A Gamer's Woes: Quest Accepted: The Perfect MMORPG!

I want to play a MMORPG. A very, very good MMORPG. The perfect one that mankind could possibly create that would gain self-awareness and force us to our knees to be human slaves to it's virtual economy.

Ph3aR my Meow-adin!

Now, wait. Before you go out and recommend a dozen that’s currently waiting out there, I mean to elaborate that point. I want to play one that really sucks me in, both story and gameplay-wise.

That, in my opinion, is the good mark of a MMORPG. You’ll play it until you realize it’s 5a.m. in the morning and you have to be up in an hour for school, but decide to spend another 10 minutes before logging off (which of course, we eventually end up logging off just in time for school) because it’s that addictive!

I’m not saying that every MMORPG out there is bad. There are pretty good ones out there that I truly enjoyed playing. However, I always find my interest fizzling out in the long run, due to a number of reasons, whether together or separately.

I NEED NEW CONTENT AAAAAAAAA!!!!

And here, I’d like to outline these reasons, which may be a personal taste, but maybe you guys  may have in common with me.

The level of interactivity 

Well, this would not be a problem in most MMORPGs. After all, it IS MASSIVE MULTIPLAYER ONLINE, the first three letters in it’s acronym. You’ll eventually have to meet other players who would stand beside you against hostile NPCs, or be dicks towards you and start corpse camping your dead adventurer for a good hour or so.

When I first played World of Warcraft back in vanilla, I was truly taken aback by the number of players in the capital cities. I spent a good hour walking around Ironforge and socializing with every user-generated character I met. My astonishment grew to greater heights when I played my first Alterac Valley battleground (a huge 40v40 player PvP zone in a large zone). I squealed like a little girl everytime we pushed the Horde back with sheer player firepower or giggled when we were sent packing back to our base.

Yup, even Mao Zedong enjoys big battles on his female priest.

The players make the game in this genre. Interacting with other players to finish a common goal or achievement brings about a greater sense of accomplishment once you’re done. 

When I step into a zone where a faction keep is being sieged by another hostile faction, I want to see players on the respective side mimicking their NPCs, pushing off the besiegers from the walls or trying to ram the gates. It just won’t do if I’m alone with generic friendly NPCs fighting against generic hostile NPCs.

Guild Wars 2’s WvWvW idea was something that clicked with my feelings on this, the sight of enemy invaders swarming your castle while you try to fend them off with whatever supplies you have on hand is something I would remember for a long, long time.

I'm somewhere in the clouds, getting knocked backed from the walls as usual...

Of course, too much interactivity usually brings the quality of the game down. I’m sure many of us have experienced overcrowding in low level quest zones,usually counterbalanced with more servers or zones. I’m pretty sure I don’t need 4 other players to take down a simple messenger.

Money barriers/microtransactions 

This would be the biggest peeve of mine in the current MMORPG business model.

The game’s free! Don’t worry! All you need to do is just download the client, create your character and you’re set to go! Have fun!

Oh but wait... before you go, be sure to check out our store for end-game items which usually are game-breaking but you can only purchase them with tokens! Transactable via real money! Now, have a blast! So much for “free-to-play”.

I understand the developers need to make money for all their hard work. Nothing is free in this world. But this is simply unfair, charging us everytime we want to upgrade our characters to stand a better chance in the world or other players? Not to mention with every expansion, increase in level cap, or simply trying out a new character?

Don’t get me wrong. I’d love to pay for a game. But don’t charge me with mandatory upgrades that I’d need when I’m at the end main storyline! That just ruins the atmosphere for crying out loud. Who would’ve known the downfall of the chosen Jedi Knight was because he couldn’t afford the epic purple lightsaber from the Cartel!

A really bad surprise. Just like the Gungans in Episode 1.

 I’d pay on the start. Just offer me a subscription service or charge me for buying the game, and we’re done. The developers get their financial support, I get my undisturbed game experience, we’re both happy. 

Cosmetic and vanity items are fine on the store, those are the only things I have no qualms with.

