Or do people just like the idea of an mmo, but not the product? Discuss.

Tagging this thread so I can stop back tonight to see where it went.

While I tend to believe that the subject is not so black and white... as like or not.  I think that maybe folks expect too much from what are essentially only a game. 

Originally posted by Gintoh

Or do people just like the idea of an mmo, but not the product? Discuss.

That's pretty much me right there.

I've played nearly every p2p game that's released since 1998, and I can count on one hand the number that I didn't think sucked.

I like the idea of virtual worlds instead of games, I think dumbing them down to the level of games does the technology and the potential of the artform an extreme disservice, but that's what sells so that's what is happening.

By and large, the people controlling this industry (a very small group of people that rarely changes, mind you) are extremely lacking in creativity, preferring to whore out for money and bask in the glow of 'fake celebrity' that Sanya Weathers described in a recent column here on this site.

I don't think I'll ever get the satisfaction I'm looking for out of an mmo until its a private server that affords me and those with similar playstyle/goals control over the product.  Everything else is the same treadmill I've played 30 or 40 times already, and that's not what I'm here for.

Good question.

While I used to think I loved MMOs, now I can not say I do. I haven't played one in years due to how quickly boredom sinks in. Great idea, thousands of people to play with. But honestly, you usually end up playing with the same 50ish people everytime you log on.

naw i dispise MMO's  thats why i'm on an MMO only website...  and paying nearly 30 bucks a month playing  them.......

heh seriously though, i enjoy them for the most part, but i have  a tendency to game hop when i hit either slow spots or places where the quest stories just get boring... WOW 1-40th level for example lol took me nearly two years to get my first 50th level character cause i'd get bored with the lame stories... COH stories are alot of fun in the begining,  and in the end  like 35 plus  but that middle ground  is kinda boring... ( granted that was the first year before pvp   never went back and did stories)

age of conan... its gotten way better... i still wish you could skip the begining its very very boring.  EQII is one that has a good story line at least up to 40th level on qeynos side... vanguard, very good  stories but the world is so freakin huge it nearly dwarfs  the story lines.. some continents are lacking at some levels so you basicly have to jump into the middle of another storyline... which kinda blows. DDO ... the story quests are fantastic the realism of the dungeons is fantastic and like AOC the combat is immersive.  but..... nearly every non story quest is boooooring :) 

    i've played nearly every game out there, for me the perfect "godlike" MMO would be  open endedness of UO  stories of the eq series, combat like DDO and AOC size of vanguard  light heartedness of COH  and the ease of play of WOW  could add alot more to that but a game with those elements would be the perfect game.

hrmm.... didn't really mean that to be  that long heh :P 

I certainly like the idea of MMOs and I have my own vision of how I would like one to be, but I do actually like them too, there are a few MMOs I like playing.

I do think a lot of the people in the Pub like the idea better then any actual game though.  They envision this ideal world with ideal conditions and features that really aren't always practical and get dissapointed when games either can't be that way or don't turn out as perfect as they expected.  Then they hype up a game from the past and hold it as a false standard, to which no game could ever compete with.

I don't Hate em all. :). But i do hate the ones that require me to put more time into it then Trying to learn how to be a underwater Blacksmith.  If someone Say's they hate mmo's I wonder to my self why you have not thrown there computer out the window yet? Since everything else on the internet you can do on a PSP From any where in the world with wireless. Starbucks anyone?

Yes I actually like the mmorpgs. The main reason what got me hooked was the open world where I can go anywhere I wanted to and could actually travel! I love interacting with new people and haveing the immerison of the world with its community. 

I like RPGs and I'd like to share the experience with friends, but since multiplayer RPGs aren't made anymore (but for the occasional dungeon-crawling action-RPG with record-breakingly horrible graphics and gameplay), I have to settle for MMOs and hope for a big enough world (or enough instancing) for us to not have to deal with other players.

I would greatly prefer a multiplayer Oblivion, Mass Effect or Dragon Age over any MMO, but in the absence of these, the most immersive MMOs have to do.

Originally posted by kiddyno071

While I tend to believe that the subject is not so black and white... as like or not.  I think that maybe folks expect too much from what are essentially only a game. 

QFT

What you expect out of an MMO is directly proportional to what LITTLE you expect out your real life.

People who take games (yes, MMOs are g-a-m-e-s) too seriously need mental health counseling.

I certainly like the idea of MMOs, as does everyone.

but its that first M that keeps games from being all they can be. Trying to appeal to millions of people over a long period of time is nearly impossible. Having sooo many people wandering around in a game all trying to accomplish the same things...eventually that gets boring for everyone. I prefer to feel like I'm accomplishing something regularly other than just the next character level.......

