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[Column] General: Where Have All the Roleplayers Gone?

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Comments

  • FascinezFascinez Member Posts: 12
    Originally posted by Maelwydd

    "For me the reason for the lack of RP is the pace of games these days.

    Up until perhaps 3 months into WOW I didn't notice a problem but since then there has been a gradual decline. Games got faster, combat got faster, queing for dungeons got faster,Levelling got faster, travel got faster...everything got faster.

    I blame a combination of designers making games not worlds, the market openning up to the casual market and the need for quick fixes, the introduction of consol PvP leets and their desire to only talk if it is something rude about someone else and the move from enjoying the journey to enjoying the endgame type gaming playstyle.

    MMO's are gloryfied whackamole timewasters for the most part and probably will continue to be so because gaming is a big industry now rather then a passionate hobby."

     

    I wholeheartedly agree.

     

     

     
  • SwiftrevoirSwiftrevoir Member UncommonPosts: 158

    We're here, its just that there hasn't been a very healthy environment for us to frolic in as of late.  DAoC and EQ2 were the last greats I remember having a blast RPing in.  DAoC had a much better setting for it out of the two. 

    I say look forward to The Elder Scrolls Online and Archeage now.   

  • FusionFusion Member UncommonPosts: 1,398

    RP'ers have left the sinking boat that shouldn't even be called MMORPGs anymore, but rather 'best-revenue model online'.

    Developers (specifically those that fund them) are doing what brings the most profit in the least amount of time, they aren't games for gamers, they're products for investors.

    What started out as a great genre for the 'niche' made with love for gaming has turned into a milking machine, like a crappy chinese product that makes a quick buck. And we all know which game and it's success we have to 'blame' for the current state of the genre.

    http://neocron-game.com/ - now totally F2P no cash-shops or micro transactions at all.
  • BurntvetBurntvet Member RarePosts: 3,465
    Originally posted by Fusion

    RP'ers have left the sinking boat that shouldn't even be called MMORPGs anymore, but rather 'best-revenue model online'.Developers (specifically those that fund them) are doing what brings the most profit in the least amount of time, they aren't games for gamers, they're products for investors.What started out as a great genre for the 'niche' made with love for gaming has turned into a milking machine, like a crappy chinese product that makes a quick buck. And we all know which game and it's success we have to 'blame' for the current state of the genre.

     

    MMOs are pretty much run on the "movie" model now. Big cash from the release and then move on and no thoughts on longevity. But since the ones funding MMOs these days are large companies/"entertainment executives" this should be no surprise. MMOs are not made by "game guys" anymore, and the crap results of the last 5+ years reflect that.
  • AnakamiAnakami Member Posts: 103

    I had the best time doing RP back in the days of UO. There was awesome RP to be had and what we did not RP InGame we carried over to the server forum, where the stories continued or created new events that were then played out in the game. I still look for an experience like that in the modern day MMOs, but the games don't have many supporting mechanics anymore that encourage RPing.

    Nowadays I am already glad if the zones are designed well enough so that they create a good atmosphere, but beyond pretty graphics not much is there that would make you feel attached to the game and your character.

    Ironically in a hacknslay game like the new Neverwinter there are more RP elements than usually found, mostly in the form of background diversity, deity worship selection and you can even reroll your stats at the start. It feels like this is the pinnacle of RP and we won't see much progress anytime soon.

    Actually, going back to what was once put into these games for RPers would be considered progress compared to the standard now.

  • EhliyaEhliya Member UncommonPosts: 223

    As a former MUD player (Gemstone III) who has played many of the past major MMORPGS I have two thoughts about the current state of things:

    *  more recent MMORPGS do not provide tools and mechanics to encourage RP.  For example, games that don't allow you to interact with much of the surrounding game world, e.g. sit in a nearby chair, often mean that to RP you might as well be back in a text-based MUD.  You can look at original UO or SWG and see that, over time, players have less and less ability to interact with the world while the games get prettier and prettier graphically

     

    * generations have changed.  The younger players towards whom most games are now designed as an audience generally have not played old Pen and Paper or MUD games.  And to compound things modern MMORPGS make everyone expend more effort to RP given game mechanics (see above)

     

    So its really two things.  Virtual worlds have virtually disappeared and even the supposed sand boxes are full of mechanics that are not RP-friendly.  And the younger players have different expectations.

