Originally posted by Ruyn

Mortal online is appearing to be geared toward a mature audience.  Check it out if you haven't.  It is currently in Beta and is still slated for a Q4 release (although I'm betting it will be pushed back a few months).

Same was said about AOC. You really think kids won't be playing MO?

If there is one thing I've learned in all of my years gaming online, it's that age and maturity are two completely separate characteristics. 

Originally posted by Getalife

Originally posted by Ruyn

Mortal online is appearing to be geared toward a mature audience.  Check it out if you haven't.  It is currently in Beta and is still slated for a Q4 release (although I'm betting it will be pushed back a few months).

 

Same was said about AOC. You really think kids won't be playing MO?

I didn't say kids won't be playing MO.  I said that SV is catering the game towards a mature audience, aka old school gamers.

Here's a solution.

If someone is being irritating/juvenile in chat, other players can "report" them.  If you get reported a certain number of times in a certain period, your stats get halved and you get flagged as attackable and anyone can kill you.  The first offense lasts until someone kills you.  Second offense lasts for an hour. Third lasts for 6 hours.  etc etc. 

Originally posted by garbonzo

Here's a solution.

If someone is being irritating/juvenile in chat, other players can "report" them.  If you get reported a certain number of times in a certain period, your stats get halved and you get flagged as attackable and anyone can kill you.  The first offense lasts until someone kills you.  Second offense lasts for an hour. Third lasts for 6 hours.  etc etc. 

... yeah I dont see anyone usign that as a griefing tactic, lol.

Originally posted by transitbus
After quitting EQ after 4 years I'm interested in WoW and CoH but after looking on the boards all I see are kids chatting about the game. I know this is a touchy subject but from my experience in EQ I can say that most people under 18 do not have the social skills to play with the respect of others in mind. With that said, are there any games coming out that will either actively ban anyone who is not an adult (not likely ) or will there be content that does not appeal to the "I pwned joo" mentality? Yes I realize some children do act mature when playing but I have had too many a time when that was not the case.

 

To some extent i agree, but I would subtract and enlarge your statement to saying anyone at about a 25 year old maturity level, regardless of age. I stay clear from WoW for this reason and CoH does not interest me. However, it is usually highly dependant on the guild you are in as immature people can be found in all games. I have a very mature guild in AoC where most are 25-35, and those above or below this acts at an appropriate maturity level. I also play FE which is quite mature, and I have found LotRO to also have a good player base (though stopped playing 6 months back). I would you advise you to try any game you can and join a guild, but stop playing if words like"leet"; "über", or "DKP" pops up on a regular basis as these are usually signs of games/guilds you do not want to waste tie on...

I'm not trying to derail your thread or looking to be flamed, just giving you my experience and FWiW  :)

Originally posted by ronan32

Yeah, its not about age its the maturity of the person, but that being said i dont want to play mmo's with 15 year old. so the OP's question still has some validity.

While I'm tempted to suggest Age of Conan due to its M Rating, the simple fact is that internet gaming takes place under the cover of anonymity, so you will never fully escape immaturity.

Personally I think it's a mark of maturity that someone is capable of ignoring immature players around them.  And then there's the fact that even adults play these games for fun, so expecting things to be 100% serious 100% of the time is dooms you to dissatisfaction.

Originally posted by Bama1267

Originally posted by garbonzo

Here's a solution.

If someone is being irritating/juvenile in chat, other players can "report" them.  If you get reported a certain number of times in a certain period, your stats get halved and you get flagged as attackable and anyone can kill you.  The first offense lasts until someone kills you.  Second offense lasts for an hour. Third lasts for 6 hours.  etc etc. 

 

... yeah I dont see anyone usign that as a griefing tactic, lol.

Well you could design it where people can't report the same player more than once, and only 20% of reports can come from a single guild, and maybe you need like 100 reports to get consequences.  Of course no game would ever do this...just amusing myself.  

Age is a strange matter on MMORPGs.
I personally prefer to be in a guild with mature people as well. The older the better. I got kinda sick of it when me and some people finally reached the main boss of a dungeon, and then the tank says he got sent to bed by his mom and has to leave now. Yeah such things really happen. That has then less to do with maturity but more with beeing able to decide yourself when to play which game for how long.
Maturity is another problem of course. When I know I'm in a guild where the average age is late 20s early 30s and the guild-poult is 18, then I can talk with the other guildmembers on TS or something about anything that comes to my mind, without having to pay attention not to touch topics which are unsuitable for minors.
Or simply that younger players sometimes have shorter attention spans, pout quicker when something goes wrong or, in general, behave childish. I mean that's why that behaviour is called "childish" because younger people are closer to children than older one.

