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[Column] General: The Importance of Achievement
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
In today's MMO space, much of what made the genre great has been taken out, namely the will to -achieve- things as opposed to being given them. In his latest column, our Managing Editor Bill Murphy talks about why achievement is important and why it matters. See if you agree before leaving your thoughts in the comments.
There are a lot of systems in FFXIV, though the game may start slowly with a lengthy (and boring) tutorial tour of your starting city, and they’re slowly added to FFXIV’s bag of tricks by progressing through the content. Think about that for a second. When was the last time you played an MMO and actually had to work towards a goal other than the level cap? I know it’s cool to hate on the Giant these days, but do you remember when your first mount in World of Warcraft came at level 40 and cost a fortune? Remember when just beating the Deadmines was actually something to be proud of? Go further back, and remember the hubbub of dropping the Sleeper in EQ? When it was actually a big deal to have killed the Sleeper at all?
Read more of Bill Murphy's: The Importance of Achievement.
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One game system I still have to learn about is “stripping”.
Comments
Experience demands that man is the only animal which devours his own kind, for I can apply no milder term to the general prey of the rich on the poor.
Thomas Jefferson
I agree with you on the need to learn an MMO again. I feel that is why I was invested into the older MMO's 10 years ago. These new MMO's in the past few years have a learning curve of maybe 30 minutes and are all the same in play style and nothing more. Taking time and learning about the game and your classes/jobs creates an investment between you and your character you play.
To be honest I was not going to give this game the time of day. I, like a lot of others, played the first beta of ARR for about 30 or so minutes and thought this is boring. So I uninstalled it and went back to my current MMO's. I started reading comments on the posts about this game more and more and started to wonder how people can like this game. Then I started to see more and more posts about the very first hour an up to level 10 is boring but then the game really opens up. I kept seeing post and post with the same information in it, so finally I tried it again in beta 3 and of course 4 and now enjoyed the hell out it so far. I found myself some what lost and trying to figure out a lot about my class and the game in general.
I am looking forward to release and early access to continue my path in Final Fantasy and learn more about this game and what it has to offer in later and end game.
No bitchers.
I agree the start is slow and very boring. I think the game could really use a little more help for new players or old players with new characters. What I mean by this is make sure that the start is to give the players time to adjust and learn their way around the game at a slow pace before throwing them in the deep end. The quests sort of sound that way to a degree but doesn't say that directly. Would be nice to see that said and given a choice of declining that and being told to go out and help other adventurers (give a quest possibly to complete like 20 FATEs) if person doesn't want to take their time.
I know that the first 10 is a struggle for me as seems like a lot of footwork. I don't mind the struggle though. I think most games are that way no matter how fast can get through those levels. I have learned in ARR that there is reason to move and not stand still. I have learned that the game is one that I relax just being in. I don't feel like I have a story that is crafted to make ME the person to save the world. I am one of many heroes that will be taking up the fight to protect the world. That is something you learn in the early game. Yes, quests will have people saying how inspiring and great you are or only one other has done what you have done but then you get cut scenes that show you are not the most powerful. You are part of a larger group. That was nice to see in the early game. I am not feeling like I am being told a story of how I myself am the ONE. Makes a lot of difference to me.
I plan on playing this game a lot. I always enjoyed the crafting and gathering but ARR made it even better in some ways for me. I will likely be doing more harvesting and crafting at times than adventuring. I will be working to make money to have a nice little piece of land for when the housing arrives. I want a nice little garden. I have actually sat and thought about what I want to accomplish with my character. Normally I don't have plans other than getting to a certain level. I know this game is not likely to be a great success but I hope that enough people give it enough of a chance for it to be successful enough. I really enjoy it that much.
Agree 100%.
It feels so, so nice to be learning a new game and new systems, yet have these things all seem familiar and actually make sense.
I think FFXIV does a LOT of things right. I really hope this game and its ever expanding layers of complexity and additional content can keep me hooked for quite some time.
I wish GW2 would read this and take notes. Pushing new content and features mean nothing if its poorly done.
It deserved best in show over eqn imho.
It all looks nice on paper, but there are some things that need to be take into consideration.