    This MAY change if a game like EQ Next turns out to fulfill its claims.  It will take the proven success of a major MMORPG reclaiming the "RPG" part of the title to shake the game companies out of their risk averse slide into pushing out one theme park after another.

     
  • YaevinduskYaevindusk Member RarePosts: 2,094

     

    I tend to find healthy RP communities in niche games.  Though I seen large amounts of RPing in GW2, WoW, FFXIV 1.0 and a few others in the past year.  These are just some examples where I've seen RP scattered all about and not just in a town area (though I haven't really partook in it much lately due to intensive research on things).

    Due to frequent travel in my youth, English isn't something I consider my primary language (and thus I obtained quirky ways of writing).  German and French were always easier for me despite my family being U.S. citizens for over a century.  Spanish I learned as a requirement in school, Japanese and Korean I acquired for my youthful desire of anime and gaming (and also work now).  I only debate in English to help me work with it (and limit things).  In addition, I'm not smart enough to remain fluent in everything and typically need exposure to get in the groove of things again if I haven't heard it in a while.  If you understand Mandarin, I know a little, but it has actually been a challenge and could use some help.

    Also, I thoroughly enjoy debates and have accounts on over a dozen sites for this.  If you wish to engage in such, please put effort in a post and provide sources -- I will then do the same with what I already wrote (if I didn't) as well as with my responses to your own.  Expanding my information on a subject makes my stance either change or strengthen the next time I speak of it or write a thesis.  Allow me to thank you sincerely for your time.
  • GrayGhost79GrayGhost79 Member UncommonPosts: 4,775

    RP potential has slowly been weeded out over a pretty long period of time. Games like UO and SWG offered an incredible amount of RP potential while games like EQ, DAoC, and EQ2 kept taking away bits and pieces and even pushing RP'rs onto seperate servers. Many RP'rs weren't overly fond of the segregation becuase it in itself took away from the games. 

    You can only RP on this server, you can only RP in this area we have flagged for you, etc. Then couple that with rigid classes and the trinity and you end up with a very anti RP environment. You are cut off from the rest of the community since most that have stigmas about RP will avoid RP servers and RP flagged areas. 

    In a game like UO you could RP a dectective. You picked detect hidden, forensic eval, and tracking and actually do things in game that a detective would do. SWG offered something similar in the begining. Those games you would pick not only what you looked like but what you were and how you interacted with the game world. Now days its basically I'm a warrior, I'm a mage, I'm thief, I'm a healer, and this is my name and what I look like. 

    In a game like UO and SWG you could make you didn't need RP flagged areas. 

     

    You want to know where all the roleplayers have gone? They've left or simply quit RP'ing because the games you credit with providing RP support actually took away RP potential lol. Many are still out there waiting for another game like SWG and UO that can actually offer some RP potential. 

  • ignore_meignore_me Member, Newbie CommonPosts: 1,987
    Originally posted by Ehliya

    As a former MUD player (Gemstone III) who has played many of the past major MMORPGS I have two thoughts about the current state of things:

    *  more recent MMORPGS do not provide tools and mechanics to encourage RP.  For example, games that don't allow you to interact with much of the surrounding game world, e.g. sit in a nearby chair, often mean that to RP you might as well be back in a text-based MUD.  You can look at original UO or SWG and see that, over time, players have less and less ability to interact with the world while the games get prettier and prettier graphically

     

    * generations have changed.  The younger players towards whom most games are now designed as an audience generally have not played old Pen and Paper or MUD games.  And to compound things modern MMORPGS make everyone expend more effort to RP given game mechanics (see above)

     

    So its really two things.  Virtual worlds have virtually disappeared and even the supposed sand boxes are full of mechanics that are not RP-friendly.  And the younger players have different expectations.

    This MAY change if a game like EQ Next turns out to fulfill its claims.  It will take the proven success of a major MMORPG reclaiming the "RPG" part of the title to shake the game companies out of their risk averse slide into pushing out one theme park after another.

     

    I agree with everything you said, but I don't have any hope for even the mighty EQNext. It's the generation problem. This generation never had to use its imagination, so its like asking them to go back to the days before cell phones. Incomprehensible.

