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Importance of Immersion. + some idea's
ArchivedUser
Guest
Hi all!
I just wanted to throw a few of my thoughts out there, so I am writing this because i am playing mmorpgs for almost 20 years now, and I would like to share some of the elements which i believe are Really important for an mmorpg to feel like a second world to a player (immersion).
I believe immsersion is where it all starts... its the foundation of where you (the player) and the fake world (the game) feel connected like its real.
I actually never write anything on Youtube or Forums about games cause I have the feeling i cannot change anything about the outcome of a big project like this anyway.....But my excitement in AOC got to me so...
Heres a few things that i think are super important in an mmorpg:
World
* No Invisible Walls. I think its important to an Mmorpg in particular that it needs total immersion. You need to feel like it’s the 2nd world you (could) live in. There are no invisible walls in the real world. Avoid any unrestricted areas in an Mmorpg. This is frustrating and takes away immersion.
* Open world or “Open world”. For example games that have an “open world” but these areas are actually split into different maps. (EX: think about Aion or Elder scrolls online). It just doesn’t feel real…. For example look at Lineage 2 or ArcheAge, there are different maps but its actually only visually, you could go to anywhere on the map, over mountains or wherever… its all “real”. This is what u need to feel in an Mmorpg. Total Freedom.
* Public Area’s that have Really hard boosted mobs. These areas require a healer-tank-dps setup party. On places like this u can get really good drops or specific endgame item crafting mats. Go here alone and u die super easily.... This means more Immersion because the world you play in has such dangerous area's that u cannot Survive Alone. Besides that these places are highly farmed and thus makes PVP better as there will be a lot of PVP.
* Dungeons. of course which u already stated nicely in your game Design and i have no doubt u will pull off making great dungeons.
* Purpose and variety in area’s. Ice area’s, Lava Area’s, Waterfall area’s, Fairy area’s, Vast grassland area’s, huge mountain area’s with bigass cavesystems, and small world raidbosses everywere, Really Dangerous area’s like mentioned before with strong boosted mobs, Spider area’s, Ant area’s (like the Ant Nest in lineage2), Dragon area’s, U name it… make area’s specific. Adds a huge adventurous feeling to the Game, thus immersion.
* Sound Effects…. Sound effects of skills ofcourse, But not to forget area sound effects create sooo much immersion when done right… for example water flowing, wood squeaking, footsteps on grass, wood, stone… a lava area where u just hear the lava flowing makes u almost feel it…. Sound is JUST as important as graphics… it’s a huge part of Immersion.
Characters
* Animations. Just an idea….. How awesome would it be if u can Create your own Character Idle Animation within a certain limit. Next to that, every single movement in the game needs to feel fluid. The controls u press on your keyboard have to correspond to how the character moves on the screen in order for you to feel the immersion. It has to feel like “you”. Combine that with Idle positions, and small animations when u for example stop walking, start walking.
* Legs and walking. Make the legs physics based to react with the area you walk on… this makes you feel like the world is real.
* Make all characters feelable in the world. I Hate it to be able to walk Through someone as if he is in another world.
* Customization. What does someone want that plays an mmorpg? They want to change their character to his own as much as possible… Cute, Ugly, Horney, Though, Idiotic, Angry or Happy looking… Variation is Key here for real. Thing is… for a game dev, finding the balance… It is super important to keep the game in the original genre as u have intended ofcourse.. But players also want to be able to create their own character, re-create it after u have awesome gear so it all fits. Etc…
* Character creation… goes without saying... players want to be able to do everything with their character, keep it realistic though... as far as fantasy goes… else u loose immersion…
* Improvement... level difference system... i recently played Elder Scrolls online in which... after a while i started missing something.... i missed the part in where on the beginning i was struggling in a level 5 zone to kill mobs and later on level 20 return there to actually Experience the growth in strength of your character. It is really important to be able to feel your Strength in the game grow. Immersion. I miss that in ESO because everything autobalances.... please do not ruin AOC and implement this kind of balancing.... keep Progression and Improvement Feelable! (immersion).
Items
* Enhancing Gear. Dropable, craftable, rewardable…… Enchantable, Upgradeable, Sockets, Augments… Grades….. Item glows based on item enchantment level. (which is a gamble every time u enchant) are really important i think. Every game has this so AOC will aswell i guess.... but to name an example: Lineage2 where u can Enchant your weapons brings an epic addivictive and rewarding feeling. Check this vid for ex: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIYh15Ll8ew Also rage when u break your weapon.
