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  • Adaptive MMORPG

    I was playing World of Warcraft today, and was wondering about how much longer I would play the game. Sure, I want to hit 60 and play around with some of those über dungeons, but I really don't see myself playing the game for all that long. I have no desire to start over and go through each race and class, going through the same zones and dungeons, racing to get to a mount, to level 60, etc.

    Of course, the problem with MMORPG is the obvious one: there is no way to beat the game. You merely advance from one level to another, going to a dungeon that is maybe different enough to grab your interest long enough to complete it. Maybe there is a sword or shield out there that is cool enough for you to want, but after a while, isn't there a point where it all becomes overkill? I know many people have 3 or 4 different characters they play, alternating between them all; this is not something I am interested in doing. Rather, here is what I would envision for a future release: Adaptive MMORPG.

    How does this differ from regular MMORPGs? There would be major events which would lead to a World[server] Transition. For example, let's say we were playing a LotR MMORPG. Your lvl 1 character would start in a Middle Earth very similar to that in Fellowship: uneasiness, threat looming on the horizon, but still relatively peaceful. You would do quests, dungeons, etc just like in a regular RPG, until you hit level 20 or so: then you would have a Major Quest(maybe something along the lines of a quest in which you capture Smeagol and learn of Bilbo Baggins and the One Ring's location). This would lead to a World Transition, in which your character maybe gains some special skill, and is placed on a server with a Middle Earth with a more advanced timeline, moving along the Fellowship storyline, progressing to Two Towers. There might be an option to not automatically make the Transition (especially if you want to stay with your guild members) with a cap placed on the experience and levels you gain if you remain in that World, instead of moving to the next.

    This way, you would avoid the static nature of most MMORPGs, where the world for a level 60 is relatively the same for a level 5. By level 40, for example, the landscape could have changed drastically, with formerly allied cities now under siege, based on the results of a structured PvP system.

    Opinions? Thoughts? Is the static world of a MMORPG inevitable and unalterable?

  • #2
    How is this any less static - or even different at all, for that matter - than current MMORPGs?

    I can't think of a MMORPG that isn't divided into low-level mid-level and high-level worlds.
    Rethink Refuse Reduce Reuse

    Do It Ourselves

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    • #3
      My gripe is that you do those quests but there is never any change. Yes, you managed to kill the evil warlock, but nothing changed in the landscape; the place is the same, the dungeon is the same, its just that you get less experience.

      I was thinking of a game where, you finish a small number of major quests, and your character is put onto a different server, where the world is drastically different, to reflect the results of your work. The more I think about it, though, the more I realize how unfeasible this is. I just want a way where players are able to really progress through the broad storyline, even if they don't ultimately beat it.

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      • #4
        Exactly, the point is that you can't (or more likely, would be stupid to) venture into certain areas until you are at a certain level.
        You can view the games as the opportunity to race to a certain level, and then see that the world has nothing left to offer your uber-powerful character.
        However, the fact that the last 3 letters are RPG might give you a reason to replay. You are playing as a character, and joining other characters for adventure, so by playing as a different type of character, and by joining groups with a different mix, then you always get a different experience.
        For example, on Folderol I have one level 9 character, and three level 4 characters, just because my level 9 character has bumped into a noob interested in forming a party. Now were my main character to go along with them, we'd all get 1 xp per kill or so, so I just create a new character, because it's the travelling and cooperation that appeal to me, rather than levelling up. Besides, if I help a noob along, then maybe their now advanced character will be around later when I'm looking for a level 9-10 party.

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        • #5
          Maybe this comes out of the fact that World of Warcraft really has no plot that ties it all together, or rather, if it does I am not aware of it as I have had no past experience with the Warcraft universe. There is really little RPG element to it, IMO: you get in a party, fly/walk to the dungeon, complete and collect exp. The "chain quests" that exist last for 2 or 3 quests, then end, and that's that. There is no sense of connection.

          It might be cool if there were quests that required a lot of teamwork and cooperation, that would require real travel to a distant zone, where hearthing back to an inn before you logged was not a feasible option, unless you wanted to start all over. I dunno, maybe I expect too much from it, I just don't get the sense that WoW is an RPG, like I did with Morrowind.

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          • #6
            Try doing the MC quests with less than 30-35 people If you're not 60 you have not played the true game yet. Scholomance and Stratholme have some good storylines, Dire Maul is an excellent dungeon. Personally I am not fan of BRS but I know some people are. Zul'Gurub is an excellent dungeon too.

