I think it's just early is all. Most people don't plan that far ahead, but everyone will be tired of D&D online by the time this one hits the shelf. 
still makes me sad..
i have alot of time on my hands.. too much i wrote this.. and still keep it.. gah!
I once thought I knew my friends gaming habits
I Don’t know maybe it’s me, but when I tried to get my friend to play a MMOG with me, he just kept coming up with excuses. Killing my friend in 1 vs.1 has become boring and a constant sore. So I invite him to play a certain game with me, which so happens to be a Massive multiplayer online game. What was I thinking!
The MMOG, what is it that people hate? Single player games seem to catch the public’s attention more often than MMOG’s.
So let’s make a comparison. Single player game vs.-I’ll start with the most recent game I’ve played, *Asheron’s Call 2, even with the monthly expense of 10 dollars, it was better than most single player games. Why?
• The game tempo- in single player games the speed of the game is set to 1 value, the type of game it is. If it’s a racing game the speed is relatively fast paced, unlike a single shooter game which is relatively slow paced. With a MMOG you control the tempo just by playing. It just depends on the adventure your on.. It’s a bit like being on the football field among 21 other players just waiting for the quarterback to get the ball. The same intense rush is there.
• The forum factor- Many people love their single player mismatch, I call it a mismatch simply because it is a huge oversight within the game design. In single player the game is heavily unintelligent. Always the same enemy doing the same thing no matter what difficulty level you set it on. So all one needs to do is keep up the games timing, In a MMOG you must rely on the other persons timing. It’s not often you can judge the players’ thoughts. But you can always count on getting double teamed, just like life it’s never a fair fight.
• Content- why do single player games lack content? There should always be something to do in a game. That’s why it’s a game it brings entertainment to you so you won’t be bored while playing. MMOG’s have (well most of them do) a lot of things to do in the game, and that’s just without going to a player vs. player MMOG. Every one has played Grand Theft Auto I’m sure, well is there a huge point to “killing, stealing, thrashing, and being a thug, over and over again in a game? That’s such a small use of content, so small that the game bored me after just an hour of playtime and even worse they keep remaking the same game, and people still buy it. WOW! That game bugs me so much.
• The personal factor- It’s probably just me again, but I seem to like playing with real people as my teammates or enemies, It just seems right. Interacting with Artificial Intelligence is a real game killer, unless of course the AI is just giving you info, while on a quest with your friends. A small interaction. Everything else is up to us, the players. Then again it’s hard to have a conversation with an AI while on a journey through the land.
There is a lot of people playing single player games just cause its looks like a fun game, I find this interesting. I ask my friends to play a MMOG an all I get are excuses for why they can’t. Among the top are “Monthly Subscription! Who in there right minds would want to play a game you pay for!” My response is always showing them the math. Then like all people, the second excuse comes out, “Well I don’t have a credit card” So I stem to back away and take that as perfectly reasonable response.
But it really isn’t, because if they enjoy hanging out with me playing single player games, playing a MMOG is basically the same thing. It’s all still hanging out playing a game with a friend.
So here’s the real excuse, “I’m afraid”
“I’m afraid I won’t like the game”
“I’m afraid of something new”
“I’m afraid I wasted my money on a game I’ll never have time to play”
“I’m afraid of playing amongst others”
All of those excuses just bore me to death. Of course you don’t like to play with others, your afraid your skills will embarrass you. Sure, you’re afraid of something new, who isn’t. You won’t like the game? No, you took a chance on enjoying a game you don’t know. You wasted your money and won’t have time to play? Well how much time are you wasting playing single player games with your friends now?
Do you see what a waste all those excuses are? Seems to me the only time you’re wasting is your friend’s time.
Which brings me to the “enjoyment” of playing an online game with your friends? Well after all those single player taunts to your friend, humility is a lesson better taught by friend than by foe. And if you can’t at least try a game that your friend suggests, it tells me you only want to play something “you’re” good at, which makes you a very selfish person.
So after all that you’re still not convinced that the MMOG is a better brand of game? Let me do the math for you, like I did for my friend, using him as an example.
Single player games: MMOG:
cost: $40 per game cost: $12 per month
So on average he buys 5 games per year.
Single player $40.00 MMOG’s $12.00
x 5 x 12
$200.00 $144.00
$200.00 a year for single player games! Man playing a MMOG will save you $56.00 a year on games. The first year of the MMOG is off set by the cost of the software, which most new games cost about $44.00. Still saves you money.
Which that is the best news he had heard in along time. Kind of like saving money on car insurance by switching to geico.
Let’s face it folks, a MMOG vs. single player there’s really no contest. It’s all about what you do in the game. If making new friends in game, along with having a real friend in the game means you’re having fun, then it’s settled, GO GET YOU’RE FRIENDS INTO A MMOG!
And one last thing, if you’re not buying the games you play with your friend then all the more better reason to play an MMOG. “You’re parents will be happy they saved money every year”.
Sincerely,
Raniz Murjuri
Fellow MMOG Gamer
*note- Asheron’s Call 2 has been discontinued since December 30th
i guess that would be why i look to friends to enjoy games with.
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