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• • Tell me my children, do the words of Jonathan Blow and his view on World of Warcraft ring a chord in your heart?

  • Originally posted by Jimmy_Scythe
    

    Yes the player is getting pleasure, but not from the gameplay.

    I partially agree with Blow's statements. The rewards in an MMO are completely arbitrary and could literally be labeled as anything (see the carrot on stick example above). MMO players will keep playing just to get said reward. In other kinds of games, the pleasure is taken from the action of actually playing the game. So, as far as using rewards as a substitute for meaningful play or, worse yet, as a way of padding and prolonging play, Blow is right on the money.

    Where I disagree is the fact that most MMO players are more hooked on the community than the game. Most of the "hardcore" that only play games online don't have any friends in real life (mainly because they're assholes) so they plug into MMOs in order to get, at the very least, the simulacrum of social interaction. It's kind of like a virgin calling a phone sex line; not even remotely as good as the real thing, but it scratches the itch. In this regard, the MMO is giving the player exactly what they're looking for by providing a social space online.

    But yeah, I agree that the case for exploitation largely depends on the so called victim. If you're a compulsive collector, then you're being exploited. If you're a shut in that can't make friends in real life (or just don't like to bath), then you're getting what you pay for

     

     

    That's because 90% of societies raise their citizen on the idea if you work hard, you'll be rewarded. This is why you have so many players doing quests for rewards and try to use gear or professions in ways they weren't meant to like giving themselves an advantage in pvp by twinking.

    But the rewards aren't the only thing that brings players, but the fact you can easily make a name for yourself being doing something extraordinary. Check out Swifty Warrior's PvP videos to get idea of what I'm talking about or read the countless Class FAQs within the forums.

    It's the media attention that the game gets that makes the community so popular and why people are drawn to it or drawn back to it.

    Right now, you could make an MMORPG with all the elements you like, but it would be still garbage when compared to WoW if you're not getting media attention andyou can't make a name for yourself within that community.

  • Posted: 9/05/08 12:03 PM
    General Discussion