I added a new blogger of mention to the links. Lieu, a member of Explorers of Legend, started blogging. Lieu is an Australian and a very funny guy.
Welcome to blogging Lieu!
http://lieuslife.blogspot.com/
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
Busy times.
Been busy in R/L and in game. So busy that I am neglecting the blog. :(
I expect to be posting more soon. Possibly a flurry of posts towards the end of December.
If for some reason I do not get the chance to post.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!
I expect to be posting more soon. Possibly a flurry of posts towards the end of December.
If for some reason I do not get the chance to post.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Happy Belated Birthday to AC
Yup on November 2, 2007 Asheron's Call, the game that started my MMORPG addiction, celebrated it's 8th birthday.
Asheron's Call has a rich story and large world in which players explore and adventure in. The largest highlight of AC is its character generation and advancement system. AC is a hybrid skill/level based system. The graphic are outdated but the content and character development are still one of the best out there.
Congratulations to all the folks at Turbine and all those players that make the world of AC their home.
Asheron's Call has a rich story and large world in which players explore and adventure in. The largest highlight of AC is its character generation and advancement system. AC is a hybrid skill/level based system. The graphic are outdated but the content and character development are still one of the best out there.
Congratulations to all the folks at Turbine and all those players that make the world of AC their home.
MMORPG Series: Part I – "The Story"
This component of MMORPG gaming is often overlooked and underdeveloped by the MMO developers and most of the current MMO games have little to no story. Many players view this as more of a role-playing aspect of the game and don’t participate or get involved with it much.
The story of a MMORPG world and how the player characters interact with the story is an important part of any MMORPG. The key to any story is to intertwine the player characters story with that of the world. This feat is difficult to accomplish without appearing too cookie cutter in its presentation. Really how many of the player character’s brothers, sisters, mother, father or some other significant relation died during the “Great War” or were killed by some “Nefarious Entity”?
So for a MMORPG story to work it, needs to be general with respect to the player history. But it needs to draw the player in and cause him to care about the story and what happens to those involved.
Above all else, a players actions need to help drive the story. Does this mean that the players make the story? Perhaps, but the story should have its own outline and direction. A player’s status with major NPC's should be driven by the player’s actions. If a player runs around slaughtering innocent people, good NPC’s should become hostile to that player and the evil NPC’s should view the player more favorably. The NPC’s have an agenda of their own and as long as the player is going along with that agenda, they will assist the player character in any way they can.
In any good story you must have sides. Whether overtly good and evil or more shades of gray, the story often involves conflict between two or more parties, each with conflicting agendas. To me this is what drives the story.
Even the greatest story can be totally ignored by a large portion of the player population. The trick is to forcing the players to participate without them realizing it. The biggest way to make this possible is to make player choices in game mean something. Gaining access to goods, services or areas is a good way to reward players for the choices they have made in game.
In the end any MMORPG with a good story that involves the player characters is on its way to becoming a good game.
The story of a MMORPG world and how the player characters interact with the story is an important part of any MMORPG. The key to any story is to intertwine the player characters story with that of the world. This feat is difficult to accomplish without appearing too cookie cutter in its presentation. Really how many of the player character’s brothers, sisters, mother, father or some other significant relation died during the “Great War” or were killed by some “Nefarious Entity”?
So for a MMORPG story to work it, needs to be general with respect to the player history. But it needs to draw the player in and cause him to care about the story and what happens to those involved.
Above all else, a players actions need to help drive the story. Does this mean that the players make the story? Perhaps, but the story should have its own outline and direction. A player’s status with major NPC's should be driven by the player’s actions. If a player runs around slaughtering innocent people, good NPC’s should become hostile to that player and the evil NPC’s should view the player more favorably. The NPC’s have an agenda of their own and as long as the player is going along with that agenda, they will assist the player character in any way they can.
In any good story you must have sides. Whether overtly good and evil or more shades of gray, the story often involves conflict between two or more parties, each with conflicting agendas. To me this is what drives the story.
Even the greatest story can be totally ignored by a large portion of the player population. The trick is to forcing the players to participate without them realizing it. The biggest way to make this possible is to make player choices in game mean something. Gaining access to goods, services or areas is a good way to reward players for the choices they have made in game.
In the end any MMORPG with a good story that involves the player characters is on its way to becoming a good game.
Coming soon: MMORPG Series
Over the next few months I plan on coming out with a series of posts that cover the various aspects of MMO gaming. The topics will include; Story, PvE, PvP, Crafting, Housing, Accumulation of Wealth and Status, Group vs. Solo, Skill Based vs. Level Based and World Exploration. A few may be added or removed from the list, but I hope to cover the main parts of the game.
While I hope to provide a broad overview of each of these, I hope to complete the series with a “Near Perfect MMO” post that outlines what I feel would make a game that I would find enjoyable. I do understand that others may not share my vision and thoughts on my Near Perfect MMO.
Have a happy Thanksgiving Holiday everyone.
While I hope to provide a broad overview of each of these, I hope to complete the series with a “Near Perfect MMO” post that outlines what I feel would make a game that I would find enjoyable. I do understand that others may not share my vision and thoughts on my Near Perfect MMO.
Have a happy Thanksgiving Holiday everyone.
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