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Why I Stopped Playing MMO's Years Ago...

cafe

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I don't think it's especially creepy. It's a heck of a lot cheaper than booze, etc.
 

Lateralus

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Creepy? That's not the adjective I would use. Manipulative, sure.
 

Totenkindly

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All hail the power of effective marketing.
 

JocktheMotie

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there's nothing crazy about it. After all, people pay thousands of dollars for diamonds, even though diamonds do nothing but look pretty. A video game suit of armor looks pretty and protects you from video game orcs.

:laugh:

Too true!
Why do so many of us have that void? Because according to everything expert Malcolm Gladwell, to be satisfied with your job you need three things, and I bet most of you don't even have two of them:

Autonomy (that is, you have some say in what you do day to day);

Complexity (so it's not mind-numbing repetition);

Connection Between Effort and Reward (i.e. you actually see the awesome results of your hard work).

And this is true too.
 

Moiety

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Bastards. MMO's never managed to keep me interested though. I think I'm too much geared towards aesthetics. That's how I can play a game like Shadow of the Colossus more than most games with gameplay variety.
 

JocktheMotie

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Bastards. MMO's never managed to keep me interested though. I think I'm too much geared towards aesthetics. That's how I can play a game like Shadow of the Colossus more than most games with gameplay variety.

Interesting. See I am attracted to the essential game systems and how that comes together into something fun. Like in WoW, I find the combat system very good, and the custom UI possibilities practically make the game for me. No other MMO I've played has as smooth a gameplay experience in terms of movement, ability execution, animation, etc.

Contrast this with say, God of War: a game built purely on an aesthetic and a presentation, yet the actual combat is an unresponsive, shallow, clunky, easy mess. I can't have fun with a game like that, while I can love Ninja Gaiden despite the fact that there is no story and completely lame, setting wise. But the system the game is built on is executed flawlessly.
 

Moiety

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Interesting. See I am attracted to the essential game systems and how that comes together into something fun. Like in WoW, I find the combat system very good, and the custom UI possibilities practically make the game for me. No other MMO I've played has as smooth a gameplay experience in terms of movement, ability execution, animation, etc.

Contrast this with say, God of War: a game built purely on an aesthetic and a presentation, yet the actual combat is an unresponsive, shallow, clunky, easy mess. I can't have fun with a game like that, while I can love Ninja Gaiden despite the fact that there is no story and completely lame, setting wise. But the system the game is built on is executed flawlessly.

Sure, no, I definitely can get really into a game like Ninja Gaiden. But after mastering the mechanics I start getting pissed off..."why the fuck did they have to such cheesy art style in a game with such cool gameplay? why the fucking cliches and unrealistic cheesiness? arachnid goddesses with huge boobs? reaaallly?

It's all about immersion and... satisfying my need to be immersed in a fantasy world which I find compelling. Riven and the other Myst games, for example, try to do radically different things, have little in the way of that classic kineticism...but they polute my self-conscious like no one....in a good way.

I prefer fillet mignon over hamburgers, when it comes to videogames. Popcorn doesn't satisfy me as much as creme brulee. I tend to judge a game's quality very holistically. So the gameplay isn't the most addictive thing in the world...if it feels well balanced in all areas... gameplay, visual style (not graphical "quality"), music, story...then it gets my vote.

I can usually tell if I'm going to like a game or not, based solely on what it hopes to accomplish. That's why you won't see me ever fainting over a game by Epic, for example. But Rez will blow my mind, even though the gameplay is still the same as Space Harrier or Panzer Dragoon, pretty much...it's about the whole experience.
 

Randomnity

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I just read that article yesterday. Interesting, though nothing new, just rephrased (that chinese game with the chests sounds freaky though - I hate the idea of paying RL money for in-game items, regardless of the price). I learned about the random reward thing in psychology years ago and I do think it's interesting and applicable to many things in life, not just MMOs.

I started playing my first MMO (warhammer online) last summer and I still play often but I don't think I'm addicted to it any more or less than my other video games, which I also enjoy. I'm kinda ADD about that stuff though - I'll love it and play excessively for a few weeks then get bored and switch games (returning later - I have a nice rotation going now with 4-5 games).
 

speculative

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I think it would be interesting to look at this article in light of the old arcade games that made money based on how long people kept playing. I wonder if there are any parallels...
 

Feops

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The "virtual slot machine" bit was never anything new. I'm going to pick on Blizzard here, they worked the gambling aspect to incredible effect with Diablo I and Diablo II. They are masters of virtual gambling.

What I found interesting was:

The terrible truth is that a whole lot of us begged for a Skinner Box we could crawl into, because the real world's system of rewards is so much more slow and cruel than we expected it to be. In that, gaming is no different from other forms of mental escape, from sports fandom to moonshine.

This resonates with me. I played Warcraft quite a bit, but it didn't ruin my life or anything like that. I was already leeched of energy and motivation, I didn't like anything about myself, so I fumbled about for something to fill the time and get a sense of accomplishment from.
 

Skyward

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I'm similar to Sytpg with the aesthetics. For me, if I get hooked by the aesthetics and the other aspects of the game don't piss me off, then I can really enjoy the game. Monster Hunter Freedom Unite for the PSP is a good example of this. At first the learning curve of the game pissed me off but I kept playing because I just loved the scenery.

I played WoW because of how everything just worked. I liked the graphics (with exceptions, but that just proves the rule because nothing is perfect) and the combat flowed well.

I'm still hooked on City of Heroes/Villains because of the aesthetics and the character creation system. On my server it is common to see people who spent hours developing a backstory for their character, it really helps my need for escapism :D - The scenery is epic with max graphics on, I cant wait for the new ultra mode to come out in a few months.
 

htb

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Ah, David Wong — the auteur who in 2004 maintained the video gaming industry was creatively exhausted and doomed to collapse. And then World of Warcraft was released; followed by Halo 2 and multiplayer matchmaking, the seventh-generation consoles, on-demand DLC, the casual gaming explosion, Left 4 Dead's supersession of shooting-gallery limitations of FPS titles Wong decried, and groundbreaking work like LittleBigPlanet and Flower.

Funny guy. Blinkered analyst.
 

Skyward

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Easing Them In:

First, set up the "pellets" so that they come fast at first, and then slower and slower as time goes on. This is why they make it very easy to earn rewards (or level up) in the beginning of an MMO, but then the time and effort between levels increases exponentially. Once the gamer has experienced the rush of leveling up early, the delayed gratification actually increases the pleasure of the later levels. That video game behavior expert at Microsoft found that gamers play more and more frantically as they approach a new level.

Now I know why I don't usually get to the endgame of an MMO. I'm too impatient! Maybe I am resistant to the Skinner Box but easily hooked on other things, like art and story ideas... No wonder I love City of Heroes/Villains. The lategame grind is more like a lot of little pieces rather than 5 big pieces (like in WoW).
 
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