Do all those things matter in the long run? Leveling seemed fast in betas, don't know if it will slow down in final, but you can get to the blue ring from illustration pretty fast, so... are the stuff to do from lower levels you didn't even bite in that short time still worth doing on higher level, or will just be skipped for the new high level content.
You can pack a game with features, but are those features good. I suppose no one even got to those high level features in beta, we know to little about it all, being happy only about quantity doesn't matter since quality is what is important.
completly agree.
New MMO's have been so focused on making the 1st 10 - 20 levels enrertaining and addictive that they give everything to you on a plate. great for initial impressions of a game but v.bad for the longevity of the game.
If someone is talking in general chat in a language you dont understand, chances are they're not talking to you. So chill out and stop bitching about it!
I'd like to try the game but #14? I feel that I'm that late to the party that its not worth it and I imagine others may too.
Maybe just a title rather than a number would of been better.
Awesome article, you summed up how I feel almost to a tee. I however replaced EQ with FFXI from my gaming history. FFXI was how I always graded other MMOs in terms of sheer crap to do and achievements, setting goals throughout your character's life in that particular game and I think THIS factor alone is what is making other MMOs in the past years start strong and then peter out because of their true lack of "depth" and layered content. Heck, even FFXIV 1.0 suffered from the same issue and has been rectified in 2.0 and boy am I happy.
I now have an MMORPG I can get into again, get addicted to(reasonably) and just like you said, actually have to learn how to play certain parts of the game, the way a good game should be all while keeping the perfect pace which this game does. It makes me look at games like SWTOR and Lotro and Rift and even WoW and go, man why couldnt' they have added layers like this to their game instead of always making it one layer: level to cap and then raid/grind for gear.
"classification of games into MMOs is not by rational reasoning" - nariusseldon
Love Minecraft. And check out my Youtube channel OhCanadaGamer
Try a MUD today at http://www.mudconnect.com/Well said, Bill.
I do admit a certain fondness for FFXIV 1.0. I enjoyed the crafting grind a bit because it made me feel completely at peace. FFXIV 2.0 has the same feel, but the feeling of peace is now also spread out with just more general fun... which is GOOD!
A writer and gamer from the Philippines. Loves his mom dearly.
Can also be found on http://www.gamesandgeekery.com
i wish FF14 learn from GW2 how to make underwater content. While i enjoyed FF14 beta and will play after launch i find it disgusting that to this date, companies still ignore water content, but still bother adding water to the game as part of the aesthetic only.
Anyway, it was indeed a good read.
710 K units as of 03 August
http://www.vgchartz.com/game/35106/final-fantasy-xiv-a-realm-reborn/
not my cup of tea but glad some of yall can party like it is 1999
I miss DAoC
agreed.
Anything that came out prior to 2004 would be considered old school, post 2004... well that would be WoW schooled.... god we really need a next gen game... oh wait theres Citadel of Sorcery in Development.. nvm that orders filled. enjoy your wow clones or whatever ill become Rip Van Winkle till the real next gen games come out.
Played: UO, LotR, WoW, SWG, DDO, AoC, EVE, Warhammer, TF2, EQ2, SWTOR, TSW, CSS, KF, L4D, AoW, WoT
Playing: The Secret World until Citadel of Sorcery goes into Alpha testing.
Tired of: Linear quest games, dailies, and dumbed down games
Anticipating:Citadel of Sorcery
OMG YES! stop the hybrid control / UI abominations!!! BATTLEFIELD 3 on PC anyone? YOUR UI WAS HORRID, DON'T REPEAT YOURSELF WITH BF4!
ARR is a game i'm eyeing from the sideline and asking myself if I want to get into it. I had many months of a great time in its predecessor FF11 and liked the fond memories of staying up till the next day just to get use of chocobos and the feeling of amazingness when finally getting my airship ticket. EPIC! These are content rewards as opposed to item ones. A lot of developers forget to reward players with content. Instead they tend to be adding it for immediate and free use.
Another thing is pacing. We've lost the idea of pacing the content. Not only is it much needed nowadays but when a game paces its content well it gives players things to reach for and stretches out their playing time which equals players playing more / longer. As long as your core game is fun of course.
Anything worth doing or achieving isn't easy!