I get really tired of the way some threads and articles, with extreme naivety, assume that all or most MMOers want the same thing. A more realistic and useful approach might be to try to map out the factions among MMO gamers. What kind of factions have you all observed? Sandbox vs. Themepark? Questing vs. No questing? PvP vs. PvE? Helpy maps and quest compasses vs. the player has to work to not be lost? Minigames vs. no minigames? World marketplace vs. player shops?
I want to help design and develop a PvE-focused, solo-friendly, sandpark MMO which combines crafting, monster hunting, and story. So PM me if you are starting one.
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The ones you said plus sub vs cash shop and a few more. Is anyone saying that everybody wants the same thing though? Most people just want a game that caters to their playstyle. Currently 95% of MMOs out there cater to some variation of the themepark crowd so if you don't like that it's kind of hard to find a game (at least outside of EVE and Wurm).
So obviously you don't have themepark fans starting threads asking for more themeparks because they already have a ton to choose from.
Honestly, you do have themepark fans asking for more themeparks, because, while there are a ton of themeparks to choose from, most of them, like most MMOs in general, are steaming piles of shit.
At the very least, no game can perfectly fit what any given player wants. It's only natural to ask for more games of the sort in hopes that one WILL be closer to the mark.
Yeah. And some act as if unless you hate modern MMOs, you don't like MMO at all, which is a strange contradiction.
I would find it hard to believe that you could get 2 people to agree what they want in an MMO, never mind whole groups. That is pretty obvious when the old "what is a sandbox? " thread pops up again. I haven't found 2 people that agree on that yet.
What bugs me more than the obvious we don't all want the same thing, is that even when we are given something close to what we want, we nitpick and tear it apart and start expounding on how this could have been better, and that should have been added, etc. etc.
Instead of just playing some games and having fun.
The better question to ask might be: Why are MMO gamers so critical of games? Who died and made everyone an armchair expert in what makes a good MMO?
FFA Nonconsentual Full Loot PvP ...You know you want it!!
I think it had to do with internet echo chambers which validate and amplify any gripes people have about games. Like I've been pretty focused on one specific MMO for a few months. I'm sure if I went to the forums for that game on this site I'd see 25 threads about how various aspects of the game suck. Then next time I logged in I'd start to notice and focus on some of those things myself rather than the things I like about the game and my enjoyment of the game would be lessened.
People just have to accept that no game will ever be perfect and find one that's relatively good to enjoy but internet forums make it tough to do that if you follow them.
Agree, I just came from another thread about how reviews don't matter unless you have the same opinion as the reviewer. Funny how Wildstar was the example used (it's generally good, not really as polarizing as ESO - which is IMHO both a disappointment and a good game, depending on what you're looking for). It's the general internet and its penchant for negative amplification. Well, if you think about it, it's in the real world too, it's easy to sensationalize bad things rather than the good.