What makes you want to log into your favorite MMO? What makes it enjoyable for you? For me one of many things can be the people.
Lately I've been trying to stick to WoW even though I'm bored overall. I was thinking, what would make the game more enjoyable to me in it's current state? It seems my friends list grows a little 'dimmer' each time I log in. I've seen so many friends come and go (playing for five years this year..). It it wasn't for my husband, son and a few friends, I probably wouldn't even log in besides the holiday events. Really there's not many people I know, on anymore, to do anything with. Better yet logged on at the same time!
I miss having a good 'community' to be part of, a good guild and all that jazz. I've had a hard time picking a new guild out even though I've had several offers, either it's a silly application asking questions they don't need to know or just guilds that are not very active.. yeah always a reason. I was pretty burnt by the last one I suppose, just tired of the BS. It is clear that this is what makes this game more enjoyable. Because if you don't have a guild, you pug. Pugging isn't fun. :(
I have a friend from WoW that plays on my server in Aion which really is nice. I hope to make more friends as I start grouping more soon and joining a Legion. I keep hinting to my PvP loving husband Aion is right up his ally. Maybe he will try it one day. In the meantime I'm going to try to make the most of Aion while I'm playing it. It's fresh it's new, plenty of time to get rolling and catching up to others.
I do tend to solo a lot, but there is a big reason I like MMOs, I like that there are other people out there to play with. Do you feel the people you play with make the game for you?
Safe Adventures Everyone- kaozz
Yup I pretty much did the same as you in regards to WoW, kept trying to keep myself interested and motivated to log on.... I guess I did one to mainy daily quests or PuGs that I really decided I need an extended break from all things Warcraft, I'll no doubt return for the next expansion but for now Im happy hopping between different MMOs.
ReplyDeleteIm also currently playing Aion which I'll freely admit I'm enjoying, Id previously gave Aion a bit of a hard time on my blog and called it a bit of a WoW clone...which Im not sure it is if I'm honest. Anyway back to your point Im playing Aion with my Brother in law so Im having a hell of a lot of fun, he left WoW a while back and it was the same without him so yeah IMO friends aand even more so real life friends make an MMO!
Glad to know I'm not alone out there with those thoughts ;)
ReplyDeleteI tend to rag on Aion sometimes too, but hey.. it's something new right? Something different, and I'm having more fun with it atm.
I'll definitely have to pop over to your blog to see what you have had to say about Aion :D
-kaozz
The people make the game for me primarily, else I'd be sticking to the single player RPG (Dragon Age is awesome btw). My 5-6 year stay in Norrath was due to a combination of a living and breathing world as well as its inhabitants.
ReplyDeleteI've gained and lost friends throughout those years, but they were times worth remembering, good and bad. My 2-3 year stay in Azeroth was ultimately uneventful. Some people I knew made the transition but in the end we all ended up on different servers. The WoW community was simply too disheartening.
So given that I already hated the community and most of my friends, as stated, were doing their thing on different servers, the game itself wasn't enough to keep me interested.
I will say I did enjoy the world to a certain extent, considering I was really into the lore beforehand, but they butchered it with major changes that completely contradicted what was written in several novels in the past.
So I suppose that was the final straw for me and when I began to realize they just weren't taking anything seriously. They had their cash cow and they were going to milk it for all it was worth.
This was apparent out of game as well with all of their marketing, card game and apparel shenanigans, but some of those things I would have overlooked for the sake of a solid, engaging and immersive gaming experience.
I've gone back multiple times to mess around with friends/co-workers who were just starting WoW and I still reget wasting money coming back, regardless of the reason.
I think I just get so bored and nothing worth my time is available. So, yeah, what makes a good "MMO" to me is the opposite of everything every developer in this genre has done post 2004. Forgive me for being long-winded. I haven't posted anything for a good while.
I really enjoy reading your comments :) I know what you mean about the WoW community, it seems you have to find a niche like a guild or bunch of friends to stay sane sometimes.
ReplyDeleteDragon Age is one I want to try, when I get more time!
I think the most epic feeling in any game would be in Everquest. Simply all around from players to game mechanics, bosses and so on.
Have you ever thought about trying Everquest 2? A lot of the lore is there, with some added. It has such a unique feel to it, plus the community is great.
WoW has it's pros and cons but for now it keeps me busy because it still offers so much, I balance it with EQ2 also, so I always have different things to do. If I could mesh the two together it would be almost perfect lol.
I have thought about EQ2 many times. My issues with EQ2 pretty much revolved around how they implemented instancing (another pet peeve), the addition of Mr. Curt Schilling as an NPC, the lack of a rang rang banning campaign and SoE in general for their business practices. Flat out ******* ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteForgive me, that just gets me frustrated, like just about any issue I have with everything I loathe about the MMORPG genre. I'm very set in my ways and I know what made EQ so amazing, as I have no doubt you do as well. Unfortunately, not many in the industry appear to.
It's all about money now. Not that it hasn't always been a business, but the bar was set much lower before WoW and there was much more room for making the game you wanted to play. Now it's about making the game you want to get rich off of.
This is what lead to the demise of Vanguard. Changes made late in development to "compete" with WoW, as opposed to just concerning themselves with seeing their vision through to completion. While I hold Sigil ultimately responsible, SoE did have a chance to make things right. We see how that turned out almost 3 years later this coming January.
It's their calling card now. Add to that their slow but certain push of RMT/micro-transactions into everything and you have a developer I won't go anywhere near. Well, unless they make EQ3 (a true successor to EQ), kiss everyone's rear end who have gotten them where they are today and make a formal apology. I say "they", but I really mean Smed and those who are responsible for forcing him to make terrible decisions to keep his job.
I can't say I'm opposed to smedbucks.. jk lol Station cash. I actually love some of the cosmetic items like pets and armor. It is not for everyone, there was a lot of complaining about that being added to EQ and EQ2.
ReplyDeleteHowever I see it as the games are just not as popular, it adds funding and life to the games. If it continues a game I love for another 5 years, why not? I will say this, I don't like the loot cards, I am not buying tons of cards in hope of a cool item. I'd rather buy it from a cash shop. In all honesty I'd rather find them all in the game, but that's not how it is..
I suppose it's all how you look at it. I think since Sigil is no longer a part of Everquest it's actually evolved to not be so harsh. It's really good still. If they adverted maybe they If I was to go back in time, now with a decade of gaming under my belt, would I like the old EQ as much? Hrmm a good post idea. I'll get back to you on that lol.
Anyhow EQ2 is probably the closest thing you will get with the lore. Some of the zones have the same feel. What bothers me the most is the intensity of the graphics, while a unique style I like, I don't like the intensity in the graphics. I like my wolds artsy and fake, fantasy. I miss those old pixelated EQ zones they have revamped.
Meh I'm rambling.. Anyhow I do hope you find a MMO that suits you. You always have to keep one thing in mind, they are after all out there to make money. You can still enjoy the ride if you push some things out of your mind that are not game breaking. Something I've had to learn along the way.
Bleh I lost my train of though somewhere along the way, family crisis came up.