RPGS / MMOs - Just Elves Or What?

I see that "I think you'll find that RPGs and MMOs are not the same." is, as I write, in the lead.

I would like to argue that while RPGs and MMOs are not the same*, they still tend to be played by lifeless geeks. This is true of any game that require a large time ivestment.

*all MMOs I can think of are RPGs, in that they require you assume a persona and act out that persona's role in order to play the game (though you're not necessarily required to sit through loads of tedious, preordained battle sequences that are the culmination of a some boring stats, a flippant response to some pretty linear narrative and the roll of computerised dice)

Discuss.

Well, Coming from a table top RPG background, and not a being a huge fan of VG RPGs, after playing many, I gave some MMORPGs a chance, only to become thoroughly disgusted with the genre and pretty much swearing off them completely unless something really catches my interest.

Where traditional RPGs are played for the unfolding plot lines and personal enjoyment of completing the game, MMORPGs turn in to proverbial pissing contests where the people with the most amount of free time (i.e., people with no lives) build themselves up to "p0wn n00bz." Basically the scrawny teenage boys too scared to get in the gym shower or talk to girls get to feel like they are somehow superior to other scrawny teenage boys.

Not that I don't enjoy competition, even of the video game variety (I love a good smash bros match,) but in my opinion competition should be based on skill, not the amount of time you have wasted getting an "Epic PVP set of armor"

What I do like is not necessarily MMOs, but playing online or even at home with my friends, e.g. PSO split-screen, FFCC...

I don't think there's much difference - but you can have any game MMO if you wanted, without being an RPG, like a Mario game with 1,000,000 Marios, or Ace Combat with 1,000,000 planes. I suppose it depends mainly on the attitude of the communities of players - hardcore players of particular games (except maybe abstract games like Tetris) I would say stereotypically merge their lives and the game.

I like to think that MMOs would be a good way to meet people, but in my experience so far, it's not true, because people only go on there to play the actual game, and are totally obsessed with nothing but the game. On the other hand, I haven't spent much time playing them either!

The way forward is small regular groups of people, who actually get to know each other, so you actually get familiarity with the game (where gameplay depended on the characters/players), and also feel satisfaction in actually getting to know people.

I have this idea for a MMO-game set in medieval times (start of the crusades to be precise) where you choose the christian or muslim side...but it gets more complicated then that. Christians are offcourse divided into nations, counts and so forth...so you can also play as a scot fighting off the english.

So no, not all elves! but elf chicks are hot though!

cosign.

My view on it is that, MMOs and rpgs were once one entity, but of late they are both going their seperate ways. Like someone said, an MMO doesn't have to be sword and sorcery based. The future is brighter, as I was always in the opinion that MMOs will never really catch on til their variety can cover what offline games do. How many MMOs have we seen claim to be the next great white gaming MMO hope, to end up not getting any exposure once out or not even exiting the development window? The true reason for this is lack of variety. We can only play so many fantasy MMOs, and if the vast majority were offering the same or similar kind of experience, only a few popular ones would sell. That's why WoW is such a hit, Guild Wars does well too and few others get a look in.

Things are changing. Have a look at Football Manager Online, EA's Fifa Online in Asia, Square's Front Mission Online and cool looking stuff like Tabula Rasa and Sony's The Agency, developers and publishers are gradually starting to deliver badly needed variety. This can go anywhere they want it to, so long as the ideas are fresh, good and well implimented.

If more MMOs had some offline play to compliment the vastness of online play, some more might also be tempted to play. Its so true that some sad folk gamers will sit playing MMOs forever in their spare time. A bit more focus on Live style communication between players would also be good. What I don't understand, is why developers don't make these people take breaks and such by writing it into the game code, the same way warnings are put into manuals as standard, and reward them for real life resting? In some offline games, if you sleep or rest your game character (and yourself besides) , you could get full HP and MP (FF etc). Why can't MMOs do this effectively (correct me if any do)?

The other problem is having to pay every month, after buying the game. Microtransactions also keeping these MMO's in elite and expensive player hands. When more MMOs are also free to play like Guild Wars, with optional microtransaction for weapons etc if you, more people will play and enjoy them, but just not with every waking second of their life.

I hope eventually Games for Windows sorts itself out like Live, by building a community of gamers and potential friends and not dividing us into sad mofos, glued to our PCs. Tie this into MMOs too and things will also change for the better, in fact perhaps Live and PSN could yet be the saving graces of MMOs. More communication, rewards, friends, co-op play and fun and less singular, life sucking sadness that might kill you, for lack of toilet and food breaks. At the end of the day, the developers and publishers hold the keys to these worlds and their thriving or dwindling.

Lastly, I'm tempted to join the MMO crowd with The Agency, once I get a PS3. If I see more games like this, that tickle my imagination and don't leech my bank account forever to play, I'll invest.