    Survivor of the great MMORPG Famine of 2011

  • OlgarkOlgark Member UncommonPosts: 342

    Its not that the RP'ers have vanished from MMO's but rather the MMO's and developers have failed the RP'ers. Each succsessive mmo that is released seems to have less and less content for the true RP'er out there.

    The lack of speach bubbles in new games.

    The lack of places to go when not leveling up or farming etc.

    Lack of choice on clothes.

    Lack of emotes with animations.

    Lack of player housing where other players could enter, or you could decorate.

    Devs focus more on content and end game now to catter to the mass of players that flocked to WoW. WoW is a succsessful game, but in the end it has destroyed the MMO market and gave players a easy option with everything.

    I use to play UO and the old SWG both had massive RP communities this is because they was cattered for by the devs. Without any RP tools then player guilds based around RP will not stay long, and some of the longest running guilds in some mmo's are from the RP community.

    So this raises a question about what or why do new MMO's fail so hard upon release. Is it because they are not cattering to their long term players ie RP'ers ?

    Maybe if devs of new MMO's put into place some decent RP tools into the games they make either in development or shortly after release then maybe the new games would have a healthier player community and one that stayed with the game.

    image

  • TwoThreeFourTwoThreeFour Member UncommonPosts: 2,155

    Actions speak louder than words. I think what the column is meant to touch (if it dropped its elitistic attitude): "Why is roleplaying nowadays more action-oriented than text-oriented and why is the diversity among roleplayers so low compared what it used to be?".

     

    A person not talking a single word and soloing every bit of content  on his warrior to max level in strife for maximum power, is still very much roleplaying a warrior striving to become as powerful possible in a given world.  He is unlikely a real warrior in real life, so he is indeed playing a fictitious role in a role-playing game. He roleplays through his actions rather than his words.

     

    You may find it to be problematic if that is the role and the manner in which the grand majority are roleplaying, I can agree with that. However, you have to admit it is actual roleplaying. 

     

  • OnomasOnomas Member UncommonPosts: 1,147
    Roleplayers all died off when game companies started to transform MMORPG's into console rpgs and made everything solo based. Kind of no point to interact with your fellow gamers when people zip through a story line in 4 hrs, hit make level in 3, and can defeat even the hardest "boss" single handed. I get more feel from old pc rpg's like D&D than i do the newer mmorpg's that are designed to hold up for a few weeks and then boredom sets in because no social apsect, player created content, or exploration was thought upon while making the games.
  • JacxolopeJacxolope Member UncommonPosts: 1,140
    Originally posted by TwoThreeFour

    Actions speak louder than words. I think what the column is meant to touch (if it dropped its elitistic attitude): "Why is roleplaying nowadays more action-oriented than text-oriented and why is the diversity among roleplayers so low compared what it used to be?".

     

    A person not talking a single word and soloing every bit of content  on his warrior to max level in strife for maximum power, is still very much roleplaying a warrior striving to become as powerful possible in a given world.  He is unlikely a real warrior in real life, so he is indeed playing a fictitious role in a role-playing game. He roleplays through his actions rather than his words.

     

    You may find it to be problematic if that is the role and the manner in which the grand majority are roleplaying, I can agree with that. However, you have to admit it is actual roleplaying. 

     

    No. That would be meta-gaming.

    Personally I am a meta-gamer for the most part and never "RP" in a Computer game. I am also a tabletop gamer who does RP in pen and paper games whenever I get around to playing them.

    -That said, RPers really add depth to a game in the way of lore and providing a living, breathing world (although again, I do not RP). They bring a diversity which adds to the overall world. But without "worlds" and with more linear games 'on rails' the game mechanics force meta-gaming and the rigidness makes it impossible (or nearly) to proper RP.

  • TwoThreeFourTwoThreeFour Member UncommonPosts: 2,155
    Originally posted by Jacxolope
    Originally posted by TwoThreeFour

    Actions speak louder than words. I think what the column is meant to touch (if it dropped its elitistic attitude): "Why is roleplaying nowadays more action-oriented than text-oriented and why is the diversity among roleplayers so low compared what it used to be?".

