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Personal gaming crisis
I'm not here to write about "the gaming industry" or "the state of games today." There have been a lot of changes in games and there are some really great ones out now. But virtual worlds seem lacking. I'm not complaining. I'm just observing how I feel about it personally. I know others feel this way, too, though maybe for different reasons.
I think of it like music, maybe. Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and so on. Their day is over. It's great music, but rock is dead. Hip-hop came and the music scene changed. There are eras and tastes change. I still listen to new music. And I love me some old classic rock, blues whatever. It's just that I won't be going to any more Jerry Garcia Band shows. It's over.
I used to think of games as a place to stay for a while. For a long time. I don't mean 12-hour sessions, but there were times when I stayed up all night and forgot to go to sleep, as recently as 2007 or 2008, when I was already pretty old. WoW had that for me a long time ago. So did Darkfall. I was happy with those games for years. I sometimes felt irritated by Aventurine, though. Then AV wiped all my accounts in Darkfall and for the first time, I felt screwed over.
Now I feel that way all the time with games. I don't feel like there is a world there for me. I feel like there are just ways to get me to spend my money. Maybe games were like that before, but at least it seems like it was hidden a lot better. Or maybe I was just more naive about it.
Feel kind of sad that my last year+ game has lost its charm for me. ESO has turned into a zergy pvp grind for me. I'm not saying ESO is a bad game. It is a great game and beautiful. A lot of people love it, and I don't want to criticize it. But I will say that it moved away from being a game for me by the decisions that have been made over the past year. I'm not the target audience.
I am playing Skyforge now. I know what it is. I bought the CE and I'm happy with it. I don't mind paying for it. It's fun. But it's not a world. And it's not a gaming home. I can be okay with that. I play War Thunder or Armored Warfare, or whatever new comes along. I don't expect much now. Just if it's fun, I will jump in and play.
I just don't want to feel screwed again like I did with Darkfall and more recently with ArcheAge and the $150 Alpha package. Times have changed.
I can't go back to WoW now. It would be like going to a Rolling Stones stadium concert in 2015. A bunch of old people there watching a bunch of old people on stage. No thanks. I will find some new music, or maybe see an old musician in a quiet bar somewhere doing an unplugged.
Just moving on. If there is ever a world again, I will be pleasantly surprised. If not, I will just have fun with what's there. Only bad thing for me is that feeling of distrust toward game developers now. Sad to be cynical about gaming.
I think of it like music, maybe. Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and so on. Their day is over. It's great music, but rock is dead. Hip-hop came and the music scene changed. There are eras and tastes change. I still listen to new music. And I love me some old classic rock, blues whatever. It's just that I won't be going to any more Jerry Garcia Band shows. It's over.
I used to think of games as a place to stay for a while. For a long time. I don't mean 12-hour sessions, but there were times when I stayed up all night and forgot to go to sleep, as recently as 2007 or 2008, when I was already pretty old. WoW had that for me a long time ago. So did Darkfall. I was happy with those games for years. I sometimes felt irritated by Aventurine, though. Then AV wiped all my accounts in Darkfall and for the first time, I felt screwed over.
Now I feel that way all the time with games. I don't feel like there is a world there for me. I feel like there are just ways to get me to spend my money. Maybe games were like that before, but at least it seems like it was hidden a lot better. Or maybe I was just more naive about it.
Feel kind of sad that my last year+ game has lost its charm for me. ESO has turned into a zergy pvp grind for me. I'm not saying ESO is a bad game. It is a great game and beautiful. A lot of people love it, and I don't want to criticize it. But I will say that it moved away from being a game for me by the decisions that have been made over the past year. I'm not the target audience.
I am playing Skyforge now. I know what it is. I bought the CE and I'm happy with it. I don't mind paying for it. It's fun. But it's not a world. And it's not a gaming home. I can be okay with that. I play War Thunder or Armored Warfare, or whatever new comes along. I don't expect much now. Just if it's fun, I will jump in and play.
I just don't want to feel screwed again like I did with Darkfall and more recently with ArcheAge and the $150 Alpha package. Times have changed.
I can't go back to WoW now. It would be like going to a Rolling Stones stadium concert in 2015. A bunch of old people there watching a bunch of old people on stage. No thanks. I will find some new music, or maybe see an old musician in a quiet bar somewhere doing an unplugged.
Just moving on. If there is ever a world again, I will be pleasantly surprised. If not, I will just have fun with what's there. Only bad thing for me is that feeling of distrust toward game developers now. Sad to be cynical about gaming.
Comments
But I agree with you that we could use a few new virtual worlds. I have some hope about Pantheon (by Brad from EQ) and Shards (Garriot), they seems to have the right mentality and both have done it before.
