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[VIDEO] Is AFK Progression Bad for MMORPGs?
BitterClinger
Member UncommonPosts: 439
One of the many problems with Ultima Online that led me to quit the game three months after I started was the uncontrolled botting (we called it macroing back then) that went on in the game.
Of course, every MMORPG since has had to deal with botting, some more strenuously than others, but now we have an MMORPG that actually has it built-in to the game.
My gut reaction to 'AFK Gaming' is that it's not right, but I can't think of any way it hurts anyone. In any event, I decided to organize my thoughts and questions about this in a new video.
Of course, every MMORPG since has had to deal with botting, some more strenuously than others, but now we have an MMORPG that actually has it built-in to the game.
My gut reaction to 'AFK Gaming' is that it's not right, but I can't think of any way it hurts anyone. In any event, I decided to organize my thoughts and questions about this in a new video.
Comments
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Checking and sorting stuff, setting up my wares for the auction house while i'm out somewhere (haha...as if i'd ever leave my room...)
I would love to send my chars on missions when i'm not logged in in the main game!
In any case, things like afk fishign are great but not as good as "actual fishing". The actual "playing" yield's better results.
Still, I like that I can afk fish and come back after a day at work and be able to utilize the money I get so that my actual playing is more effective.
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Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
In BDO, the only people it benefits are people that like to PK afk fishers, which is just retarded.
It comes from the scarcity of personal internet in Korea, but it makes no sense here (and frankly I don't understand how it makes sense there either).
Why can't you just set your toon to afk fish when you log out. When you log back on, the game runs calculations based on how long you were afk for how much fish you got. Same for autopathed horses.
I get that it's cool to log on and get "free stuff" for the time you were afk, but I don't at all get why your computer has to be running the game the whole time.
As for some kind of afk progression, like the OP I don't see how it hurts anybody. It would certainly benefit sub-based mmos, if anyone wanted to make one of those ever again.
So this is definitely bad for MMORPGs, as it creates a lousy choice between doing something tedious (letting a macro play for you) or being disadvantaged in progression.
But it's important to distinguish forced-online AFK activities (EVE mining/travel) which are terrible, from offline activities (EVE skill-ups) which are completely fine.
"What is truly revealing is his implication that believing something to be true is the same as it being true. [continue]" -John Oliver
Well, that answers one question I had in my video. I thought BDO was the first game to have built-in AFK character progression. It seems EVE had this long before.
EDIT: And honestly I see it more as an underutilized mechanic. Given the server systems already have to stay up and track as persistent worlds, you should be able to see games where a disconnected player just means that the avatar flips to automated list of tasks that they can continue doing while the player is offline. IE, give the character a lifecycle and the ability to continue progressing (likely at a slower pace) their skills, serve as NPC mercs in groups, and do general "life" activities to flesh out the game world and user experience. You can even have a companion app to the game to get updates on your character and change their offline activities around if you want.
In no way does this mean impacting the user's online experience either (aside from continued progression and some degree of interactivity via mobile apps while not playing). What they are given is a small benefit with no real drawbacks. When the player logs in it simply warps the character back to where they logged out or to a home location. If the character was interacting with something at the time it can leave a copy of that character with a randomized name in place until the present task is completed.
Point of this example being, as-is it's an underutilized mechanic and we see both good and bad for the effects a incomplete system causes. The value of it is considerably more than we've seen in effect yet, however.
"The knowledge of the theory of logic has no tendency whatever to make men good reasoners." - Thomas B. Macaulay
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It provided a little bit of coin, but there was also risk involved with it in the form of kidnapping.
In general though, its a no-brainer, no serious progression should be achieved while AFK.
Early in my EvE career when I actually used to mine, I had a macro that moved the ore from my cargo to a jet can each cycle so I'm not constantly mouse clicking. I was always there. Any real harm in that? Meh, I don't think so.
It's the dudes that just let their toon macro all night while they sleep, or are at school that bug me. Are there really any modern games that are as a hard core grind like the older Korean games like KO, Asheron's Call or Lineage 2 or have a crappy farming mechanic like mining in EvE?
PS I am hiring myself out to anyone that also wants to afk sex with the missus.
In a game like WOW this would make little sense sure, yet in a game where 90% of it takes place after reaching cap, or a full skill build, it's not nearly as questionable in terms of reason for doing it.
I'm not saying it's the right thing to do, as one who never did the Jedi grind I never found a need for macro'd grinding. I certainly don't blame those who did take up that grind for using macros. I probably would have as well.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
Instead of packing MMORPG with things that are generally individually fun we are stuck with grind to get the carrot gameplay. In fact many of the fun things were removed to focus on combat. I would love for the genre to get away from being too progression focused and just make the games fun.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
That's where a majority of the afk grinding came into play. Being there or not would have made little difference to the challenge you'd face as there was no challenge, you just had to sit there and watch your character tumble for a couple hours
BTW the LOL was for trying to pin this on the newer generation of games/gamers.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
If they can't design something better than AFK progression, like I dunno something you might be able to actually play, they fail as game designers.
IHMO
"classification of games into MMOs is not by rational reasoning" - nariusseldon
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Try a MUD today at http://www.mudconnect.com/That said no one was bypassing or missing anything of importance to the experience in afk grinding, as I said before, 90% of the game took place beyond the leveling/skilling curve. I'd say it's more of a failure as devs to build a game that leads to nothing but repetitive grinds at end-game (most current designs).
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
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