     

    A person not talking a single word and soloing every bit of content  on his warrior to max level in strife for maximum power, is still very much roleplaying a warrior striving to become as powerful possible in a given world.  He is unlikely a real warrior in real life, so he is indeed playing a fictitious role in a role-playing game. He roleplays through his actions rather than his words.

     

    You may find it to be problematic if that is the role and the manner in which the grand majority are roleplaying, I can agree with that. However, you have to admit it is actual roleplaying. 

     

    No. That would be meta-gaming.

    Personally I am a meta-gamer for the most part and never "RP" in a Computer game. I am also a tabletop gamer who does RP in pen and paper games whenever I get around to playing them.

    -That said, RPers really add depth to a game in the way of lore and providing a living, breathing world (although again, I do not RP). They bring a diversity which adds to the overall world. But without "worlds" and with more linear games 'on rails' the game mechanics force meta-gaming and the rigidness makes it impossible (or nearly) to proper RP.

    Meta-gaming does not necessarely exclude roleplaying. Isn't a "Warrior trying to become as powerful as possible" a role one plays?

    Isn't it a fictitious role? A role can be played through actions, heck the stum movies of the old are a testament to that. 

     

     

  • JacxolopeJacxolope Member UncommonPosts: 1,140
    Originally posted by TwoThreeFour
    Originally posted by Jacxolope
    Originally posted by TwoThreeFour

    Actions speak louder than words. I think what the column is meant to touch (if it dropped its elitistic attitude): "Why is roleplaying nowadays more action-oriented than text-oriented and why is the diversity among roleplayers so low compared what it used to be?".

     

    A person not talking a single word and soloing every bit of content  on his warrior to max level in strife for maximum power, is still very much roleplaying a warrior striving to become as powerful possible in a given world.  He is unlikely a real warrior in real life, so he is indeed playing a fictitious role in a role-playing game. He roleplays through his actions rather than his words.

     

    You may find it to be problematic if that is the role and the manner in which the grand majority are roleplaying, I can agree with that. However, you have to admit it is actual roleplaying. 

     

    No. That would be meta-gaming.

    Personally I am a meta-gamer for the most part and never "RP" in a Computer game. I am also a tabletop gamer who does RP in pen and paper games whenever I get around to playing them.

    -That said, RPers really add depth to a game in the way of lore and providing a living, breathing world (although again, I do not RP). They bring a diversity which adds to the overall world. But without "worlds" and with more linear games 'on rails' the game mechanics force meta-gaming and the rigidness makes it impossible (or nearly) to proper RP.

    Meta-gaming does not necessarely exclude roleplaying. Isn't a "Warrior trying to become as powerful as possible" a role one plays?

    Isn't it a fictitious role? A role can be played through actions, heck the stum movies of the old are a testament to that. 

     

     

    Sure, but not in the context they are speaking.

    To "RP" you would generally need many non combat activities as well. it could be argued that every PC game of every genre would qualify as RP friendly- But it isnt so. I could roleplay a racecar driver in some online racing game, or roleplay a merc in some FPS BUT since those ga,mes are only really based around 1 path (racing and combat respectfully) then my options are pretty much the same as everyones.

    -The RP they are talking about requires very free and open game mechanics. A more open world approach. For instance, one might RP something totally non combat (like house building/carpentry/traveling merchant) but effect the world as much or more than someone who is combat-centric. 

    You could play a combat class, min/max and still RP but you would be need a way to establish your toons identity through existing game mechanics as oppsed to trying to work around game mechanics.

    Games that have a linear combat-centric "gated" feel cannot be RP'd in to any greater affect than RPing in a NASCAR game. 

    -I see what you are saying but they are refering to something different. They actually take the "role" of their Toon and often even gimp them or give them 'negatives' for RP purpouses. To an RPer, the flair and the uniqueness is what is important. Playing a role, to the fullest, in character- having a reputation (for good or ill) and efffecting the virtual world.

  • ExcessionExcession Member RarePosts: 709

    Roleplayers have not gone anywhere.

    Most of the mmoRPGs released over the last few years, have been missing the RPG elements though.

     

    A creative person is motivated by the desire to achieve, not the desire to beat others.

  • TwoThreeFourTwoThreeFour Member UncommonPosts: 2,155
    Originally posted by Jacxolope
    Originally posted by TwoThreeFour
    (...)

