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Alexander Tau · 07-10-2002, 05:57 PM

I would say that article was a fair representation of the whole MMOPRG crowd. Compared to computer games in general it is still rather young so it is not surprising they are thinking in a sort of herd mentality.

I am not so sure I agree with the post just before mine, while MU*s do continue to evolve, and new features are added, real originality is still pretty rare. One of the things that is hindering the graphic 'big boys' is the leveling up and whole quest for points concepts, and those are still mainstream in MU* as well. We do have the whole MUSH RP realms as balance of course.

The only real danger to the graphic pay to play places is the possibility that a game would do just well enough to keep it alive, but never generate any real revenue. With a normal computer game you can just stop supporting it and let it die quietly. If you have to tell a bunch of active players their World is about to vanish you face a lot more yelling. Along with that comes less support from the public for your next attempt to put a World online.

I think the real saviors of these games will be new tools that will let indivduals create graphic games. Without any tech limitations I believe there is a lot of talent out there just waiting for the right medium to come along. With the way tech limits are dropping we should be seeing better and better tools appearing.

One final thought about the article, did it amaze anyone else that in 2002 game designers would still be saying things like 'we are adding features that should appeal to women'. When you are looking at needing a large group to make something a success should the design not start reasonably balanced?

A.T
(-)

07-10-2002, 05:57 PM	#4
Alexander Tau Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 101	I would say that article was a fair representation of the whole MMOPRG crowd. Compared to computer games in general it is still rather young so it is not surprising they are thinking in a sort of herd mentality. I am not so sure I agree with the post just before mine, while MUs do continue to evolve, and new features are added, real originality is still pretty rare. One of the things that is hindering the graphic 'big boys' is the leveling up and whole quest for points concepts, and those are still mainstream in MU as well. We do have the whole MUSH RP realms as balance of course. The only real danger to the graphic pay to play places is the possibility that a game would do just well enough to keep it alive, but never generate any real revenue. With a normal computer game you can just stop supporting it and let it die quietly. If you have to tell a bunch of active players their World is about to vanish you face a lot more yelling. Along with that comes less support from the public for your next attempt to put a World online. I think the real saviors of these games will be new tools that will let indivduals create graphic games. Without any tech limitations I believe there is a lot of talent out there just waiting for the right medium to come along. With the way tech limits are dropping we should be seeing better and better tools appearing. One final thought about the article, did it amaze anyone else that in 2002 game designers would still be saying things like 'we are adding features that should appeal to women'. When you are looking at needing a large group to make something a success should the design not start reasonably balanced? A.T (-)