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Can an MMO cater to both "sandbox" and "themepark" crowds?
Tarka
Member Posts: 1,662
Its probably been asked before, but its a question that hangs in my mind nonetheless. Can a game be designed to cater for those who enjoy a full quest system (individual quests and quest chains including role specific quests) whilst at the same time provide the services required so that those who wish to can enjoy a less "linear" experience?
I realise that this largely depends on what one considers to be the definition of the terms "themepark" and "sandbox". Nevertheless, I'm interested to see what (if any) responses this thread would prompt from people. Whatever your opinion on the matter, please provide justification for your argument 
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Yes. Every good themepark has some dandbox elements and the few good sanbox games also have some themepark elements.
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I believe fallen earth is already doing a great job at this.
Do you have examples?
Top 10 Most Misused Words in MMO's
Do you have examples?
He just listed one?
Fallen Earth. It's pretty much described in your OP.
:-|
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Do you have examples?
He just listed one?
Fallen Earth. It's pretty much described in your OP.
:-|
My question was focused more on specific elements within the MMO that are examples of how the game is catering to both types of player.
Top 10 Most Misused Words in MMO's
I think so yes. Personally I don't mind if a game would have linear quest lines or raiding in end game as long as the game would also have, open world, good crafting system that would actually be part of the games economy, non-instanced dungeons, non-instanced housing, some form of open world pvp.
I have high hopes that maybe Craft of Gods can do this.
http://www.craftofgods.eu/index.php?lang=en
Just read through the game guides and you might see what I mean. There's more I WANT to say but can't. Stupid NDA.
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I'd say anything is possible with enough time, money and talent.
I think the elements are different extremes for a fun experience, while the themepark guides your experience on rails, set rules and etc, the sandbox just gives you the tools for you to set your own experience, there is no "end-game" in that way.
That's just theorical though, you can't really make exclusively one or the other, like you never have a fully one-side extremist government. In MMOs it's about taking the rewards out of one side or making them not so appealing.
So yes, a MMO can have (and usually has) enough elements of each side to cater to both crowds, to a certain extent of their tastes, but no, no MMO will be able to fully cater to both crowds or completely alienate one of the crowds.
Well there's lvl and quests for themepark whereas a open class system and vast world fro sandbox. Really too many features to list, i would suggest reading up on it yourself to get a better feeling.
From a viewpoint of pre-MMORPG gaming, themepark MMORPGs are a mix of sandbox and themepark elements. Prior to MMORPGs, the breadth of activities in games was quite small. Themeparks took the large breadth of activities of the first sandbox games and packaged them in easily-understood ways. The result were hybrids between virtual worlds and games. EQ and WOW were very popular as a result.
From our current point of view I think it's still possible to distill the formula down even further.
Even taking existing games which are largely sandbox like EVE, and making them a little more accessible might help. To this day I'm unsure if I dislike EVE as a result of it being a hollow shell of a game (a loose framework with little in the way of gameplay) or simply because it hasn't told me how to enjoy it. Certainly part of my anti-EVE griping is how my actions have so little weight towards advancing my position in the galaxy (due to the advancement system not being hooked up to my actions.)
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I can certainly appreciate your points about Eve. Because unless your of a PVP mindset the game does feel rather hollow from a gameplay point of view. A "sandbox" game like EVE is certainly a good contender for being built upon to incorporate many of the elements traditionally found in more "themepark" MMO's. That's not to say that I expect or even want EVE to change tomorrow. Its does what it does, and accomplishes that goal well. Its just that that goal is not to cater for both types of MMO.
Top 10 Most Misused Words in MMO's
A virtual world can have both.
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