Now of course there are exceptions. There are adults who behave like 10 years old and cry if they don't get their loot or whatnot, and 16 year old with whom you can discuss politics on TS. But, in general, 10 year olds behave like 10 year olds and 30 year olds behave like 30 year olds. That's just the way it is. And that's nothing bad. Why should 10 year olds not behave like 10 year olds, but try to behave like 20 year olds instead? That doesn't work and makes no sense.
It's not bad that young people behave like young people and old ones like old people. But you can still have preferences which type of people you want to have around you. So, as said, I personally prefer to have guilds whichs average age is as high as possible. Not because I hate young people or think that they are dumb, but simply that I can talk easier and about different subjects with people who are older. Or talk with them about work and insurances and wifes and lawsuits or STDs or divorces or whatever might happen in peoples lifes. Things that younger people simply have no experiences with.

Now, about the OPs question:
There are no MMORPGs without people under 18. But, of course, different MMORPGs appeal to different audiences. MMORPGs I played recently (meaning within the last year) were FE, WAR, AoC, WoW, Tabula Rasa (rip), Atlantica Online and Bloodymare Requiem.

Now I can just guess, but it seemed to me that the average age on those is about... from the highest to the lowest:
FE > Tabula Rasa > AoC >  Bloodymare Requiem >  WAR > WoW > Atlantica Online.

That does say nothing about the quality of the game, but simply the feeling I got while I interacted with the community and what common sense told me might appeal to what kind of players.

MWhahahah  an old thread.....reborn!!!

 Join an adult guild , the kids aren't going anywhere.

Originally posted by Dewm

 

MWhahahah  an old thread.....reborn!!!

lol got me, it's a good subject even 5+ yrs later

Originally posted by LynxJSA

 

"uhm.....for 1. Most the MMRPGers are teens"

 

 

"The truth is that the average age of MMORPG players is around 26. In fact, only 25% of MMORPG players are teenagers." - The Daedalus Project

 

Source: http://www.nickyee.com/daedalus/gateway_demographics.html

    This is an interesting link provided by LynxJSA which seems have been mostly ignored, despite the fact some posters are claiming otherwise. Teens are a small portion of the mmorpg genre if its valid, and more interestingly, the largest portion of player vs players are males aged 18-22. Take that for what its worth, I have my own conclusions.

Since everyone else is making baseless assumptions on facts, I will add my own.

1. It would seem bizarre that the OP is seeking to avoid the smallest population in MMOs

2. I would bet that even if half of that 25% teens were indeed immature morons, that number is likely exceeded percentage wise by the remaining immature morons from the remaining 75% adults, even though a smaller percent of adults over teens behave this way. Therefore adults likely still outnumber teens in inappropriate chat behavior

     And for the teens 'offended' by the OP, get over yourselves. How could you possibly be offended by a single statement on the internet, especially a gaming forum. You only prove his/her point. Everyone here already knows younger members can be intelligent, mature etc, but there is nothing wrong with someone wishing to play within their own demographic if that is what they wish.  Every guild i have ever joined asked me my age, so they aren't the only way that feels this way.  There are reasons why there are voting ages, military service etc, as well.  Are you offended that the government doesn't want you to vote or drink as well?

Don't kid yourself.  If an mmorpg came out that only allowed gamers over the age of 18, you would still see the same immature behavior.  It has nothing to do with age.  It's all about the anonimity of the internet.  When no one knows who you are, you're free to be the jerk you can't get away with being in RL.  As for not wanting to be in a group where the kid has to get off because his mom made him...doesn't seem much different from the adult gamer that has to get off suddenly because their baby is crying, or the wife/husband is home. 

Originally posted by a_name

Originally posted by Dewm

 

MWhahahah  an old thread.....reborn!!!

 

lol got me, it's a good subject even 5+ yrs later

It actually really is.

I really don't mind playing with SOME kids, I mean I started MMO's when I was 14, and I was greener then a tree when I started. But I was polite and respectful. and 99% of the time I could find people to help me/answer questions, and ver rarly did I have trouble finding partys.

Its alot of the FPS/xboxlive/wow kids that drive me nuts. the ones where if you do somthing wrong they screem the F word at you. its like "whoa, just because I didn't spend 10 hours online yesterday finding the most optimised gear for my class" doesn't mean you have the right to yell at me.

Anyways my $0.00002

I read an article saying Secondhand Lands has mostly the 20's area and up. http://www.secondhandlands.com/

Project Visitor is mainly an older crowd too. http://www.projectvisitor.com/

And then there are obvious ones like UO, Meridian 59, The Realm Online, etc that have an older crowd.