    Meta-gaming does not necessarely exclude roleplaying. Isn't a "Warrior trying to become as powerful as possible" a role one plays?

    Isn't it a fictitious role? A role can be played through actions, heck the stum movies of the old are a testament to that. 

     

     

    Sure, but not in the context they are speaking.

    To "RP" you would generally need many non combat activities as well. it could be argued that every PC game of every genre would qualify as RP friendly- But it isnt so. I could roleplay a racecar driver in some online racing game, or roleplay a merc in some FPS BUT since those ga,mes are only really based around 1 path (racing and combat respectfully) then my options are pretty much the same as everyones.

    -The RP they are talking about requires very free and open game mechanics. A more open world approach. For instance, one might RP something totally non combat (like house building/carpentry/traveling merchant) but effect the world as much or more than someone who is combat-centric. 

    You could play a combat class, min/max and still RP but you would be need a way to establish your toons identity through existing game mechanics as oppsed to trying to work around game mechanics.

    Games that have a linear combat-centric "gated" feel cannot be RP'd in to any greater affect than RPing in a NASCAR game. 

    -I see what you are saying but they are refering to something different. They actually take the "role" of their Toon and often even gimp them or give them 'negatives' for RP purpouses. To an RPer, the flair and the uniqueness is what is important. Playing a role, to the fullest, in character- having a reputation (for good or ill) and efffecting the virtual world.

    Which is precisely why I am suggesting that what the column is really meant to touch is: " "Why is roleplaying nowadays more action-oriented than text-oriented and why is the diversity among roleplayers so low compared what it used to be?".

    I oppose their attempts to steal the term "roleplaying", which they seem to succesfully have done to the extent that many people don't even reflect about it. 

    The term "roleplaying" has a wide definition, then at some point some people started to roleplay in specific manner such as the one you describe and then some of them at some point attempted to steal the term. Which will never truly succeed due to that "roleplaying" is used outside of PC games or videogames altogether. Eventually a few, at least those who care to look, will realize that the emperor is naked. 

    A power-aiming warrior without scruples would of course not gimp their character knowingly, but that doesn't mean that it isn't roleplaying. The only problem would be that far too many people in a game choose the same role to roleplay.

    A person roleplaying a merchant trying to become as rich as possible, is a form of non-combat roleplaying. It may be very unique depending on server. I assume though that it isn't unique in the "right way" to please certain people.

    I am assuming that by "flair" you mean "3. Distinctive elegance or style: served us with flair.", which is surprising since that would exclude many roles such as roleplaying a character such as Sandor or Gregor Clegane. 

  • cybertruckercybertrucker Member UncommonPosts: 1,117

    Doest thou mother know thy wherest  her drapes?

  • ScotScot Member LegendaryPosts: 22,823

    RP has seen better days? It died years ago.

    Now days you need to be in a RP guild to see any roleplaying. Time was when you only had to be on the official roleplay server. Before that you could even be on the unofficial RP server and still you could bump into players roleplaying.

    I too think that Lotro was the last MMO to have RP support built into the game from launch. I shall never forget discussing taters, the weather and strange foreigners in the Shire, I was a Dwarf myself and rather suspect to the locals. That game launched six years ago, I think that fact alone tells the declining story of roleplaying in MMO’s.

    So in guilds roleplaying lives on, outside of that it has gone from MMO’s.

  • toxicmangotoxicmango Member UncommonPosts: 119

    RP has taken on connotations certainly in some games of incompetent weak players or players that inexplicably gimp their character.

    So long as RP has no perceived upside to the rest of the players, they will look down on it.  And in turn, the RP community has a tendency to turn inward and become elitist and defensive.  

    The problem is developers have not rewarded RP in any significant manner compared to the rewards doled out to non-roleplayers.  If for example, important NPC characters in a game paid attention to roleplayers and for example gave out preferential missions or quests to them (assuming of course the RP characters are not hopelessly weak) instead of the non-RPer that knows nothing of the lore, then suddenly RP would have reward and value to the wider community.  This requires actually human controlled NPC characters and events, not just the usual robotic automated quest givers that pass for NPCs these days.  

