people need to get over the "you get paid to advertise" thing. It doesn't happen.
While I know it is a sticking point with you SB, It is a bit hard to get past the advertising when there are 5 ads on this page alone.
"Sean (Murray) saying MP will be in the game is not remotely close to evidence that at the point of purchase people thought there was MP in the game." - SEANMCAD
This has been happening since first gen mmos. This has nothing to do with how well the community works.
Wrong on both accounts.
If you want to join our EQ guild, and no one knows who you are, alarm bells will go off. Because everyone pretty much knows other other.
If you're some guy who bought his way to the top, everyone will know, and no guild will accept you.
If we don't know who you are, we ask you to tell us which guilds you were in, and where your gear is from. And we will check with other guilds if you're telling the truth.
You will also need a reliable sponsor, someone known in the community needs to sponsor you before we will consider giving you a 2 month trial.
Lets be honest here who would sell a max level character for 100$? Heck give me 100$ and I'll get you a max level character on almost any mmo right now.
letting another person play your MMO, because all that matters to you is not the community, or lore, or adventure, or engaging gameplay, but getting to max level as fast as possible with the help of some shady site that will probably steal your CC info
these sites are an extension of the F2P model, where all that matters is personal progress, and you are just a peon with a credit card in a stupid rat race
and the fact this is even tolerated in today's MMO, is because today's MMO no longer have a working community, you are not a persona, you are a number with a CC card, and you are judged within the game, not by your actions, but by how much you spend with your VISA card
To be frank, the only people who would be angry about this are in-game mercs and people who see prestige in their accomplishments. In todays MMO world where flashy items are sold by the companies we are pretty much past that silly nonsense anyway.
The main issue that I, and many others, seem to have with this is that this wasn't a "discussion topic". The article didn't say "Hey guys, there's this new site, here are some pros, here are some cons, what do you think of this site?". It says, in effect, "There's this new site, here's what it offers, and you should go check it out.". It's intent is not to discuss if the site should exist in the market, it's intent is to tell people to go visit the site. That wouldn't be much a problem, except that not only is the site not a game site, it's also a site that is a service designed specifically to offer things that aren't allowed by the TOS for most games the service is being offered for. With it's extra large banner, "Gamers Helping Gamers" tag line, and generally one sided portrayal, this article makes it appear as though this site is now endorsing, if not profiting from, activity that is harmful to the games it covers.
Please, your ridiculous made up scenario is not how it works. No one cares about your guild or "getting into it".
This just shows you don't really know what you're talking about.
You're so out of touch with reality it's not even funny.
Why are you talking about "1st gen MMO"when you know nothing about them?
Why are you pretending you know what happens in EQ1 when you don't even play it?
And here is my made up "scenario" pumpkin.
Server firsts in every EQ expansion since PoP.
Next time you quote me and randomly attack me for "not knowing what I'm talking about", or "making up scenarios", or attack my guild, go check your privilege at the door.
BEST Experience in a MMO was Lineage 2...my guild used to go out and Force Gold Farmers to Fight us
Making Gold Sellers drop there Items so we could steal them, Making the Gold farmers Lose there Real Life jobs
#$^%&$^#$^ I hate fricken Gold sellers Kill them all !!( kill them in all games) ^__^ Gold Sellers and websites like these are the RUIN OF MMORPG's
Work hard and do it yourself ! Alll these stupid websites who sell in game stuff for Real Life money should Burn in Helll(Burn in a Fictional Video game version of hell) ^____^ Ruin's my Favourite Gaming Genre,, all these gold spammers and website spammers
But going with the discussion idea for the moment, I've always questioned this kind of activity. The whole point of a game is to enjoy the experience. How sad is it that we are at the point where games are so poorly designed that people have to latch on to the one thing they enjoy and then either endure the things they hate or pay someone else to work towards their enjoyment for them?
