A letter to home

Dear Mom and Paps


It's incredible how time flies in this business of being a hero: it feels like I just left home at Dun Morogh, but it has taken me several weeks already. Sorry that I haven't taken time to write, but being a hero is very, very busy thing!


First of all, I have to take care of my henchmen, who want to travel with me. I just cannot neglect their needs and requirements, so we're pretty constantly having breaks either to skin the animals our hunter kills (partly for food, too), collect herbs for our herbalist and such. What I wonder the most is the uncanny need of the warro warol the funny guy with this demon type: he has to keep drinking, else he becomes sober. Or that's what I've come to expect, as he's not very sensible when he hasn't been drinking in a while. Also my healer does the same, but she's just so prissy that she does it more discreetly.


We ventured quite fast to Kharanos, the nearest dwarven settlement on our way to Ironforge. I have met - and killed like a good hero - several troggs and even some trolls, and even visited the entrance to our beloved home, Gnomeregan! That area is infested with the sickly creatures you described as Leper Gnomes, but I have this feeling in my tummy that they are not the worst we'll see when I enter the town of our forefathers. Already I have gathered some information that there may be something very wrong in Gnomeregan as whole.


I have met some wonderful people already, some from the pages of the adventure collections I read from the Dun Morogh library. Can you believe, I have discussed with King Varian Wrynn and Ms. Jaina Proudmoore! King Wrynn was quite a grumpy fellow for a human even, but he stated that he had not heard about Uncle Bickers who left with Prince Menthil's army to high norths. And Ms. Proudmoore: She promised to have a discussion with me later on, and boy am I waiting for that.


But the life of a hero isn't all walk on roses. Just yesterday me and my party went and helped the Alliance forces in the Warsong Gulch, where the Horde tries to hinder the local forestry operations. We fought hard and evenly for the demo dima owning the area, only to be called back right after the last battle had been fought. It seems that I'm more capable of taking hits from the enemy without hurting myself than the rest of my group, but I'm also the one who sees the enemy go down right into the face!


The other day we also found out that there is a way to get teleported to another part of the world and fight the demons and beasts described in the fairy tales and old crones' stories! We went and found ourselves in a cavern which was obviously beneath a strange city: I can only guess that the librarian (the funny gnome with his blue demon) was right when he stated that we were underneath the Horde capital, Orgirir O r g r i m m a r. (I had to ask him to tell me how to spell it, it's hard enough to porn pron say it right). 


But the place was partly the dream of a dwarf due to the lava and warmth, but it was full of troggs, some lava-stone men and evil orcs. And one huge and scary Demon, which I killed after a looong fight. It's strange how such a huge thing can have such small stuff that I, your little boy, can easily wear. You see, I found a nice pair of wrist bracers from it, which make me feel myself very, very agile.


But there are good days in being a hero. We saved earlier the town of Thelsamar from Horde invasion with my henchmen and an odd help from a strange warrior coming from afar. Well, there was only one Horde, but he was killing our troops like flies, and we also died several times. But being a hero benefits from your motto, paps: never give up even if it takes your life. So the spirit healer was very much occupied during that fight, until this strange cold warrior came with it's undead friend and banished the Horde longear. I wonder if she came from where Bickers went? She said though, that she hadn't seen Bickers anywhere, so I'll have to keep looking for him.


Anyhow, I'm now resting in Ironforge, which is just as big -or even a bit bigger- than I remember from our Winter Veil trips of old. As Winter Veil is here, I wish you have a warm and secure one there by the hearth.


Take care and I'll write you again, hopefully sooner than later.


Your third son

Futis

PS. Thank you for the woolly socks, they fit nicely into my boots. However, I'm not sure how long we'll be in Ironforge after this, as it seems we have to go to the Human areas soon. So don't bother to send me anything: instead, I'll send you a part of the treasures I find while being a Hero. It is so fun!

My thoughts on roleplaying

This is the second post in the series responding to Azariel's questions, defining my view on role-playing in MMO's and in games in general. First one dealt with definitions, this on my thoughts about roleplaying in games.

Total Immersion

The most memorable gaming experiences, both in pen and paper and in computer games, for me have been the ones I can only describe as total immersion to the game. Taking up the story so personally that you really take the place of the avatar/character on screen. This comes up from several factors, but for me the most important is that I'm interacting with the world as the character, not as the player through the character. Thus there should be better tools to interact with the world in character rather than using the game as a social interface tool.

Chance of making change

Another important issue is the possibility of the single character to make difference in the world. It's the small things that make it, like scribbling your signature on the toilet wall... not that I'm encouraging it in real, but the tangible 'mark' you/your character makes to the world. In MMO's currently the issue is relevant because of the fact that the NPC you have to kill will spawn back in few minutes only to be killed again later by another player, the quest giver will be handing out the same bundle of notes to be delivered right after you have acquired yours and so on. 

If the character kill a boss or a quest mob, this mob should be done with: no more encounter, and rest of the game should reflect that.

Which leads to the next one.

