I think that MMOGs are so popular now because they still have WOW-Factor going for them.

Their popularity will wane, but the internet will have advanced such that basic multiplayer games will be much more reliable. We''ll have the equivalent of complex single-player stories in small multiplayer systems (4 to 16 players).

George D. Filiotis
Are you in support of the ban of Dihydrogen Monoxide? You should be!

I like the small multiplayer theory. Having a game with 4-8 players introduces some interesting storytelling possibilities. I suppose BioWare is trying to approach this with Neverwinter Nights, although their scale is still rather large.

Maybe. My claim is not based on lack of braodband access, but rather a belief that the type of gameplay offered by the MMORPG will only have a limited attractiveness to gamers.

But, this is just my opinion and not based on any knowledge I may have or research I may have done. I could be completely wrong.

I wonder how many hardcore gamers have not tried a MMORPG. I haven''t. For some reason, it just doesn''t interest me.

I agree too but is would be nice to see a story line in the game ven if it is not interactive, because a plot with 500 people trying to do the same thing wouldn't work. Say now you had to blow up a well for some stupid reason all the other players should not see this because not only then will the plot not work but it probally would cause lag of about 2 hours. lol.
If anyone has see legend of mir that has a simplistic story line which they just release as movies from thier site.
Who knows maybe one day we'll have games where a group of people can gather round and create their own story line to it. I think FF 11 will be close as we'll see to it.

PS Hulk do you mean me if so this topic is more useless then my post.

Notice is brought a little life into the board.

[edited by - Fake_Impersonation on April 9, 2002 5:13:12 AM]

i menat hundley.
Boink?
Oh come ON!

I haven''t tried a MMORPG for two reasons actualy. Disinterest and Laziness. Fundamentally, its not much different from the old MUD days, save some new rules and prettier, less text-based pictures.

As to why they will probably not work, trying to get a story going would be like trying to elect a conservative to office in Boston. Too many people are just against the idea. However, theres a real life example of a ongoing story that the audience takes part in. And I''m a bit ashamed that I''m using this example as a possible save for the MMORPG. WWF. Apparently, theres a pretty heavy, though intellectually simple, story going on there that changes based on how many cheers, signs, and merchandice circulates around the crowd. Though, it seems a bit odd. There would have to be a set of adept GMs who actualy direct the story around some group of elites, and the players interaction in this story would probably be related to how many quests get performed in respective guilds, or which elites end up getting assasinated while travelling outside of their domains...

-> Will Bubel
-> Machine wash cold, tumble dry.

Well, that''s an interesting example. Another one is, and I''m probably not going to be using the correct terminology so forgive me, but live theatre where the actors ad lib their lines. You know, or comedy shows where they ask the audience for a topic and then run with it. In a sense these are ''interactive''. The problem (or one of them) is that in those cases you are basically an observer. I mean, it''s not like you''re actually in the ring, telling the wrestler what to do. But in a game, you would be.

Well, its pretty subjective as to what form of involvement the players are perceiving. I mean, elections don''t seem like involvement, but they seem to be the be-all-end-all of governments. Though, with political involvement, you have other factors involved, petition, demonstration, corruption. The only real factor that is very neccessary in a MMORPG that takes advantage of this would have to be direct involvement by the GMs, rather than just going around and busting playerkillers and pathfinding exploiters. It''d have to be more along the lines of GMs randomly exploring the world on their own, perhaps being followed by a loyal set of NPCs, and being fully aware of the fact that a group of Oldbies could approach and either make a down payment on a change in the story, or put an end to this branch of the story. As for keeping the player informed as to what happened while they were off in the real world, a newspaper/email or something. Basically, this is the type of deal where the developers can''t just unleash bugfixes every couple of weeks to the server and then rake in the subscriptions, it requires some heavy roleplaying on their part as well.

-> Will Bubel
-> Machine wash cold, tumble dry.