And the idea here seems to fly over people's heads. They are offering advice or to run (carry) you through a raid for a fee woop dee freaking doo. Who the hell cares particularly if someone is having problems and wants the help. They could try and get a guild to carry them and lets face it most guilds are not helpful for this sort of thing AT ALL anymore as most want you to know the raids inside and out and be geared with gear from them more often than not it seems.
I've had no issues with this myself, but I can also see where some people may want such a service. This isn't paying someone to log into your account or anything of that sort and I really so no harm in power leveling or paying for a raid carry if you don't have the time at the moment to invest in the raid but still want to advance.
Also as far as being able to "buy your way to the top in EQ", that's both a yes and no scenario, you can buy your way to good gear and a high level, it won't replace knowing things in the game or player skill in the long run, but you can still get pretty solid gear and levels so.... That said who is going to know if you get a carry from some other person, there are guilds that will carry people in almost any MMORPG for in game money, paying real life cash is not really different, nor should you really care if someone buys their way in unless you really get uppity about prestige of accomplishing something in a video game and somehow lord it over others.
I have no generalized problem with this in the least, this isn't buying in game items that no one else can get etc. People need to step back and realize that some people just don't have the time and sometimes money replaces times for them as gamers. They want to keep pace and be able to keep up and do things with friends so they get carries and don't invest the time, they may buy gear, they may get faster advancement potions or what have you. People need to take a chill pill though and realize not everyone is a basement dweller that can devote mass quanities of time to mmorpgs on a regular enough basis to stay up to date.
But going with the discussion idea for the moment, I've always questioned this kind of activity. The whole point of a game is to enjoy the experience. How sad is it that we are at the point where games are so poorly designed that people have to latch on to the one thing they enjoy and then either endure the things they hate or pay someone else to work towards their enjoyment for them?
But to some people winning is enjoying the game. Endgame is the only reason they play or they want to look good without putting in effort so they buy it.
1) If you cannot get past an encounter because the game is terribly designed, you dont have to pay for help, the company just need to patch their garbage.
2) If a game is very challenging but well designed and FAIR (like dark souls), then there is no reason to pay for help and ruin that wonderful experience when you finally achieve glory on your own.
People are really that lazy to pay for help?.....sadly yes. If people are willing to pay to win, they are also willing to pay someone to play their game for them.
/facepalm
EDIT: also, as long as games (mostly mmos) are based on numbers and stats instead of the actual fantasy/lore/adventure then we will keep getting crappier games that encourage these practices. Online games are not about fun anymore, its about paying the most money and getting the highest stats. Its sad and lame.
I envision this type of business model of hardcore gamers helping other gamers only to increase. A twist on the pay to play game model. Putting aside the purists argument that the only ones to make money is the game publishers.
These Bounty Gamers seem to be a glorified game helper service. In the future there can be other enterprising outfits as potentially: tour guides, instructors on playing a game with advanced techniques, hiring playing buddies (a variant of pvp bodyguards).
I recall when UO (Ultima Online) was in its hay day that enterprising gamers were selling virtual estate in that game for real cash. Basically as virtual real estate agents.
Just wait until a bricks & mortar amusement theme park is created as a compliment to a MMO game world online. Be it Warcraft, Everquest, etc... A theme park with MMO game design features as a new genre for gamers. I blogged about such a vision back in Sept. 2005 in my blog site of "Atrayo's Oracle".
Comments
people need to get over the "you get paid to advertise" thing. It doesn't happen.
While I know it is a sticking point with you SB, It is a bit hard to get past the advertising when there are 5 ads on this page alone.
If you want to join our EQ guild, and no one knows who you are, alarm bells will go off. Because everyone pretty much knows other other.
If you're some guy who bought his way to the top, everyone will know, and no guild will accept you.
If we don't know who you are, we ask you to tell us which guilds you were in, and where your gear is from. And we will check with other guilds if you're telling the truth.
You will also need a reliable sponsor, someone known in the community needs to sponsor you before we will consider giving you a 2 month trial.
"Buy a raid", or "Buy a friend", doesn't exist.
Try again.
