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One thing I love is to start a new game for the first time. Venture out into a new area and do things for the first time. But no matter how good that game is, you will only start in a new area a few times (depending on how many start zones the game have). But when you have tested all the classes/races it's no more new sensation. If you want to create a new char you end up in a familiar place doing the same quests again...
But what if it was possible to get that "new game" feeling "every time" you start a new char...
The solution would be... random generated start islands with random generated quests.
I do understand that this will be tricky to implement but I think the rewards would be great because there are "always" something new to discover, to do.
But since it would be impossible to randomly generate everything, trees, plants, npcs, terrain, houses, animals, quests, dialog and so on they will be forced to create a lot of prefabs.
Same houses will appear here and there. Same caves or same animals.
But still, it would be fun. It would be just like in the old days when you play Age of Empires over and over since there is always a new ma you never played before. (Yes, I'm totally aware that there is a slight difference between Age of Empires and a MMORPG...)
So... random?
But what if it was possible to get that "new game" feeling "every time" you start a new char...
The solution would be... random generated start islands with random generated quests.
I do understand that this will be tricky to implement but I think the rewards would be great because there are "always" something new to discover, to do.
But since it would be impossible to randomly generate everything, trees, plants, npcs, terrain, houses, animals, quests, dialog and so on they will be forced to create a lot of prefabs.
Same houses will appear here and there. Same caves or same animals.
But still, it would be fun. It would be just like in the old days when you play Age of Empires over and over since there is always a new ma you never played before. (Yes, I'm totally aware that there is a slight difference between Age of Empires and a MMORPG...)
So... random?
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I am personally more interested in quality of max level content then in making a starting zone something to see 50 times over. *shrug*
My plan for new games is always to get guild parties going as soon as possible. If we spawn in some random location, finding each other to group up would be an achievement by itself.
Back to topic.
Let me give you an example and start by using Rift.
Rift is a great game with loads of stuff to do when you set out on a adventure with a new char. There are two factions in Rift and thus two starting zones. There are 5 callings so you could be tempted to try a new char 5 times.. but after your second char you have already do all (if you created one in each faction).
So all chars after those two (or 5) will be very familiar.
I actually just returned to Rift since I liked it and wanted a new adventure but after I had created the char and was standing there in the starting zone I felt empty.
And the was because I didn't see the coming progression of my char as an new adventure but rather a list of chores of thing I already have done before. There was nothing new at all. Sure, there might be new stuff in the end game but to get there I have to play/grind a lot just to get there....
So as I was standing there I just felt it was nothing fun with it and closed the game.
What I wanted with a random starting area or island was that you "never" had a list of chores in front of but rather a new adventure with a unknown environment.
The random island should not be random every time you start a char nor a solo instance but a weekly, biweekly new starting zone for all players.
It does not have to be a island either but at least a new place.
So if you could choose your starting point that's good but it will booring if there is only 2-3 starting points.
But you only have to start a new char if the classes are locked and there is no or little flexibility with the skill build.
I liked early swg a lot and you more or less only needed on char since you could be anything you wanted. If you wanted to become a medic instead of a rifle man you just had to start using the medic skills. You could start a new char at "any" city and you more or less jumped right out in the "end game".