10-05-2012, 12:41 AM | #1 |
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Multiplayer Metagaming
I notice that almost all MMORPGs are pretty weak on the "role playing" aspect and most players regress toward a meta-game attitude. Specifically, they're aware of the game rules and try to optimize their builds within those restrictions, use gaming lingo that wouldn't fit in most RPG settings and in general treat the MMO like a message board/chat room with graphics, rather than an RPG.
I'm curious if there's any MMORPG out there like a Renaissance Fair, where players are obligated to remain in character. Or if there would be any interest in that kind of game - it seems to work for text-based and browser based RPGs, but none of them have the scale or appeal of a true MMO.
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10-05-2012, 01:07 AM | #2 |
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Well, I know from my friend that WoW has roleplay-only servers, but I've also heard that they are sometimes subject to people who really have no idea how to roleplay.
Personally, I think a game where all builds are balanced due to individual benefits would be a good atmosphere to nurture a roleplaying atmosphere. Of course, I can't claim ignorance to the fact that balance doesn't always provide, well, balance. In metagames, crippling overspecialization... often has a tendancy to not actually be crippling. However, the very nature of MMOs mean that you can create a constantly evolving experience- perhaps the way to create a metagame 'balanced' enough is to constantly... I'm rambling. |
10-05-2012, 03:24 PM | #3 |
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You could try MUDs (Multi-User-Dungeons). They're text based, mostly, not graphical, so I don't know if that'd be your cup of tea, so to speak, but there are roleplay-enforcing ones out there.
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10-05-2012, 04:11 PM | #4 |
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I think one of the problems is the definition of RPG has changed over the years. Where in the 90s RPGs were games like Fallout and Baldur's Gate and you had to make choices and decisions in character that may change how the game ends or how NPCs perceive you. Now though, almost any game with Experience Points, Character Skills, and and a Plot is considered an RPG.
People had arguments over whether Zelda was an RPG. Of coarse it isn't (by any definition). While it has a plot of some sort, it doesn't have any more role playing than Pac Man does. It's purely puzzle and action. Personally, I define a RPG as a game with branching storyline based upon actions you make. Because of this, I still consider the Mass Effect series and Skyrim to be modern RPGs. You can choose to sacrifice the Council or save it. You can choose to let the bomb explode or disarm it. You can choose to join the Rebellion or the Imperial Army. You can choose to join the Dawnguard or Vampires. Even choices of omission are choices. You can choose to join the Companions or never associate with them at all. Meanwhile, I consider games like Borderlands 2 and Final Fantasy (choose any number) to just be action games. Sure you have skills and experience points and a character running around the world, but there are no choices to really be made. The plot never changes. So where I think a RPG is like a road trip where you and your friends choose where to stop along and what sites to check out, most new RPGs are more like a tour bus showing you the sites on their route. You didn't pick the route, but you traveled it. So with that, the game becomes something completely different. Role playing, despite being in the name of the genre is not necessarily part of the game. This leads to things like metagaming, min/maxing, and stuff like that. |
10-06-2012, 04:25 AM | #5 | |
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10-06-2012, 07:48 PM | #6 |
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http://www.gametrailers.com/videos/e...nner-metaphors
This metaphor also applies despite not being about FPS. |
10-12-2012, 06:27 PM | #7 |
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But the thing is that RPG was originally used to refer to the games which were like a tour bus- Final Fantasy and it's ilk. It's true that 'Role Playing Game' would imply more the meaning you're saying, and I'll bet that the reason the name was given to those games is that it was simply grafted on to them from D&D and such, but the truth of the matter is that, for video games, RPG has ALWAYS meant games with EXP, leveling, and skills.
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06-12-2013, 10:28 PM | #9 | |
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This one the most.
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06-12-2013, 11:29 PM | #10 | |
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RPGs started as text-based games in the late 70s, which were basically digital versions of pen and paper games, particularly D&D. So no, RPG are not grafted onto D&D, D&D practically birthed RPGs. These various text games would then create two big titles: Ultima and Wizardry. These two games would then inspire Japanese gaming to develop Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. Since Japan was a console gaming nation, these games were developed for the NES. When the NES came to American shores, it was an instant hit. Compared to computers of the time, the NES was cheap and simple. Most forms of gaming would then be associated with the NES, thus most kids played Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest as their first RPGs. So just because you started at FF or DQ, doesn't mean that was the first ever. |
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06-12-2013, 11:32 PM | #11 |
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The first RPGs were dreams. Duh.
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06-12-2013, 11:58 PM | #12 | |
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06-13-2013, 04:52 AM | #13 | |||
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Imho, FF and so on fall best into "strategy games".
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Last edited by Concept; 06-13-2013 at 05:40 AM. |
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06-13-2013, 01:45 PM | #14 |
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Note to self: Actually read your old, outdated posts. Past you is oftentimes an idiot.
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06-13-2013, 03:03 PM | #15 |
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You should also double check your present self.
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06-13-2013, 04:56 PM | #16 | |
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Maturity is knowing you were an idiot in the past, wisdom is knowing you'll be one in the future, and common sense is trying not to be one now.
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