World of Warcraft

[gekko]

Significantly more than 100 players directly affecting you at any given time?  I can't even imagine that, but it doesn't sound very appealing.

And yet, that's the exact thing that makes MMORPG's appealing to so many people. Think about it: why can 10 or 20 play one of those FPS games in the same map, over and over, without getting bored? Because every single game, something different can and will happen. That simple sounding fact is something no computer AI can yet promise.

The theory behind MMORPG's makes me salivate. Imagine a secure portion of the WoW server where only members of the LL could enter. Imagine having this conversation with fellow lurkers while sitting in a tavern sipping ale. Imagine gathering a group of adventurers from that save tavern and venturing out to do battle with a group of enemies in a far off castle who thought independently, communicated, and trained together.

Of course, the reality is much different. As with any online game community, the vast majority of players always seem to be juvenilles of any age who not only refuse to work for the common good -- they will actively do whatever is in their power to make every other player's life miserable while online. Only in small communities can online play be truly enjoyable (to me, at least). Of course, "small" is a very relative term. Personally, I would consider the Amazon Basin a fair sized community. However, by definition, an MMORPG requires more than just a "fair sized" community. It requires hundreds, if not thousands, of players online basically constantly.

Personally, I will not purchase WoW with a pay-to-play structure for two reasons: first, I would have no idea whether or not I would enjoy the game long-term. I prefer to wait until a game has been played and over-played before jumping in. As a side note to that reason, there is also no guarantee on the longevity of the game or its server. I'd hate to see my hard spent money and time be deleted when a company decides it's no longer profitable (admitadely, I wouldn't fear that so much where blizzard is concerned, given the life-time of the free servers for Diablo and WarCraft).

Secondly, well, I just don't trust blizzard anymore. I still pull out D2 and play for a bit, but I simply can't justify laying down $70 plus a montly fee (I'm in canada, and on a mac, which 'hikes' the rates) for a game that I MUST play on one of blizzard's servers. Given their track record for hacks and dupes alone... *shrugs*

To each his own. Blizzard CAN design really excellent games. IF they go back to their roots and away from the junk-food model of D2's current incarnation (unlikely, as it has already been pointed out the MMORPG model blatantly pursues the junk-food ideas as its only apparent goal), WoW will be a stunning game.

To me, that's a big if. Too big.

gekko

edit: minor spelling, grammer, and clarity nitpicks