The MMO community is purely a different breed of gamer, and an entirely separate market. 

I was getting 20 gift requests a day from friends on Facebook, and I hadn't even touched the game.  One day my mother called and asked me to join and accept her neighbor request so she could expand her farm.  Soon I find out that a lot of people who gave me crap for my past gaming indulgence were now actively playing Farmville.  

I played around with it for a while; planting 2 day crops, spending 20 minutes every other day, and then I needed more neighbors to expand my farm.  I head to the Zynga forums per advice from a friend and recruited 10 people.  Wow what an eye opener.  Some of these people are just as addicted to Farmville as you'd find a person being addicted to any MMO.  They spend 12 hours or more a day spamming collections, and commenting about "stalking the feed"; ie. refreshing the Facebook feed over and over for hours to get clickie rewards from their 300+ random person neighbors they are constantly adding.

My theory..  when people disconnected from Myspace in favor of Facebook, they lost a lot of self expression.  Farmville is all about vanity, and is one of the rare places on Facebook where you can have a visual identity.  Go read the Zynga forums for a while and you'll find people claiming to spend $100 a week on junk that they delete two weeks later.  Others 'play to win', and be better than their friends.  The whole thing fascinated me from a gaming standpoint .

Truth.. these social gamers are not constantly searching for a better gaming experience outside of social networks.  I once thought that Farmville was a gateway MMO, but I retract that idea.  These are real people, and they want to remain real people.  Their motives for gaming are completely different than the standard MMO gamer, but Farmville found the right combination of loot and rewards.. much the same, huh?  

I received an email today with account recovery instructions.  Curiously I went to my old guild forums and sure enough someone made a post about my paladin alt being logged in and not responding to tells.  It has been over six months since I've logged in, and WoW has long been completely cleaned off my computer, so I don't know.  The email account I registered WoW under has been my personal communication email for a while now.  I have a separate gmail account that gets all the social network and forum registration junk.  I also make an effort at keeping my pc clean and secure.  I also have a variety of jibberish passwords that I use.

Greetings,

We have determined that the World of Warcraft account xxxxxxxxxxx has been accessed/compromised by someone not authorized to do so by the World of Warcraft Terms of Use (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/legal/termsofuse.html).

To protect your privacy and security, we have temporarily disabled this account. Any recurring subscriptions have been suspended to prevent further monetary charges. In order to regain access to the account, you must complete the steps below to secure the account and your computer.

Please keep this email for your reference until the account recovery process has been completed.

STEP 1: SECURE THE ACCOUNT, YOUR COMPUTER AND YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
Account compromises most often occur when a player shares login information with an unauthorized third party or plays on a computer that has a virus, Trojan, or key-logger. We recommend you read and apply the following tips to protect yourself and the account.

- Unauthorized Account Access Policy: http://us.blizzard.com/support/article/20460
- World of Warcraft Account Security: http://us.blizzard.com/support/article/20572
- Computer Security: http://us.blizzard.com/support/article/21118
- Email Address Security: http://us.blizzard.com/support/article/28585

STEP 2: RECOVER THE ACCOUNT
We now provide a secure website for you to verify that you have taken the appropriate steps to secure the account, your computer, and your email address. Please go to this site and follow the instructions:
http://us.blizzard.com/support/article/securitywebform

STEP 3: VERIFY YOUR SUBMISSION WAS RECEIVED
We will contact you with further instructions once we have received and processed your submission. If you do not receive a reply within 48 hours of submitting this form, please resend it from the address listed above.

Please be aware that if unauthorized access to this account continues after the recovery process is complete, it may lead to further action against the account.

Regards,
Blizzard Entertainment
www.WorldofWarcraft.com

Originally posted by nakuma

when you start charging money for a product its not no longer a trial but a service. I have a job, but why would I need to pay them $1 for the opportunity to play their game for 7 days. That is not a trial here is what the defiition of trial means.

a. The act or process of testing, trying, or putting to the proof

2.made, done, or used for the purpose of trying, testing, etc

in the gaming industry a trial of a released game, implies the potential consumer is to freely test/play the game to see if it meets their interests under provised restrictions, and limitations of scope, time, or features for the possibility of future purchase or procurement. In short terms "hey try our game its free, but to play further you have to buy the actual game".

