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Kalia
Eager Tradesman
Joined: 07 Jan 2005
Posts: 30
Location: Arizona |
| Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion - NY Times "Neglected Solo Ga |
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Evil Avatar has a blurb from an article in the New York Times. It begins with a discussion of Oblivion and the hypnotic appeal it has for today's RPG players. The article then moves on to lamenting the lack of quality single player RPGs in the last several years: <blockquote><em>"The biggest and most important difference is that single-player games don't have what you call a continuity problem in the storytelling, simply because you don't have multiple people in the game world," said Mipam Thurman, 27, an avid gamer who works in marketing for Tibet House, a New York City nonprofit group. "In a single-player game, if you kill the dragon, it's dead forever. In a multiplayer game the dragon respawns every 20 minutes so the next player can kill it. So in a single-player game the village that was being besieged by the dragon can forever thank you and be grateful, but in a multiplayer game that can never happen. So the accomplishments in a single-player game can seem much more important and memorable."</em></blockquote>Read the rest of this though-provoking article <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/29/arts/29obli.html?_r=2&oref=login&oref=slogin" target="_blank">here</a>. |
Wed Mar 29, 2006 2:58 pm |
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Zakhal
Captain of the Guard
Joined: 13 Oct 2002
Posts: 188
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quote:
"The biggest and most important difference is that single-player games don't have what you call a continuity problem in the storytelling
Not to forget that single player games dont always suck, which seems to be true with every MMOG. |
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Wed Mar 29, 2006 3:00 pm |
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10Ktrolls
Village Dweller
Joined: 14 Mar 2006
Posts: 23
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Nice article... problem is that especially the Elder Scrolls series is nothing else but an MMO without Multiplayer. It's so much closer to MMOs than for example Gothic or Fallout so I'm seriously wondering why he's using Oblivion to back him up... |
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Wed Mar 29, 2006 4:42 pm |
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Priest4hire
Head Merchant
Joined: 08 May 2002
Posts: 52
Location: Slocan, BC |
Wouldn't it be more the other way around? That MMORPGs are basically an Oblivion styled game but as an MMO? At any rate the similarities are what makes it a very good comparison. Once you take out the stuff that's the same in both you can then contrast the elements that are different. If you used a game that was totally different than the MMOs, such as an adventure game or many JRPGs, you'd have a problem in that those very differences could invalidate the comparison.
At any rate the similarities don't change the fact that a game like Oblivion is quite different than a MMO, online or otherwise. Just the combination of a more player-centric experience and a world that actually changes in even the slightest way insures that.
_________________
Watch your back. Shoot straight. Conserve ammo. And never, ever, cut a deal with a dragon.
Grammaton Dragon
-==(UDIC)==- |
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Wed Mar 29, 2006 6:00 pm |
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10Ktrolls
Village Dweller
Joined: 14 Mar 2006
Posts: 23
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quote:
Originally posted by Priest4hire
Wouldn't it be more the other way around? That MMORPGs are basically an Oblivion styled game but as an MMO? At any rate the similarities are what makes it a very good comparison. Once you take out the stuff that's the same in both you can then contrast the elements that are different. If you used a game that was totally different than the MMOs, such as an adventure game or many JRPGs, you'd have a problem in that those very differences could invalidate the comparison.
At any rate the similarities don't change the fact that a game like Oblivion is quite different than a MMO, online or otherwise. Just the combination of a more player-centric experience and a world that actually changes in even the slightest way insures that.
True, but the problems I have with article is that it actually praises Oblivion for virtues that it just doesn't possess. It's not a very story-driven game and the story (as far as I have xperienced it yet) isn't really a strong one. Instead it focuses on things like character customization and non-linear gameplay - features you would usually associate with an mmorpg than a single player game. I think in many ways Oblivion does not make use of the particular advantages that single player rpgs can have. It's certainly not a bad game, in fact I enjoy playing it, but I don't think it's that groundbreaking. It's really one of these very "old style" rpgs, I think, that relate back to the days of Might and Magic which featured a very thin storyline but an almost endless character development. I'm not sure if I still want this... It seems to buch more fun to develop your character and customize him/her if there are other people around who you can socialize with. What is your cool appearance good for if there is noone else around to see it?