It’s a little depressing to see the move towards this business model, with more games in this genre targetting the casual player types who only want to experience the game but not willing to fork out cold hard cash for it.

Really? The game developers made this game with their blood, sweat and tears. If you enjoy it, buy it! You can always make time to play it in your busy, overloaded schedule, if you like it that much. It really bothers me to hear people complaining on paying a monthly subscription. Upkeeping game servers cost money, they don’t operate on magic!

When Neverwinter Online was in beta, I happened to encounter players that were bemoaning on how end-game gems were only available via the store (Technically they can be crafted, but at a 1% chance of success lolwut). People who suggested a change from the free-to-play model were met with hostility. Buy it if you want to advance in the game, they said, we’re happy the way it is.

Lol, he's still raging about ZEN tokens.

So you’re telling me that I have to spend over $200 to invest on a single character, not to mention my other ones that I intend to hit max level with, which would set me back plenty, while you can enjoy your free-to-play experience where you don’t intend to fork out a single penny? 

It’s a shame really, Neverwinter Online was a game that I would willingly pay if it came from the shelves or offered a subscription model. But because of it’s free-to-play method to cater to the crowds, I dropped it after I maxed out. The end-game experience was not worth the hefty price tag.

Look pretty, be pretty! 

If there’s ever a feature I look in any game, it’s customization. Offer me a game where I can pick my character’s gender, race, storyline, personality and appearance and you’ll see me reaching into my wallet with a big fat smile. That, to me, is true roleplaying.

This is especially important when you’re in a huge world populated by millions of other players with their own unique wants and needs. I do not want to walk around a town populated with my character’s long-lost brothers.

My momma told me I was unique!

In an MMORPG, the deeper the customization, the better it is for me. Allow me to decide who I want to be, what I want to look and how I fight. I want to see my self-made character running and slashing through story cinematics and cut-scenes so that I can weep manly tears of pride that I was the creator of that badass. 

Games like Guild Wars 2 (I keep bringing up GW2, I’m sorry but I’m not a fanboy!) and APB: Reloaded are MMO’s that I think about when you mention customization. Nothing is more important than designing your character and making sure you won’t have that nagging thought that a tattoo was a bad choice for a paladin as you progress in levelling.

Others would point out that the armour you collect as you level gives you your unique look as you progress. That’s true, but dosn’t it bother you that deep down, you’re still a replica of everyone around you? Situations like these, I usually play the less-liked races and classes in a bid to keep my individual sense.

I can... uh... heal, apparently, and hit stuff.

Recently, Blizzard introduced Transmogify, or changing your gear’s appearance to another one, into World of Warcraft, which did spark a revival for my interest for awhile. Running around with my old armour into new areas shot nostalgia into whole new levels, while others took the perchant of designing their own costumes, inspired by other games.

Of course, you can never sport your own unique look in a very popular MMO. But the effort of implementing a diverse choice of appearance features is something I appreciate and truly enjoy.

Friends Zone 

Last, but not least. Every MMORPG would eventually be stale even with the first three points. As I mentioned, players make the game, and you’ll need buddies to come up with the entertaining stuff you do everyday. I’m pretty sure you do not intend to spend your entire day killing NPCs and turning in quests.

I always spot out interesting MMO’s for my friends to play and invite them to try it out. Sometimes I get turned down due to price (sigh.) or lack of interest. Sometimes they agree and we’ll play for a while, until real life takes a sledgehammer and destroys that playtime for good.

A good example was when I was on a private World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King server which had faster-than-normal leveling rates. (I tried persuading them to play on retail, don’t judge!) It was free, and did not require as much grind as my friends could stand. We spent aplenty levelling quickly through instances, gearing up and eventually roaming around Northrend and causing chaos to the Horde.

Shameless self-advertising.

If I was playing alone, I would’ve dropped out almost immediately after hitting max level. The server had it’s share of bugs and wasn’t exactly the perfect one out there. But something about killing stuff with friends and making good light when we get hit by some imbalanced donor with high level equipment rolls you over makes it feel so much more entertaining.