* Existing items. Make items physically present in the game. For ex: from your inventory, u can physically drop items in the world. Its done in several other mmo's which add great immersion. Items u have are Real... and exist... your character has them... you know?
* Looks of armors and weapons. Make huge differences in looks so that in 1 second u can see like wow that guy has this or that item or armor…. Also Weapons have to have a huge Variety in looks and look really themed like depending on where they’re from. (cool aswell: Animated Armor or Weapons, this could also be an awesome addition to the game. Some games just change the skins on the models depending on the level.... such a waste....
* Equiping Gear. Let all classes, regarding of what you are, be able to Hold any kind of weapon and equip any kind of armor…. In Reallife u can grab that weapon cant u? in reallife u can wear any clothes u want right? … ofcourse a cleric can shoot arrows with a bow right? he has hands… but then he does 10 damage hehe… Immersion man!
Combat
* Speed. it is always a huge pleasure to have variations in speed while advancing with your character. It is important to progress in this... and to be able to choose ... speed ... or damage?
People that are quick paced would go for speed. others relaxed go for dmg.. it adds immersion trust me.
* Physics? As much as you can comprehend AOC! It adds so much immersion…. It brings and gives players the feeling that they are the character in the game. Look at first 40 sec of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_xD8ZXy6pk imagine a system like this in AOC… you can just feel that the Mob or Player you are hitting or damaging in the game.. is REAL…you're actually hurting the one u trying to hit or kill..Total immersion… and not a floppy entity in the game that plays a standard animation all the time. maybe impossible to create… but innovation is important
Ok I think I’ve spat out some idea's … I think i could go on and come with a 1000 more idea's.
But for now im waiting for the responses first to hear what you guys think about my idea's....
Also would love to hear any response from AOC but i understand if you're too busy.
I just wanted to throw a few of my thoughts out there, so I am writing this because i am playing mmorpgs for almost 20 years now, and I would like to share some of the elements which i believe are Really important for an mmorpg to feel like a second world to a player (immersion).
I believe immsersion is where it all starts... its the foundation of where you (the player) and the fake world (the game) feel connected like its real.
I actually never write anything on Youtube or Forums about games cause I have the feeling i cannot change anything about the outcome of a big project like this anyway.....But my excitement in AOC got to me so...
Heres a few things that i think are super important in an mmorpg:
World
* No Invisible Walls. I think its important to an Mmorpg in particular that it needs total immersion. You need to feel like it’s the 2nd world you (could) live in. There are no invisible walls in the real world. Avoid any unrestricted areas in an Mmorpg. This is frustrating and takes away immersion.
* Open world or “Open world”. For example games that have an “open world” but these areas are actually split into different maps. (EX: think about Aion or Elder scrolls online). It just doesn’t feel real…. For example look at Lineage 2 or ArcheAge, there are different maps but its actually only visually, you could go to anywhere on the map, over mountains or wherever… its all “real”. This is what u need to feel in an Mmorpg. Total Freedom.
* Public Area’s that have Really hard boosted mobs. These areas require a healer-tank-dps setup party. On places like this u can get really good drops or specific endgame item crafting mats. Go here alone and u die super easily.... This means more Immersion because the world you play in has such dangerous area's that u cannot Survive Alone. Besides that these places are highly farmed and thus makes PVP better as there will be a lot of PVP.
* Dungeons. of course which u already stated nicely in your game Design and i have no doubt u will pull off making great dungeons.
* Purpose and variety in area’s. Ice area’s, Lava Area’s, Waterfall area’s, Fairy area’s, Vast grassland area’s, huge mountain area’s with bigass cavesystems, and small world raidbosses everywere, Really Dangerous area’s like mentioned before with strong boosted mobs, Spider area’s, Ant area’s (like the Ant Nest in lineage2), Dragon area’s, U name it… make area’s specific. Adds a huge adventurous feeling to the Game, thus immersion.
* Sound Effects…. Sound effects of skills ofcourse, But not to forget area sound effects create sooo much immersion when done right… for example water flowing, wood squeaking, footsteps on grass, wood, stone… a lava area where u just hear the lava flowing makes u almost feel it…. Sound is JUST as important as graphics… it’s a huge part of Immersion.
