Tastes Gamey

This blog is about stuff. Sometimes that stuff has to do with MMORPGs.

Author: neschria

I didn't play yesterday because we took an impromptu road trip. Today is patch day. So, I am decorating for Halloween. I put up a garland with purple bats on it and hung up some plastic skeletons. I am going to have to go up into the attic to get down the rest of the Halloween stuff. I just haven't gotten motivated to go up there. It's creepy up there. 

Re: Whether or not EQ has improved: This depends greatly on who you ask. Some people despise the "newbification" of the game. They complain about instant travel, bazaar trading, maps, corpse summoning, newbie items that are better than what was available at high levels early in the game, etc. There was a time when I felt the same way. I've come to appreciate the changes that have been made to modernize the game without making it into something else.

Re: Not being worth the time to read about EQ: Hey, it's only for a month. Come back next month and I'll be back to posting commentary on the weather and links to sites that have nothing to do with gaming. ;) 

Diet Pepsi Max is caffeinelicious. I started drinking it this morning when I stopped  drinking coffee. That was probably a mistake. My hands can't keep up with my thoughts.

Oh, yeah... I lied in the first paragraph. I logged a new character into Xegony to see if there was anyone on that I knew and saw that there was a GM-run drunken elf race about to happen in Kelethin, so I went to that. I fell to my death off the second bridge I tried to cross, and then respawned... About that time, I was watching Top Chef, so I got killed a second time by an orc centurion. Damn that reality-cooking attention trap!

Anyway, it wasn't playing applied to the goal at hand, so it wasn't playing. Not really.

A Few Brief Notes On Niches That Could Be Filled By Small Games:

1. Permadeath-- This is one of those things that some people can't stand the thought of, and others can't think of anything they'd like better. I can't say I have much faith in the longevity of such a game, but I am sure that the hardcore folks out there would probably prove me wrong.

2. Roleplaying Enforced-- I understand that there are some games where the RP servers have GM enforced roleplaying rules, but I am not talking about optional RP, but rather a small game without any non-RP option where the story develops according to what the players do. This would require intense involvement between the devs and the community, of course, and the inevitable politics in such a game would make for a fine line for the devs to walk to avoid favoritism. On the positive side, players of such a game would probably be pretty passionate about it.

3. Social Fantasy Game-- This is a concept that I can see in my head but haven't quite figured out how to describe it. Let's say that you've got a skill-based PvE fantasy MMORPG with fantastic avatar customization, player housing to decorate, customizable profiles that can be opened from inside the game, social spaces where you can play mini-games, serverwide "quests" that are essentially riddles or puzzles with some parts that require coordinated effort to finish, the option of fighting monsters and exploring dungeons for items to trade or use as well as trophies to show off, but other options for doing the same (spending time in a temple doing tasks to earn favor with your god, for instance). Gear would largely be ornamental. This game would be about interacting with the community, above all, and not so much about collecting XP and gear, and rewards for playing would have to reflect that. Sort of a WoW meets UO meets IMVU meets Gaia Online... I'm not describing this thought very well.

4. Unusual settings -- I think Ryzom fit to some extent-- it was sci-fi/fantasy in a pretty original world. But what about a "caveman" game? A game where everyone plays an animal in the jungle? Where's the Watership Down MMORPG? Any setting or situation that can be written about in story form can be made into a game.

5. Alternate means of advancement -- SEED tried the non-combat route. I played it in beta, and despite the bugs, I thought that they were onto something. Unfortunately, they ran out of money, so I guess we won't know if they could have gotten everything working. I am not so sure about a game that involves player politics without PvP, though. That, however, is a whole entry in itself.  There's got to be a way to advance and be better prepared for challenges in a game besides murdering goblins just because they are standing there being goblins.

6. Tournament Games-- Part of what people love about MMORPGs is that they never end, but what if one did? What if you played until someone was crowned king and then the game reset with a whole new set of quests and challenges for players to overcome on their way to the throne? What if it were a PvP game where the challenge was to control the whole world, with a reset when a guild held the whole map for a whole month? How about a game that is permanent, as they are now, but with frequent in-world tournaments (combat, games of skill, games of chance, or even crafting contests) that would yield titles and perks for as long as you keep winning?

Just a few thoughts... Not necessarily good ones, but they ARE thoughts.