We eventually stopped due to increase in latency and busy schedules, but they are keen on returning together to another MMO which are suitable for their needs. (Hopefully it’ll be TES: Online, f*** yeah!)

"So... how's the wife, John?"

Raiders and clan members often forge strong bonds throughout their gameplay and find themselves pining for the “good ol’ times” when their guilds break up or dissolve. Think on why so many World of Warcraft players miss Vanilla. It was when player interaction was almost a necessity, instead of the LFR/LFG system we now have, where friendships were had and great experiences were had.

--

Whew, that was a lengthy article, but I think I’ve gotten most of what I wanted to say off my chest.

So, whether you were nodding your head to everything I said, or prepared a long retort on my opinions, I hope we can at least agree that there’s still a perfect MMORPG out there that’s waiting to be made, and bring joy to every gamer in the world. And grief to real life relationships.

Until then, here’s to seeing each other in Tamriel when TES: Online comes out. For the glory of the Daggerfall Covenant!

That's me on the right. I cast a mean firebolt too!

-Airalien

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The Legend of John Royce , a Mount & Blade: Warband story.

“Ser, they’re at the gates!”

John Royce sighed. He strode past the anxious defenders, noting their shifty eyes and uneasy expressions. One of the guardsmen was in silent prayer, his mouth forming silent words that were only for his comfort. Others have taken the habit of sharpening their swords or axes, furiously scraping the sharp edges in hopes of getting their minds out of the upcoming battle.

“We’re too few,” John Royce thought, “There’s no way we can stand against an entire Khergit army.”

He still remembered the breeze that entered when the soaked messenger stepped into the inn, handing him a sealed letter from the castellan.  It took him half a day to assemble what men he could lay his hands on, and immediately set forth for Segunda Castle.

It was a close shave once they reached their destination. The enemy was sighted almost immediately when the gates closed behind his men, sparing no respite for John Royce and his weary troops. At least he could take comfort that he was on the right side of the walls.

He made his ascent up the stairs leading to the battlements, trying to stay focused on the current situation. Perhaps they could repel the invaders long enough for Swadian reinforcements to arrive. Segunda Castle, however, was secluded from the friendly capital cities, and John Royce could only place his hopes that one of the lords would pass by during a patrol.

“Ser, they built a siege tower over the night. I think they mean to attack soon.” Jeremus said, peering out of the distance. He was one of Royce’s retinue, bodyguards and advisors, and had a keen eye for mechanical structures. John Royce looked out at the direction, and true to his word, he saw a tall pillar amidst the fog. It was growing larger in every second he stared.

“With all due respect, ser, they outnumber us three to one. Is there hope in fighting such a battle?” Jeremus questioned. He pointed at the dark mass of Khergit troops in the distance.

“I can see experienced knights, trophies hanging from their armor… the banners of multiple Khergit houses wave in the midnight air. Ser, can you not see this is suicide?”

“What would you have me do, then?” Royce shot back. “Surrender the castle? They would not let us leave peacefully. We’ve slain far too many Khergit men and women to simply settle this on a compromise.”

It was true. The Swadian-Khergit conflict left countless dead, and a great number of villages looted and pillaged. There was too much hatred between both armies for such matters to be resolved by diplomacy, the moment was long gone. Jeremus opened his mouth, but closed it the next second, clearly out of words to say. He swallowed, and slowly nodded.

“Best get ready, Jeremus.” Royce put on his steel horned helmet. “Tell the troops to make ready. If they seek to claim Segunda with their men, they’ll have to pay a very high price for it.”

P.S: Just a lil' sample from Mount & Blade: Warband. It's a must-get if you get a hard-on for medieval times. Manage your own army! Serve a kingdom or strive to take over it! So many things! It's like Game of Thrones, but you're the spotlight! Get it now!

-Airalien 

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A Gamer's Woes: Tick Tock, Stop the Clock!

 

“Wow, the complete Assassin’s Creed collection going for 50% off! That’s such a steal!” – My exact words about 6 months ago during the Winter Steam Sale. 

