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MUD2MMO:Video about challenge and hardcore players
monotom
Member Posts: 24
Man did i need this video.
Just watch it
MUD2MMO : Are MMO's too easy ?
I agree with this person.
More From MUD2MMO https://www.youtube.com/user/WOWTFshow
Comments
First off- Your poll is flawed (sorry) since many people are going to rate "Yes" thinking that means "MMOs are too easy" when the reverse is opposite. Based on the thread title "Are mmos too easy" and the poll question "do you agree" most are going to assume voting "yes" means that MMOs are to easy. Therefore the poll is flawed.
This guy is certainly thinking the problem through- I think hes totally mistaken and also that hes kind of young (hence his comparing "wow" as the pinnacle of difficult gaming in vanilla)
His solution is to downgear in a "challenge mode" where you restrict your gear and thus show your "skill"- This only means he missed the entire point of the bulk of complaints.
Too many issues to go point by point without trying to make my own 10 min video (which I wont...dont worry...) but he does land on a real "truth" imho- When we say "make MMOs more difficult" we are not asking for this "clown car" effect or HP bloat given to enemies. And yes, "hard" is probably not the correct word either but its also the closest way to try and explain the problem absent of having to write a paper on the matter.
He brings up things like "quest markers"- Honestly, having a quest marker is no more "weasy" than not having one. Not haing one wastes time. The problem isnt to have a marker or not BUT to have a game that is running from quest to quest AND handholding all the way to end game. If I HAVE o quest grind- Give me the damn markers to make it faster since its painful to do as is...
Older games (both single and online) were FAR more challenging (not "harder")- Hell, I remember the NES days (and all the older consoles) when a group of 4 or 5 friends played single player games together. Each time someone dies the controller was passed to the next person. Try that with most modern games and after hours only 1-2 people hae probably gotten a chance to play- Thats it in a nutshell I suppose.
EDIT- Death in MMOs is so superficial that its often used to 'teleport' you to wherever your 'home s set. There is a real problem with this. The worst that can happen to you in an MMO is death and death is so pointless people kill themselves to fast travel.
That is all. =P
Not all MMOs are too easy. People should shop around if they think their current MMO is too easy. Some MMOs are very difficult. For example Grenado Espada is probably on the hardest MMOs on the market. EVE is also very challenging. Bottom line it is a free market. We would have more difficult MMOs if people would play the ones that already exist.
Great video and I'd have to agree, giving the player a challenge with a payoff would be an appropriate move. Sure, you know the mechanics, and how to take down a boss with X amount of HP... now imagine you're going in with a butter knife, yet you still have a chance, what choices would you make (make toast and then butter it with that fancy weapon?). Challenge mode sounds like the best alternative to having a game company pine to a select set of ego's that can only be happy with world firsts, or server domination. Or, maybe not.
While I agree with you , most people do not like hard mmo's because in their eyes a game should not be challenging to the point of it seeming to be comparable to a job. You have to understand there is a big shift to instant gratification now a days. So yes, mmo's are easy now just to cater to that crowd, which unfortunately far outweigh the hardcore gamer today.
The reason WoW still has the numbers today while good games like EVE have a rather smaller audience.
And some people read more than the title and watch the video that the entire thing is based on.Or as people call it Read After The Title!
But why other game try to become easy like WOW but don't get anywhere near the number of WOW ?
They use same formula , but get better graphic , voice over ect ...
Still nowhere near.
If all the market want to play easy game all of time then those games at lest will get half of WOW subs number and still able to keep P2P model.
I got through about 4 minutes before he lost me. This is when he said, "Players demanding games made exclusively for them." EVERY player wants a game they want to play. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. Anyone who can not see this needs cognitive help. I have yet to hear ANY player say, "I want a game *you* want to play!"
He started out by asking a good question, though:
"What makes a game too easy?"
I can answer for me.
01) GPS compasses.
02) Map markers for quest goals and Points of Interest (POIs).
03) Big red shapes telling players "something huge is gonna happen here!".
04) Quests on Rails, insuring player's will hit all the high points in the game.
05) Achievements (For getting to level 10? Really? That's an achievement?).
06) Player skill overriding character skill, taking the RPG out of MMORPGs.
07) Fights where fear of death is minimal, at best.
08) Magic items that drop like torrential rain showers. Vendors even SELL magic items!
09) Add Ons.
10) Death means a minor respawn setback, maybe a minimal currency loss for tougher penalties.
11) Auto-replenishing health, stamina, and magic.
That is off the top of my head.
He also made a good point about devs thinking that "difficult=MOAR MONSTERS or MOAR Hit Points!". All that does is draw out the fight that the players will win anyway, 90% of the time.
Now, he could have changed his tune after the 4 minutes I watched. If so, I'll watch the rest of it. I have feeling, based on his "stupid" comment about "certain players" demanding games be made for their own enjoyment, that he has his own agenda.
- 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