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Will anything ever be good enough again?
anarchyart
Member Posts: 5,378
For those of us who have been around MMORPG's for a while, I pose this question.
Do you think anything will ever be good enough again to make us play like such die hards as we did in the past? Like EQ. I was like a freaking religious zealot with that game, playing it every single second I could, even sacrificing food and sex to get my fill. UO was about the same. I would call in sick to stay home and play endlessly, playing from noon till sometimes 7 in the morning. I met 2 of my r/l girlfriends in EQ, and made countless other friends, some of which turned out to be online friends for life.
Of course now those games are outdated and have been nerfed all to hell. I loved WoW for about 5 months but as I got to the high end and realized what the game would be come I quickly grew tired of it. In fact, I grew to hate it. EQ2 is an awesome game and they have improved it a thousand fold over release, so many others are so great too but I just don't feel compelled to play it with the same passion as I had for UO and EQ.
Now, I know lots of you feel the same way. Your game might be SWG, or Anarchy Online or Lineage 2, but the song remains the same. Do you think it is the games that are watered down and lame now, or is it us that has changed?
I really loved those days of 12 hour play sessions and taming obscure mountain lions for hours on end just to get a few taming points in UO. I'm not sure if I miss the game itself or just the time period in my life that I miss.
I'm honestly not sure, but I crave that game that would envolop me in its world again, and I'm not sure if it will ever happen again. I have my crosshairs on Vanguard and I really think that might be the one, but who knows if I'll ever like anything as much as I liked UO and EQ again.
Comments
I'd have to say it's a bit of both... MMOs these days have become more watered down.. and we've changed.
Back in the days of EQ and UO, MMOs were still a risky venture. No one made an MMO with realistic expectations that it would be a blockbuster.. You made the best game you could, and you hoped you'd capture enough of an audience that you'd make enough money to stay afloat and prosper. Nowadays, MMOs are an industry all to themselves, and like all industries, there are formulas that have proven successful in the past, and are considered "safe money". Now, obviously the developers and the investors know they can't JUST stick to those formulas.. You have to do something different, or you have to do one of the same things better than everyone else to catch the attention and to hold it. But at the same time, you know that if you stick mostly to the formula, you'll be able to make enough money to at least break even.
Now, on the flip-side, gamer preferences have changed. Back when I played UO, I hated PKs with a passion that would sometimes incite me to hoarse-throated roaring. When they announced the Trammel facet, I was excited; Not only did I finally get the opportunity to place a house, but I could avoid those damned PKs! Once they did it, though, I realized that it had killed what Ultima Online had been. When I took a hiatus and came back, I realized that the game that had excited me had become less exciting... and the most interesting thing to do was gardening. (which was definitely fun for a while.. You could grow some funky plants) When I first saw SWG, it hammered the first nail in my UO coffin.. I went to SWG, and while I did go back to UO, my stays got shorter and shorter. Every now and then I find myself missing it, and I go back.. And I realize that it's just not what I want anymore.
So yeah.. The games have changed, and so have we.
I agree with the OP.
I've played so many of the mmorpg's. I'm bored. Nothing on the horizon looks interesting. Games in general. They all look the same. Each new mmorpg claims to have something the others don't but in reality I see nothing new.
double post, don't know how that happened... but instead of wasting this space I will also add as a side note...
I hate Elder Scrolls Oblivion. This "revolutionary" AI is BUNK. Oblivion is the prettiest game to annoy me yet.
EQ is the first MMORPG I played (never played UO) and it is still by far the best. Part of it for me was the sensation I got the very first time I entered the world of EQ. It was so unlike anything I ever experienced in a computer game before. It was like I had actually become a character in the game, not just a computer player sitting at a screen watching what was happening.
EQ (and perhaps UO) set the bar so high, that to surpass it, or even equal it again, will be very difficult indeed. Just about everything loses its lustre after it becomes commonplace. Its that way with just about everything. Reality TV is another example. Survivor was the first and, I think, the most popular. Nobody gets excited about reality TV anymore.