Why are you waiting for, my inner voice went. Assassin’s Creed is a good game. 50% off for the entire series was the best you can get. My cursor slowly went towards the add to cart button. In just a few minutes, I could be in Jerusalem, or Venice, stabbing Templars and exploring my heart out.

Ah, another voice more deep and menacing, but will you have TIME for it?

Well, shit.

For those who have no idea what I’m talking about till now, this basically outlines the story of every gamer who faces cheap deals and offers for various games. It’s not the deals that are bad, of course, they’re super great! It’s the lack of time to finish said purchased games is what I’d like to highlight.

But they’re just video games! Sure, they may be just that. But inside each video game is a story waiting to be told. It’s like buying a dozen books from a bookstore and putting them on the shelf to collect dust. That just won’t do! I want to know how Altair eventually regains his honour among the Assassins, to see Mass Effect’s Shepherd finally repelling the Reaper’s conquest and bring peace to the galaxy once again, and to experience how Joel and Ellie cope with the wasteland in The Last of Us.

But I can’t do that, because of constraints. I’d have to work, obviously, and there are commitments towards the family, and friends.

Now, I’m not saying I would rather cut ties with my social life just to finish my games. But sometimes, I’d just like to sit down and finish a whole series without being interrupted. I’ve too many damn games in my Steam account that’s just begging to be played and I can’t seem to find the right time to do so.

During a week’s break, I actually played through the entire Mass Effect series and boy, was I glad. It felt so good knowing that you’ve accomplished all that first-hand, instead of reading boring text from some Wikipedia page. I spent about 100 hours (because I’m an over-achiever in these type of games, I might need help soon) on the whole game, and I’ve no regrets; it was a good tale worth the duration.

But there’s still plenty for me to go, and that’s a long road for me to walk. With the upcoming Steam Summer Sale 2013, I’d best be prepared for more unfinished stories to carry while I attempt to clear the ones I’ve already have in my hands.

Rushing through these games kills your enthusiasm for it too. When Borderlands 2 first came out, we had very little time to play, and we ended up skipping many side missions to complete the game itself. In the end, we were pretty burnt out and had no idea where the story was leading us. It ruined the experience for me, and felt like a chore to play the game.

But why not just stop buying them? Isn’t it that easy? It is easy. I could just unsubscribe my credit card off my Steam account; try to avoid the internet for about a week, and presto, no more worries! But gaming is in my blood, and these deals are like nectar, even though it may seem like a no-brainer to some. There’s always that little tiny voice inside me that comforts me, telling me that I’d definitely make the time for this specific game, despite the other ten it convinced me to buy during previous sales.

I may sound insane, but this is common to many others who are familiar with such gaming deals. Our blog is even based off from the problem (now you get it). It may feel like a psychological problem, but it’s not a horrible driving need, more like an annoyance, knowing that you can never complete those great stories waiting for you back home while you’re stuck at the office.

Sometimes, I’d wish I could just freeze time and space, turn on my computer, finish all my games, and let real life resume. But unless I stumble upon a universal remote controller straight from Click, I’d take my chances on salvaging what time I have. Real life isn’t all that bad, of course. Family and friends are still the way to roll on Earth, in the end.

But just let me stab the Templars first before we decide on the weekend’s plans, please?

-Airalien

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A Gamer's Woes : Multiplayer Gaming In My Region

In this day and age, an integral part of gaming is of course, multiplayer gaming.

A lot of people love it; being able to play with/against other players make awesome experiences which you just can't get with just AIs. I love it too. Here at WGT Gamers, we enjoy playing online games with each other, be it against other people or just good old fashioned co-op.

Since multiplayer is so popular these days, there are quite a variety of multiplayer games to indulge in. Most of them are pretty popular with large communities, such as Call of Duty, Battlefield, Team Fortress 2, Counter Strike, DOTA, League of Legends and many, many more. Then of course, there are the lesser known multiplayer games such as, Natural Selection 2, Chivalry : Medieval Warfare or War Of The Roses, just to name a few.