I'm actually more of a fan of Multi-player Online RPG's...with fewer players on a server and more big things to accomplish.

If the massive part is ever going to work then there has to be different goals and achievements and maybe even different endgame for different players. Maybe a Sky pirate game where there are gunners, mechanics, captains, pilots,  etc. and everyone plays different roles on different ships. OR a game ala Elder Scrolls where you join one of the many guilds/houses and follow a story arc according to the one you join. I think that would help keep interest and give games replay value

Yeah people expect too much and frankly the reason people are complaining about everything here is because they're unhappy  and have unrealistic expecations on the next big MMO.

Buf for every person whinning here on the forums there are 100s that are completely happy and content logging into their MMO and having a good time. Those people rarely bother with forums like these.

Originally posted by cfurlin

Originally posted by kiddyno071

While I tend to believe that the subject is not so black and white... as like or not.  I think that maybe folks expect too much from what are essentially only a game. 

QFT

What you expect out of an MMO is directly proportional to what LITTLE you expect out your real life.

People who take games (yes, MMOs are g-a-m-e-s) too seriously need mental health counseling.

You can't tell me in a FPS you've never just screamed "************************* * ********              ** ********"

Originally posted by natuxatu

Yeah people expect too much and frankly the reason people are complaining about everything here is because they're unhappy  and have unrealistic expecations on the next big MMO.

Buf for every person whinning here on the forums there are 100s that are completely happy and content logging into their MMO and having a good time. Those people rarely bother with forums like these.

QFT

My ranking here goes up and down because i only really post here when i'm between games. i.e. now.

 I think MMO's have a potential that has never been tapped into due to lack of creativity. This lack of creativity comes from people thinking that mmo's have to follow the rules set by WoW and EQ. I think developers need to forget about every mmo convention ever concieved and just start over. Like I think if a developer made an mmo and he had never played one before, and he didn't know about any mmo conventions it would be great because in his mind he has no "rules" tofollow allowing him to do whatever he wants.

I like MMOs, just very few of them.  The problem with me is that quality MMOs don't get released often.  I find myself hurrying up to wait for the next best thing only to be let down by broken promises and false claims, ultimately leading to the next hurry up and wait for the next watered down done before hyped up product.

Originally posted by cfurlin

Originally posted by kiddyno071

While I tend to believe that the subject is not so black and white... as like or not.  I think that maybe folks expect too much from what are essentially only a game. 

QFT

What you expect out of an MMO is directly proportional to what LITTLE you expect out your real life.

People who take games (yes, MMOs are g-a-m-e-s) too seriously need mental health counseling.

Horseshit.

And an overly simpliistic generatlization.  Let me illustrate why.

In my 'real life,' I'm a veteran airline pilot and make damn good money at an enjoyable career.  On the side, I run my own small business (successful in its own right, but totally separate from my day job) and play just about every mmo that comes down the pipe, in the hopes that one of them will be more world than game.

The perception is out there that people who are hardcore into mmo's like I am, that view them as more than 'games' in fact, have no 'real life.'  This is patently false, as I'm married to a beautiful woman and as I said before, not hurting in terms of finances or material comforts.

You get out of mmo's (and anything else) what you put into them.  If you go in with the mindset of 'its just a game,' that's exactly what you'll get out of it, and that's fine.  But don't presume to know anything about my mental state because I take games more seriously than you do.  I'd stack my 'real life' up against anyone else's on this site and probably come out ahead in terms of things done, places seen, and fun had.  The fact that I like to roleplay, build communities, and search for that elusive holy grail of a virtual world has nothing, and yet everything, to do with my 'real life.'  It is a part of real life.  People that separate online lives from 'real life' are fooling themselves, and are covering for their own inadequacies when they look down on the choices of others.

Most people do view mmo's as 'just games,' which is why most of what gets published is a hodge-podge of recycled ideas and marketing vapor, and its why the gamers who are looking for more depth are constantly bitching about it here and elsewhere on the web.  Its ok if you're easily entertained.  I'm not, and that's not the only difference between us I'm sure.

If you're happy with the state of mmo's, good for you, but kindly refrain from insulting those of us who aren't, because frankly it just makes you look like a simpleton.

Cheers.

I like the idea, but the products are shit lately.

I cant really say if I do or dont. I started with Lineage 2 about 4 years ago and during that 4 years I tried everything at some point but never liked any of them. No other MMO I tried could give me the same experience I was getting from Lineage 2. Now I am playing Aion and its the only game that  has come close to giving me the same experience.