I'm hopeful something will come along in the future that will capture that feeling again. It may not be an MMORPG that we have gotten used to, it may have to be something new. But there's a small part of me that hates the thought of being addicted to another game the way I was to EQ. I feel so unproductive when I neglect the rest of my life.
There also hasn't been anything very revolutionary as far as gameplay goes not in just MMORPG's but games in general as well. Everything's just re-done and reguritated with "enchanements". Heck the only two things that came out of E3 06' that I thought were really new and interesting was the Wii controller and the game Spore, but anyways back on topic.
If you've played just one of these games - WoW, EQ2, Lineage II, Guild Wars you've played them all. There's nothing radical that has been introduced into the genre. Its all apples and oranges and a cookie cutter formula. Its new continents to explore, the addition of pvp, more monsters, levels, skills, harvesting, and crafting, new mounts, better character customization ect. You fight something or you craft. You go out find a mob or another player, click a button and kill it. Rinse and repeat. There's no real fundamental changes to gameplay. They might add in tools that make things easier for travel, finding groups, or instances but its same game we all played before whether it was EQ1, UO or whatever.
If developers just used their brains and imaginations instead of copying each other the possibilties could be endless on an online envoirment. Just take a few minutes to think about it for yourself and I'd bet you'd come up with really cool ideas that aren't seen in MMORPGs to make it a much more immersive experience that you as a player would care about. We need to care about what happens to our characters and get attached and completly get immersed into the world.
Until there is some truly new, original, and unique ideas that change how MMORPGs are played I think many of us will feel this same way for years to come. There needs to be that magical, special, unique place that will capture our hearts, mind, and soul.
Very nice post and i agree . Besides the recent releases and the problems they had and the continual
sameness being offered in the current market, it is not just the games that have changed but we changed along with those games.
From aging to life styles to realizing it's not end game but getting there, and i do not think we are as easily led as we once were. We have seen some great things turn to dust, we have betaed many, seen the same ole arguments repeat themselves many times over and I think many of us that reached end game in 2 or more mmorpgs realize there is just so much mindless killing just to grind becomes mute.
What once sparked our dreams our imginations has been replaced by next patch woes it will all change. I am willing to bet if those of us really bummed take a 5 - 8 year break from current crop of mmorpgs, and look at the situation then we will find same ole same ole issues with just a few improvments along the way.
I have faith it will change one day. Someday in the future a gaming company, possibly a garage game company, will see all this and decide to do something better. Something different. And they will totally change the face of MMOs. It happens in all the other game genres. From FPS to RTS.
I remember one such game. Most FPS games of the time dealt with a marine or a special forces type. Or some other cliche character. One where you had to fight demons and flip switches and find keys.
Then a game came along that changed all that. Now your a scientist. And you not only fight aliens but also soldiers. Also the game was set up to be modded easily. So many were made, in fact, that 1 game purchase led to literally 100 other games. From MP to SP. From then on FPS games took their lead from that game. Trying to emulate it.
So one day someone will change the picture. Maybe find the perfect middle ground in all the arguements of MMOs. From PVE to PVP, Solo to Group, Sandbox to Content, and level to skill based.
When that game does come along it will change the face of MMOs as we know them. We will look back on the old games like EQ and UO like we do Doom and Wolfenstien now.
I am also willing to bet it wont be a fantasy game either.
If I inhereted $50 million or won a lottery I would do it. Maybe a cyberpunk type or sci fi type. Something that mixed level based with skill based allowing for maximum diversity. One that would allow you to solo or go group without much trouble. You could make your own content or follow along a predetermined series of content lines.
Kai
But APB for 360 looks very fun , I can't wait to hear more about that game or Huxley . Webzen seems to be a bright rising star in a sea of drab grey .
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
I believe that we can't have any discussion on what mmorpgs are without talking about Wow. This game is the best and worse thing that could happen to mmorpgs.