From single player games I'm just expecting something different I guess... a deep, thrilling story for example. If you look at Fallout for example... well, at least imo that's one of the games that made perfect use of the particular strengths of a single player rpg. It offered a rich and detailed world (full of bugs...yeah I know) something im still missing in Oblivion. |
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Wed Mar 29, 2006 7:40 pm |
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JDR13
Magister of the Light
Joined: 16 Apr 2002
Posts: 376
Location: Michigan, United States |
Fallout really didn't have too many bugs after it was patched, Fallout 2 on the other hand, was chock full of bugs. There will never be a perfect crpg as that genre is so complex. Gothic 1&2 is as close to perfect as it gets for me, but it really just boils down to a matter of opinion. No matter how good a game is, there will always be those negative people who just want to point out how certain things could have been better instead of focusing on the positive aspects. |
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Wed Mar 29, 2006 7:58 pm |
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Kepler
Keeper of the Gates
Joined: 18 Oct 2005
Posts: 109
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quote:
What is your cool appearance good for if there is noone else around to see it?
The MMOG era has produced insecure gamers. |
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Thu Mar 30, 2006 1:17 am |
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Priest4hire
Head Merchant
Joined: 08 May 2002
Posts: 52
Location: Slocan, BC |
quote:
Originally posted by 10Ktrolls
True, but the problems I have with article is that it actually praises Oblivion for virtues that it just doesn't possess. It's not a very story-driven game and the story (as far as I have xperienced it yet) isn't really a strong one. Instead it focuses on things like character customization and non-linear gameplay - features you would usually associate with an mmorpg than a single player game. I think in many ways Oblivion does not make use of the particular advantages that single player rpgs can have. It's certainly not a bad game, in fact I enjoy playing it, but I don't think it's that groundbreaking. It's really one of these very "old style" rpgs, I think, that relate back to the days of Might and Magic which featured a very thin storyline but an almost endless character development. I'm not sure if I still want this... It seems to buch more fun to develop your character and customize him/her if there are other people around who you can socialize with. What is your cool appearance good for if there is noone else around to see it?
From single player games I'm just expecting something different I guess... a deep, thrilling story for example. If you look at Fallout for example... well, at least imo that's one of the games that made perfect use of the particular strengths of a single player rpg. It offered a rich and detailed world (full of bugs...yeah I know) something im still missing in Oblivion.
In all fairness the article doesn't claim that Oblivion is story based or has a strong narrative as such. Nor does it call the game groundbreaking. Just look at the quoted part at the top to see what they were getting at. The point of a game like Oblivion isn't just character building but being able to play a bigger than life role in this little world they've created. Not just a another face in the crowd but the central character in this world. The idea is to have a sandbox of sorts that you can wander and do as you like in. Sure, MMORPGs are a bit like that as well but catering to so many limits them in many ways.
MMORPGs are static by their nature so that you can not actually change the world in any way. In Oblivion I know that when I shut that Oblivion Gate it stays shut. It doesn't immediately pop for the next guy to close. A recent quest I did in WoW had me rescue a lady from a cage. Yet even as I came back on the next quest in the chain, retrieving her friend's remains, there she was back in the cage.
Personally I'm not big on showing off my phat loot. I play for the experience and thus the only reason I play WoW at all is because I have friends on there. A game like Oblivion may not have the strongest narrative but it does offer a large world to explore with quests to do and ways to actually change the world. Being the hero is half the fun of heroic fantasy and it's missing in MMORPGs. That was the point the article was making - as far as I can tell.
_________________
Watch your back. Shoot straight. Conserve ammo. And never, ever, cut a deal with a dragon.
Grammaton Dragon
-==(UDIC)==- |
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Thu Mar 30, 2006 1:19 am |
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10Ktrolls
Village Dweller
Joined: 14 Mar 2006
Posts: 23
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quote:
Originally posted by Priest4hire
Being the hero is half the fun of heroic fantasy and it's missing in MMORPGs. That was the point the article was making - as far as I can tell.
You're of course right in much of what you're saying. MMOs are indeed static in nature and they'll probably stay it for quite a while. In the end it's just a taste-thing anyway... for me it's not all that clear that you cannot be the hero of a MMO. Of course you'll never be the only hero around and you'll never be as exceptional as the hero in Fallout or Oblivion. But still... just think abut it: If you're doing a good job in WoW, for example by tanking Ragnaros, organizing a big raid, leading a party in AV, getting rank 14 or simply good roleplaying, being a cheerful or flamboyant character, etc., you'll earn the respect of real people. In a single player rpg it will be just virtual beings that cheer at you... they do it because they were programmed to do it. Guess you know what I am aiming at... you can be something like a hero in a MMO but of course it's not so easy and not in the same way as in a single player rpg. |
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Thu Mar 30, 2006 6:46 pm |
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