Massively^™

Although i like the complexities of single player rpgs where there are a billion stats to put into i like mmos better for the social aspect.

Reply

the saddest thing is there are some dynamics/storytelling elements that just CAN'T be in an mmo (such as world changing, and having the main character be the savior of the universe, etc.)... but i have a strange feeling just like RTSes and Tactics games, when the well dries up and people start begging developers will bring about more :-) aside from Squeenixes offerings.

Reply

AKozlenok, as far as world changing events are concerned, look at Horizons and Guild Wars. Both have/had world changing events introduced in very different ways. As for the player character being the savior of the universe, I think that kind of silliness is best left out of any MMORPG, but then again, Archlord certainly made an attempt at it. Current MMOs aren't really made to tell stories very well. They can certainly exude rich atomsphere and environments, but most don't get very far past "there are such-and-such factions in the game and they hate each other" or "here is a raid boss and he hates you". More could be done with storytelling in MMOs. The brief chapter cutscenes (GASP) in LotRO do more for story than any other MMO I have played. It is certainly more entertaining than reading quest text, which let's be honest, is about as engrossing as a third grade math story-problem. On the other hand, I don't think this means every game should start including cutscenes. Then there is the argument that the players themselves create the stories in MMOs. This is true, but the same could be said of almost any game.

I think a lot of players would really like to see more aspects from single-player RPGs find their way into multiplayer RPGs. Simple things, like recorded dialogue, could go a long way. I imagine improvements like that will eventually make their way into online games, so it's only a matter of time.

Reply

Yes.

Reply

Is that a bad thing?

Reply

Yes, they are and I hate it. It seems nowadays that whenever a new (*gasp*) single player RPG hits the shelves it tries to mimic online games. I even miss isometric view... 3D fps view is a *means* to achieve something with a game *not* a necessity. And, no, I don't think an fps view draws me into the game just because. If it does it's because the developers made a god job of *using* first person perspective be it with good scripting a la half life or what ever. The later Elder Scrolls games (III and IV) achieved that but it made me feel a bit lonely (like an online game without any online, ie no other people). Think I liked Morrowind better but that might be because it was a first for that kind of immersiveness in my case, not having played much else online than Asheron's Call to compare with.

I miss Baldur's Gate; its story telling, its artwork, its isometric view (why not an isometriv view in 3D?) and skirmish kind of tactial battles, turn-based under the hood. If Dragon Age will ever show up, I'll be in line.

Reply

Oh, and Arcanum! More Arcanum! Please?

Reply

MMO's aren't necessarily killing the single player RPG. It's just that MMO's are what I and many P'n'P RPGers wanted from the start. Now that MMO's have surpassed single player RPG's as far as complexity and what is technically possible why would I want to go back to playing alone instead of playing with friends? That was the point of P'n'P RPG's remember?

Just because I enjoyed single player RPG's that doesn't mean that I pine for the day that they were king. They WERE on top because MMO's either didn't exist of the ones that did were less of an experience than their single player counterparts offered. I played them because they were good, but I would have much rather just gone from Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition straight to World of Warcraft.

Single player RPG's were fun, but for me playing them was more about seeing what was coming for multiplayer games...not an end unto themselves.

Reply

I agree with blip. After playing MMOs for awhile I feel alone in a single player RPG. It sounds weird but I'll bet alot of people experience the same thing. After playing WoW, EQ2, SWG, Guild Wars, and LOTRO I played Eternal Sonata and found it quite boring. I haven tried Blue Dragon because I expect the same boredom. Single player RPGs need to really step up to compete with MMOs. Not necessarily mimic an MMO, but innovate. The days of cookie cutter RPGs are over and people want something new.

Reply