Mmorpg these days just have ONE recipe: the EQ way. Devellopers can "hide" it under a mad-max, Sci-fi,famous book/film license, historic, pirate...or any other settings its just basically the same: classes, levels, zones, dungeons, grinding, items....and in this category whatever everyone is saying World Of Warcraft is by far the best (even if I too hate it for its end game and lack of world pvp, and can't feel the passion I had for UO and EQ).
The sooner developers realise this the better: they are not gonna make an undoubtedly better game than wow in this category, no matter how much they try. I think it will take 2 to 3 years and a lot of "high profile + big licence" games disappointments for developers to realise this. Then they will try something radically different.
The problem now is that most games in developement have started beeing planned before wow was released, whe need game made by peoples who have played wow extensively. Games that state FROM THE VERY START of conception that they are gonna make things completely different instead of making a grind game in a new setting (=>99% of the games listed "in developement" on mmorpg.com).
WHATEVER the game, if developers uses the words "levels" or "classes" you know for sure that their game won't take the wow crown. If you are bored with EQ-style games (as I am), there is simply nothing to look forward to at the moment.
edit: to be perfectly honest, there is ONE mmo from all those I have seen that really stands away from this pattern, and it is Eve Online. Unfortunately I've tried hard, but I just can't identify myself with a space ship...
I too started with UO, I experienced the 12-14 hours gaming sessions you speak of. Taking days off work/school sick to play a game, now that's just uber. From UO I went onto EQ, which I enjoyed equally, for very different reasons.
Heres my take on the whole thing:
UO and EQ were the mother and father of online gaming. They were the originals, the very best, the irreplacable some might say. UO with it's insanely fun PvP and social system, and EQ with it's purely awesome PVE and rediculous amount of content. From them spawned countless more MMORPG's, none of which could rival the greatness of their predecessors. The bloodline has now been dilluted down to the drivvel we see before us today, the likes of Guildwars and RF Online. Unfortunately I don't think we'll ever experience the wonder that was UO and EQ, simply because they were the originals, they were groundbreaking, they were the best.
I don't think i'll ever enjoy a game in the same was as I did EQ/UO... I can't even find a game that'll keep me addicted for half an hour lately, let alone 14 hours every day for 3-4 YEARS! I am playing EQ2 at the moment, and I am enjoying it alot. But not in the same way.. it's a passtime, nothing more.
Same here really. I'm looking at this new and upcomming Vanguard by the EQ developers, and to be truely honest I'm thinking I won't be playing this. Just looking at the gameplay videos doesn't really excite me, I've seen it all before. The same classes(healer-tank-dd), combat(simplistic combat) and the grind I think I have become tired of now. I really can't forsee a mmorpg that is going to excite me again.
BioWare will mark a new era if HJ or Warhammer doesn't before!
MMOs as we know it will evolves to a new level.
MUDS
MMO 1st gen (UOish)
MMO 2nd gen (from EQ to AA, including WoW, CoV and Vanguard)
Now devs claims a new gen and all, but maybe it should be more appropriate to think of a new genre? I dunno, we will see...and don't trust anyone who claim they bring the new gen or genre, TRUE devs displays for everyone to wonder, they don't talk endlessly (think like old EQ, not like Vanguard...old EQ was not praising itself over and over again about been a new gen or whatever...it was their world, yes...but it was not self praising against other games or genre, in this Sigil is very different from old Verant).
- "If I understand you well, you are telling me until next time. " - Ren
I could be wrong on this assumption but I also tend to think that everyone's first MMORPG was the one that they remember most and tend to think was the best over all. For me it was everquest because it was the first game like that, that I had ever picked up and I played it for a good 4 years. I still think it was the best game ever and nothing else can beat it simply because nothing else gives me that same feeling that I felt when I first played it. Heck even hearing music from the game makes me feel nostalgic and I can remember the fun times I had in those zones.
What I am simply saying is that If my first MMO, lets say would have been DAOC or...UO, I would probably be saying that it was the best game ever just because it would have given me my first taste of the mmo world.
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