challenge, ability to sort out problems . They don't contribute anything interesting to the user.
"War and Peace", "On the road", "El Quijote", "Watchmen" are considered as paramount works of art. Put them in the hands of an imbecile, an inept or an illiterated and he/she will say that "they are too complicated", "tedious", "don't make any sense", etc.
Unfortunately, the predatory, immoral way of doing business model we have currently caters to the latter. A perfect model for a society of happy slaves that are always in a rush even though they don't know where they are going to.
Sensible gamers, abandon all hope!
Thanks for reading me. Have a nice day.
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.
This. While I'm not sure about trying a MUD. I took the plunge this summer and tried DFUW and found it to be much more to my liking than linear themeparks I had been playing. I still don't love PvP but there are enough other things I like about the game to sustain my interest from July to now. Try something you had written off for whatever reason, would be my advise.
Even subscriptions are 'cheap' so if anybody finds those hard to 'fund' then even F2P games are going to be too expensive to play. If there is one thing that MMO's even F2P ones aren't is expensive, well except maybe Entropia Universe
Maybe its time you give the goverment something back- instead wasting all your valuable ressources to games.
Games are nothing more then luxuries.
I have the same feeling like you describe. I come and visit this forum just because i used to play lots of mmos.
But instead of playing them i rather inform myself and watch some gameplay vids. I know the time to spend on these is not my idea of life anymore- but im still hooked to technology since i was young. Its not like i posse expensive hardware and so on, but i like the direction the industry is moving, so im always watching and reading to get a image.
I also do not play competetive games anymore- i know for fact that when you age- your reactions become tedious- so i will never be able to be on top. But that doesnt matter, since ive other goals- and they have nothing to do with games.
I think you should step back and focus more on your real life goals- something that everyone around you will benefit- not just you and your avatar in a imaginary world.
my 2 cents.