    Now of course in such a case one might expect to see suddenly people bandwagoning and pretending an interest in RP in order to get access to perceived exclusive content.  That could be worked around for example by having the good stuff only open to those that repeatedly and consistently RP rather than just obvious angling for reward or loot.

     

    The rationale is simple: just as one might expect tough bosses to be only open to those that have fought through lesser challenges, or elite crafting recipes to be open only to those that have worked up their craft skills, there should be RP related content that is only open to those that put in the effort for RP.  

    Without such actual concrete rewards (and rewards may be material items or alternatively the ability to make an impact on the world or socialize with major NPCs), RP will be consigned to the realm of useless side features that the vast majority of people will not care about.  

  • Po_ggPo_gg Member EpicPosts: 5,749
    Originally posted by toxicmango

    The problem is developers have not rewarded RP in any significant manner compared to the rewards doled out to non-roleplayers.

    ...

    Now of course in such a case one might expect to see suddenly people bandwagoning and pretending an interest in RP in order to get access to perceived exclusive content.

    Sorry, but ... just rather not, please :)

    Rp is not about rewards, it's about having fun. I'm not saying there must be no reward at all, if it's by the rp'ers (like winning a players-hosted race with prizes, or being among the first 3 bands on Weatherstock), but if you put in-game, dev-written rewards, exactly that wil happen what you wrote: wiki pages, guides, and people bandwagoning to get the reward.

    I think this is in connection with the trend a fellow poster wrote before, the playerbase changed in the last couple of years and since they don't know anything about roleplay, obviously they don't care about it in games. If you want to get them into roleplay, there are better ways, like player-held events, festivals, etc. Putting in a reward won't change their attitude I think...

     

    Once we listened a band's practice in the Pony, a LotRO-fresh buddy arrived, it went something like this on Ts: what's this? The music system, they can form a band and play together. What's the point? What do you mean? It's fun. Lol, seriously, what did they get, some deed or title? Cheers, applaud... By your meaning, nothing. Man, that's a waste of time... and you, why are you sitting here? Ok, if you don't mind I'll mute you for a few minutes :)

  • toxicmangotoxicmango Member UncommonPosts: 119
    Originally posted by Po_gg
    Originally posted by toxicmango

    The problem is developers have not rewarded RP in any significant manner compared to the rewards doled out to non-roleplayers.

    ...

    Now of course in such a case one might expect to see suddenly people bandwagoning and pretending an interest in RP in order to get access to perceived exclusive content.

    Sorry, but ... just rather not, please :)

    Rp is not about rewards, it's about having fun. I'm not saying there must be no reward at all, if it's by the rp'ers (like winning a players-hosted race with prizes, or being among the first 3 bands on Weatherstock), but if you put in-game, dev-written rewards, exactly that wil happen what you wrote: wiki pages, guides, and people bandwagoning to get the reward.

    I think this is in connection with the trend a fellow poster wrote before, the playerbase changed in the last couple of years and since they don't know anything about roleplay, obviously they don't care about it in games. If you want to get them into roleplay, there are better ways, like player-held events, festivals, etc. Putting in a reward won't change their attitude I think...

     

    Once we listened a band's practice in the Pony, a LotRO-fresh buddy arrived, it went something like this on Ts: what's this? The music system, they can form a band and play together. What's the point? What do you mean? It's fun. Lol, seriously, what did they get, some deed or title? Cheers, applaud... By your meaning, nothing. Man, that's a waste of time... and you, why are you sitting here? Ok, if you don't mind I'll mute you for a few minutes :)

    Wikis don't work for live events or event arcs.   

    Rewards will change things.  You seem to be mistaken to think rewards necessarily need to be material items or other forms of loot.  The ability to impact the game world or official recognition by an important NPC character is also a form of reward.  Right now RP is looked down upon precisely because it is seen as a pointless activity that has no possibility of achieving anything or impacting anything.  It is seen as irrelevant, and it creates the further disconnect if RPers roleplay but lack the actual ability compared to other kinds of players to actually fight or back up their roleplay with actual performance.  Incestuous RP groups that just end up RPing among themselves, disconnected from the rest of the world's players, do not encourage new players to take up RP.  It just gives the impression of a group of weird elitist people playing pretend or deluding themselves into feeling relevant.

