Paradoxes of MMORPGs
May 8, 2022This material was written before I was even acquainted with WoW, based on my impressions of Everquest 2. Basically, almost everything below is consistent with the realities of WoW as well. I think...
Hello reader! Answer me: what games are really interesting to play? Of course, multiplayer, exciting story, great gameplay and RPG elements do their job, but that's not all. Recently, I was reminded of the game Stalker. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl had a huge number of pluses. Atmosphere, gameplay, story, etc. But you know what I liked the most? This game I often discussed with my friends. We would sit for hours on the phone and talk about where to go to find some kind of cache. Which NPC to turn to for the most satisfying quest. We even found a guitar, except we couldn't play it, but it was so much fun.
How many of these games are there? For instance, everyone praises the first Mass Effect game. It is a very interesting game with fascinating story, innovative gameplay and incredible graphics. But talking about it was boring. The discussion looked like this: "And what did he say to him? What about her? And how to make Shepard have sex with an alien?". It was still possible to discuss one's armament. Then an awkward silence ensued, followed by "okay, bye." Maybe my friends and I were thinking too narrowly, maybe we just didn't see something that could realistically be discussed...I don't know.
Games that are grounded in multiplayer are fun to discuss too. Only their discussion goes a bit in a different vein. We're not talking about a variety of gear or any kind of gimmicks, no. We're talking about gimmicks. What I mean: I was aiming a sniper rifle at one, he moved away when I shot and there was a barrel standing there, and I ended up killing 3-4. After all, during the game with other people and really happens a lot of different funny moments and it's always nice to share with someone.
What I don't like to discuss the most is real time strategies. Sure, you can talk about different types of units, discuss attack and defense strategies, talk about what order to build buildings in, etc. But in this case the conversation turns out to be too arcane and boring. Of course, some, maybe most, of these conversations are to their liking, but I do not belong to this group. But there are exceptions. For example - Black & White 2: Battle of the Gods (I haven't played the first one). The game itself is brilliant, and to discuss the track you went (good or evil), which animal you chose and how it behaves, how you make fun of people (I really liked to take them with that huge hand and toss them somewhere far and wide... or play bowling with them) - one pleasure.
Also, we can spend hours talking about a masterpiece called The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It takes my breath away when I think back. I can't even describe all the things we talked about. There was discussion about NPCs, quests, gates, items, bugs, quests, houses, guilds, statues of various Gods, etc. etc. The discussion went from minutes to hours so imperceptibly that day turned into evening and evening into night. Not many games are that addictive.
But the most boring discussions are those of linear games where the emphasis is on story. To talk in these cases is to either talk about the passages, or to spoil each other's plot. That's where the discussion ends. As unfortunate as it is, it is. So, as much as Alan Wake is praised - it lacks what I appreciate most about games.
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