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Dhruin
Stranger In A Strange Land
Joined: 20 May 2002
Posts: 1825
Location: Sydney, Australia |
| MMORPGDot Feature: Choice and Consequence |
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Are there any real choices in MMORPGs? Inauro looks at the lack of choices and why it matters. Here's an excerpt:<blockquote><em>Life, like Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, might be said to consist of choices. Whether to enter the passageway, whether to take the lift, whether to tell your girlfriend she looks fat in those jeans… We make these sorts of choices everyday. Some of them are of minor importance while others are potentially life-changing (or in the case of your girlfriend, life-threatening). When it comes to MMORPGs, however, do our choices make any difference? For that matter, are we able to make choices at all?</em></blockquote>Read it all <a href="http://www.mmorpgdot.com/index.php?hsaction=10053&ID=1198" target="_blank">here</a>. |
Tue Dec 27, 2005 6:28 pm |
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Hedek
Head Merchant
Joined: 06 Jul 2001
Posts: 50
Location: France |
A very interesting and well sighted article of someone who obviously knows the computer games in general and the mmorpgs in particular.
While I agree with you, the problem is that imo WoW is the only mmorpg in a state where one could/should request/hope such a level of "refinement" and potential.
What I mean is that there are so many other issues other mmorpgs have to fix first, I would hate to see their developers spend time and resources on "choice and consequence". SWG is a good example of my worries, there are so many much more important core issues to solve first.
Of course we should up our expectations and force developers to release ever-higher-quality MMORPGs, but we're not there yet to request that, unfortunately Inauro of course.
I think this article is "too far sighted", before writing an article on Choice and consequence I would first write an article "sell us completed mmorpgs please". No more rushed releases of games like EQ2, SWG or AC2 to name the most famous ones.
_________________
Retired Editor @ RPGDot
Ex Guru @ HK's Torment (dead Planescape Torment fansite) |
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Tue Dec 27, 2005 6:36 pm |
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niteshade
Keeper of the Gates
Joined: 09 Jul 2005
Posts: 100
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It's also worth noting that the example he gives is not entirely true. I've done that pocket watch quest many different times, with many different characters. The quest is very different depending on what class and specialty you are, because the way you will complete it will be very different. The watch is heavily guarded by several enemies, and while a mage might try to kill them all with area effects, or use polymorph and frost nova to kill them one at a time, a rogue might sneak in and use hit and run tactics, and a warrior would have few options but to charge in and trust his superior armor to save him.
Overall though I do agree that more choice would be nice. Although often it's difficult to avoid having one "correct" choice. |
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Tue Dec 27, 2005 6:45 pm |
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Inauro
Village Dweller
Joined: 03 Oct 2005
Posts: 9
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Thanks for the comments guys. A couple of points though...
Hedek:
You're completely correct that most existing MMOs have problems that need to be resolved before making significant changes to their choice, consequence, and quest resolution models. In fact, i'd go as far as to say that the majority of the MMOs in existence today would not be benefited by such a model because it would jar with the rest of the gameplay on offer.
However, developing a more robust game world with more meaningful choice available to players is something i feel developers of forthcoming titles should be actively working towards.
[edit] Note to self: write article on the evils of releasing unfinished content into the wild and credit Hedek with idea. ^_~
Niteshade:
I think you've proven my point. You say you've done the Forgotten Heirloom quest multiple times with different character classes. However, in each case you've had to complete the quest in the same fashion: get past the bandits, get the watch, return it to Farmer Furlbrow.
Essentially the only difference is whether you blast them with a spell, attempt hit and run tactics as a Rogue (almost always failed for me unless someone else had just cleared the place), or go toe to toe as a Warrior.
Ultimately, however, your class makes no real differences in the outcome of the quest. There is no opportunity for you to choose a more in-character (if you will) option to resolve the quest.
Inauro |
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Tue Dec 27, 2005 8:21 pm |
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Hedek
Head Merchant
Joined: 06 Jul 2001
Posts: 50
Location: France |
quote:
Originally posted by Inauro
Thanks for the comments guys. A couple of points though...
However, developing a more robust game world with more meaningful choice available to players is something i feel developers of forthcoming titles should be actively working towards.
I've heard that's what Ryzom is working towards, a mmorpg were players have a true impact on the world, unfortunately we all know how Ryzom failed to be a veru sucessful game, not because it was bad but because it was rushed out too early, made by developers with a lot of talent and creativity but lack of resources to develop an mmorpg properly.
_________________
Retired Editor @ RPGDot
Ex Guru @ HK's Torment (dead Planescape Torment fansite) |
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Wed Dec 28, 2005 3:05 am |
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