A Different (MMO) Direction- Part 2

In my last post I spoke about a different direction some MMO games offer, not always involving combat. For a recap head here. I thought I'd just talk a little bit more on the subject in today's post, nothing really in-depth just sharing some thoughts and experiences.

Telwyn at GamingSF also wrote a post on the subject and reminded me of LoTRO, which I left out. Had it on my mind but it completely slipped!  I have to agree that LoTRO has some really interesting features such as the farming, housing and things like the music playing. I love how you can play different instruments and songs in that game, it is so awesome.

Today I'm going to use Second Life as my example, as I have tons of pics to share, hehe. I'd have to say SL is the ultimate sandbox. What game lets you basically go around looking like anything you want, designing land any way you want? Not to say I want tons of Second Life clones, I just think there is a lot of potential for different aspects of play. Which I think draws me back into it. I don't play it all the time but I end up going back to it for a change of pace.

Over the weekend I was invited to a SIM (which is similar to a zone in MMO games) and this had to be one of the most unique things I've seen in SL. We popped in to a shop and the owner was about to start the 'show'. I had no idea what the 'show' was but it was pretty awesome to watch. Everything disappeared and it became a 3-D virtual dance floor where the whole sim changed colors and designs. I can't really do the description justice. I chatted with the owner for a bit, a really cool guy and he told me he's been working on this project since 2007. That is some real heart and soul into a project. It was truly awesome and it's so great to see this type of imagination used in a game. If you play SL and want to check it out, the location can be found here.

I also visited another sim recently which had me going through doors to different looking areas, which led to a treasure hunt. I ended up underwater looking for chests with prizes in them, it was lovely and wonderful as someone who likes to explore.

So, in closing I want to say these types of games are not the best thing ever, no game really is, but they are nice when you want them. Some of us like variation in games and it is nice to do different things in a laid back relaxing setting. Some people prefer games like LoL, others love to play EVE, some love to build in Minecraft, while others prefer a more traditional MMORPG like EQ or EQ2- None are better than the others and but it sure is nice to have a choice on things to do when you're deciding what game you'd like to  play.

Sharing some pics of the lovely exploration I had over the weekend. Have a great week, peeps!