Newsletter Discussion: Why Go Massive?

We've all gotten the question before, whether from family, friends, or coworkers: "Why play online like that, having to rely on other people? Why not just play offline and save time and money?" So this week, we want to know:

What draws you to the Massive genre instead of smaller, offline, or singleplayer games?

Share your thoughts with us and post in the comment thread!

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I tend to play with people I know, so it's a fun way to keep in touch with people I may not ordinarily get to spend much time with.

Also, people are just more fun and unexpected than AI. AI doesn't jump up on a mailbox in a wedding dress and dance. That's kinda funny.

Jumping on mailboxes in wedding dresses...dancing? O.o

Methinks you need to play more WoW, Kalia.

There was an interesting Penny-Arcade about this a while back that I don't want to spend time searching for now--about how the rise of shared gamespaces in the Massive genre affect our expectations towards single-player games. Like, for example--what use is getting something purely cosmetic if nobody will be able to see you wear it in Stormwind or Orgrimmar?

Play MORE WoW?

Blasphemous as it is, I've NEVER played WoW. :P

Having some social contact is important, but what I like is that online games tend to be dynamic in content. Single player games tend to be published with maybe one or two patches. After that, the manufacturer tends to forget about them, moving on to another project... leaving the players with whatever is leftover. With most MMOG's, patches are usually produced on a regular basis and new content is constantly being added... mostly because there is a monthly fee. The one exception that I know of is Guild Wars, which seems to have gotten past the monthly fee for some reason... which is great! There are downtimes for maintenance and patch downloads, but I guess everything has its downside. Guild Wars seemed to get past most of these problems by downloading patches as one needed them during play and in the background as the game is running. I guess this was possible based on their game design. I do not think I have ever seen that game offline since I played it on release. Anyway, the biggest hazzle that I have found with MMOG's is the need to have other players' help in completing tasks and missions/quests. Working with people one does not know or having to wait for others to come online can be real bummer. Then you will always have the griefers, whose whole purpose in life is to see how much they can ruin other players' gaming experience... which single player games do not have. But then, that is the nature of the beast.

Addition: Perhaps another downside of MMOG's is they tend to be released full of problems, with the idea that the problems can be fixed later. This can be very frustrating when people start playing a MMOG that is really not ready for release. However, if one changes their prospective and looks at most MMOG's as on-going projects, then perhaps it is easier to deal with these problems/situations. I have also picked up a trend by the game designers that they are not always sure how the game will develop in the beginning. So allowing the game itself to workout its own bugs and design concepts seems to also be there. Most players are not happy paying for a game that is still being developed, but I am starting to accept this as normal MMOG development.

That's also a very good point, Lex. Glad you made it :)

To me thats like asking "Why do you need a mouth and ears to live in the world, aren't your hands and eyes enough?" The social aspect of MMOs can be up to half of the pleasure of the gaming experience. In addition to the dynamic nature of in-game societies (and the game's content since they will continue updating it), it also offers human relations in a sort of "closeness" some of us arent capable of in real life because we're to socially awkward in standard face-to-face situations. So in a sense we can become "closer" to people who live thousands of miles away, whom we've never met, than our coworker or next door neighbor.

Kalia:
Play MORE WoW?

Blasphemous as it is, I've NEVER played WoW. :P

Keep it up! =)