Wednesday, June 11, 2008
The logical conclusion of the MMORPG
In the old days, when I was young and the internet had not yet begun to provide a nonstop 24/7 source of pirated software for any given lamer out there, procuring "warez" was a hard, dangerous and costly procedure. Initially, this involved transfering files on 3.5inch disks through the - actual - mail, setting the trader back a fortune in postage and packaging.
This was not only expensive, but you would also get your mail opened and searched regularly by local authorities looking for, say, contraband or terrorism. (Imagine their disappointment upon incovering 6 noname floppies, containing a cracked version of Indiana Jones and the Fate Of Atlantis for the A500, rather than what had at first glance promised to be roughly 600 grammes of pure heroin wrapped in tape.)
But what cost knowing you have the latest warez? How can you measure the joys of installing software far outside your monetary reach? What could be more satisfying than knowing that right there on backup are more kick-ass games than you will ever be able - or wanting -to play through?
With the advent of the BBSes, however, things became "easier". There were less stamps involved, and less prying by authorities, but as we are talking proper online continous dialup to the servers through an actual phone number (bear with me) new costs arise. As we weren't stupid (heh) we offset these against some poor innocent soul at AT&T using scammed credit cards.
With that out of the way, we could trade day and night, and focus on what mattered - acquiring the warez faster. Because the way the bbs systems were set up, you have a UL/DL ratio - the old leecher system - where you can only download, say, a third of what you upload, and you can only upload what has not been uploaded already. Hence - only new stuff counts.
This system bred a mentality where we, in the terminal stages of the process, just didn't have the time or patience to play the games. In fact, it came to a point where you stopped writing "100% cracked and working" because we didn't even install the files or check whether they were the genuine thing. IE - we were trading files for the sake of trading files.
Cut to 2008 and World of Warcraft.
The word "grind" aptly describes the process most regular users (myself included) end up in. The elusive "endgame" that is referred to by elite players and reviewers is alike to Candy Mountain, and if you only work hard enough, you'll get there soon enough (until the level roof is raised again and another level of the inverted hell is introduced).
Why spend the hours fetching X number of Y for Z? To sell it at the auction house so you can buy a more expensive 2H-sword so you can do a more challenging fetch quest?
This process, in abstraction, is beginning to look like the trading of my youth. The gameplay element is becomer less and less important, and the levelling process, mapped out in skilltrees and spreadsheets, replaces the illusion of experience and immersion.
Now - brace yourselves for a new idea - how about WE RATIONALISE AWAY with the gameplay elements all together? Not the game, that'll stay exactly the same, but the input that we provide. Do away with the unnecessary expensive hours of grind, and focus on what really matters - the joy of knowing that your character is continously levelling up and making Gs.
Fortunately, the solution is here :)
Progress Quest is the answer to our prayers. It could in theory be considered a zero-player game in that you do not have to interact after the initial set-up of your character, but the result is identical to that of many "interactive" games: the outcome is based on rules, and infused with a measure of chance, and a minimum of player input or "skill". All we have done is rationalised away with the skill element, and IMHO, we are FAR better off for it.
Also, it gives us plenty of time to pursue other interests, safe in the knowledge that we're amassing EXP, gold, and leet gear round the clock.
This was not only expensive, but you would also get your mail opened and searched regularly by local authorities looking for, say, contraband or terrorism. (Imagine their disappointment upon incovering 6 noname floppies, containing a cracked version of Indiana Jones and the Fate Of Atlantis for the A500, rather than what had at first glance promised to be roughly 600 grammes of pure heroin wrapped in tape.)
But what cost knowing you have the latest warez? How can you measure the joys of installing software far outside your monetary reach? What could be more satisfying than knowing that right there on backup are more kick-ass games than you will ever be able - or wanting -to play through?
With the advent of the BBSes, however, things became "easier". There were less stamps involved, and less prying by authorities, but as we are talking proper online continous dialup to the servers through an actual phone number (bear with me) new costs arise. As we weren't stupid (heh) we offset these against some poor innocent soul at AT&T using scammed credit cards.
With that out of the way, we could trade day and night, and focus on what mattered - acquiring the warez faster. Because the way the bbs systems were set up, you have a UL/DL ratio - the old leecher system - where you can only download, say, a third of what you upload, and you can only upload what has not been uploaded already. Hence - only new stuff counts.
This system bred a mentality where we, in the terminal stages of the process, just didn't have the time or patience to play the games. In fact, it came to a point where you stopped writing "100% cracked and working" because we didn't even install the files or check whether they were the genuine thing. IE - we were trading files for the sake of trading files.
Cut to 2008 and World of Warcraft.
The word "grind" aptly describes the process most regular users (myself included) end up in. The elusive "endgame" that is referred to by elite players and reviewers is alike to Candy Mountain, and if you only work hard enough, you'll get there soon enough (until the level roof is raised again and another level of the inverted hell is introduced).
Why spend the hours fetching X number of Y for Z? To sell it at the auction house so you can buy a more expensive 2H-sword so you can do a more challenging fetch quest?
This process, in abstraction, is beginning to look like the trading of my youth. The gameplay element is becomer less and less important, and the levelling process, mapped out in skilltrees and spreadsheets, replaces the illusion of experience and immersion.
Now - brace yourselves for a new idea - how about WE RATIONALISE AWAY with the gameplay elements all together? Not the game, that'll stay exactly the same, but the input that we provide. Do away with the unnecessary expensive hours of grind, and focus on what really matters - the joy of knowing that your character is continously levelling up and making Gs.
Fortunately, the solution is here :)
Progress Quest is the answer to our prayers. It could in theory be considered a zero-player game in that you do not have to interact after the initial set-up of your character, but the result is identical to that of many "interactive" games: the outcome is based on rules, and infused with a measure of chance, and a minimum of player input or "skill". All we have done is rationalised away with the skill element, and IMHO, we are FAR better off for it.
Also, it gives us plenty of time to pursue other interests, safe in the knowledge that we're amassing EXP, gold, and leet gear round the clock.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Biker dog
This dog (and bike) was parked outside Telefonplan. Most dogs come equipped with a fantastic sense of smell, but this specimen seem to have been blessed with uncanny balance as well...
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