Characters
* Animations. Just an idea….. How awesome would it be if u can Create your own Character Idle Animation within a certain limit. Next to that, every single movement in the game needs to feel fluid. The controls u press on your keyboard have to correspond to how the character moves on the screen in order for you to feel the immersion. It has to feel like “you”. Combine that with Idle positions, and small animations when u for example stop walking, start walking.
* Legs and walking. Make the legs physics based to react with the area you walk on… this makes you feel like the world is real.
* Make all characters feelable in the world. I Hate it to be able to walk Through someone as if he is in another world.
* Customization. What does someone want that plays an mmorpg? They want to change their character to his own as much as possible… Cute, Ugly, Horney, Though, Idiotic, Angry or Happy looking… Variation is Key here for real. Thing is… for a game dev, finding the balance… It is super important to keep the game in the original genre as u have intended ofcourse.. But players also want to be able to create their own character, re-create it after u have awesome gear so it all fits. Etc…
* Character creation… goes without saying... players want to be able to do everything with their character, keep it realistic though... as far as fantasy goes… else u loose immersion…
* Improvement... level difference system... i recently played Elder Scrolls online in which... after a while i started missing something.... i missed the part in where on the beginning i was struggling in a level 5 zone to kill mobs and later on level 20 return there to actually Experience the growth in strength of your character. It is really important to be able to feel your Strength in the game grow. Immersion. I miss that in ESO because everything autobalances.... please do not ruin AOC and implement this kind of balancing.... keep Progression and Improvement Feelable! (immersion).
Items
* Enhancing Gear. Dropable, craftable, rewardable…… Enchantable, Upgradeable, Sockets, Augments… Grades….. Item glows based on item enchantment level. (which is a gamble every time u enchant) are really important i think. Every game has this so AOC will aswell i guess.... but to name an example: Lineage2 where u can Enchant your weapons brings an epic addivictive and rewarding feeling. Check this vid for ex: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIYh15Ll8ew Also rage when u break your weapon.
* Existing items. Make items physically present in the game. For ex: from your inventory, u can physically drop items in the world. Its done in several other mmo's which add great immersion. Items u have are Real... and exist... your character has them... you know?
* Looks of armors and weapons. Make huge differences in looks so that in 1 second u can see like wow that guy has this or that item or armor…. Also Weapons have to have a huge Variety in looks and look really themed like depending on where they’re from. (cool aswell: Animated Armor or Weapons, this could also be an awesome addition to the game. Some games just change the skins on the models depending on the level.... such a waste....
* Equiping Gear. Let all classes, regarding of what you are, be able to Hold any kind of weapon and equip any kind of armor…. In Reallife u can grab that weapon cant u? in reallife u can wear any clothes u want right? … ofcourse a cleric can shoot arrows with a bow right? he has hands… but then he does 10 damage hehe… Immersion man!
Combat
* Speed. it is always a huge pleasure to have variations in speed while advancing with your character. It is important to progress in this... and to be able to choose ... speed ... or damage?
People that are quick paced would go for speed. others relaxed go for dmg.. it adds immersion trust me.
* Physics? As much as you can comprehend AOC! It adds so much immersion…. It brings and gives players the feeling that they are the character in the game. Look at first 40 sec of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_xD8ZXy6pk imagine a system like this in AOC… you can just feel that the Mob or Player you are hitting or damaging in the game.. is REAL…you're actually hurting the one u trying to hit or kill..Total immersion… and not a floppy entity in the game that plays a standard animation all the time. maybe impossible to create… but innovation is important
Ok I think I’ve spat out some idea's … I think i could go on and come with a 1000 more idea's.
But for now im waiting for the responses first to hear what you guys think about my idea's....
Also would love to hear any response from AOC but i understand if you're too busy.
0
Comments
All progress should be effort based and not gambling based. This is one of reasons why I quit ArcheAge and BDO.
Hate gambling games. If I wanted to gamble I would go to casino.
I agree with this because you are exceeding the limits of the item so there needs to be a risk. If you don't want it to break, you don't exceed the normal parameters. It will be a good pasttime and a we all need money sinks to get that extra 5% boost
If it is a larger % boost then it will become a necessity to boost your items to stay competitive and then all turns to crap.
I understand and would like to think the Devs being gamers wouldn't want it to be an overwhelming advantage. It should be enough though that it is worth striving for so if it's 1% more then even I wouldn't spend the time and risk the cost.
That's why I said 5%. That feels like just enough to be worth some risk while no too much that if I don't have it I will still be ok. If they go much past that, say to 8-10%, they have gone too far.