Curse

haggus71 · May 29, 2009, 12:44 AM // 00:44

http://www.mmorpg.com/showFeature.cf...urney-Fun.html

I like this article, because it reminds me of what was fun about Guild Wars, in the beginning. You were led not just in a level grind, but as part of a story. I think he hit it on the head about how it's not just developers, but us that are to blame for the direction of grinding that MMOs have taken.

FlamingMetroid · May 29, 2009, 01:18 AM // 01:18

I think publishers see sandbox MMO's that try to do to much and fail, or just come from poor developers, and just assume that because they did poorly, all sandbox MMO's would do poorly. Most publishers feel safer making WoW clone w/ hat, because it's easier, and that's what they know people already play. It's the same way for PvP MMO's imo. In the future, publishers will look at Guild Wars or Fury and compare their success to other MMO's and think "well obviously a PvP MMO just wouldn't be popular enough." Guild Wars and Fury both could have been much more successful with better developers and marketing, but at the end of the day they both fell short.

haggus71 · May 29, 2009, 01:36 AM // 01:36

While Fury was a big-time failure, I don't see Guild Wars as such. It makes them money still, after 4 years and despite being a box-sale, F2P game. With the title/rep grind, they didn't have much choice, as after 4 years the game IS limited in its ability to offer something new to anyone playing more than a year or two. I think they will cover that deficiency with GW2, though I fear it could be heading down the path many other games tread.

I like the example of Age of Conan. I thought the game was the best ever...right until I stepped out of Tortage and into Tarantia. It was like they hit a switch, taking away the story and transforming it into a graphics-intensive grinder(and it really wasn't any better than this game, looks-wise). They did just enough to get buyers and great initial reviews, then let it fail.

It's like MMO players were conditioned to react like Pavlov's dog. "Oh, it's an MMO. The great stuff is at the endgame, so I need to grind to the level, instead of enjoying the trip."

I think that part of the reason they see those games fail is that press and fans hype them up to be so much greater than what they are. Darkfall is a great example.

Elder III · May 31, 2009, 05:37 PM // 17:37

hard to call the #2 MMO a failure - everyone has their preferences.... some actually like to grind... bleh :/

FlamingMetroid · May 31, 2009, 07:03 PM // 19:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elder III

some actually like to grind... bleh :/

why :|

Abedeus · May 31, 2009, 07:29 PM // 19:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlamingMetroid

why :|

Because it doesn't require much brainpower.

There are only two games with grind I like:

- Diablo 2
- Ragnarok Online

Anything else can GTFO.

Elder III · May 31, 2009, 08:13 PM // 20:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abedeus

Because it doesn't require much brainpower.

There are only two games with grind I like:

- Diablo 2
- Ragnarok Online

Anything else can GTFO.

Ever try Regnum Online? Going from lvl 46-50 Conjurer takes 16.5 hours of steady grinding in high exp areas per level.. and that's if you don't get repeatedly killed by roaming enemy hunting parties. No wonder I gave the game up.... :P