 

AV doesnt do this. they instead charge you a small fee for the same risk of not knowing what to expect. You may like the game, you may not, but in the end they are offering a service, small or large, its still charging and therefore it is not a trial. It is a service with limitations.

They are either too lazy, or understaffed to code a trial version of the game that prevents abuse of the game. I cannot think of a game that actually charges for a trial account. this is just another form of nickel and diming to get more revenue by AV. Its both unprofessional, and directly illustrates their inability to compete with mainstream industry. I wouldn't mind giving the game a try, but to be charged to try the game is down right silly. I'll pass.

 

oh by the way, There is a old adage..." there is a sucker born every minute" and "a Fool and his money are soon parted"

Congrats on the job, so why are you sweating about a dollar?  In the definition you posted of trial, there was never a mention of free, and it seems to me that the DF Trial meets the criteria by terms of Webster.  So why are you trying to monopolize the term 'trail'?  It seems to me that AV is capable of  defining that term under their business model, and if it keeps out the people who find a reason to complain about anything and everything.. more power to them!

If you can't pay a dollar for a weeks worth of unrestricted game play, then you're probably not a potential customer.  I think this is probably the best thing they could do for the community to keep nuisances away from the game, and the people who complain about where gaming is going haven't accepted it is already there. 

This is so absurd.. how on earth could you not recognize the greatest MMO gateway drug of them all.  It has to be the game of the year; 60 million players, billions of clicks on cows and chickens and corn and such.  Mouse clicks and daily logins tell the whole story, but you deny them?

You disrespect all the Farmville loyalists.  This is a sad day, how dare you make my virtual sheep cry.. and heck, even the sheep playing World of McDonaldscraft are crying for the Farmville folks.  They can sympathize, user base means a lot.  I mean it is just like when I bring my McDonalds to work and someone questions me on why I'm eating that garbage..  I just shrug them off and think, " billions of burgers sold, this is the best of the best, hands down because numbers don't lie."

You have no credibility left.  Good day sir!

/snicker

BTW grats EVE.

Originally posted by Timzilla

Originally posted by ktanner3

Yes, there is a set number of skill points. You won't be able to be an expert on everything. You can be a jack of all trades if that is how you want to spend your skills, but you won't excel at anything.

 

In other words, yes you may screw your build.  Question is, can you unscrew it?

That's what the cash shop is for.

"Change is the essential process of all existence, so visit the cash shop to get started."  - Spock.

Originally posted by Zorndorf

Originally posted by ebonfire

Originally posted by Zorndorf

 

You can tie this in for every succesful economic product in its range ... in our society.

But the analogy doesn't make sense because every succesful product can be named within this "analogy".

From Microsoft, to Apple, from Mercedes to Hilton Hotels.

WOW is NOT competing against MacDonalds to reach status of "game of the decade".

:))) And btw Economic succes is a FACT. Opinion has nothing to do with it.

 

 

 

 

Maybe you missed the boat and need to go back to read where the analogy came from?  Everyone seems to fall back on "WoW is the most popular, therefor is must be the best thing ever", and critics in turn will point out that "McDonalds sells more food than any other restaurant out there, and by number it is the most popular, but it is far from the best."  You personally hate this analogy because in every thread you are always falling back on numbers or popularity, but if the number don't mean what you want them to mean, well that would challenge what you choose to believe.  People tend to get very defensive when that happens, and we are a bit beyond that point where you can even be rational.

 

Try to read what I write.

I said that Blizzard's WOW is the most succesful game in 30 years history of video games because it generated the best money making single game.

I never said "popular", because succesful is based on economic facts/earings per year.

I never said "best thing ever".

It is an economic fact WOW is the best money maker of all single video games ever.

That's a simple economic fact and therefore has an influence in social, financial and cultural behaviour in our society.... regarding ... video games ... not fast food habits.

Shouldn't be too hard to read what I write.

 

 

1.  WoW is not a single game, it is a base game with two expansions, and a bunch of mini-expansions that come in patches which people pay for with monthly subscription fees.  The Mario franchise has brought in more money.

