ticktockkid

The game certainly does look beautiful 8o

I enjoyed the class versatility in Rift, so it's interesting to hear other game taking up more flexibility in the class system.

Very intrigued on this crafting system as well :)

It's awesome to see Xyson gives the flexibility to actually 'dig into' the environment to craft your own foundations. It's rare that you see an MMO implement building that sounds as in-depth as the Sims.

Great read, MJ :)

Excellent break down! I found it informative that some games, although not fully sandboxes, had features within them that give some sort of player customization. Showing which games and in what areas these free-to-create aspects are is a great resource.

Now, if there was as an MMO that included as many of these as possible into one lovely package! XD

Awesome article, MJ :)

I, for one, will always choose player driven story. Roleplaying is all about collaborating, and to me, I get the most rewarding experience by role playing with friends. The trick is to find people whose talent and style matches your own preference, that's where the magic happens. To say "Most players, even under optimal circumstances, are not actually very good at telling stories" shows how arduous finding a group of people can be that you feel you can really creatively mesh with. Many times you won't agree with the way someone tells a story, but that doesn't make them any good. That doesn't make the rest of the population bad at telling stories

Granted, that's the most difficult part. But that's how life works with all things. The alternative is like talking to a wall.

A developer story, coded into the game itself is cookie cutter and non-dynamic. Meeting with a fellow roleplayer to find out that they, too, are 'a chosen one,' 'a savior,' or the kin of the same legendary hero immediately obliterates any immersion. Hard-coded stories and human run creativity never mesh, in my opinion, and never will. I'd much rather take my chances with running into the occasional players who "are not very good at telling stories" but be playing an MMO that allows myself and my friends to be the talented story tellers that they are so that I can appreciate all of what their creativity drives them to share. There's no more of an incredible experience than being able to admire and enjoy your friends own story straight from the forges of their own artistic faculties and for me as well to portray my character, tell their story, and make narratives of my own in a game that appreciates player driven content.

Great article on such an important topic, Jef. I really hope there's a game in the works that functions as a media for telling stories, rather than an fully established story that would otherwise have no room for RP for the players if it wasn't for actively ignoring the plot or feeling like they needed to carve into it to justify their existence.

I really wish my first MMO experience belonged to such a unique and player driven one. It sounds like a game like SWG really allowed for its player base's creativity, along with their friendships to flourish under such a liberated game design.

I wish I could have been acquainted with you longer, SWG. One day, the industry and gamer community will start to feel the indigestion of this drive-thru style game play, as you describe, and begin to realize what truly is lost with SWG and it's freeing game model.

Great article, MJ :) I too am the "stop and smell the roses" kind of player and really appreciate when MMO's mimic the little nuances that happen in everyday life.

Love the description of this system, and I truly wish it was incorporated into more MMO's. It seems out of the multitudes of companies that shout that -their- MMO allows for a player to truly make their mark, there's nothing like the freedom of SWG's system that really must make a player feel like their establishing themselves in another world.

Although I've never taken part in SWG's community in much depth, I did greatly enjoy my time that I spent there.

Great read, Jef!

It's interesting to hear about the player created content that's not so anticipated by the developers. The reports of scams and the fine line that the company allows these scams under the justification that that's the freedom of a sandbox makes me wonder what breaches that line and calls for the ban hammer.

Again, great article!

I love how this event has been so whole-heartedly supported by SOE. I hope I can catch up on some of the events before it wraps up tomorrow and I'm sad I missed the high-dive :(

It's great to see such an embracing of the roleplay community, and look forward to being able to see some of these large scale events!

This is very unfortunate to hear. Martin did indeed make a wonderful, vibrant world that is awesome to explore (in novel form, let me emphasize), now it's being taken advantage of and it's saddening to hear it's possibly being overly handled with all these outlets companies have planned to use Westeros for. I'm not sure if I'm ready to see these be translated into an MMO...

Not cool D:

Hearing the list of professions in Dawntide (taming, thieving, and brewing) really got my interest. I'd love to see a lively crafting system with realistic professions just like the ones above. I'm looking forward to seeing how that develops.

It's disappointing that the character creation is so limited, and I hope it's simply a stand-in for more detailed customization to come.