First, I'd like to say, thank you to all of you who responded to my last entry (and especially to Mushu). I guess I had known that all along, but had dispairigingly forgotten what was important. It's good having you all ere to remind me.
So anyhow, it's Sunday night, and I've made good progress with the design of the second to last level. Not much to say about it, it's really all more of the same. Well, I mean, there's innovation in the design, and I'm always offering unique and origional environments, but let's face it, I've been drawing these damn graphs on and off for about a year. I'm a little tired of rulers, graph paper, and mechanical pencils altogether.
But on a happier note, I got around to some gaming today. I've been trying out different MMORPGs to see if I can actually find one to suit my needs. Tried a free one called Flyff. Loved it at first. Interface was great, loved the graphics (even though they were kinda cutesy). It was fun to play, level, and guess what... you can fly! Worlds first fly-compatible MMO, with floating islands to explore and everything. It's nice and big, and lots of people play it. Problem? It's just levelgrinding. The quests basically completely suck, and have no depth. After you fly at level 20, there's nothing to encourage you beyond that (besides new equipment and the prospect of being... higher level?). I just wasn't motivated at all to keep playing. Oh, and the community is aweful. Everyones a complete ***hole, and the communication interface sucks, which doesn't help the situation.
Went back and looked at Ultima Online. First MMO I ever played (I was something like 9 or 10 years old). Didn't download it again, though, cause I figure that ol' horse has been beaten to death over the years, and it's probably a dead game by now. I also downloaded Ragnarok Online. Only had to play it for about an hour to realize that A) the interface sucks, B) the combat is unbalanced, and, C) No one plays it anymore.
I can't really find an MMO to suit my needs, which is unfortunate. I just want a game that plays smoothly, has a strong community, and motivates me to keep playing. I remember WoW. It had everything! I progressed in levels, I met new people, I was constantly motivated, it looked great, it played well, and it was rewarding. And then I got to end-game, and fast. I realized that the progression stopped. There was no more leveling, nothing new. Beyond that, I was a paladin, so a well-rouned character that was respected by all quickly became an unwanted buff-bot.
I figure this: I go and buy a console game, and I pay x amount of money for x amount of content. If I'm paying constantly, I should be getting good hard content constantly. It shouldn't stop at level 20. And in games where you can (like in WoW) reach level cap in 1 or 2 months, it shouldn't even stop there! Ugh, whatever. I'm going to go get work done.
Keep it real.
-IV
PS: While playing Flyff, I ran into a character called Mithrandir... could it be?
I mean, its not a bad game. Its just, essentially, another level grind... we need to get a GDNET team together to seriously produce an MMORPG that's fun to play, and not some tedious thing. That would be interesting, but is most certainly something for another day/month/year.