2.  It is successful, but that doesn't mean what you want it to mean.  It is estimated that 190 million homes will have game consoles by 2012, but I'm sure it will be still be the same 6.5 million subscribers in NA and Europe for WoW.  How has WoW changed the gaming world outside of MMOs?  Console game sales might have been hurt by the economy, but it still the same formula, and the same type of games like Modern Warfare II breaking sales records.  None of these games are WoW clones, or could even be compared, but the sales figures are still in the millions (*edit* of units) every month.

3.  Virtual Items and Property is the current movement.. estimated at over a billion dollars in sales next year, and will probably keep growing for years to come.  I'm sure WoW will try to take a piece of that pie, but it shows that the world doesn't have a big interest in subscription model games.

4. You debunked an analogy by stating that McDonalds is not competing for game of the decade?  If this were the debate club, you'd be waterboy.. lol or maybe cabin boy.

Originally posted by Zorndorf

Originally posted by ebonfire

 

It would be different if he was arguing the connecting as a weak analogy, or logical fallacy, but to define the boundaries of an argument by personal feelings that are by no means academic; this is just fanboism 101. 

McDonalds and WoW have a lot of thing in common from a consumer standpoint..  They are both at the top of their industry as far as popularity, both market aggressively, both have been deemed harmful is consumed in excess, both have a business model that targets a broad market, and both provide an easy low hassle experience. 

 

You can tie this in for every succesful economic product in its range ... in our society.

But the analogy doesn't make sense because every succesful product can be named within this "analogy".

From Microsoft, to Apple, from Mercedes to Hilton Hotels.

WOW is NOT competing against MacDonalds to reach status of "game of the decade".

:))) And btw Economic succes is a FACT. Opinion has nothing to do with it.

 

 

 

Maybe you missed the boat and need to go back to read where the analogy came from?  Everyone seems to fall back on "WoW is the most popular, therefor is must be the best thing ever", and critics in turn will point out that "McDonalds sells more food than any other restaurant out there, and by number it is the most popular, but it is far from the best."  You personally hate this analogy because in every thread you are always falling back on numbers or popularity, but if the number don't mean what you want them to mean, well that would challenge what you choose to believe.  People tend to get very defensive when that happens, and we are a bit beyond that point where you can even be rational.

Originally posted by Cecropia

Originally posted by Zorndorf

 

Ok, last try: MacDonalds quality can ONLY be compared to other fast food chains.

Mac Donalds quality can NOT be compared to books, motion pictures and video games. MD is fast food so it can only compete  ...with fast food chains.

It is NOT because some other products are huge economic successes that they can be compared to fast food chains.

You can only compare within each "quality" branche. So the analogy is false.

 

 

You WOW guys crack me up. How do you not understand the analogy between McDonalds and WOW? An analogy between two things doesn't require that they are in the same industry you know?

As far as fast food goes McDonalds does it the best. They have the most consistent quality, best staff training, and they keep the place clean as hell. Personally I'm not a huge fan of processed foods, so McDonalds isn't a common choice for me when I get hungry. Neither do I like themepark MMOs. If I was another man, I might be playing WOW right now eating a Big Mac :)

It's a reasonable analogy, and it's not an insult to WOW. If was to describe WOW to a non-MMO player I would say it was the McDonalds of MMOs. That would help them to understand WOW's success, size, and reliability.

It would be different if he was arguing the connecting as a weak analogy, or logical fallacy, but to define the boundaries of an argument by personal feelings that are by no means academic; this is just fanboism 101. 

McDonalds and WoW have a lot of thing in common from a consumer standpoint..  They are both at the top of their industry as far as popularity, both market aggressively, both have been deemed harmful is consumed in excess, both have a business model that targets a broad market, and both provide an easy low hassle experience. 

Originally posted by Malickie

Originally posted by Daffid011

Originally posted by Malickie

 

How can people steal from Blizzard something that isn't exclusive to them?  There isn't much about WOW that was fresh aside from polish, no one has stolen that as of yet. What is it exactly that has been stolen from WOW by anyone else that WOW didn't "steal" from somewhere else?

