As long as the game has a decent and varied enough leveling game, then I will be happy enough to re-roll rather than quit once I reach the raiding end game, but even that goes only so far as I get frustrated as hell when "Casual Games" turn into raid or die crap fests and I feel ripped off as a casual gamer. Why should I fund a play style that wasn't even suppose to be the target audience for the game in the first place? Yet every single casual game turns to raiding at end game, essentially telling casuals to conform or fuck off.
Unfortunately raiding seems to be the necessary conclusion for linear style game play. Themeparks are like a road we all take together but that road comes to an end at max level. Rather than have players just up and leave at the end they throw in a cul-de-sac and let you go around in circles and throw in a few carrots (gear, etc) to keep you subscribed. Unfortunately themepark games are much easier to develop and work so I suppose raiding is pretty much here to stay, in one form or another.
Can't think of many sandbox games with 'raiding'.
Tabletop RPG gaming since Chainmail and D&D was a blue book with some cheap plastic dice and a crayon. MMORPGing since MOOS/MUDS, when forums were just bulletin boards and players actually roleplayed their characters.
In EQ1 I enjoyed raiding because it happened very seldomly- we'd be scheduled one Saturday or Sunday a month (as part of a guild alliance) for Hate or Fear and it was fun getting together with everyone and spending a few hours together taking on challenging content that took many people to defeat rather than doing the same few dungeons on farm daily to get that next piece of gear that would help to get your stats in order for the next set of dungeons to run over and over to get the next piece of gear.
In WoW and Rift dungeons and raids just feel grindy and forced but I suppose it's because so many of the "inconveniences" of old MMOs have been removed. I'd prefer a game that plays slowly with those inconveniences so that I could play the game with people that aren't in a rush for everything (or with Rift where you're pushed blazingly fast to cap) rather than here's the cap now just sit in these instances and grind for gear.
I always enjoy the earlier parts of a game more. It seems to me the armor and weapns look nicer too at lower levels usually. It's like the developers are all stoked when they start putting the game together, pour their hearts and minds into it,and the further they go,the more bored and lazy they get,and they start watching cable ,talking on their cell phones,and eating hot pockets while they work towards the end of the game.
I may know the least here,but I am the loudest about what I do know.
I always enjoy the earlier parts of a game more. It seems to me the armor and weapns look nicer too at lower levels usually. It's like the developers are all stoked when they start putting the game together, pour their hearts and minds into it,and the further they go,the more bored and lazy they get,and they start watching cable ,talking on their cell phones,and eating hot pockets while they work towards the end of the game.
i know that in WoW at least, Raiding is more than a little boring.... most of the fun in WoW is really the point before reaching level 85.. and although raiding is becoming more casual, its still very repetitious, its a bit like, raiding is something you do until they invent something more interesting.. maybe its just one of the problems with level based games, its certainly not an issue i've ever had with Eve at least
In EQ1 I enjoyed raiding because it happened very seldomly- we'd be scheduled one Saturday or Sunday a month (as part of a guild alliance) for Hate or Fear and it was fun getting together with everyone and spending a few hours together taking on challenging content that took many people to defeat rather than doing the same few dungeons on farm daily to get that next piece of gear that would help to get your stats in order for the next set of dungeons to run over and over to get the next piece of gear.
In WoW and Rift dungeons and raids just feel grindy and forced but I suppose it's because so many of the "inconveniences" of old MMOs have been removed. I'd prefer a game that plays slowly with those inconveniences so that I could play the game with people that aren't in a rush for everything (or with Rift where you're pushed blazingly fast to cap) rather than here's the cap now just sit in these instances and grind for gear.
Identified with this and agree.
But there doesn't seem to be near the content in today's MMO's compared to those of yester year either. EQ has expansions coming out consistently every couple of months (To this day they have expansions coming). And they weren't just small adds like a zone or two added. This is one of the reasons people enjoyed raiding as the above quoted poster says...there was so much content and things to do...sure, people raided, but it wasn't the sole thing to do once at cap.
Now you can fly to cap in a month, sometimes more, sometimes less. Not only due to a lack of content and being "lead" on a certain path towards it, but also because it seems to be the mentality of gamers now to rush to cap because they seem to think "end game" is where the MMO truly starts....not the case...or never was anyways.
