It's important to remember that, for the majority of players, it's still a game. As a result, there's a desire to see progress, a score of some kind to quantify their devotion to the game.
Sadly, it's not always enough to just offer quality roleplaying to keep people coming back - and coming back in larger crowds. So, yes, it can be seen as catering to a lowest-common denominator - but, it works if done right.
Quite a few RP games have this but don't hurl it in your face all the time - you have to look it up using special commands. That helps prevent the break in immersion and realism.
|