Comment Re:I can wait. (Score 2, Interesting) 95
Dramatic narrative needs to be finite, otherwise there is no catharsis. MMORPG's need to get rid of the die/respawn mechanics, which turn them from finely crafted story environments, into a point scoring system.
Character, and drama are about the mortality, and finitude of plot, setting, and character.
Until MMORPG's implement character mortality, they will be inflationary, grinding, point scoring systems.
I know the common objection is, 'nobody will play a game where they put months into a character, only have them die, and have to start over.'
The obvious exception to this argument, would be the paper and dice RPG's where character mortality tended to be the rule.
From a game mechanics, physical realism perspective, death is rarely instantaneous, even from potentially mortal wounds, with a few exceptions.
Mitigating the finality of dying can be built in to the game environment, allowing PC's and NPC's to give aid to mortally wounded characters. Death by lag, and technical mishap can be arbitrated while 'in game' the character lies on their deathbed. A 'final judgement' scenario, in game.
Inheritance and allegiance systems can be built into games to allow character legacy to retain time spent.
PVP griefers can be handled by implementing account karma, which when positively or negatively accumulated, limits or allows varied options for character creation, and character legacy.
There are a wide range of possibilities for implementing a mortality rules MMORPG. It just hasn't been done, given the historical hysteria about the notion of someone 'loosing the lvl 100' character they spent months/years leveling.
The problem with that perspective is that 'level 100' characters are themselves a symptom of the inflationary game mechanics. Overpowered characters, superabundant and deadly NPC's and creatures, all built into a game to accommodate the undying locusts of PC gamer types raping the richly detailed story environment for LEET loot, whose value is flash, and point mods.
There are few famous player characters, the only 'celebrated' MMORPG 'player character' (Leeroy Jenkins), is ironically someone who committed a hilarious kamikaze spoiler on a pent up in game raid. A perfect example of how mortality serves to highlight character.
For story to 'happen' characters have to die, PC's, and NPC's, the world has to be subject to change, the basis for story, and drama; in human experience to date, is mortality, and the permanent change it implies.
To suspend mortality from a story medium, and then be chagrined that the story is weak and uninviting shouldn't surprise anyone.
The cynical argument I find most persuasive for why a real, story based MMO will never have mass appeal, is that there is an expectation of a certain well edited literary style, among fans of a genre. The wide range of literacy and imagination, or lack thereof, of players (in the current market), will always end up spawning worlds where some PC's try (badly) to speak like they fell out of a shakespear play, and others, spurning the affectation speak colloquially, or worse.
Stories, real ones, that are enjoyable to read, are subject to editing. Building an MMO environment where an editorial standard is enforced is more a cultural challenge than a technical one.
Personally I'm hoping to someday see a real story driven MMO environment, with a mortality based system of game mechanics, but the level grinding MMO's are killing the enjoyment and viability; possibly for a generation, of MMO's as cinematically driven story environments. Despite the best efforts of game writers and artists to create compelling story elements, the programming and business logic dictate the games remain fundamentally inflationary point scoring systems.
Character, and drama are about the mortality, and finitude of plot, setting, and character.
Until MMORPG's implement character mortality, they will be inflationary, grinding, point scoring systems.
I know the common objection is, 'nobody will play a game where they put months into a character, only have them die, and have to start over.'
The obvious exception to this argument, would be the paper and dice RPG's where character mortality tended to be the rule.
From a game mechanics, physical realism perspective, death is rarely instantaneous, even from potentially mortal wounds, with a few exceptions.
Mitigating the finality of dying can be built in to the game environment, allowing PC's and NPC's to give aid to mortally wounded characters. Death by lag, and technical mishap can be arbitrated while 'in game' the character lies on their deathbed. A 'final judgement' scenario, in game.
Inheritance and allegiance systems can be built into games to allow character legacy to retain time spent.
PVP griefers can be handled by implementing account karma, which when positively or negatively accumulated, limits or allows varied options for character creation, and character legacy.
There are a wide range of possibilities for implementing a mortality rules MMORPG. It just hasn't been done, given the historical hysteria about the notion of someone 'loosing the lvl 100' character they spent months/years leveling.
The problem with that perspective is that 'level 100' characters are themselves a symptom of the inflationary game mechanics. Overpowered characters, superabundant and deadly NPC's and creatures, all built into a game to accommodate the undying locusts of PC gamer types raping the richly detailed story environment for LEET loot, whose value is flash, and point mods.
There are few famous player characters, the only 'celebrated' MMORPG 'player character' (Leeroy Jenkins), is ironically someone who committed a hilarious kamikaze spoiler on a pent up in game raid. A perfect example of how mortality serves to highlight character.
For story to 'happen' characters have to die, PC's, and NPC's, the world has to be subject to change, the basis for story, and drama; in human experience to date, is mortality, and the permanent change it implies.
To suspend mortality from a story medium, and then be chagrined that the story is weak and uninviting shouldn't surprise anyone.
The cynical argument I find most persuasive for why a real, story based MMO will never have mass appeal, is that there is an expectation of a certain well edited literary style, among fans of a genre. The wide range of literacy and imagination, or lack thereof, of players (in the current market), will always end up spawning worlds where some PC's try (badly) to speak like they fell out of a shakespear play, and others, spurning the affectation speak colloquially, or worse.
Stories, real ones, that are enjoyable to read, are subject to editing. Building an MMO environment where an editorial standard is enforced is more a cultural challenge than a technical one.
Personally I'm hoping to someday see a real story driven MMO environment, with a mortality based system of game mechanics, but the level grinding MMO's are killing the enjoyment and viability; possibly for a generation, of MMO's as cinematically driven story environments. Despite the best efforts of game writers and artists to create compelling story elements, the programming and business logic dictate the games remain fundamentally inflationary point scoring systems.