Character impact in the world

The standard heroic high fantasy story tells about the stable boy who gets to be the hero saving the world. Naturally the sandbox world would make this harder to acquire, as the stories would rely so much more on the shoulders of the character interactions and the world. However, in a story and quest driven surroundings of EQ2 and WoW, the main storyline, even though coming together from several quests, should be possible and even encouraged. I myself have gotten frustrated over the lost questlines in WoW, namely the Sillithids (the 'chapters' are spread across and without a growing storyline), Burning Hand (the storyline dies too soon, just when the starting Horde character starts to get interested) and so on.

The stories could come up with a story for the character, where this characters actions really make the difference, have an impact in the world as whole. It doesn't matter if this is just an illusion, but it would be very real and personal experience for the player. In WoW the new Phasing technology seems to be capable of creating the illusion that your character is making the difference: My bet is that this will be the main focus of the Blizzards secret MMO project.

All actions have consequences

In the real world you can be an asshole, but the world will treat you like one, too. If you steal, you'll be facing the consequences. Why on earth isn't this viable in the fantasy world? In WoW you are encouraged to kill NPC's not following the consensus, you are asked to steal and murder without any consequences.

However, in single player games like Fable2 and Oblivion your every decision effects the way NPC's tied to certain factions interact with you. Cheat one, and the others will not trust you. Kill someone, and you'll have the guards chasing you. How hard could this be to implement in a MMO? Darkfall has something along the lines, though if the scale goes from -100 to +100 as Syncaine reported, it makes is possible that you kill baddies till you are at +100 and then some of your own without any consequences as far as you don't drop below 0.

Tools of the trade

The current MMO's are more like social playgrounds for the gamers instead of the worlds in which the characters live: the tools of interaction are very limited at best and the game aspect is way too profound. However, you cannot win a MMO, as there are no real winning conditions.

Like I have earlier stated, the social tools should be upgraded. In role-playing side the upgrade should be made so that the interface itself reflects the in character and out of character interactions, making the player-to-player interactions more character-to-character based, and thus creating more immersive surroundings.

If you think of WoW, the role-playing tools are very inadequate and to really role-play your character you have to work the system around to make it work. Instead, IMO it should be the other way around: to be able to interact only out of character should be the harder part.

Recap

Even the earlier single player games have had the technology to make each playing of a game different through the effect of what you as a player decided to do. The persistent world however breaks this illusion by forcing the same experience to every player, regardless of the decisions they make.

I'm not saying that these things are viable for execution with the current technology, but they could be worked towards the end of total immersion.

The reward should be satisfying, immersive experience, in which the decisions you make as a character make the difference in the world. And in the story of the character.

Definitions of Role-Playing

This is the first post inspired by the comment made by Azariel in How about roleplaying? and I'm trying to define my views on roleplaying and more importantly, roleplaying in computer games and MMO's. Granted right away, that I've not played in RP server except in EQ2, but that didn't result a single roleplaying experience within the short time I was playing in there.

The issue is such that it requires definitions, even to the people who are playing. If nothing else but to have a common basis and nomenclature from which to discuss. Here we go.

 

What is roleplaying? What is RPG?

Wikipedia:

Roleplaying refers to the changing of one's behavior to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role.

while roleplaying games are defined as:

A role-playing game is a game in which the participants assume the roles of fictional characters and collaboratively create stories. Participants determine the actions of their characters based on their characterization, and the actions succeed or fail according to a formal system of rules and guidelines. Within the rules, they may improvise freely; their choices shape the direction and outcome of the games.

In addition, roleplaying games are:

A role-playing game (RPG; often roleplaying game) is a game in which the participants assume the roles of fictional characters.

And further more, computer rpgs:

A computer role-playing game (CRPG) is a broad video game genre originally developed for personal computers and other home computers. ... The earliest CRPGs were inspired by early role-playing games, particularly Dungeons & Dragons, and attempted to provide a similar play experience.

Despite a spectrum of features and game styles, there are some elements common to the CRPG genre. Perhaps the most salient is that of the avatar, with its quantized characteristics that typically evolve over the course of the game, and take the place of the gamer's own skill in determining game outcomes. Another common element in CRPGs is a well-developed fictional setting.

Whole lot of definitions.

My personal view of roleplaying games, be it pen and paper rpg, computer/console rpg or MMORPG is that the character depiction, avatar, should be considered as a person in the fantasy world with it's particular rules and laws. Thus I'm very much in favor of the original definition of the Roleplaying.

While I play, I think firstly from the point of view of the character, then from the point of view of my personal greed for power and advancement. And for me there are no winners nor bragging rights in RPG's except from the character point of view. Claiming ownage in pen and paper games is pretty much impossible as the interpretation of the world and rules differs from group to group: thus it was unnecessary point of the game. However, the current MMO's tend to put the emphasis on the GAME rather than the ROLE-PLAYING, making the playfield completely different.