Mainly to avoid young teenagers, you're going to have to choose an older game. Simple as that. =P

2 things.

1. Its not a question of maturity although 'mature' is usually the mistaken label applied to it. Its a question of preference. younger and older people communicate and relate differently generally speaking. People tend to like whats similar generally speaking. Its not surprising. The only problem is people tend not to simply acknowledge the difference and the preference for it, and instead use lables. Young people aren't necessarily immature with short attention spans, and older people aren't necessarily slow and boring.  But regardless, a lot of people whatever their age and preferred form of social interaction, tend to prefer the same in others. Age is just the easiest  delimiter, even though not always accurate. When somone says they're looking for an MMO with over 18yo, they don't really mean they don't like 18 and younger, they're just professing to be looking for a specfic dynamic of socialization and communicaiton.

2. Matlock Online! MAAAAAAAaaaaaaAAAAATLOCK!!!

less popularity = more mature people. Thats it, almost always, but still Eve online is popular and doesn't have too much immature people. Btw, I am 15 years old but I don't count myself as very immature person. Just try to avoid WoW, Silkroad and (probably) Aion, and find yourself nice guild and everything should be fine. And theres also much mature guild in WoW but you cannot avoid general chats etc :(

age has nothing to do with it. larger society = more diversity.

also, looking at forums and expecting maturity... there is no way to get more exposure in-game than on forums. so, where do you think people will go to yell: "look how leet i am?".

Maybe games are too easy!? just an idea when i played swg precu i found the crowd very mature that being it wont stop under 18s but at least you wont notice them due to the maturity level of those around you.

If you make a game too hard to go around randomly ganking or griefing people that crowd wont play and thus leaving you with people who will be of a more mature nature.

Just my opinion.

Originally posted by Finwe

uhm.....for 1. Most the MMRPGers are teens 2. Adults can be just as immature as some 15 year old, as where a 15 year old can be as mature as some adults.

 

Only when comparing the latter with the adults that are just as immature as 15 year olds of course. There is a level of maturity that a 15 year old can never reach. However, whether that is relevant for playing games is anoher discussion.

 I noticed the OP date too, necromancy indeed, but this is still relevant.

As another responder noted, the biggest thing to me has been *numerous* situations where we may be going through a zone, an instance, or just get to a key moment and suddenly the healer is afk and hanging back at the beginning of the instance (meanwhile the tank, who regardless of age should have noticed this, has begun pulling mobs in a huge way) ... some 10 minutes later he comes back and starts bitching about his effing bastard of a dad making him walk the dog.... or take the trash out... or something.

Or a younger guildmate in the same situation comes on the next day, after idling out, and says MY FSCKING MOM MADE ME GO TO BED! THAT BIATCH! (despite it being 2am on a school night of course)... 

The problem is not that I don't want to play with younger kids, it's a game, we're all equal in the sense that we want the shiny new loot or the next pile of currency for some item, or the next level.  The problem is *I* am dad, and I don't want to have my gametime subjected to some kid's household chores.  I almost said "to some kid's parents" but it would be unfair to blame it on them.

--

NOW to be perfectly fair, this has nothing to do with being "kids" either, particularly.  For some reason some of the 420 people who want to giggle and chirp about how high they're getting have a habit of disappearing for hours when they go take care of their business.  And I was in a group the other day with adults, I think, and that healer disappearing wasn't due to dad making him take the dog out - it was he walked off to get something to eat.

Responsibility to your group, even if it is just a short-term PUG grinding mobs, goes a LONG way in gaining in-game respect.  If you don't tell people you are 12, and they can't tell, great for you -everybody must be benefiting.

I did a study of WoW players for my undergrad psych thesis 3 years ago.

I sought subjects in-game with friendly, unobtrusive general chat ads (on both Alliance and Horde, on PvP servers, PvE servers and RP servers). I also posted links on 4 major forums, including this one, Allakhazam, IGN, and the oBoards.  I got over 1000 respondents who completed the whole quiz. It was first a few demographic questions, and then a personality test (a real one that I had to get permission from some academics to use).

The results were interesting. Ignoring most of it I thought I'd tell you this:

The average WoW player is somewhere around 27 years old. That's right. 27. The largest group by far is in their 20s, with smaller, almost evenly sized groups in their teens and 30s.

I have to agree with what a zillion other people said in this thread - you can be 15 and a cooperative, pleasant gamer, and you can be 30 and a complete prick. You can be 25 and tipe liek sum1 whoo is stoopit and you can be 14 and use near-perfect grammar. Even if you could enforce an age minimum, it wouldn't make as much of a difference as you might think.

Only one I can think of is Mortal Online at least in the US

okay...........?