Originally posted by Impacatus

 

Originally posted by Kalik-Kaotik
I agree I am looking for more interaction over all level ranges. As an example, let's use WoW or EQ. I always wondered why at max level it never benefitted you or a lower level peron to group together and kill. Wouldn't a new knight or caster server or learn from an elder? I would love a game to have more interaction across all levels. That way a new character doesn't have to solo grind to 70 before he interacts with the majority of the faction/server he is on. This gives new players an easier stepping stone into the game, and gives older veterans a chance to meet new people... besides in random chat channels.

Never played it, but from what I hear, City of Heroes had a system for this.  Higher level characters could temporarily reduce their level to join lower levels on their missions (exemplaring, I believe it's called), and lower level characters can temporarily increase their levels to join a higher level on their missions (side-kicking).  I agree with what you say though, that's a problem in too many games.

 

As far as the main point of this thread, creating a single player game is much easier than an mmorpg, and plenty of them are better designed than anything out there.  So why do people bother with mmorpgs at all?  Interaction with others, whether through cooperation towards shared goals or competition.  Unfortunately, most games don't emphasize either.  It's not just about chatting, we need a system whereby people seek out interaction with others unlike themselves for game purposes.

 you are right, the exemplar/sidekick system was a good idea, and could easily be implemented. But higher lvls helping out lower lvls is not unheard of, infact its pretty common, that is one of the benefits of getting in a decent guild at a lower lvl. and every game has some sort of  grouping system. wich is the system ou are looking for right? to seek out others unlike yourself for in game purposes? when u need a tank/healer/dps for "insert quest here" . really these should not be called mmorpgs, just mmos, because no one really roleplays on these games. but short of actual roleplaying, i dont think we can get much more unforced social interaction.  Personally, if we are just getting together to help each other out on a quest or two,dont expect me to really care that its your sons 3rd birthday , or that your wife left you. lets make some small talk and joke around sure, im all about conquering a quest or two,just remember that you are a complete stranger and odds are people are going to treat you like one.  Its different when we talk about guildies, or even people that you group with often.  remember that when you play these games you are playing them with 10,000 complete strangers, and of course possibly some RL friends. Besides making games with less solo-content, most games have all the tools you need for social interaction, you just have to use them.  either that or quit MMOs and go to giant LAN parties, then you can smell the other stinky gamers you are playing with, hows that for interaction? 

I cant agree that social interactions are missing, have you ever stopped and thought to your self, "how many of these people do I really want to talk to?" . How much more social interaction is one looking for a in a game? the tools for social interaction are in almost every MMO out there, its just how you use them. (just using WoW as an example, its the latest game i dove into, while i wait for Aion to hit) WoW has a pretty solid social interaction system, between raids, pvp, Auction house, and the chat channels, (general, trade, guild, custom made) and guild afer guild after guild, all of wich have websites/guildmeetings/vent usage. What exactly are you looking for? I do agree that solo gameplay has become a big part of the MMO-verse. almost to big, but for those of us that want to 'hang with other people" online, we find ways to do it, i dunno how many random people i have grouped up with to complete menial tasks in WoW just because i felt like chatting, (and it greatly sped up the course of things, removing some of the grind-fest feeling of the game.) but i am interested to know what part of "socializing" some of you think are missing from our games out there!!

my guess is if they do any of the "creatures" besides Vampire, they will save it all for expansion material. Vampire the Req. offers enough material to be a stand alone title, and enough source materials to get any nub accustomed to the WoD setting.

an absolute permanent death will probably never happen in an MMORPG. But i do agree that in some games a higher death penalty is needed. I really like where eve-online sits with its death penalties, WoWs death penalties are about all a game like that can handle (armor/weapon durability loss, loss of potent buffs). The only games that should have Perma-death qualities(or should i just say death penalties) are games that already retain some role-playing value. Everyone knows that no one "role-plays" in WoW, or EQ. its all about the shiny objects. And before someone mentions the "story  line" in all the quests, just remember the "instant quest log" button in the Interface options. Eve still retains a bit of Role-playing factor, the corporations in that game are the story - line,and so nothing is seriously force-fed, the politics and economy are primarily player driven, so their death penalties take away from the players/corporations pockets,and for a game almost entirely based on currency, it actually adds value to the  game. Games like the up-coming World of Darkness mmo will benefit greatly from strong death penalties, because it will help create the atmosphere that people/customers familiar with the WoD books are accustomed to. But for the most part, Perma-death will remain just a dream among a minority of gamers.