This is why I don't feel they deserve such an award, there's nothing orginal about WOW's design, they just got lucky and delivered at the right time with tried and true game mechanics, that came along before them.

 

A game doesn't have to be totally innovative to offer something new.  Wow is more of an evolution in gameplay as opposed to innovation.

For example: wow is primarily a wow clone, but the game has a very different feel for its gameplay compared to everquest.  Along side its ability to blend casual, hardcore, pve and pvp into one game is something that was new in the genre.

 

 

 

I wouldn't say WOW was the first to do that SWg did a lot of that as well (blend mechanics successfully) arguably to a greater extent than WOW. I can't help to think this is more about genre domination than it is about WOW offering something unique outside of polish. It has dominated its market like no other, that's what its true unique feature is.

All I can say is to just be glad that anti-trust law doesn't extend to game play features.  I think that 'borrowing' features from other games that are scheduled for release around the time of you next expansion is pretty anti-competitive when you are the top dog of the industry.

Originally posted by Ilvaldyr

Originally posted by lord_seru

Originally posted by Ilvaldyr

Hmm. So then, you've played WoW? Up to level 80?

You've done the 25 man hard-mode raids? You're in a top-rated arena team?

Presumably so, since you're comfortable in labelling the game as "easy-mode", and as you've established yourself as being opposed to troll posts.

Please link your armory profile to validate your credentials.

Some people, they just don't know what is hard because they've played easy all their life

I'll take that as a "no" and consider your opinion to be uninformed.

And therefore irrelevant .. but thanks for playing.

Leveling to 80 is not hard.  HIgh rated arena games are about as far from the core of WoW as you can go, and therefor irrelevant as to the difficulty of the rest of the game.  Hard mode encounters are as much about gear and time as they are skill, and people are still carried.. even in hard modes.

The core game has changed so much since launch, and anyone who was around way back then will tell you it was ten times harder getting your first epic.  The game is a gear grinder, that is generally agreed on, and over time it was made easier to get geared.  Now in modern WoW they have decided that they want EVERYONE to see Icecrown, so work backwards from that and you come out with an extremely easy core game. 

Originally posted by Zorgo

Please highlight the portion of my post which declares I am proud of my contribution to culture and society I've made through WoW.

My point had to do with your use of non-gaming press to declare what the best game of the decade was....ludicrous. Perhaps you think that the 'game of the decade' should be one decided on by people who aren't part of the gaming industry, or consumers of that industry, but I don't.

Hence the sarcasm.

But if it makes you feel better, I apologize - you are right. You have contributed to society and culture in a much more meaningful way by playing your video game than I have from playing mine. Good Job, your life has importance.

I think that gaming press is very specialized, and I agree that anyone wanting to live within game culture would rather have a more informed source of information.  Now when you survey the mainstream entertainment writers that examine culture with a wide angle lens, these people will give you names life Guitar Heroes, Halo, GTA, or Wii Sports.  It is really hard to talk about MMOs without mentioning the downside, and there is a lot of downside.

Online games where you seal yourself off in a world and live an 'other than' existence is forever going to be the stopping point for this genre interacting with culture.  I really think that to be a part of culture, you have to give back to culture.  Wow does this through aggressive advertising and marketing, effectively buying its way onto TV and into homes, but it is fake to the fullest extent... right down to the persona that most players carry with them.  It is a two way street with culture, and like I said.. people live an isolated throw-away existence in The World... of Warcraft.  Many people see this as destructive lifestyle, and culture tolerates this to some extent, but it will never embrace it.

I really think the Mc Donalds reference that people keep making is so funny.  WoW is kind of like the Kurt Cobain of the MMO world..  oddly tasteful, highly exaggerated skill set, near cult following, and will leave you lobotomized in the end.

I was a launch day player of WoW, and I'm not going to tell you that it's horrible.  I think my main had around 150 days played when I quit a few months back, so I've been around the block with it a few times.  Gaming kind of trains you to live in the moment, or keep working towards your next moment.  You give to the game, you give to your server, and it gives back.  Nobody cares but you, maybe your guild and the friends you make along the way, but everyone (non-gamers) else misunderstands what you are trying to do with yourself..  which is not much of anything.

