[This is the last part of a series of posts which started here: My Love-Hate Feelings For MMOs – Part I. If you didn’t start there, you probably want to.]
My Ultimate Realizations
The title for this series was carefully chosen and, in retrospect, really does tend to “nail” exactly my overall thoughts regarding any and all of the MMOs I’ve ever played. [Note, I will not be providing links to any of the games I mention here, as there have been those scattered throughout as I’ve discussed each game.]
The Good
The amount of work and attention to detail (on the part of the game designers and developers) for MMOs is typically about as massive as the expectation for them to be “massively multiplayer”.
From the rather small, almost “trivial”, sense of world and world-building that came about from my Puzzle Pirates experience, to the opposite end of the spectrum, with EVE Online basically providing a galaxy of stars and space resources (with stops along the way at the “evolving” planet of Azeroth and the generated cartoon-ish worlds and “galaxies” of No Man’s Sky) – all of them have some sort of underlying “story”.
Then, the other side is the set of game mechanics and dynamics which go into the actual game-play. And, again, this can span from figuring out how to solve semi-real-time puzzles to “button-mashing-for-my-best-rotation” or “Spreadsheets-In-Spaaaace”, there is a definite allure and interest in all of them.
Heck, I would point to the success of games like Fortnite, Minecraft and even going back to games like CS:GO or Team Fortress, as being clear examples of at least some degree of interest in various playstyles. [No, I am not equating those with MMOs, although – without checking the numbers – there probably are at least comparable levels of interest in players.]
“Interesting world-building” and “fun to play” mean different things to different people (and possibly even different things at different times to the same people). And there being something which appeals, somehow, to such a large audience has its own merits.
And … The Bad
One thing that, ultimately, all of the MMOs share is, of course, the “Multiplayer” portion of their description.
It’s a Multi-Player Game!
For those who have a circle of people around them (whether considered “friends” or “acquaintances” or even just “Oh, yeah, he hangs out with us”), these games can provide not only a chance to bond further, but also to have fun together in environments which, otherwise, would be impossible. No matter how much I might wish to be there, I will never actually be a pixelated pirate … nor a Blood Elf Paladin … nor even a Capsuleer in control of a massive starship running missions in High-Sec.
Having the opportunity to do that with others can make the experience exponentially more pleasurable.
Or, if you have an outgoing personality, able to quickly draw to other people and establish those initial bonds of camaraderie, that, too, is a way to really delve deeper and more thoroughly into MMOs.
Making It As a Solo
However, the reality of the structure of game-play for these games is they are intended to be group activities. Yes, there is typically some segment which is available as “solo-playable” content, but the “best” portions either require being extremely over-powered to be able to accomplish success, or may be completely unattainable for a solo player.
And that’s where, at least for me, things start to fall apart.
No, No, No – Mustn’t Touch
For all the games I’ve played, I have happily and joyously played through, powering my way to character strength and personal competence, typically missing out on all of the “intermediary” multi-player content. [As an example, it wasn’t until much later in my play time I ever was regularly running dungeons while playing World of Warcraft. And those dungeon runs were either to assist others by lending my strength, or just to have a chance to “peek under the lid” at what I’d missed.]
And, even once I’ve reached those levels of achievement, generally, the “true” top of the difficulty scales have been “off-limits” – solely due to being locked-out for solo players.
The Way It’s Intended
Honestly, I think that’s perfectly normal / natural. As I’ve said a couple of times, “It’s right there on the label!”
I think, more to the point, there’s a large element of … self-pitying and regret? For all of these games, I certainly would have liked to have a regular group of people I played with – and when / where I had those, yes, the experience was wonderful. On the other hand, I think it would have been even better if those interactions weren’t limited to solely in-game play?
Yeah, I’m a “loner” – and, for better or worse, have been for most of my life. I guess, for this category of stuff, it just means I get to view these as something I enjoyed when I had them – to the extent I was able to experience them.
But, no matter how much some sense of nostalgia might tickle my cranium every now and then, I think it’s better for me (and for my psyche) to solely think of them as being elements from my own history.
