With all of the hype about (*sigh*) World of Warcraft, it's hard to remember sometimes that there are other MMO games out there. Other, equally generally terrible MMOs, that is. So why am I kind of excited for Guild Wars 2?
OK, so there is something I have to get out in the open here: I hate MMORPG's. As a consumer, I feel insulted that a company can make a game where you spend more time doing monotonous grinds and getting killed by other players feels that the service they offer is so valuable that they can charge you ad infinitum for it. As a gamer, I am a misanthropic bastard who hates having to deal with other people unless absolutely necessary. And when the entirety of what defines your experience consists of other misanthropic bastards who hate having to deal with people... well, you see where I'm going here. Now, that's not to say I don't like other games where I play with other people (Left 4 Dead 2 is a great example of a game that is just not fun without at least one other person), but the difference is, I only paid for it ONCE. So while I'll admit, I've tried my share of MMO free trials (WoW, EVE Online, hell, even Everquest, back when that shit was any semblance of relevant) I never once felt it was an experience that I should have to pay more than once for. Imagine if someone offered you a free back rub, but after 15 minutes all of their friends come in and start mocking your ethnicity, sexuality, tone of voice, whatever, before kicking you in the balls until you fall unconscious, then rifling through your pockets and leaving. That's what I equate most MMOs with.
Yeah, this whore is just here to lull you
in to a false sense of security. Before
the assault robbery, and possible rape.
However, when I read this manifesto from the Guild Wars 2 developers, I found myself reading on in great interest, rather than instinctively shielding my manly bits. I read the quote "shouldn't great MMORPG's be great RPG's as well?" and something fired in my brain causing me to experience an emotion someone later explained to me as having been "happiness". The acknowledgement that maybe some gamers don't want to HAVE to play with whatever assholes happen to be online when they are is, while I think something any idiot SHOULD be able to understand, a very exciting development in the world of online gaming. It even seems like they have some mechanics in there that could make the idea ACTUALLY work (as Guild Wars was not exactly the WoW killer they were hoping).
Let's take, for example, the loot distribution system. Kill poaching (coming in at the last minute to take out someone else's kill, gain more experience for delivering the coup de gras, then taking all the loot in spite of not having worked for it) is an oft complained about aspect of WoW, so the solution the GW2 team proposes? Just give everyone the same experience and the same loot for participating in a fight. See some dudes fighting a monster and want to get in on that? There's no reason for them to say no, as you offer another set of hands, and you won't be taking anything from them. Sure, this system could be exploited to high hell, but (and correct me if I'm wrong here) it seems like the people that DO exploit that system wouldn't really hamper anyone else's experience. As individuals, yeah, they would be really powerful for not working much, but in any game there will be exploiters of the system. However, to truly exploit this system means that you won't spend a whole lot of time actually playing the game: just camping out and waiting for some dudes to kill something for you. So yeah, if your ideal gaming experience is sitting around and watching other players actually play, then sure you could have loads of fun exploiting this situation. You are probably also a humongous bag of vaginal fluids (because seriously, why WOULDN'T you want to join in some good old fashioned killing?), but that's beside the point.
Pictured: what you probably are if you choose
to play games in the fashion described above.
Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying that there WON'T be assholes when GW2 comes our way, way off in 2011 (though a closed beta is starting this June), but it really sounds like the team at ArenaNet is trying to figure out a way to marginalize that subset to the point that us regular shmoes might actually have some interest in diving in to the MMO world. And god willing they will have the foresight to only charge us ONCE.
Seriously, words cannot adequately summarize how much I hate you, Blizzard.
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5 comments:
You took the words right out of my mouth. MMO's never attracted me, but GW2 is looking seriously interesting to me. I think you'll be able to solo if you want to too because the difficulty scales depending on how many people you're with, AND Guild Wars is free. I simply refuse to pay more after buying a game. Here's to hoping that Guild Wars 2 meets expectations.
May 17, 2010 at 2:35 PMYea GW2 will have you only pay once :) you buy the game, you play the game... Such a revolution :S
May 17, 2010 at 6:04 PMcoup de gras-> coup de grace methinks
May 24, 2010 at 12:09 PMIn the prophecies in all Guild Wars campaigns, players must build their characters through more than eight skills, which may include an elite skill. Unlike technical skills elite may not be purchased. Since the release of Prophecies a number of other campaigns have been launched, including Nightfall and Factions.
August 27, 2010 at 12:07 AMwow accounts
Just wait for camping and some types of killing something for you.If your ideal gaming experience to sit and watch other players play in reality, so you could have a lot of fun to exploit this situation.
September 6, 2010 at 6:40 AMPost a Comment