Odds are it will be New WoD, so for Vamps it will be Reqium. I havnt seen assimite, but. you can find things close to blood thaum..

I have never seen female toons get handed loot/advice/preference in an MMO like i have in WoW. My first toon was a female toon(i am a guy) i made a human warlock, and when i was researching the game I saw that the armor I that was going to dominate my backpack was cloth, a.k.a robes, figured a chick would look way better than a dude in robes. shortly after my spawn into the game I was being hit on and handed all sorts of "start-up" gold and items. the same did not happen with the lil male gnome warrior i rolled up the next day. btw, i definetly kept taking advantage of this all the way thru the career of my lock. just send a /wink at a guy these days and they think you are in love with them. I might have stopped but about 4 months after the release of the game someone asked me if i was really a girl, being a bit high,, err on life that is,,yea, at the time i said only one word, sure!. and the dude handed me an epic krol blade (wich 4 months into the game was worth a TON of gold) , then he proceeded to ask me for my phone number!!.Are you serious!!????  Of course i didnt give him my number, but i gave him a team speak channel to hit up and then laughed untill my stomach hurt when he found out i was a dude.  Now i have heard of people creating meaningfull realationships with people they met on an MMORPG, but is it just the little kids or the old pervs that will hit on any ANIMATED CHARACTER? there is a big difference in starting to get to know someone via vent/forum/chat or running up to my female toon and tryin to woo me with gifts, but hey as a guy, when competition is rough, if someone wants to hand me some stuff in a random group becuase they think im a girl, i wont say no! btw when i hand out advice or loot its not gender based, mostly for the fact that i dont want someone laughing at me the way i've laughed at so many.  LONG LIVE THE Auction-House STRIPPERS!!!!

First off, ive been waiting for a WoD MMO for quite some time, huge fan of the table top game, have been for years. But i have a really tough time believing that a WoD:Online game will satisfy any of the hardcore WoD fans. The people that will be happiest with this game will most likely be the audience that has never seen a WoD book. the World of Darkness has always been an extremely in depth setting. Its the perfect setting for a PvP/RvR or faction based warfare game. Vampires, mages, werewolves, hunters and changelings(im doubtfull, but one can hope!) all fighting for their place in the World of Darkness, wich can be easily done (it would be similar to WoW, but a way better setting.) perfect to appeal to the masses as another MMORPG, but real WoD fans will want the intrigue of Underground Politics wich are always present in a Table Top game no matter what creature of night you are. Political structures are essential to the integrity of the game. But how can a MMORPG properly represent that? Ive only been able to think of a few ways. Toss them around in your head a bit and let me know what you think.

1: Kine/Sleepers/humans, what ever you want to call them, will obviously be NPCs, and essential to the game. Now in table top Controlling the masses is easily enough described by the Story Teller, but how does that get shown in a game? One Idea i had ( might seem a bit extravagant) was to have a constant "Awareness" level. actually have a Veil to protect instead of just talking about it in quest logs. The more you use your disciplines and arcana, or the more you turn all big and furry in town the more you get hunted by NPC Hunters. Situations to that effect would add alot to the game. 

2: Inter-Faction PvP has to exsist. its a must. If i cant remove that pesky Malkovian by using blackmail or paying some mage to nuke him, i better be able to put a stake in his heart my self. now thats thinking as a table top player again, All I am trying to say with this is it shouldnt be all the Vamps on one team Vs. all the Mages on another, things dont always  work like that in WoD.

3: back to the previous Perma-Death discussion. I think perma-death should also be a function of a WoD mmo. otherwise what else keeps the creatures of the night from causing havoc constantly? the fact that "the things that go bump in the night" are all out numbered 1,000,000 to one. with PD , factional warfare will have alot more risk, but the rewards should also be greater. WoD would be good for perma-death for another reason as well, just looking at a vampire wont nessecarily tell you how powerfull they are. Not like in WoW, where you can see your targets shiny purples from a mile away. one constant in WoD is typcally "Always fear for your life".

im sure ill have more to say as time goes on about this, please let me know what you think of my ideas and please add any of your own, maybe White-Wolf/CCP will see our threads and use the ideas!!! LOL yea right. and if you guys want a taste of what real WoD fans will want to see, go take a look at any of the online role-playing sites for White-Wolf games, basically big chat rooms with dice rolling programs.