Recently in the thread "Warning: The Eve Way" I saw so much attention given over to the mechanics of Combat and wanted to draw more attention toward the other aspects of game play. So in the spirt of that I ask this question:
What aspects of the game in general would make your ideal MMO RPG?
I will post what I posted in the other thread for frame of reference. I guess it can also serve as an introductory post for myself as well. *Smiles*
"I would like to start off that I do not know about Pathfinder, other then that it is based off of 3.5 DnD and is a continuation of that rule set, to the best of my knowledge. I am very familiar with DnD and the 3.5 system in general. I just found out about this project from kickstart.com and I am debating on if I should support it or not.
I have read almost all 6 pages of this tread, (The first five, and then a quick gloss over the 6th) and it amazes me that, out of the entire depth of complexity that goes into a game of this nature; it is the PvP and Combat that are focused on almost exclusively. And on both camps, I hear very few constructive positive solutions.
I played EVE Online for 3 years, EVE had many positive and negative elements; for the sake of the developers let me focus on the positive elements that I actually liked about the game.
One of the primary draws of EVE Online, IS its player driven sandbox style of play. It draws people to it, who want to feel like their actions have impact, that they can grow with and shape the world with their growing. That they can construct empires, influence politics, actually make something, breathing life into until it starts to take off on its own. They are addicted to their Investment, to the idea that they can someday create this sprawling empire if things align just right, if they just get the people to support them; or, they see themselves one day playing part in a decisive battle that will change the course of the game in some lasting way.
My biggest criticism of EVE, is mostly that they are shallow. They didn't find a way to effectively allow the player to become a free radical in their world, AND tie them in to the story, the environment. Their is no Co-Creation, and the only RPG elements of the game, are mostly found outside of the game itself, in the blogs that lead up to major game changes, and a few in game events. It leaves a disenchanted feel overall, and the only thing you are actually getting out of the game IS your investment, and being the small dog on the block, it makes it increasingly difficult for new players to see those grand dreams becoming reality. So it initially generates a RABIDLY loyal user base, built around their various interests, their various investments. But as with most games, eventually you are going to feel capped and stagnant, like many people do in real life, even in a sandbox player driven world, where the people are constantly every day writing their history on those digital pages.
Writing their history they are too, I think their are more news stories about the internal politics of EVE, with more of a user base following those stories, that history, then in any other game. Because the players matter. That is the primary draw of EVE.
When they finally announced that CCP was going to do World of Darkness Online in partnership with White Wolf? OMG I did a little happy dance JIG. I love eve's immersive game play if you can get over how shallow its content is and focus on the player driven aspect of it. I am not really a fan of Space Games (One of the primary reasons I left EVE, it just couldn't hold my attention or desire since I wasn't a mover and shaker and the actually game play was hollow.) But put that same player driven concepts into a fantasy setting or an urban fantasy setting... You have me frothing at the mouth hook line and sinker. A sand box style MMO, built with the partnership of table top storytelling masters, with the promise of having both and Immersive player driven game world, and game play; with the feel that you were taking part in something majestic, something greater. EVE's skill based system where the older you are the more powerful you become makes PERFECT sense in that setting also. It is those dynamics that make the game take on a life of its own, that bring a whole new level of politics and social community that is the GLUE to games like this. Pillars of the community, so to speak. And while a group of novices should be able to bring one of these pillars down, shaking up the status quo. It should still feel like something special.
No one should be untouchable, like in WoW, where you could have 1000 lvl 1's beating on a lvl 85, and he could fart and kill half of them. But those who have put their blood sweat and tears into becoming those pillars, leaders, the glue of nations. They shouldn't be trivialized either.
That being said, if the Dev's want it to be both player driven, but risk free (no permadeath/sever death penalties) Then this sandbox style RPG is going to need STRONG RPG elements where the players feel like they are co creating a story, and a damn good one; or the politics isn't going to be anywhere near as stable or epic in scope. It is that element of risk that draws people together and creates communities, and it is communities that make most sandbox style games fun, communities that keep people coming back. If I hadn't been in my Corp, working toward a common goal, I would have left EVE alot sooner then I did, alot sooner. It was only when the Corp fell apart after some betrayals and hard times that I actually left the game for good, and if it had been set in a fantasy setting, or had an immersive single player draw where I could still feel like my actions mattered, and I could still take place in the co creation of the history that scares and marks the world of EVE, I would have stayed.
Creating the perfect storm, of allowing players to feel like their actions matter, that they are taking part in something grand, allowing the flourishing of a player driven economics, with the appropriate understanding of economics to plan for sink holes so money generated doesn't over flood the system. Having a high degree of customization on all levels over the aesthetics and abilities of the characters to increase their overall attachment to their avatar, and increase individualism. Balancing political tension, and the development of factions and communities, and many many more elements, are what could make a promising Sandbox RPG into a truly AMAZING experience.
Combat will play a role in that, and it may even play a very important role as that is how nations shape and change their boarders, but it is no more important then many of the other aspects that could also be discussed. Lets not forget at the rich environment and game play itself and how they are going to introduce the PVP such that it engages and helps this model succeed rather then fail.
The Pefect Storm has more then one element, things truly have to be just right. Over emphasis on one element will throw the entirety of the projects scope off balance."