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Does Minecraft count? What other MMOs are people playing and why don't they come close? I've dabbled in some post-WoW MMOs over the years and they are no less "

Does Minecraft count? What other MMOs are people playing and why don't they come close? I've dabbled in some post-WoW MMOs over the years and they are no less "shared" and "persistent" than WoW—they're basically the same thing. Tibia and Ultima were brutal games that can't really compete in the sea of choices people have in modern gaming. Just look how many games reduce any sort of grindy or hardcore mechanics they had in an attempt to appeal to a wider, modern audience instead of just the few people who want and have time for a more hardcore experience. I saw an interview with one of the high level people involved in the modern Pokemon games who said as much when asked about the complaints of the modern Pokemon games being easier and less grindy and less complicated. Should modern MMOs always cater to a wider audience than a smaller one? Well, just imagine you were the one bankrolling such an expensive, risky project.

duskwuff 5y ago
Minecraft doesn't really hit the "shared world" part in the same way. Most players play alone, or with a small group of friends. There are a couple of Minecraft "anarchy" servers that come close, but playing on one of them is a pretty deliberate decision.
ajxs 5y ago
I recall reading the developers of (the ultimately aborted) 'Fallout Online' remarking that Ultima Online's player mechanics were pretty close to what they'd expect from the reality of a post-apocalyptic wasteland. I can't find the source of this quote right now, unfortunately. I felt really gratified hearing that, as I'd been trying to explain the savagery of UO[2] in the 2000s to people talking about Rust's gameplay in 2020. I think it's really interesting to look back at UO's design from a modern perspective. The designers have stated over, and over again[0][1] how absolutely wrong their predictions of player behaviour ended up being. It was such an ambitious, pure, and innocent idea. Its gameplay style may not have stood the test of time, however it was undoubtedly an important learning experience for game design as a whole. I'm tempted to say its a shame that games like UO are a thing of the past. However when I look back at my time playing it, the thing that sticks out the most is how much time and effort was spent just avoiding abuse. [0] https://www.raphkoster.com/tag/uo/ https://www.raphkoster.com/tag/uo/ [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFNxJVTJleE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFNxJVTJleE [2] https://web.archive.org/web/20050214050928/http://looter.4t.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20050214050928/http://looter.4t....

duskwuff 5y ago

Minecraft doesn't really hit the "shared world" part in the same way. Most players play alone, or with a small group of friends. There are a couple of Minecraft "anarchy" servers that come close, but playing on one of them is a pretty deliberate decision.

ajxs 5y ago

I recall reading the developers of (the ultimately aborted) 'Fallout Online' remarking that Ultima Online's player mechanics were pretty close to what they'd expect from the reality of a post-apocalyptic wasteland. I can't find the source of this quote right now, unfortunately. I felt really gratified hearing that, as I'd been trying to explain the savagery of UO[2] in the 2000s to people talking about Rust's gameplay in 2020. I think it's really interesting to look back at UO's design from a modern perspective. The designers have stated over, and over again[0][1] how absolutely wrong their predictions of player behaviour ended up being. It was such an ambitious, pure, and innocent idea. Its gameplay style may not have stood the test of time, however it was undoubtedly an important learning experience for game design as a whole. I'm tempted to say its a shame that games like UO are a thing of the past. However when I look back at my time playing it, the thing that sticks out the most is how much time and effort was spent just avoiding abuse. [0] https://www.raphkoster.com/tag/uo/ https://www.raphkoster.com/tag/uo/ [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFNxJVTJleE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFNxJVTJleE [2] https://web.archive.org/web/20050214050928/http://looter.4t.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20050214050928/http://looter.4t....