Our cynical friends over at That's A Terrible Idea posted an entry regarding PvP within MMORPGs, making the dry observation that MMOs are a game of time, not skill. This is probably one of the finest summaries of RPGs that I've ever read.
I've often wondered how Clan Lord would play if it were more like the Capture the Flag area. Players would have a selection of abilities which would never grow, thus making new players and older players equal in power. Using this model, I could create a healer right now and hunt with a bunch of people on Metzetli Island. Of course, I would never gain experience, so the next question would be "if there's no reward, then what's the point?"
This model would make more sense if Clan Lord were an achievement-orientated game: rewards would be granted by completing quests, and players would measure success by collecting achievements, badges and trophies in place of experience. I could still collect these rewards to measure my progress within the game.
Some people simply don't have the time to invest within a MMORPG. Should they be penalized for this lack of time?
Kill An NPC Every Session
5 days ago
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Asking if people should be penalized for not having the time to play time-centric games is like asking if people should be penalized in chess for having less skill and game knowledge. The penalty is implicit to the way the game functions. To remove it would compromise the game itself. Mitigating it (like a better player starting the game a pawn or two down instead of with even material) can be feasible in some cases.
ReplyDeleteAlso, be careful with the terms RPG and MMORPG. RPGs are not really games of time--they're story-focused strategy games that usually play out on the character development level, though some games do have strategically interesting conflict resolution mechanics. MMORPGs don't have that story focus and character development is by necessity drawn out, and metagamed to death and boredom, leaving only a time focus to define the game.