In Soviet WoW, the dragon chases you!

Chasing the dragon is an idiom coined back in the opium den days. In an ironic fashion, it’s completely applicable to today’s MMOG players. Not only because we’re constantly looking for that initial high, the sense of euphoria and immersion in a foreign world that constantly evades veteran players after their first love, but because so often, these players are chasing actual (digital) dragons.

Like many readers, my dragon moment came from the den of Azeroth. My MMOG career had spanned numerous titles up until 2004, but nothing so engrossed me as WoW. Thanks to its combination of a much-loved universe, superb endgame and a horde of IRL and online friends joining me, WoW took me to a new level of gaming, min-maxing. This mentality stuck with me for years. This mentality ruined other games for me, and thus, few of them stuck. I no longer played to simply have fun, to be entertained. I had to be perfect, the best, the most informed. I became the “WoW tourist,” dreaded by other companies for being a vapor subscriber.

Those verbs are in the past tense for a reason, it’s no longer the case. I’m not sure what changed, or how I overcame this min-maxing mentality. Maturity, real-life catching up, time, game design, deep introspection, take a guess, it probably played a part. The bottom line is that it’s just gone and I’m enjoying my digital delights with a renewed passion.

I play Rift completely ignorant of what the optimum build for my cleric is (the title’s Soul System makes that easy). I put on my horse blinders and do any activity that suits my mood; quest, dungeon, PvP, rifts. I roam the lands searching out interesting quests, scavenging for long lost artifacts, not optimizing my XP per hour. I’m playing the game instead of gaming the system. Enjoying the landscapes, the populace, quests and unique mechanic.

The dragon finally feels within my grasp.

Today’s MMORPG worlds are vast and expansive. You need to look no farther than World of Warcraft to fully understand just how big some of these worlds can get. I once attempted to run from the southernmost point of Tanaris to Orgrimmar and bailed about half way through. Suffice it to say I was running for a while, and felt that I could be better using my MMO time. So onto my point, what is it about these hugely expansive worlds that draws you in?

When I first start a new MMORPG I take at least a few hours to fully explore the world. Doesn’t mater how many times I die in the process, I am very picky about my worlds and if I can’t be convinced that I am actually a part of it then I usually just stop playing the game right away. I absolutely can’t tolerate a stale or stagnate world. Vanguard: Saga of Heroes was a perfect example of this. I initially started playing the game a few months after it was released (there was no way I was getting trapped in the beta-retail version). I began the game all cheery and figured the world would be awesome to explore and have fun with. Unfortunately, what I found was immaculate graphics attempting to cover up an otherwise boring world. Needless to say, I didn’t make it past my first month subscription. Of course, Vanguard isn’t the only culprit in this…

As more and more MMORPGs come out I am beginning to notice a trend in the way worlds are built. I don’t know what it is, but the World of Warcraft has character and, as such, I never thought the world was boring. For other games, like Tabula Rasa and Vanguard, the worlds almost feel methodical, like it was a randomly generated map. So what gives? How can an almost 4 year old game have a better, more lively world than games that have been released fairly recently? I honestly can’t tell you, but I bet it definitely helps to have a solid franshice to build off of. Just ask Lord of the Rings Online developer Turbine.

Thoughts? Comments? Let’s hear em!

P.S. Sorry for the absence/random slowdowns. We changed servers and had to deal with that mucky-muck.

You don’t play for a couple of days and Turbine goes and does its next big content updated.   Right now I’m downloading the update which looks likes its going to take a least an hrs, after that I’m going to jump on and see just how cool some of the new features are.  I’ll be sure to post a pic of my rocken Elf hunter after I pimp him out with some new threads.