Well this post isn't about me just stating the different multiplayer games that are available, it's to shed some light on a huge gripe I have with multiplayer gaming, in my region at least. I've always enjoyed multiplayer in games, mainly because I can play with my friends ; achieve something great with our team work, or just messing around having mindless fun. Lately though, I've taken refuge in a lot of single player games because....well....there just aren't any multiplayer games to play. 

WELL HOLD UP NOW LETTUCE, YOU JUST LISTED A BUNCH OF GAMES IN THE PARAGRAPHS ABOVE!

Maybe I didn't phrase it correctly; there's noone to play online with.

I live in Singapore; well all of us here at WGT Gamers are Singaporeans. If you want to play online games with low ping here in little SG, that's not a problem with AAA titles such as Call Of Duty,Battlefield 3 or Counter Strike ; there's always people playing those games.It's no problem playing those games because they're so popular.

Then of course there are games like League Of Legends and DOTA which are immensely popular here in Singapore. You can easily just play those games online with no problems. The manpower is there, because the interest is there.......and I guess that's the problem.

I recently received a code for War Of The Roses, which is a multiplayer medieval-themed game. I've wanted to play it in the past, but didn't get to it. So, I thought that was cool and proceeded to download the game on Steam and play it. I went in, customized my avatar's symbol and colours, did the tutorial for a while and then went to the server browser to finally kick some ass online. The server with the lowest ping was 231.

I wasn't surprised, I've experienced this multiple times before in games like Tribes : Ascend, Natural Selection 2, Chivalry : Medieval Warfare, Primal Carnage, which are all really awesome, great multiplayer games. I just can't play those games because there are no servers to play on. I do see many high ping servers from other regions like Europe and America and I'm just so jealous that those people in those countries are able to play these games easily.

I have no problems playing Counter Strike or Battlefield 3, I own them and I enjoy playing them. However, there are some instances where I just want to play something of a different pace and setting. I do not enjoy actions RTSes like DOTA and LOL, they don't interest me at all. Now I'm just worried for the multiplayer games that'll be coming in the future, whether there'll be servers for me to play on. I won't be able to experience those games just because not enough people play those games in my region, and that's just sad.

Maybe I'm just oblivious to a hidden secret society of Singaporeans that play these games. If I am, then take this post as a distress call to save me from just playing the same old multiplayer games. If there is indeed a sanctuary where Singaporeans actually play other multiplayer games, I'm calling out to you..............save me.

For now, I'll just stay in my hole, appreciating my single player games. Single player games are awesome.

- Lettuce

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Any last words? YES DAMMIT.

You know those times when you're casually playing a friendly game of Counter-Strike (or any other game for that matter) with your buddies, when suddenly some young competitive punks who think they're MLG material drop by to rain on your parade? Turning that fun-filled match into a swear-filled, sweat-producing and rage-inducing tournament?

WHERE'S THE REST OF THE TEAM CAN'T LET THOSE KIDS BEAT ME ARGHGHGHGHH!!!11!!!!11

Well, if you're a victim of that, fret not! Watch this video and shed manly tears that these wrong-doers have at least been served justice! (Or just watch the video and laugh your heart out, your call. Still shed manly tears, though.)

-Airalien

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Who needs the Dragonborn?

So I was bored one day and decided to head back to Skyrim. The beauty of having endless user-generated mods is always a pleasure to try out. Especially this one:



It allows you to control almost ANY NPC's in the game. I figured I don't exactly have to be the Dragonborn to exact revenge against them bandits.

Here's the link if anyone's interested: http://www.skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/36047/

Be warned, it's still early in development, but it's performing fine for me.

-Airalien

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The Rebel Moment

I was looking through my stash of old CDs and look what I found!

Its none other than my old copy of Star Wars Rebel Assault 2.It was probably one of the first games I've ever played on the PC. I think I was about 5 years old when I first played this.

I popped it in but since its old software, it couldn't run on my Windows 7 PC. I had to use a DOS emulator, called DOSBox.

I successfully managed to get it running, and here's some of the gameplay I compiled.


- Lettuce

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