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            • #7
              I hear ya, Verto and I'd love something like that.

              There's a bit of this in Guild Wars (just wee bit). In the 'newbie world' you start out in Ascalon and there are quests you could do and so on. When you're ready you take on the major storyline quest which takes you from the 'newbie world' to the real game world in which everything has been ravished and burned by a Charr magicial attack. Geographically you're in the same spot but the situation has changed from a peaceful (relatively I suppose) properous kingdom to the shattered lands filled with survivors struggling to survive against the Charr horde.

              Unfortunately that's the only instance of 'same world different circumstances'. It quirks me that as I progress farther into the game things in Ascalon has not really changed - I'd love to see it overrun by Charrs completely or something like that.

              While reading your postings, I was remind of a game called Shadowbane. It was supposed to be a MMORPG in which players could actually shape political landscape through their (their nation's, really) actions. Yet I heard it's kind of a flop?

              I'm confident that as time goes on, we will see more realistic MMORPGs that are capable of adapting to players' actions instead of a static one where you can do same quest 563326243553 times and yet nothing comes out of it other than items and experience points.
              Who is Barinthus?

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              • #8
                It's a good thing that MMORPG's don't remain addictive indefinitely.

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by duke o' york
                  However, the fact that the last 3 letters are RPG might give you a reason to replay.
                  I don't think any players on MMORPG servers are roleplayers, most aren't anyway. In fact, I don't think MMORPG's are catered to roleplaying, I am not sure if thae aspect of playing a character (both dramatically and psychologically) exists at all in these worlds.

                  To me, it looks just like power-gaming. That is, beat up monsters and/or other characters, get stuff, gain experience, repeat.
                  (\__/) 07/07/1937 - Never forget
                  (='.'=) "Claims demand evidence; extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence." -- Carl Sagan
                  (")_(") "Starting the fire from within."

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                  • #10
                    Verto, you are missing out on half the fun if you don't play alts.

                    I want our guild to have a 20-29 PvP team for BGs. That would be cool.
                    Only feebs vote.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Urban Ranger
                      To me, it looks just like power-gaming. That is, beat up monsters and/or other characters, get stuff, gain experience, repeat.
                      This is why I like Guild Wars. It is a new Diablo, without even trying to get people to play roles. No complex about it whatsoever
                      "I have been reading up on the universe and have come to the conclusion that the universe is a good thing." -- Dissident
                      "I never had the need to have a boner." -- Dissident
                      "I have never cut off my penis when I was upset over a girl." -- Dis

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                      • #12
                        Spiffor is a simpleton.
                        Rethink Refuse Reduce Reuse

                        Do It Ourselves

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                        • #13
                          Yup

                          I'm a simpleton who enjoys Victoria AND Diablo. There is something primal about Diablo which I love. I love Guild Wars for slightly different reasons however: whereas my love for Diablo comes from genociding throngs of enemies, who die within seconds of my wrathful presence ( ), I like Guild Wars for the ability to build a character or team and then confront it to other builds. Actually, the way you build your character in Guild Wars reminds me of the way you build your deck in Magic the Gathering.

                          I have tried to roleplay in Ultima Online (on "roleplay" shards, but I was very unhappy with it. There are so many people that the game ends up being wholly anonymous. For roleplay, nothing beats a actual pen and paper RPG.
                          "I have been reading up on the universe and have come to the conclusion that the universe is a good thing." -- Dissident
                          "I never had the need to have a boner." -- Dissident
                          "I have never cut off my penis when I was upset over a girl." -- Dis

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Urban Ranger

                            I don't think any players on MMORPG servers are roleplayers, most aren't anyway. In fact, I don't think MMORPG's are catered to roleplaying, I am not sure if thae aspect of playing a character (both dramatically and psychologically) exists at all in these worlds.

                            To me, it looks just like power-gaming. That is, beat up monsters and/or other characters, get stuff, gain experience, repeat.
                            So MMOEGG! (the fourth and fifth letters stand for experience grabbing)

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                            • #15
                              Yes, there are several strands of players that play RPGs and MMORPGs. For me the fun is in progression and tactics of both playing and building. I don't care one iota about roleplaying. I'd say such players make up the vast majority of online roleplayers, though the 'real' RPGers will probably never understand this.

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