Make your own story - but only if it follows the savior or hero complex?

ArchivedUser

This has been a gripe of mine with especially MMO's that could be so much MORE for years now but it seems of no big interest to developers somehow. People like me who used games like BDO as "walking simulator" to unwind after work, go for a walk in a world where it is still sunlight, do some fishing, tend a garden. Looked at by other players and even devs as less than second class.
If you can't or don't feel like spending x amount of time or make y amount of money, you won't have the SYSTEMS(!) available (ArcheAge was great in that, owning property farm and make trade goods especially). If you don't want to follow the savior complex or the need for grandeur you get little to play with.
John Smedley made the comment "Nobody wants to play Uncle Owen" (Star Wars reference). Well, lots of us actually do but can't because somehow this isn't considered an option to put into a game.
Or how it was much better put recently ... http://www.pcgamer.com/more-mmos-need-to-let-you-be-an-average-joe/

ArchivedUser

Can we make a damsel in distress story? =p

ArchivedUser

A interesting article, thanks for the link.

ArchivedUser

I took the article to be criticising the train track nature of MMOs games as much as anything.
Not bad enough people have to do the same quest, they have to do it repeatedly.
Like some kind of production line, all the players are placed on.
Round and round everyone goes.

But I agree, the players need to be treated as individuals, not a pre-prescribed version of HeroX.
Scripted storylines dont allow that.
Dynamic storylines do to a certain extent.
Random storylines are the only way to fix this.
No dev team can create an intimate choice of stories.....so it must be left to the players.
All the devs can do is build a framework that enables user defined stories to flourish.

Many are just combat sim, crafting sim or economy sim though.
They dont allow total freedom because those frameworks arent designed to allow total freedom.
Just the facets described.

ArchivedUser

I feel like this game does look like it will allow for a large variety of play styles. It even looks like there will be pros and cons to each style. Definitely looking forward to seeing how it develops :)

ArchivedUser

So far with the Ideas coming from the Devs is that you gain experience from just about everything you do. For a more casual player like yourself this means you don't have to fight the baddies in the dungeon or in the pvp areas. If you would like to be a Cook with your own shop you can do that and level from it. The game will need Full time artisans and Smiths, so there will be a place if you want to just relax and run around a city or metropolis. there will be piers in the game so if fishing is your thing I am sure it can be done safely.

The freehold system will allow you to have a farm so you can tend that. Since the game does change and cities will rise and fall, upgrading plots will not be too huge with time and resources.

Keep in mind though that Civilization has just returned to the AoC world so its a hostile environment outside of the already built nodes.

ArchivedUser

If you want to level by fishing by all means go ahead. But mmos are about epic adventures with your friends, and you cant expect a studio to dump tens of thousands of dollars on the quality of your fishing shack when that money is better used elsewhere for the 96% of players who just dont care that much about fishing. By the sound of it this game arguably more than any other is going to have a stronger than average emphasis on tradeskills and busywork for people who like that so im not sure what more you want.

ArchivedUser

I think in this game is more like "I fight to defend my place" than the fight to save the world thing. I will defend my farm!