What does EQ2 and Rift have to do with your claims about "1st gen MMO".
You:
Why are you pretending you know what happens in EQ1 when you don't even play it?
And here is my made up "scenario" pumpkin.
Server firsts in every EQ expansion since PoP.
Next time you quote me and randomly attack me for "not knowing what I'm talking about", or "making up scenarios", or attack my guild, go check your privilege at the door.
BEST Experience in a MMO was Lineage 2...my guild used to go out and Force Gold Farmers to Fight us
Making Gold Sellers drop there Items so we could steal them, Making the Gold farmers Lose there Real Life jobs
#$^%&$^#$^ I hate fricken Gold sellers
Kill them all !!( kill them in all games) ^__^ Gold Sellers and websites like these are the RUIN OF MMORPG's
Work hard and do it yourself ! Alll these stupid websites who sell in game stuff for Real Life money should Burn in Helll(Burn in a Fictional Video game version of hell) ^____^ Ruin's my Favourite Gaming Genre,, all these gold spammers and website spammers
I've had no issues with this myself, but I can also see where some people may want such a service. This isn't paying someone to log into your account or anything of that sort and I really so no harm in power leveling or paying for a raid carry if you don't have the time at the moment to invest in the raid but still want to advance.
Also as far as being able to "buy your way to the top in EQ", that's both a yes and no scenario, you can buy your way to good gear and a high level, it won't replace knowing things in the game or player skill in the long run, but you can still get pretty solid gear and levels so.... That said who is going to know if you get a carry from some other person, there are guilds that will carry people in almost any MMORPG for in game money, paying real life cash is not really different, nor should you really care if someone buys their way in unless you really get uppity about prestige of accomplishing something in a video game and somehow lord it over others.
I have no generalized problem with this in the least, this isn't buying in game items that no one else can get etc. People need to step back and realize that some people just don't have the time and sometimes money replaces times for them as gamers. They want to keep pace and be able to keep up and do things with friends so they get carries and don't invest the time, they may buy gear, they may get faster advancement potions or what have you. People need to take a chill pill though and realize not everyone is a basement dweller that can devote mass quanities of time to mmorpgs on a regular enough basis to stay up to date.
But to some people winning is enjoying the game. Endgame is the only reason they play or they want to look good without putting in effort so they buy it.
1) If you cannot get past an encounter because the game is terribly designed, you dont have to pay for help, the company just need to patch their garbage.
2) If a game is very challenging but well designed and FAIR (like dark souls), then there is no reason to pay for help and ruin that wonderful experience when you finally achieve glory on your own.
People are really that lazy to pay for help?.....sadly yes. If people are willing to pay to win, they are also willing to pay someone to play their game for them.
/facepalm
EDIT: also, as long as games (mostly mmos) are based on numbers and stats instead of the actual fantasy/lore/adventure then we will keep getting crappier games that encourage these practices. Online games are not about fun anymore, its about paying the most money and getting the highest stats. Its sad and lame.
I envision this type of business model of hardcore gamers helping other gamers only to increase. A twist on the pay to play game model. Putting aside the purists argument that the only ones to make money is the game publishers.
These Bounty Gamers seem to be a glorified game helper service. In the future there can be other enterprising outfits as potentially: tour guides, instructors on playing a game with advanced techniques, hiring playing buddies (a variant of pvp bodyguards).
I recall when UO (Ultima Online) was in its hay day that enterprising gamers were selling virtual estate in that game for real cash. Basically as virtual real estate agents.
Just wait until a bricks & mortar amusement theme park is created as a compliment to a MMO game world online. Be it Warcraft, Everquest, etc... A theme park with MMO game design features as a new genre for gamers. I blogged about such a vision back in Sept. 2005 in my blog site of "Atrayo's Oracle".
atrayosoracle.blogspot.com/2005/09/amusement-park-concept-project-name.html
Small businesses like "Bounty Gamers" would be only the tip of the proverbial iceberg in such a gamer theme park scenario.
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The Older Gamers