MMORPG's are suppose to be about the journey, NOT the destination.
Saw the title and was about to add something rather lengthy, but read the first five posts and decided to just keep it short.
I ebjoy group gaming but when the gmae shifts to the cycle of 6 or 7 dungeons over and over again, repeating the same pattern of player for an hour or two each time, it's when I move on to another game. Especially since I know that historically that becomes gameplay from that point on for the rest of the game. Do raids to get better gear to do the next raids to get better gear to do the next raids to get better gear.... it's just not my thing.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein "Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre
Comments
As long as the game has a decent and varied enough leveling game, then I will be happy enough to re-roll rather than quit once I reach the raiding end game, but even that goes only so far as I get frustrated as hell when "Casual Games" turn into raid or die crap fests and I feel ripped off as a casual gamer. Why should I fund a play style that wasn't even suppose to be the target audience for the game in the first place? Yet every single casual game turns to raiding at end game, essentially telling casuals to conform or fuck off.
Unfortunately raiding seems to be the necessary conclusion for linear style game play. Themeparks are like a road we all take together but that road comes to an end at max level. Rather than have players just up and leave at the end they throw in a cul-de-sac and let you go around in circles and throw in a few carrots (gear, etc) to keep you subscribed. Unfortunately themepark games are much easier to develop and work so I suppose raiding is pretty much here to stay, in one form or another.
Can't think of many sandbox games with 'raiding'.
Tabletop RPG gaming since Chainmail and D&D was a blue book with some cheap plastic dice and a crayon. MMORPGing since MOOS/MUDS, when forums were just bulletin boards and players actually roleplayed their characters.
In EQ1 I enjoyed raiding because it happened very seldomly- we'd be scheduled one Saturday or Sunday a month (as part of a guild alliance) for Hate or Fear and it was fun getting together with everyone and spending a few hours together taking on challenging content that took many people to defeat rather than doing the same few dungeons on farm daily to get that next piece of gear that would help to get your stats in order for the next set of dungeons to run over and over to get the next piece of gear.
In WoW and Rift dungeons and raids just feel grindy and forced but I suppose it's because so many of the "inconveniences" of old MMOs have been removed. I'd prefer a game that plays slowly with those inconveniences so that I could play the game with people that aren't in a rush for everything (or with Rift where you're pushed blazingly fast to cap) rather than here's the cap now just sit in these instances and grind for gear.
I always enjoy the earlier parts of a game more. It seems to me the armor and weapns look nicer too at lower levels usually. It's like the developers are all stoked when they start putting the game together, pour their hearts and minds into it,and the further they go,the more bored and lazy they get,and they start watching cable ,talking on their cell phones,and eating hot pockets while they work towards the end of the game.
I may know the least here,but I am the loudest about what I do know.
i know that in WoW at least, Raiding is more than a little boring.... most of the fun in WoW is really the point before reaching level 85.. and although raiding is becoming more casual, its still very repetitious, its a bit like, raiding is something you do until they invent something more interesting.. maybe its just one of the problems with level based games, its certainly not an issue i've ever had with Eve at least
Identified with this and agree.
But there doesn't seem to be near the content in today's MMO's compared to those of yester year either. EQ has expansions coming out consistently every couple of months (To this day they have expansions coming). And they weren't just small adds like a zone or two added. This is one of the reasons people enjoyed raiding as the above quoted poster says...there was so much content and things to do...sure, people raided, but it wasn't the sole thing to do once at cap.
Now you can fly to cap in a month, sometimes more, sometimes less. Not only due to a lack of content and being "lead" on a certain path towards it, but also because it seems to be the mentality of gamers now to rush to cap because they seem to think "end game" is where the MMO truly starts....not the case...or never was anyways.
MMORPG's are suppose to be about the journey, NOT the destination.
Saw the title and was about to add something rather lengthy, but read the first five posts and decided to just keep it short.
I ebjoy group gaming but when the gmae shifts to the cycle of 6 or 7 dungeons over and over again, repeating the same pattern of player for an hour or two each time, it's when I move on to another game. Especially since I know that historically that becomes gameplay from that point on for the rest of the game. Do raids to get better gear to do the next raids to get better gear to do the next raids to get better gear.... it's just not my thing.
There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
"Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre