SOAPBOX: KOTOR MMO

[aimo]

http://www.swtor.com/

I was musing with long ranty elaborations on why I'm not enthusiastic in the least. But to summarise my disappoinment, it basicly boils down to two main factors below:

1) Single Player Experience

Story

The first KOTOR for me was an amazing single-player experience, and the 2nd one, while a broken game, still manage to have the feel on a lesser scale. But rather than set this MMO in the Old Republic while leaving KOTOR's core story alone, the devs have officially stated that this is a direct sequel, with it being a "KOTOR 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12, etc". Considering that I grew to love the main and supporting characters in both games through my choices as the sole person who decided how KOTOR 1 & 2 unfolded, the idea of never getting a personal closure is frustrating because of the 3 century jump. I've played a few MMOs, and while they can look great or have fun game mechanics, the stories for me are never as satisfying as the ones tailored for a sole player. I understand that personal elements are often sacrificed to enable smooth multi-player narrative, but that is one unfortunate choice especially for this franchise.

Control

Save for City of Heroes/Villains (back then) and Rock Band (now), I'm not a social player. I like to play at my own time and pace when I was a freelancing slacker a few years back, and this is a option that I value more now that I work full-time while still freelancing after hours. I avoid playing MMOs now because I don't like having to bend over backwards to accomodate other players in order to level up, complete quests, get shiny stuff in my games. Alas.

2) MMO costs and commitment

Cost

In relation to the above points, I can't justify paying monthly fees to play 1-2 times a month.

Time and Location

Most of my KOTOR-playing friends live in US; I live in Malaysia, which is more or less 12 hours ahead. Years ago when I didn't have a stable job and loads of free time, I could easily pop into IRC at 3 am or play CoH/CoV until dawn in order to hang with the only people who share my gaming interests. But I can't indulge in that anymore, not when I have bills to pay and savings to earn; Growing up, priorities change. And scheduling my gaming time around other players' schedules who live on the other side of the world is not an option; The games I play now has to be adjustable to my schedule as a single-player, more than ever.

To those who are happy with this, I envy your enthusiasm as I cannot share it. I'm sitting this one out and will wait for Dragon Age.