Quote:Original post by Michalson
Why is everything 3D?

You don't know?... jeezz. [smile]

3d is easier to get around in, because it's got that whole depth dimension, so you can use a proper map. 2d games with big maps, all the way back to the venerable Castlevania 2, feel a little bit weird. Top-down, like The Legend of Zelda, works well, but you start to feel like you're playing a board game, moving pieces over icons and triggering effects.

The 3d illusion contributes to immersion, which is key. As others have noted here and elsewhere, MMO gameplay is boring. Mechanical controls, long travel times, impractical learning systems and repetitive tasks make MMO grinding the worst of all gameplay types. Becasue the system must accomodate every player, it cannot really serve any of them, so you're pretty much on your own.

That said, I'm still an EVE fanboy, and have started playing it even more than I play N (Episode 29 has been kicking my ass for days. Days!). I like to calculate profits for mining expeditions, and to plan skill training for months in advance (205 days to Recon Ship! \o/). I like to chat, IRC-style, with my squaddies while my lasers cut away at an asteroid or coordinate flanking maneuvers on Teamspeak during complex battles. I like to check the market to see what I can get for the goods I manufacture, and read the in-game newspaper to learn what's been going on with the player-run military/industrial alliances out in lawless space. It's a vibrant, dynamic world, and if my presence in it consists of clumsy combat, mindless mining, long travel times and discouraging character improvement (205 fekking days to Recon Ship! T_T), that's no big deal.

There's also the challenging aspect of an MMOG.

I could ask the same question in a different way: "Why does every mountain climber dream of climbing Mt. Everest? What's wrong with, say, climbing High Point in NJ? It's easier and just as much nature." ;)

Quote:Original post by Iron Chef Carnage
Top-down, like The Legend of Zelda, works well, but you start to feel like you're playing a board game, moving pieces over icons and triggering effects.

Which is why I love those games. There's something to be said for "immersive" (in the common sense) games, but there's also something to be said for thinly veiled games. They have something of the appeal of board or card games or puzzles. Ever met a cut-throat Monopoly player? Ever play Settlers into the wee hours of the morning? Ever felt the irresistible draw to a jigsaw puzzle? (even people who claim to loathe jigsaw puzzles can't seem to resist the temptation to "Look for just a minute". 5 hours later... [rolleyes][wink])

As for MMO's, I think the draw is that MMORPG's promise to let you be a hero in an actual community of real people. MMORTS's and MMOFPS's come about from a "what's good for the goose is good for the gander" attitude. Someone on this forum had the rather picturesque "steak milkshake" comparison to describe the mentality. (I'm not sure an MMOFPS would be quite so bad, but an MMORTS, in the vein of Warcraft, seems like a horrid idea to me.)

As pointed out, MMORPG's can't really follow through with this promise. I remember a planet with too many superheroes on Justice League. They started saving people from every little thing. Not very heroic and kind of annoying to the common people. It sounds like Eve gets around this by offering something interesting other than being a hero, but then it also doens't have quite the mass appeal to all those people wanting to be the next Aragorn or Legolas or Gandalf (nobody really seems to want to be Gimli or one of the hobbits. I want to be Pippin! [grin]).

Quote:Original post by Michalson
Why is everything 3D?

Your right, we need to flood the market with 4d games.

My take on MMO's popularity:

1. Most importantly, they are many things to many people. I play MMO's because I like to pound the crap out of other human players (which is why I also play FPS's). Others like the community, the character development, world lore, etc. Basically you have a game that contains a lot of different genres and that attracts a multitude of different gamers. And specifically, more female gamers play MMO's than any other genre, which also boosts popularity.

2. Competition. Just like in FPS's, people want to fight other people to show their dominance. This is why PvP is such a big deal with MMO's coming out. Also, there's inter-guild and inter-faction competition, and with WoW, even inter-server competition. It comes down to basic male nature, we want to compete. I think this aspect also helps contribute to some of the addictiveness of the game. I played WoW for a few months even though I didn't particularly like it. The drive to have better gear than everyone else kept me from putting the game down.

3. Community. You're playing a game with friends, or at least other people. Makes it a lot less boring. When xbox live first came out I spent a lot of time playing Whacked! It wasn't that great of a game, but the fact that I could play against real live people and talk smack or about our day made it a whole lot cooler. Same applies to MMO's. Also, another aspect of addictiveness. Much like the original chatrooms of the internet, people can get their social kicks from the community and then not want to leave.

4. Character Development. I like Halo 2, but if you play it for 2 years, you are still the exact same character. In MMO's you are constantly upgrading your gear and skills. Even if everyone is upgrading their equipment at the same rate, it still adds excitement when you are getting something new. Plus you have the option of becoming something totally different (classes, etc.).

5. Story-line. Most MMO's have an immersive story-line and world lore. Couple that with the fact that you get to be a part of it, it makes a lot of fun for the RPG lovers.

I think MMO's are a great genre because it is the first game type to combine so many of the reasons people play games into one. Personally, the only thing I don't like about the current state of MMO's is that they are almost all level-based and not skill-based. I expect to see this trend change in the future as you will see more action MMO's and when the bandwidth is there, MMOFPS'.

As I see it, it would be difficult to create a 2D game. Seeing as one dimension is used up by time, that would mean that we would be left with only a straight line.... not a very exciting game.

Back on topic: The reason why alot of people want to make MMO's is that alot of those same people are currently playing MMOs. All(excluding the truly serious ones that actually get something accomplished) of the people who come and post about making an MMO here have probably just stopped a 6 hour-straight WoW binge.