I really don't have a game anymore.  I play Starcraft from time to time, and I log into SL to share ideas with other musicians when I have the time.  I volunteer my time as much as possible, like a few weeks ago I played at a charity compassion weekend, and we sponsored a few hundred impoverished kids from Africa... that was way better than healbotting my guild so they could get lootz.

Originally posted by Zorgo

Originally posted by ebonfire 

Here is a "Game of the Decade" review lists by the San Francisco Chronicle, and WoW is not at the top of any list.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/29/DDU71B5TIO.DTL

 

Here is the 10 most import works of the Decade from Toronto..  1.  Guitar Hero.   Hey no WoW on the list..  hmmm.

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/centurysofar/article/744039--10-most-important-works-of-the-decade-no-1-guitar-hero#comments 

 

Indianapolis Star..   GTA is the number one game of the decade,  ooops no WoW on the list?

http://blogs.indystar.com/geek/2009/12/top_games_of_th.html

 

Wait.. there are quite a few "Game of the Decades" that came up in the Google news feed, but I can't find the WoW on even half of the lists.  Hmmmmm

 

 

OMG! The Indianapolis Star didn't put WoW on the list? You've convinced me! I had no idea such a reputable gaming source didn't include WoW. I can't believe I almost thought WoW had made some sort of impact, but if the MMO Mecca aka known as Indianapolis shunned WoW, well, it must be true. Good research -you searched for proof of this insane claim and easily showed that the most important hubs to computer gaming are all in agreement. San Fran, Toronto and again OMG Indianapolis. I must have been crazy.

Good try at least *claps*.   You are welcomed to go through new feeds and find how many non-gaming sites think that WoW matters in the what they define as culture.   My guess is not many, but you're welcomed to think whatever makes you feel better about the time you waste in games, and the impact you think you're making on culture and society.

Like I have already shown..  Second Life has way more cultural references.  Over a billion USD has passed through that game, and over a billion hours have been logged by players.  Educators don't take their students into WoW, Corporations don't set up a camp in WoW, Musicians don't play live in WoW, and really I only hear of the negative impact that WoW can have on lives in the mainstream media.  Second Life doesn't have to advertise on primetime because everyone comes to them, and yes there are clones that have popped up that are alway weighed against SL.

IMO it will be looked back at someday in history as being a much bigger innovator than WoW.

Originally posted by Gylfi

Lol good going. How bout www.madonna.com, since you linked non-gaming sites?

I'm sorry but you can't find a game that has more power or is bigger than WoW. Just deal with it. And that's as much as i hate it.

Should i repeat the distinction between "game of the decade" and "best game of the decade"? The latter is just the game you think rocks the most, and it's subjective nonsense and tastes. The first is just the game that, be it good or bad, has had more INFLUENCE, POWER and PERSISTANCY over the years. And these things aren't subjective fluff, they're inevitable truths.

Because gaming sites and magazines are such a huge reflection of culture?  Sorry I'll continue to look at the entertainment section for the direction of popular culture.

You cite the South Park episode that does nothing but bash MMO gamers as evidence that WoW has made its mark in culture?  Ok haha I think the whole episode is kind of summed up by the statement that the Blizzard developer makes towards the end of the episode... "I don't have an account, I have a life."

Hey look at Second Life in the media..

John Stewart Show:  Avatar Heroes segment

Law and Order: Special Victims Unit:  episode called 'Avatar'

CSI NY:  in two episodes..  'Down the Rabbit Hole' episode, and another episode called  'DOA For A Day'

The Office:  'Local Aid' episode

The Fifth Estate:  'Strangers in Paradise' episode

Goin Bananas:  had an episode that made fun of it with a v.world called Better Life

Beautiful Kate:  An Australian movie has SL in a scene where they talk about an avatar.

Documentaries:  ABC Documentary on Second Life, 'Molotov Alva and His Search For His Creator: A Second Life Odysseyon' in six episodes on Cinemax (they also set up an island in game), Life 2.0 movie, and a few others that use SL at times on PBS.

Music..

U2 had a show in SL that was all over MTV music news, and Duran Duran and Timberland wrote a song about SL.  Countless people preform live in SL everyday..   a lot of these people are selling their music online, or have been formally published.

