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Khoren
Village Dweller
Joined: 30 Jan 2005
Posts: 2
Location: City of Brotherly Love |
Very interesting and impressive thoughts here.
I agree with quite a few of them.
Setting:
Although the phantasy setting has been really (over?) done, I think that this will always play a role in an MMORPG. Recent additions of futuristic/sci-fi themes are quite original (tabula rasa, imperator, and others) and offer much in the way of different and fascinating settings. Another interesting take is the "Virtual Reality" aspect like The Matrix Online, which can be quite flexible and allow for a blend of many different settings if used properly (I don't think the W. bros. have a patent on this idea - there are many sci-fi themes like this).
Combat:
MMORPGs are not FPS. But aspects of FPS can start working their way into MMORPGs. There are plenty of ranged weapons that can take advantage of the FPS-type of interaction.
But H2H combat will always be a mainstay. It was mentioned above that combat needs to go beyond the pushing of a single button/hotkey to initiate a combat move . . . I find this interesting if it can be implemented. It might turn off alot of potential customers though. There are other problems with this, as well. Alot of the pleasure I get from combat is actually watching the graphics/choreography of the fight unfold. There has to be a balance between control and visual pleasure. If the command system gets too involved, players won't be able to enjoy the visuals, they'll be too busy typing. It might also slow down the timing of combat. Obviously, the way EQ handled combat should be a thing of the past. No one wants to sit there and press a single button and just watch. We need more involvement. But it has to stay fresh as well, it can't be like CoH, where it's the same combination of keys over and over again, until you get the next level of new attacks.
This is a difficult issue to tackle because if you are using a particular sword, there are only a limited number of attacks you can use - and if you have hundreds of NPCs to kill, you will eventually get bored. However, a way around this may be the choreography. To have a vast, mutable, and rich choreography of moves for EACH weapon, type of attack (offense vs. defense), and situation, will take alot of the pressure off of hitting the same buttons over and over again. There could be a core set of moves that are occasionally tweaked, so that as you're watching, you could say "Whoa! I never saw that move!" or "I love it when I do that decapitation!"
Abilities/Skills:
Imho, this is one of the weakest aspects of current MMORPGs. Partly because of the D&D background most of us have, we have become used to the "locking in" of our characters into classes. This is the main cause of STAGNATION of our characters in my opinion, and MUST be avoided. Once a mage, always a mage. Once a paladin, always a paladin, etc. I understand the need for classes as characters get specialized, but this should happen at much higher levels.
Why can't a mage learn to use a sword? Why can't a cleric be able to practice "kung-fu"? Why can't a thief wield magic? Shouldn't a fighter be able to heal? These may be very bad examples, but what I'm trying to get at is that there should be a vast variety of skills that can be practiced and perfected by almost any character. It should be the player's choices in what skills they want to master, that shape his character. You should NOT be placed on a path that MUST be followed, especially in a linear fashion. There should be room for branching, ability to take up skills at any time during your characters life. This could contrast with a person who wants to take a more focused approach and just specialize in one particular type of class.
The time has come to do away with our pre-conceived notions of classes and abilities. We need to revamp this whole aspect of advancing our virtual characters.
I would love to continue my ranting, but have to go. Topics I will try to touch on include:
Levels, XP, Grinding:
Economy:
Quests, Missions, and Community Involvement:
Incorporating the Casual Player with the Hard-Core:
_________________
"For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." Hamlet |
Sun Jan 30, 2005 7:24 pm |
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Khoren
Village Dweller
Joined: 30 Jan 2005
Posts: 2
Location: City of Brotherly Love |
Levels, XP, and Grinding
One of the most annoying aspects of the MMORPG experience is grinding: Performance of rote tasks for the simple purpose of harvesting experience points so that the character can advance in levels.
I think everyone loves advancing their character, seeing their abilities expand and become more powerful, being able to explore new and more threatening areas, etc. However, this should occur as a natural process of experiencing the world, via exploration, interaction, grouping, missions, etc. As soon as you find yourself performing in a treadmill fashion, focusing on your XP bar solely as a means of judging your character, the whole point has been lost. At this junction, imho, the developers have failed on some intrinsic level in creating a game as a diversion. I admit that there will always be some percentage of gamers that will twist the most beautiful and creative intentions into a treadmill, but that percentage needs to be kept as low as possible - and I do mean LOW.
My take on this is to do away with experience points and character levels entirely. Imo, there should be abilties that are available to players, the use of which naturally leads to improvement. Once a level of mastery in a particular ability is gained, a new ability will open up to the character. These abilities can be, nay, should be, varied, and branching, and intertwined as richly as possible. To try and avoid abuse, the rote repetition of a singular action should diminsh the return of "experience" like a bell losing its tone after being struck. Let me give an example: I log on, and decide today that I would like to hunt "orc". I begin using my "tracking/hunting" skill as I roam the forest. As I approach of camping orc, I begin using my "Tread Quietly" ability and draw my "Short Sword" as well (feel free to create and exchange with abilities to your liking). I begin by sneaking up behind a lone orc who has wandered a bit from the orc encampment and execute a kill. I then, proceed to sneak towards the camp and engage in combat. Assuming all goes as planned, I will have killed the 5 or 6 orcs in the camp, AND I will have used about 4-5 skills in this one process, thus increasing experience in those abilities. Of course, I could have gone about this with a ranged weapon instead of short sword. And all this is not taking into account any missions. Let's say I'm impressed with my prowess, and continue huntin orc, I should find my next few attempts getting easier and easier. I'm learning about orcs and their ways, I'm becoming proficient at killing them. And what this translates into is that I'm learning less and less from killing them (hence the bell ringing analogy from above). Thus, once I gain a certain proficiency at killing orcs, I find that I need to move on to new game (or perhaps those were just foot soldiers, and I need to start finding some higher ranked orcs). This doesn't mean that my abilities are ranked based on what characters I hunt and kill, but rather, the program is recognizing that the amount of "learning" going on by my character is maxed by this particular type of prey. None of this is written in stone - but I'm trying to get a particular feel of campaigning out there that seems to have been lost in translation.
Players actions should speak for their experience, and in such a way that the process is hidden from the player. The factors that go into calculating the amount of experience garnered from actions can be as varied as the developers want, but they should be somewhat logical and fair. It should also be something that the player should not be able to figure out too easily - not because it is random or enigmatic, but because the variable are many and not easily quantifiable by someone who doesn't know them in the first place.
I've got to go back to work, so that's the end of this rant.
Thanks for reading 
_________________
"For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." Hamlet |
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Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:40 pm |
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scott121287
Village Dweller
Joined: 24 Feb 2005
Posts: 1
Location: newcastle england |
hi, im a BIG fan of the final fantasy series and cannot wait for ff11 to be released in the uk so, i was wondering if u could help me? i would like to know if i bought the americaan version of ff11 for the ps2 and use a region converter with it would my ps2 play the game. if so wot would i need and if not ant help would still be apresiated. dont know if u'll be able to help but thanks alot either way!! could u e-mail your reply to:
-www.phategg@hotmail.com
cheers pal. |
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Thu Feb 24, 2005 3:43 pm |
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MadPriest
Head Merchant
Joined: 03 Apr 2002
Posts: 57
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Ultima Online |
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Tue May 31, 2005 3:23 am |
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