Observation of certain MMORPG player behaviors...

Ranma13

Now, I'm sure we're all aware of those that come out defending (or lashing out at) a certain game. We've been flamed and probably flamed ourselves and argued to no end on which game is better and which ones suck. But why do we, as a MMORPG community, get so defensive over the games we play? Here's what I think:

1. With other games, they can be played for a time and then shelved, or you can play it now and then without consequence. However, MMORPGs demand so much of our time and since our available times of play is dictated by a monthly fee, if we waste that time, we will be wasting money. Hence, many players can only play 1 MMORPG at a time. This leads people to want to believe that amongst all the MMORPGs out there, they made the right choice and that they're not wasting their precious time and money on an 'inferior' game. Thus, whenever any ill comments fall upon their game of choice, they instantly become defensive and try to somehow prove to other people that the game that they play is in fact, not inferior to another game.

2. This point somewhat ties into the first one, and that's that players seem to have trouble defining the difference between a game that they don't like and a game that just plain sucks. Because they're pressured into playing only 1 MMORPG, instead of viewing other games as worthy games that they're not playing, players will start to view other games as 'inferior' to their own in order to boost their confidence that they indeed did choose the right game. Hence, players will bash other games on either the sole grounds that they're not playing the game or due to what they've heard about the game. Very frequently, the game is very sound in its own right but the player found the game not to his liking, but instead of saying it's a decent game that he did not enjoy playing (yes, there is a difference), he proceeds to flame the game and say it sucks with weak to no proof as to why (or even a decent opinion). To take a good example, not everyone likes sports games, but that doesn't necessarily mean they suck.

3. Players who complain that a certain feature in their game has changed for the bad and complain about it to no end is not an unfamiliar situation to most of us. The reason why they do this is because, if you had spent months, or even years, playing a game, learning its ways, just to have it change on you for the worse, you'd feel pretty slighted too. Unfortunately, instead of venting and then moving on, some people decide to carry out a personal vendetta on the game company as a whole rather than the one specific product. To take an example, if someone was to start spreading hate messages about Sony because the VCR he used ate an irreplacable tape.

So why do I bring these points up? Because I want people to realize that, first of all, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. However, what you are not entitled to is to disrespect someone else's and shove yours in their face as if it were the absolute truth. Also, just because you don't enjoy playing a certain game, it does not necessarily mean that the game is total crap. Learn to recognize the difference between a well-made game that does not suit your tastes and one that is unenjoyable because of technical issues (crashes, bad interface, etc...). Lastly, if your favorite game has changed something drastic that you do not like, you have every right to discuss it on the forums in a rational manner, citing good reasons and using sound logic. Whining on the forums will only lead to backlash, as many of us are familiar with. After you've had your vent, please move and get over it. Complaining about it even further and repeatedly not only wastes your time, but also ours.

I'm pretty sure some of you will mock this, but I hope that there will be a few of you out there that will think about what has been said, and will make some differences in the way you post and respond to posts. Thank you for your time.

slapme7times

wise words...

i think that madden is a game that really hasnt changed anything since the 2001 ps2 version....

this is probably what bothers people about sports games in general...

also, being a fanboi is like being religious.

you make decisions based off accepted truths, rather than analyzing and criticising those "truths".

rather than objectively attempting to help the game industry as a whole by buying better products, you do things without thinking whatsoever...

i suppose this is simply a dynamic of the anxiety that comes from higher thought, so we regress back to non thought... fanboism a comfort zone for the ignorant.

i think being objective can be difficult...

i hated guild wars.. iw as so stoked, i even bought a copy for my buddy so we could quit paying wow's monthly fee.

absolutely hated every second of it...

and yet it's got a better rating on this website. i suppose the consumer speaks the loudest tho... 6 million subscribers vs under 1 million sales...

baff

"Unfortunately, instead of venting and then moving on, some people decide to carry out a personal vendetta on the game company as a whole rather than the one specific product."

I'm not sure Sony is a good example, since it has messed up a number of it's titles. I don't like Sony for the same reasons as many other people, but I have never played Star Wars.

I tend to target a publishing/mother company for my tirades of abuse, if I feel the problem has not been caused by the development team. Nerfs or a new combat system would be the the realms of the development studio. (That's not to say the mother company is entirely blameless if these changes prove to be unpopular. They are usually publicly tested first, if they choose to ignore overwhelming public dissent in their provided feedback systems, or just don't read them, they too deserve a slice of the abuse).

For example; if the online support is bad, then the game programmer is not at fault, the company I pay to provide the support for it is. If there are no servers near me, or they charge premium prices for poor service, the whole company is to blame. A company that behaves this way for one product will likely behave with the same system for all it's others. 

 

For a global company Brand image is a very serious matter. Sony goes to extrodinary lengths to maintian a good image. Due to the diversity and market reach of it's product range any substandard or badly recieved product can affect it's sales of a whole host of other products worldwide. Mr Sony makes every effort to associate his name with quality and customer satisfaction. NB the instant reversal (and compensation) of the Rootkit policy in it's cd's upon public outcry. I can only assume the SOE is such a minor part of the company, that Mr. Sony has never even heard of Smedley.