Authors writing novels about SL or using SL as a theme..

Peter Anghelides, Dean Kootnz, Charles Stross,  Sam Bourne, among others

But that South Park episode about WoW is too cool, and totally proves a lot.

Originally posted by Teala

[Mod Edit]

Nope...sorry to burst your bubble, but WoW has had more of a social impact than all those games put together.   It permeates our society now.   To say that WoW has not been the biggest game of the decade makes you look kind of silly and a WoW hater because you fail to look at the big picture.    No matter what other games ahve come out over the last decade...none can compare to WoW...none.
 

I'd be curious to hear exactly how from a non-biased standpoint?  I really don't see how a person who comes home and sits behind there computer all night has much of an impact on culture.  There is plenty of money to market and advertise the game because it is a success, but the extent to which it has had an impact is way overblown.

If WoW had such a huge impact on gaming, then explain how this happened after WoW had been well established..

Wii... 56.14 million units sold...384 million games sold.

Playstation 3.. 27 million units sold... 175 million games sold (June 2009).

Xbox 360..  31 million units sold

CoD Modern Warfare 2 sold 4.7 units in the first 24 hours last month, with 5.2 million hours of online play in the the first 10 days.

Because obviously everyone is consumed with WoW, and that also explains why online console subscriptions are 4 times higher than WoW.   MMOs are still small potatoes and rarely mentioned in gaming news that isn't focused on this genre. 

Here is a "Game of the Decade" review lists by the San Francisco Chronicle, and WoW is not at the top of any list.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/29/DDU71B5TIO.DTL

Here is the 10 most import works of the Decade from Toronto..  1.  Guitar Hero.   Hey no WoW on the list..  hmmm.

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/centurysofar/article/744039--10-most-important-works-of-the-decade-no-1-guitar-hero#comments 

Indianapolis Star..   GTA is the number one game of the decade,  ooops no WoW on the list?

http://blogs.indystar.com/geek/2009/12/top_games_of_th.html

Wait.. there are quite a few "Game of the Decades" that came up in the Google news feed, but I can't find the WoW on even half of the lists.  Hmmmmm

I'd give WoW credit for being MMO of the decade... but game?

I hear people talking about console game a lot, but I can't remember the last time I heard someone talk about WoW out in public.  I'm forced into a pretty social role normally between my bass students, downtime before or after gigs when I talk to a lot of random people, before classes with tons of college kids sitting around, and the hundreds of people at my church when I play there on the weekends.  I don't have one friend who plays MMOs in my everyday life, well besides my brother, but almost everyone I know has an Xbox or a Wii.

Yeah Xbox Live has 14 million subscribers, Halo all totaled up has sold way more boxes than WoW, and heck if you really want to go there.. Sims blew WoW out of the water in box sales this last decade.  People within the MMO genre have a much different view of the world, obviously biased when it comes to how significant they think that they are, and will always be favoring an MMO for any game award to be given.

Oh well, Cheer WoW!

I first heard about Metaplace during its stress test on Myspace at the beginning of 2008, and I quickly applied for beta when they opened applications.  The platform was said to be ’an MMO out of the box,’ but didn’t have to be a ’game’ per say.  What you want to do with your world is only limited by your imagination.  You could have a virtual apartment with different rooms, media feeds on the walls, and then you could link to a friends space making a big chain of v.world in a flash widget that would sit on your personal page.

I stopped flowing it a few months ago when the 3d engine never materialized, and the tools for world design seemed to be going nowhere.  It had some cool things going for it, but it seriously felt like I was entering a world made for my N64 after a while... kinda dated and lacking.

Maybe 4 or 5 years ago this would have been attractive, but now it seems that everyone prefers active feeds over static personal pages.  I kind of thought that the idea might have been a revolutionary thing at the time, but now I'm putting my money on Opensim.

I once took a special poo.   It stank, and it was full of bad stuff like e.coli, but it sure was special.  So I asked ,"why should I keep you around Mr. Special Poo", and I expected to to get up and dance or something.  I told it to give me a reason not to flush you, but it couldn't, and then I realized that even if this poo was special.. it is still a piece of shat.  I flushed.

