I’ve learned quite a bit about myself as a gamer this year. The lackluster releases of 2007 have forced my hand on this issue, causing me to do a lot more thinking about gaming, reading blogs, and listening to podcasts than actual gaming.
The steady evolution of MMORPGs prior to 2007 has spoiled me. I’ve come to expect a lot more from games than ever before. First off, I feel like I’m done with pure PvE. Until MMORPGs jazz up their AI a bit, I’m over it. I’m far from whacking my last mole so to speak, and I’m not a huge PvPer, but the proposed “meaningful” synthesis of PvE and PvP as promised in WAR or AoC may be the last salvation of the genre in my eyes.
From now on when I try out a game, I’m going to ask myself the question, “Would I be playing this if it were single player?” Don’t get me wrong. For me, the multiplayer aspect of MMOs is the genre’s greatest asset. A strong community can make a mediocre (or downright shitty) game palatable. But ideally, a strong community should serve to compliment a stellar game rather than serve as the primary draw to a largely uninspired, humdrum title.
Another New Year’s Resolution I’m making–and this’ll seem pretty stupid and obvious–is I’m going to play MMOs on my terms rather than the game’s terms. Put simply, my goals will be mine and not those set out by the demands of the game. Thank you, rep grinds for hammering that point home. Life is too short and my game time is even shorter.
Though I’m much more of a classic ”explorer” and “socializer” than anything else, I do have a healthy OCD streak in me that makes me very goal-oriented. Not in a competitive way, but in a way where ultimately, I will gladly engage in monotonous, work-like chores to reach an objective laid out before me.
If MMOs have taught me one thing, it’s that if a title is more about reaching a destination then the fun in getting there (cough) (endgame), it probably isn’t worth it. If I’m not enjoying the long path to the top, chances are it’s going to be even less fun once I arrive.
2007 made me wonder if games have just stopped evolving at a substantial enough rate to meet the evolving tastes of the gamers who play them. At the very least, it’s proven the gap between the two has widened disappointingly. Here’s to hoping 2008 proves me wrong.
Filed under: Vanguard: Saga of Heroes
Admittedly, I didn’t clock in as much game time in Vanguard this week as I did last week. I enjoyed the time I did spend playing it, but it didn’t quite scream to be played like other games have in the past. I haven’t yet found the answer to the question, “Why Vanguard and why NOT WoW, EQ2, or LoTRO?”
I rented a wyvern and took a bird’s eye tour of Qalia, but otherwise I’ve just been knocking off quests with my blood mage feeling like I’ve done this all before in a slew of other games. If this was my first MMO, I’d probably be in love. But it isn’t.
Vanguard is a fine game. There’s just some intangible that’s not quite sucking me in. For all of their faults, both WoW and LoTRO have a stylized, coherent feel to their respective worlds. I’m just not getting this from Telon. I’m not a big PvPer by any means, but I do miss having a vaguely meaningful way to mix things up a bit when I want a breather from kill and collect quests. And frankly, if I am going to pursue the pure PvE route, I’d much rather do it in Tolkien’s world than McQuaid’s.
Admittedly, I was never a big EQ fan. I know this is the closest thing to blasphemy that can cross an MMORPGer’s lips, but it just wasn’t for me. I have a wee bias against EQ’s brand of high fantasy. I think rainbows and unicorns are the stuff of little girl’s bedroom wallpaper, not high adventure. Vanguard is a little darker, a little grittier, but also a little too similar mechanic-wise from what I’ve played in the past.
I can be a little testy about this stuff. I loved Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. When San Andreas was released, I tooled around with it for a couple weeks then dropped it like a hot potato. Outside of a few different mini-games, it was the same old song and dance beneath the surface. The same can be said for most video game sequels. This is one mark of Nintendo’s genius. The Mario games are all similar enough where there’s some level of brand continuity, but they’re always offering enough new elements to keep things fresh and appealing.
The whole fantasy MMORPG genre sometimes feels like those too-numerous-to-name, competent but unspectacular, sequels pumped out by any number of console game makers. So you like Pac-Man? You’ll love Ms. Pac-Man!
I hope I’m not sounding too negative here. But I think for any fantasy MMORPG released at this stage of the game, there has to be an answer to the question, “Why this game and why not EQ2, WoW, LoTRO, GW, et al?” In week two, I have yet to find the answer. I hope I do.
Perhaps I’m spending too much time daydreaming about the copy of Tabula Rasa I hope to find under the Christmas tree this year. Perhaps my real life WoW cronies’ proposition to start up a weekly casual play group this winter has got me nostalgic about peeking my head back into Azeroth.
After a year of licking my wounds from raid burnout, maybe I feel like if I’m gonna go back to a familiar playstyle with gear-oriented advancement systems, I might as well do it in a game I had a year-and-a-half invested in rather than under the guise of a “new” game.
But for now, I’ll keep plugging away at Vanguard and having a perfectly okay time doing it–unless either Funcom or Mythic decide to drop beta invites in my stocking. But I’m not gonna hold my breath on that one.
Apparently, someone whipped out their camera phone at the midnight premier of I Am Legend Thursday night and captured the Web’s first peak of The Dark Knight trailer. The quality is shoddy at best, but a must see for any Batman enthusiast. It probably won’t be around for long–seems that Warner Bros. has their internet bloodhounds on the case. Catch it if you can.
Director Christopher Nolan and Heath Ledger manage to capture the Joker in all his deranged, psychotic glory from what I’ve seen. Perhaps it can erase Jack Nicholson’s portly, polished, pale interpretation of the character from pop culture memory once and for all.
