peterson.jean

I would definitely pay extra but not for filtering. I want GMs that monitor chat to keep people in line. I'm tired of the current situation. People would be so much better behaved if they knew that someone could ban them RIGHT NOW for being inappropriate. MMOs used to do this before they became/were bought by huge companies only worried about the bottom line.

@The Moonshadow

I think you missed the point of the article - Jef wonders why he can't get more people to play. One of the people he can't get to play is his friend who doesn't want to "be a spaceship". He is the one who brought this up in the article - I am merely responding to this.

I think that for many people, your friend summed it up when she said "I don't want to be a spaceship". MMOs are ROLEPLAYING games and creating your character is one of the most important parts to many people. To then have that character largely useless because you're always in a spaceship is significant.

For me, that isn't the biggest issue - FFA PvP is. It's a deal breaker.

My second biggest issue is related to "being a spaceship" - I don't like the idea of flying a spaceship. I don't like having to worry about that 3rd dimension (even in MMOs with flying the ground is always there).

In a different article you wondered why people want to play MMOs that are essentially single-player games. The answer for a lot of people is simply that humans are gregarious. There are many people who prefer going to a library or bookstore and reading a book. They are doing something by themselves, but are doing it in the company of other people. I think this is what is missing from EVE - people like to see other "people" and be around them, not metal boxes.

I enjoy MMOs that give you xp for doing something other than killing mobs or turning in quests. Like crafting, exploring, etc. I have sometimes gained entire levels without doing any killing or quests. I wish more MMOs would do this.

@AnathemaOne

Apparently some people are so intimidated by anyone expressing a dislike about this game that they have to start making up stuff about Anathema...such people are totally fail.

I agree that there is something to be concerned about here. I guess we'll see how it works out.

@(Unverified)

I agree. I want to play in a "realistic" world, but I want my "realism" to be fun. Being griefed /= fun. And frankly it's not realistic either. There is no society where people can run around killing each other willy nilly. And if we're talking war, that is organized and has factions, not just "some guy" coming through the neighborhood ganking people.

@Professer

I'm not sure what you mean by "running the harbor dungeons over and over..." With one character you only need to run each quest once to keep advancing. Generally the only reason someone would run a quest over would be if they are looking for a certain piece of loot or they are TRing their character which is done after level 20.

I LOL'd at all the comments that this is too big to be a Guild. But I guess most gamers don't know that "Guilds" have existed for over 1k years outside gaming and some were/are very large.

It's funny to see what people will get mad about. Someone says: "Here's a guild that has been around over 16 years." and people get pissed

O.o

@Irem: "We're all hastening the heat death of the universe by existing, too"

??!

Great article. I really liked your analysis. Makes me want to watch the film.

As for the topic of world firsts, the point isn't to glorify that topic but to show the affect of the race on the human beings involved. There are plenty of people in the world that strive to be the best at both hobbies and professions. The struggle to balance your life isn't limited to gamers.