    If live event quests were preferentially given to the RP warrior that could interact appropriately with the king and his nobles, and who demonstrated loyalty to the kingdom and knowledge of the lore, over the tricked out combat monster that can't string together articulate sentences, then suddenly people would take more interest in the lore.  

    Without incentive, you will never attract people to an activity save for the few elitist die-hards.  And these are the wrong sort of people to attract more people to an activity precisely because they all too often turn into a defensive closed circle unwelcoming of newcomers, as so clearly evidenced in the above anecdote.  

    When there is perceived relevance, then people will pay attention.  As I wrote above, the issue of obvious bandwagoning can be avoided by ensuring the good content goes only to for example good regular RPers.  The aforementioned inarticulate combat monster that slaughtered anybody and cared about nothing other than loot suddenly having a change of heart and pledging loyalty to the kingdom should have to slog through stuff to show whether they are genuine, and certainly shouldn't be given equal preference to somebody that has consistently shown loyalty to the kingdom throughout their entire career.

    RP is no different from any other area such as crafting.  If crafting had no payoff whatsoever, how many people would genuinely do it for the love of making things?  It is a false dichotomy to think that somehow an activity is not genuine or good if it involves actual gain.  People do things in the real world because they enjoy it but also often because it at the same time they make gain in some fashion, whether this be monetary gain or improved health and fitness.  Having RP that yields rewards is no different from crafting that proves rewarding.

  • Po_ggPo_gg Member EpicPosts: 5,749
    Originally posted by toxicmango

    You seem to be mistaken to think rewards necessarily need to be material items or other forms of loot.

    True, I ment that, but only because that's the reality sadly. What you wrote sounds nice, but also would need lots of development work and resources from the devs, and not even only one time. Based on the decreasing % of players who like to rp among the widening playerbase it's unlikely that kinda development work will happen in the near future. Quite the opposite, recent games won't even care about emotes, which are maybe the cheapest method you can give to rp players.

    When TSW announced Albion (and later Crusade) it was received with so heavily welcome for the same reason. It doesn't give much, only a scene where you can rp and some tools to help you with it, but even that was massively more than players get in other games.

    You visioned basically whole story archs and systems created around roleplay. I agree, that would be awesome. But there's not much chance we will see that happening in any game...

  • toxicmangotoxicmango Member UncommonPosts: 119

    I would argue that live content could potentially keep at least some players more interested than the latest round of hard coded quests.  Hard coded content will take time and resources to make yet be raced through.  

    The main difficulty is reaching a wide enough number of players.  It is highly unlikely for example that there can be enough live content staff to reach the total player population.

    However hard coded content and live content need not be exclusive.  They can feed into each other.  For example, good performance in factional combat or high standing with a faction as a result of hard coded quests/missions may be a prerequisite to being even considered eligible to participate in certain live events.  Conversely, successful completion of a live event could be made to result in significant gains such as faction standing or even control of territory, resulting in significant gain that can then result in greater ability to handle hard coded content.  

    Live content and events are also a way for the individual lone wolf or small group to make an impact on the game world, as compared to the giant guilds that end up dominating in many games.  

  • chaintmchaintm Member UncommonPosts: 953

    Take questing from Skyrim and a deep story like that and put it in an MMO and wala, you got the start of a great roleplaying system. The game themselves have indeed gone away from this, it's now master of fastest content production = the production. Taking any real work in story, unique questing (not fetch or kill all the time) to make good rpg. Many people referance to player vs player rpg, but the true aspect of RPG during MUDS and MMO's at the start was getting a quest like ...

    "To the east over the dune rise is a oasis said to be haunted by the carvan of Dwitt that died in a horrible unknown tragedy, if you could go there and find our heirloom I can richly reward you"

    This simple fetch quest gets tier into other parts, the travel and exploration isn't on a mini map nor an arrow pointing my way other then a compass. I have no idea if I can even attempt to get there on my own or if it's possible for me to find this item and or complete the quest.

    To many things today are just spoon fed handed to you and when you don't players complain "where is the map?" why does it take me a full day to level 15 levels?

    Sadly this won't change till someone has the balls to make it happen.

    "The monster created isn't by the company that makes the game, it's by the fans that make it something it never was"

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