Originally posted by wisesquirrel

I just realized, if these MMOs were new in their time which was what made them so popular and fun.

Why not make something that is new to us the gamers of today?

 

No more lazy skill button mash combat, make it more martial (No, not those button mashing "Martial Arts" MMOs, the real thing where you swing your sword and your enemy dodges or intercepts it).

Player built society, politics, economy and cities.

The destruction of the world chat.

Defy and destroy the lag lord which reigns supreme.

Make items break over time.

Destroy the term blue, purple, orange items.

Encourage actual roleplay.

Real events, not holiday stuff where you get gifts and free items, no, get an ogre to come down the hill and destroy our houses or the city to be besieged by elves, I dunno.

No more classes (Not that new but still newer than classes themselves).

Make robbery possible.

Replace AH with player made NPC run shops to encourage the destruction of the world chat?

Encourage stuff besides combat and discourage the mass killing of mobs.

Smart Mobs? (Smart AI)

Laws (Someone suggested it earlier), where you get no penalty for PKing but you may later be captured (Killed) and arrested (Sent to some city run prison) for a reward to whoever gets you (Bounty Hunter) which would be posted on the message board.

Place some guards in many places so players may be semi safe while still being in danger. (Players won't be able to easily PK individually and would encourage PKers to join and make their own communities.

Have players make their own cities where they compete for resources brought by citizens (Players) agaisnt other rival cities looking to make their city bigger, more powerful and profitable.

Have players assign quests or missions instead of having static NPCs.

Have player actions have actual impact in the game.

Send out monsters (Giant Smart Mobs) attack cities and players defend them or run away (A no longer safe world, unless the players say so).

Have player kings, peasents, mercenaries fore hire, guards, sheriffs, traveling merchants, shop owners, architects, war lords, generals, soldiers, blacksmiths, gatherers.

Give players option to buy NPCs to run their shop (While paying rent to keep it up and paying constantly to keep the NPC alive), work at farms, guard their cities.

Have player architects build the cities around the world, be it to add a tower to a large city to founding a small village, have players wander into the jungle and found a village and keep it secret from the rest of the world to avoid PK raids and have their cities pillaged.

Have players form guilds where they may be hired to do big jobs individual players can't pull off, maybe defend the city for a certain time, kill this big monster that has been threatening us/killing our people.

 

Lots of new stuff that has not been tried yet.

Funny because most of these things were in SWG classic.  Really a lot them are sandbox elements, and I think there is value to these ideas, despite the focus groups of a target demographic that would tell you otherwise.

I know that things change depending on the server, but my server was largely political in nature.  I think there are politics between guilds in every game, though it was much different in this case because of the sandbox PVP element.  When you have bases to defend on a timer, often the center point of a player city, and mix it with PVP that is almost entirely ego driven.. you end up with some pretty amusing drama.  Eventually we set up a chain of command to coordinate the pvp effort.

When the Force Ranking System came about... it was a popularity contest, entirely political to who got to be on top, and who gets left out of the fight club action they had going on.

Ok on another note... I think that you can mature out of the genre.  There is no problem with a global chat channel on its own, but the low maturity level of the people who attention whore in it for hours on end really makes it unappealing.  Auction houses are a huge improvement over standing outside of Freeport waiting for the item you are looking for to be spammed.   I'm not a fan of instanced gameplay, but I think it is the only way they can distribute server resources and script encounters in a way to provide entertainment flavor that most gamers are looking for now days.  Finally.. Repeatable quests are a job, I completely agree, and it is the one of the big reasons I stopped play WoW.

If you could offer the state of the game right before the expansion patch that took them out of what people term as 'classic'.. I'd say yes.

SWG had fun hunting parties before mounts and speeders.  There was also a lot of back and forth pvp raids on npc cities, and overall the game had a very cool community.  The game at launch was a mess though.. lol good luck with that.

WoW at launch lol.. Warriors had lots of problems with rage, Hunters just sucked for the most part, and Warlocks had a mountain full of issues.  The people who reached 60 ahead of the casuals were often criticized on the forum for rushing to max level, and it was their fault for the lack of content.