Back to Greenshade adventures in Elder Scrolls Online, but before I did anything, I opened up the four remaining free lockboxes I got this month. On top of the plague doctor outfit I received with …
That depends. If an MMO is well written (as FFXIV and ESO are for many) then it doesn’t make much of a difference. Additionally, all to other people running around make the world feel a bit more alive compared to scripted NPCs, even if one doesn’t participate in the actual group content.
but by nature MMOs are extremely static in terms of the world, NPCs etc because they have to be there for every PC at every stage of their story. To me that always makes them feel less alive despite a bunch of PCs scurrying around.
So are a lot of single-player games. Players running around in the background just add some semblance of “dynamic life” to the world. There’s also the possibility of “well, I’m not playing with people right now but I could if I really wanted to”.
I’m not saying that your perspective is wrong on that (I tend to bounce between the two views for example) but for some people just being in the same world as other players provides enough dynamism to make it feel more interesting than playing completely on your own.
Maybe, but I think it’s just the idea that it doesn’t need to be mutually exclusive.
If you play an MMO, you are probably there primarily for the community/group/social content, the character builds, the economy, the frequent updates, etc. But nothing says it can’t also have a good story.
To use FF14 as an example, as the only one I’ve played, the story could probably be told just as well in the form of a single-player game (or, being more realistic given its size, a series of single-player games). But it exists in the first place because there is a market for people who like both MMOs and the kinds of stories told in Final Fantasy games. For people who aren’t into the online elements, there are still plenty of good single-player experiences out there, like maybe the 14 other Final Fantasy titles that aren’t MMOs.
wouldn’t a non-MMO be better to experience story and characters?
That depends. If an MMO is well written (as FFXIV and ESO are for many) then it doesn’t make much of a difference. Additionally, all to other people running around make the world feel a bit more alive compared to scripted NPCs, even if one doesn’t participate in the actual group content.
I would counter that FFXIV is poorly written, has horrible pacing and awful quest design.
The dungeons aren’t the worst Ive seen but offer little challenge.
but by nature MMOs are extremely static in terms of the world, NPCs etc because they have to be there for every PC at every stage of their story. To me that always makes them feel less alive despite a bunch of PCs scurrying around.
So are a lot of single-player games. Players running around in the background just add some semblance of “dynamic life” to the world. There’s also the possibility of “well, I’m not playing with people right now but I could if I really wanted to”.
I’m not saying that your perspective is wrong on that (I tend to bounce between the two views for example) but for some people just being in the same world as other players provides enough dynamism to make it feel more interesting than playing completely on your own.
Maybe, but I think it’s just the idea that it doesn’t need to be mutually exclusive.
If you play an MMO, you are probably there primarily for the community/group/social content, the character builds, the economy, the frequent updates, etc. But nothing says it can’t also have a good story.
To use FF14 as an example, as the only one I’ve played, the story could probably be told just as well in the form of a single-player game (or, being more realistic given its size, a series of single-player games). But it exists in the first place because there is a market for people who like both MMOs and the kinds of stories told in Final Fantasy games. For people who aren’t into the online elements, there are still plenty of good single-player experiences out there, like maybe the 14 other Final Fantasy titles that aren’t MMOs.
Yes.