Of course you need a good group of players and a DM to really make that happen too.
My SWTOR referral link for those wanting to give the game a try. (Newbies get a welcome package while returning players get a few account upgrades to help with their preferred status.)
https://www.ashesofcreation.com/ref/Callaron/
I listen predominantly to classical music. No one is really writing new stuff in the style of Bach or Brahms or Ravel or the Renaissance era or Schubert or "whoever".
And I don't expect them to.
But the music has been written and one can still enjoy it. Same with classic Rock. I love Rush, early Genesis, heck, I like Styx. Same thing. But I can still enjoy the old recordings and see a cover band if I really wanted to.
Gaming? Slightly different if you are talking about mmo's as there is a social component. But the old mmo's are still there, changed a bit, and you could still join a guild that's active and still do content.
"I can't go back to WoW now. It would be like going to a Rolling Stones stadium concert in 2015. A bunch of old people there watching a bunch of old people on stage."
You see, this is "you". All about you. I remember going to a Dan Fogelberg concert years ago and it was a lot of old people in a stadium. And you know what? We all sat there and sang along and enjoyed it. We were there for the music and to share it with each other. "That" is what it was about.
I think you need perspective. Especially with your old people remark because you know what I've figured out in my middle age? Being older is still "you". Nothing has changed except maybe you are (hopefully) more adjusted and your body is giving out. But it's still you.
It's ok to have a paradigm shift and not expect to have the same experiences but you can still have experiences with older material. And with people.
It just takes some effort and actually doing something about it.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
I guess I just feel wary of new online games, but that is about my perspective.
I had a long day at work and wanted to play Skyforge, but it's down for maintenance and patching. There was nothing else I wanted to play though I've downloaded a bunch of new and old games.
I'm just going to grab a book and read this time.
Cheers!
In terms of D&D it's a nice idea, but I don't know how you could play by yourself. You might be better off trying to make a very simple D&D computer game with your own rules.
* more info, screenshots and videos here
Rock ain't dead, man. It's evolved; Spoon... Hozier... or just head out to some of the local open mic nights and listen for anyone that's got talent. Technology has become finer; some musical threads have progressed, others have reached back; it's like a tapestry being blown on a gentle breeze. A lot of new sounds are being bounced back and forth in an everlasting conversation (oh my God listen to Ott's new album Fairchildren, LISTEN TO IT!)
It's a little early to declare Rock "dead" (Rock is such a nebulous term, anyway). It's branched out; yes there were great moments like Hendrix's "Purple Haze" ad infinitum, but let's not let the great ruin the good.
I don't have much in common with your gaming resume, other than WoW, but I relate to the musical analogy and I think it's a good one. I also think that a lot of it depends on perspective; if I approach a game expecting to lose myself in a world that is on par with real life, I'm going to be disappointed every time. Games are not life, although some share strange parallels.
I'm not trying to sound preachy; I just wanted to offer an alternate conclusion based on your observations. I'm not saying that it's all in your perception, either. Games have changed over time, just like music. That stated, I've found a lot of satisfactory experiences in gaming recently that have left me with a sense approaching awe:
Massive Chalice, though not a MMORPG, has made me think a lot about death and ancestry, and it does so artfully, harking back to the things your parents taught you as you were a growing child. This game is one that kept me up until midnight playing, once.
Dwarf Fortress (not an MMO) has an unbelievable level of procedurally-generated content. It is to Minecraft what Skyrim is to Super Mario Bros., content-wise. Seriously, you will not believe just how complex this game is. It will boggle your mind.
Vendetta Online is a world in which I've spent years spinning stories with help from others. Just flying around, on a job but not making trouble, enjoying the ambiance, high-fiving others I come across, is so much fun. Or perhaps you will choose the path of a space samurai, unmatched in combat and tactical skill, whose fierce gaze will cause those less worthy to cower and run. There are so many different directions you can take it; it's like an electronic Dubai.
So, I guess my advice to you is examine your motives in approaching a game; if it's not to have fun and kill some time, then what?
That's all. I didn't intend to spend all these words, there was just something about your musical analogy that caught my attention, and I related to the part where you talked about staying up playing a game as recently as 2008.
"The simple is the seal of the true and beauty is the splendor of truth" -Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Authored 139 missions in Vendetta Online and 6 tracks in Distance
Not here to judge, but if you had loads going on in real life and plenty to be doing, you'd probably be grateful that there wasn't an all-consuming game drawing you into make tough decisions.
My advice would be to work on the things you can change i.e. other parts of your life and how you can improve the things going on around you - then you'll be happy to play a game for 60 minutes a day or so and really enjoy the break it provides, as opposed to spending time dwelling on what there isn't out there in the gaming/MMO world that you want to make your virtual world. The real world is more worthwhile investing in, surely?
