MMORPG bad for gaming?

[Hobie-wan]

Every MMO I've played, I was in it a lot for about 6 months, then burn myself out, get sick of it and just quit. I did play more than I should have, but I don't think I ever had trouble pulling myself away to do something else if needed or involved being with actual people. I did end up in a very small guild of about 15 people in WoW. None of us were in a hurry to level or really do a lot of raiding. We were always helping each other with stuff even if character levels weren't appropriate. But still some of us were on nearly every night. But I got bored with playing and making a new character didn't help. We were a light role playing guild, so I just went ahead and RP'd my character dying, gave the guild all my stuff that wasn't tied to my character and bid everyone farewell.

Hellgate London is the only vaguely MMO-like things I've played since.

[Hobie-wan]

In WoW, I didn't want to raid dungeons, I wanted to pick fights with the opposition in the wild, and wage guerrilla warfare on Alliance strongholds, not power level to the max and then farm some kind of boss-rush for "Epics". That was boring to me.

Haha yeah. I worked on my blacksmithing a lot in WoW. I'd also try to do as many quests as I could. I didn't care if they were below my level because I'd leveled up in my starting area. I'd do them anyway and explore. Once I got my mount I started riding around everywhere. I went all the way around the upper right area of the map that became the blood elf area. Took screenshots while hanging out at the random tower that was there. Took screenshots of the messed up textures that were in the mountains near the dwarf area. We did a guild event what was wandering around in that troll temple when you could sneak in and have it be empty.

I never attacked, but wandering around on my mount just to mess with noob alliance areas was fun.

[MrPopo]

What the hell is the point of warcraft? Do you ever reach the end? It seems just as pointless as those stupid facebook mobster/vampire games where nothing ever happens, you just recruit people and a number goes up.

It depends on the person. Some people like the random exploration, others really enjoy the PVP, and then there's the people who raid. I raided for several years before my guild broke up. Part of it was wanting to beat the latest and greatest bosses. The first time you beat a boss is always very exciting, especially with all the things Blizzard adds to the fights to make them more interesting than a tank and spank. Then there's the loot factor which has kept games like Diablo II ensnaring people for years. It's always nice to get a shiny new piece of loot that adds a few stat points.

[Ack]

I never attacked, but wandering around on my mount just to mess with noob alliance areas was fun.

I admit I ganked a few low levels. Actually, I believe the best term would be "I ran down a few low levels," because I would seriously do that on my mount, and then I'd disappear off the road and watch from the distance using camera tricks. And sometimes, for kicks, if they came back with a high level to protect them, I'd gank him. And if the low level tried to fight, I'd kill him, but if he ran, I'd wave while watching him go and then leave the area. It helped to keep them on their toes. But I'd also find groups of Alliance traveling between towns, and pick off the stragglers, or for shits and giggles, run right through the middle of their mob on the road.

I had fun with world PvP.

[emwearz]

I have always felt MMORPG's are never based on skill but rather how little of a life you have.

They created an entire genre off the worse thing in RPG's, level grinding, but its ok because you can level grind with all your buddies! (A joke of course because if your commited to a MMORPG you have nobody).

[cyborc]

I was addicted to WoW for the better part of 2 years. I would play 8-12 hours per day most days. I ended up getting burned out and I sold my account earlier this year, and I'm really glad I did. I still catch myself reading about the new content every once in a while but I have no desire to play that game anymore.

[newt42]

I think it all depends on your own view of what gaming is. A regular gamers mission is to win, to complete a game. Whereas an MMORPG gamers mission is to consistently sustain a high rank while entering an endless void of hanging out with other people through this second lifestyle. MMORPG gamers play games where you cannot win, so they are less likely to enjoy games played by regular gamers. Since regular gamers want to win, they are less likely to play MMORPGs.

MMORPG gamers may play other non-RPG games online to complete their satisfaction of sustaining some kind of high rank. This is where you find them playing certain other games from time to time.

MMORPG's are not bad for gaming. It just creates this whole new way of gaming, that defines a separation from regular gamers. And in most cases, defining a separation from real life.

[Betamax001]

I personally don't play MMOs because of monthly fees. That's pretty much it. It's like I'm spending 30 bucks or whatever for the actual game, why the hell should a pay another 15 bucks a month just to play it? I should be able to pay for a game and thats it. I could see add ons for a game such as Rock Band because its like an small upgrade, but its completely optional.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

I still like and play WoW. EVE looks fun, but I haven't tried it yet.

I like the idea of a player controlled economy and enviroment. A dynamic virtual world sounds very appealing to me.

[Erik_Twice]

Man this thread is full of people who have never seen a MMORPG in all their life and have no idea about what they are about.

Here, have a rotten cookie.

Now, on topic, the reason they are more popular or different to other games? Teamwork and community. I'm now in a TF2 guild (You know, a FPS) and the atmosphere is kind of similar.