Quote:
Originally Posted by corradojeff
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Do you think the next generation has the same feeling about today's MMO's? What I mean is: did EQ give us this great feeling that no other game can give us because it was our first 3D MMO?
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I imagine it is a number of things:
1) I personally came from having played 2 MMO's before EQ, so for me atleast it wasnt the novelty of playing with other people (in general). Rather, it was the fact that grouping and forced social interaction was required in EQ, and in a good way. The challenge really brought people together, and the time spent at each step of the leveling ladder brought back that old high school experience - you worked your way up with the same group of people more or less. Frequently you would bump into many familiar faces across many zones and levels, and that developed a sense of comraderie.
2) The 3rd dimension and freedom of movement was a really new concept. Ultima Online had jungle tile sets, snow tile sets, etc, but could you jump into the ocean and swim? No. Did you have to deal with reduced visibility because it was raining or snowing? No. The atmosphere of EQ was cutting edge and hadnt been done in a visual MMO before
3) The vastness and depth of the world was unparalled. UO had a big world, but there were hazy distinctions between areas. Sure there were dungeons, but for the most part they were multi leveled caves with increasing difficulty. EQ created identifiable, distinct zones, and each offered a different challenge and opportunity to explore.
4) The "named" mobs created the concept of camps and the desire to acquire drops from said mobs. The size of the world, the complexity (yet predicability) of the drops drove a community of gamers to create online depositories of information (such as Allakhazam). We would then spend vast amounts of time perusing drops, seeking knowledge and strategies, and more, taking our addiction (call it "immersion" if you must!) to all new levels. We were now thinking about the game while not even playing it.
Anyway, Im sure there are many many other reasons, but some people may try to blow off the impact EQ had on us as being just a novelty. There was a lot more to it, and the sociological implications were far deeper than many realize.