Perhaps Lineage II ?
As for WoW I have to agree with OP a bit though, Stones can never make new albums the way they did in the late 60s (like Let it bleed for example) and WoW likewise seems to have lost inspiration.
I still enjoy watching some old bands live, saw Black Sabbath last year and they were really good, and AC/DC and Maiden still are top class. Sadly this isn't true for everyone and many bands do have lost their shape (and in many cases most of the original members).
I do think there are MMOs out there for OP as long as he stops comparing them with older games and take them for what they are. That honestly never worked.
Sadly, most of the older MMOs are not what they once were and going back can often be painful. Even classics like EQ are hard to recognize by now. But maybe the new legacy server for EQ2 would be something worth trying? It isn't one of the really old MMOs but it is pretty old but still have acceptable graphics.
Second, look at other game genres than MMOs and especially other than MMORPGs. I have so many games I would like to play or just to play more but unfortunately I haven't the time. Although I have to admit there is no MMORPG among them currently. Just follwing the development there. Maybe some day ther will be one worth my time....
Now some companies are trying to reverse that trend and add features that have become possible with new technologies.
* more info, screenshots and videos here
Part of my situation is that I live in Seoul, so I'm out of touch with a lot of the music and other cultural products of the broader world -- unless I know where to look. So the suggestions help. I'm a foreigner where I live and there aren't many others that around me that share similar interests.
And thanks everyone for the great suggestions and ideas!
Looking forward to crowfall myself since i like the PvP and even albion aswell. Pantheon not so much since there does not appear to be much PvP
But the funny thing is you don't need a ton of rules like game companies tend to sell. All thanks to the imagination!
Epic Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAigCvelkhQ&list=PLo9FRw1AkDuQLEz7Gvvaz3ideB2NpFtT1
https://archive.org/details/softwarelibrary_msdos?&sort=-downloads&page=1
Kyleran: "Now there's the real trick, learning to accept and enjoy a game for what it offers rather than pass on what might be a great playing experience because it lacks a few features you prefer."
John Henry Newman: "A man would do nothing if he waited until he could do it so well that no one could find fault."
FreddyNoNose: "A good game needs no defense; a bad game has no defense." "Easily digested content is just as easily forgotten."
LacedOpium: "So the question that begs to be asked is, if you are not interested in the game mechanics that define the MMORPG genre, then why are you playing an MMORPG?"
Modern games are the McDonalds while older games were the roadside diner, everyone was different. Maccas does make money so it's a somewhat smart idea as long as you can keep pumping out the same stuff repackaged as something new.
Look at the complexity of EQ in comparison to today's games. Complexity in terms of gameplay, environment, NPCs, lore, difficulty.
It took me two years to get my Shissar Epic. Spawning the ancient cyclops in South Ro was never figured out. So many camps, so much pain and heartbreak and suffering in that game you think back on it and still shiver lol.
The secret to an interesting and great virtual world is not eye candy, it's not teleporting to personal dungeons, the secret is adversity and conquering that just like in real life. The successes over tough fights and times is what people remember.
imo
Looking back on the days when EQ first came out there wasn't that much choice. The internet was still relatively new for most people, gaming wasn't nearly as popular as it is now. Dial up internet was fairly expensive and a good PC was costly and the subscription model was also costly for its time. As a consequence these were niche games serving a niche market for players that were dedicated to their hobby. EQ and its like was for people who loved computer games, technology and dungeons and dragons therefore we all met fairly like-minded people.
Forward 15 years and just about everyone considers the internet a basic human right. Video games are mainstream, there is a proliferation of MMOS, video games and its cool to be a nerd. Everything is cheap, so cheap that people consider it too big a barrier for entry for a company to charge a subscription.
Virtual worlds are out there. But do you really have the time to invest hours and hours when you have a job along and a family to look after? Do you really want to spend time on a new game meeting people you have little in common with, especially when there are so many other things you can be doing with your spare time? These are the questions I had to ask myself when I had my video game crises.
I came to the conclusion that I just stopped enjoying my hobby as much I used to. Too much choice, too little time. Modern games are not as bad as people make them out to be. Mechanically they are far superior than the games I used to enjoy. The communities aren't the same, but I'm a middle-aged old fart who is old enough to remember the Amiga 500 and when Sega made consoles.
I seldom play MMOs now. I simply don't want and can't to invest the time necessary. I look when my curiosity gets the better of me. But in truth I'd rather play the games I want to play even if that means playing single player games. I miss the camaraderie and the feeling of exploring new worlds. But I'm older now but wise enough to know these are things you can only experience a few times before it too becomes old.
The only MMO I'm playing regularly now is War Thunder. Though I may get back to Skyforge one of these days.