Skin crawl or taking the class

However, the definition of MMORPG is somewhat more detailed and more gamelike. As a matter of fact, Wikipedia states pretty clearly about roleplaying in MMORPG's, that:

Some MMORPGs also may expect players to roleplay their characters – that is, to speak and act in the way their character would act, even if it means shying away from other goals such as wealth or experience. However, as this behavior is far from being the norm, most MMORPG players never actually play the roles of their characters. Still, MMORPGs may offer "RP-only" servers for those who wish to immerse themselves in the game in this way.

So for the roleplaying servers the game should be more on the Roleplaying than on the gear grind and theorycrafting. WoW is more -from this point of view- for taking the class and learning the role of the class than roleplaying the character. That, however, has become the norm of the MMO's from early on, and there doesn't seem to be any difference in the game rulesets (levels, skill based) at all.

Would there be interest for a MMO in which the world -and the ruleset- forces the player to take on the character and do the skin crawl?

Roleplaying vs. Ruleplaying/Power playing

Where theorycrafting rules and gear and levelling is more important than growing the character as such, the power playing rules. In WoW this has been made easier and easier over the life of the game, speeding up the levelling and making the over-levelling of instances and quests a norm. In a sense the game is a vague shadow of the vast content it has, because currently the new players are fast forwarded through the content that really is the Fantastic Journey of the new created character to the Herodom. Purely by roleplaying you gimp your character, as you make your weapon, gear and buff choices based on the character's perception, not to min-max the stats. I have that on my protection warrior: instead of having two-handed sword, which is vastly better for levelling purposes, he has taken dual wielding instead: sticking purely on swords, the human weapon, instead of the axes and such. Min-maxing favours ruleplaying, and WoW -and majority of the concurrent MMO's- clearly encourages this.

Gear and ownage

Like I stated earlier, in pen and paper games claiming ownage is more or less impossible due to the fact that the rulesets, worlds and gearsets differ vastly from a group to another. However, in MMO's the persistance of the world imposes same rulesets, gear and interpretation to all. This massive multiplayer surrounding does however make unique gear less unique due to the fact that it's impossible to have loot tables which would take the uniqueness into consideration. Also 'unique' quest rewards become norm as more or less all the characters finish the same quests. Thus there are no bragging rights with gear anymore, as every content is grindable to the point that eventually everything is available to the one with most persistance.

Which leads to the fact in current MMO's: is the most succesfull player the one who has most time to put into the game, or the one having the most fun in the game with much less?

How about roleplaying?

Ysharros over at Stylish Corpse posted some days ago a thought provoking post about roleplaying in MMO's, mainly from the point of view if the MMO's are rpg's at all. Somehow the post connected to my thoughts about roleplaying in MMO's and spurred some age old ideas from the days I was very strongly into the pen and paper roleplaying.

What could make the MMO's more roleplayable rather than gearing and levelling game? Of course one thing would be that the worlds should be less static, and the actions of the character should have profound effect on the world as whole. I can see that the phasing technology Blizzard used in Wrath of the Lich King can create a game in which the character's actions seem to have an effect on the surrounding world. I could be so bold, even, to say that this tech will be the backbone of their future 'secret' project.

The other thing making roleplaying more prominent would be a system in which your actions as a character would really make the difference in the perception of NPC's and other players. In DarkFall the system ranks your player kills on honor scale from -100 to 100, rating you as free kill on the negative side of the scale, also making it impossible to trade or enter cities of that faction. In WoW the reputation system tries to simulate that, but it's used only for the reputation grind based gear and recipes: a great system stronly abused. I say that because the same system is in use as Honor in battlegrounds: the difference is negligible and has no real effect in the world and your character's interactions with it.

In the original D&D and AD&D there was the Alignment, much discussed and very much explained system of rating the characters view of the world. This system could pretty easily replace that of honor or reputation, as it would impose the moral views on the character, and it could easily be flexible stat. Evil deeds taint the mind, good deeds purify it.

These are just few things that could help the MMORPG's become more RP than G's. Like jedioftheshire so well stated that: "It’s not a Virtual World anymore, it’s just a game. The people that play MMOs are gamers first and RPers second because intuitively we know this. MMOs aren’t designed to be rich RP environments, and they’re successful at what they do, so the trend may be to continue to shy away from RP-friendly design."

Which kind of summarises the problem with MMO's: they are 'just' games, not really roleplaying games from which they have evolved. The best theorycrafter has the edge, not the one best versed in the world.

What would be your ideas to improve the roleplayability of the current MMO's?

Oldies, goldies

I don't remember where I got the link to GoG.com, but I remember how I gasped when I visited the site. Joined immediately and downloaded Good old Game "Beneath the Steel Sky".

Boy does it bring memories. Of the time when games had content instead of eye (and ear) candy. When the action was more the rapid movement of the few brain cells. When button smashing was the only method of communication, not repeated sequence of few buttons.

The times when the programmers had to work for the story in RPG's instead of cool textures and effects.

Oh, well. I think I have to get some sort of emulator and finish Albion. That, after all, was one of my all time favourites.

GoG has some real treats in their shelf: Fallout 1 and 2 for example,  which I'm going to dl as soon as I get the Steel Sky finished. Which may take some while because of the Guild obligations... sadly so.

Now I'm off.