The MMO Cycle
I started playing Guild Wars with Drew this evening, and while I don't intend for this to become "my thing", it has reminded me of the MMO life-cycle of which I am very familiar.
So You Want to Play an MMO.
The first step in the MMO cycle is making the inevitable choice to play. Most of the time, this manifests as four or five friends urging you to join their particular online sensation, and in that case you can skip right past this and the next step. These friends might as well not exist, as they will almost immediately disappear (more on this later), but for now we can pretend that they are real.
When making that final decision to jump into an MMO, ask yourself: Do I have at least six hours a week that I am eager to be rid of? A lot has been made of MMOs being a second job, but I think that assertion is harsh. Characters in these games frequently spend their time running from place to place, fishing, cooking, eating, trading useless trinkets and even gardening. In fact, playing an MMO is much more like being unemployed in a fantasy world.
Which game do I play?
"What game do I play" would seem like the logical question to ask before committing your time to an MMORPG. When you play, say, an RTS, you might call up your friend and ask, "Want to play some Warcraft III with me for a few hours on Sunday night?" With an MMO, you would instead ask, "Want to play some WoW with me for a few months in 2009?" Because of this commitment, it is important to carefully select which precise bastardization of Medieval Folklore you will be spending a few hours per a week in for the next several fortnights.
For instance, here are some screenshots from several popular MMOs. See if you can tell which are which!
What do I do?
Despite vast differences in layout and theme, a few broad statements can be made about most MMOs. First, if you can click on a square and mash your head against a keyboard, you are qualified to play most MMOs (doubly so if you have devised ways of eliminating waste without moving.) Do not be intimidated when you hear other players mention words like "skill" or "tactics." Like many words you will encounter in the game world (such as "rez", "aggro", and "child predator"), these terms have special meaning you may not be familiar with. What these players are actually referring to is the proper order to active your various skills. The proper order is the one you are not currently using.
The primary focus of most MMORPGs is the acquisition of wealth and power. In some games the point of this is to lord your superior position over other players; in others, the point is the lord your superior position over other players by beating them to death with it. The fastest road to power is through persistent play, and through the acquisition of "experience", which is a way the game measures how much work or sex you are sacrificing for it. You gain experience by killing various monsters and by completing "quests", in which you will usually kill various monsters. The faster you do this, the more game you will experience, which is ironic, because the most efficient routes to power usually avoid large swathes of the game. These quests sometimes offer text or plot, which is jargon for "Annoying window that pops up quickly that explains why the princess of the great kingdom requires seven rat pelts."
The Early Stages.
Now that you're playing the game, you are eagerly experiencing your chosen MMO with zeal. The first stages are laden with enjoyable experiences, quick advancement, amazing sights, and your friends. Time spent with your friends at this stage will usually involves the evolution of elaborate humorous schemes, and you may find yourself genuinely smiling and laughing at their hyjinx.
Your friends will try to keep schedule with you, and you will probably limit your play time to a special hour or day of the week. You might find yourself playing with an "alt" character (a character you make to get away from your main character) or trying to sneak in a few quests unbeknown to your companions, but the group social structure will retain coherence for the time being. The game is still fun, and you might even think about it while at work, while driving, or while playing other games.
NEXT UPDATE: MMO Mid Life Crisis
So You Want to Play an MMO.
The first step in the MMO cycle is making the inevitable choice to play. Most of the time, this manifests as four or five friends urging you to join their particular online sensation, and in that case you can skip right past this and the next step. These friends might as well not exist, as they will almost immediately disappear (more on this later), but for now we can pretend that they are real.
When making that final decision to jump into an MMO, ask yourself: Do I have at least six hours a week that I am eager to be rid of? A lot has been made of MMOs being a second job, but I think that assertion is harsh. Characters in these games frequently spend their time running from place to place, fishing, cooking, eating, trading useless trinkets and even gardening. In fact, playing an MMO is much more like being unemployed in a fantasy world.
Which game do I play?
"What game do I play" would seem like the logical question to ask before committing your time to an MMORPG. When you play, say, an RTS, you might call up your friend and ask, "Want to play some Warcraft III with me for a few hours on Sunday night?" With an MMO, you would instead ask, "Want to play some WoW with me for a few months in 2009?" Because of this commitment, it is important to carefully select which precise bastardization of Medieval Folklore you will be spending a few hours per a week in for the next several fortnights.
For instance, here are some screenshots from several popular MMOs. See if you can tell which are which!
What do I do?
Despite vast differences in layout and theme, a few broad statements can be made about most MMOs. First, if you can click on a square and mash your head against a keyboard, you are qualified to play most MMOs (doubly so if you have devised ways of eliminating waste without moving.) Do not be intimidated when you hear other players mention words like "skill" or "tactics." Like many words you will encounter in the game world (such as "rez", "aggro", and "child predator"), these terms have special meaning you may not be familiar with. What these players are actually referring to is the proper order to active your various skills. The proper order is the one you are not currently using.
The primary focus of most MMORPGs is the acquisition of wealth and power. In some games the point of this is to lord your superior position over other players; in others, the point is the lord your superior position over other players by beating them to death with it. The fastest road to power is through persistent play, and through the acquisition of "experience", which is a way the game measures how much work or sex you are sacrificing for it. You gain experience by killing various monsters and by completing "quests", in which you will usually kill various monsters. The faster you do this, the more game you will experience, which is ironic, because the most efficient routes to power usually avoid large swathes of the game. These quests sometimes offer text or plot, which is jargon for "Annoying window that pops up quickly that explains why the princess of the great kingdom requires seven rat pelts."
The Early Stages.
Now that you're playing the game, you are eagerly experiencing your chosen MMO with zeal. The first stages are laden with enjoyable experiences, quick advancement, amazing sights, and your friends. Time spent with your friends at this stage will usually involves the evolution of elaborate humorous schemes, and you may find yourself genuinely smiling and laughing at their hyjinx.
Your friends will try to keep schedule with you, and you will probably limit your play time to a special hour or day of the week. You might find yourself playing with an "alt" character (a character you make to get away from your main character) or trying to sneak in a few quests unbeknown to your companions, but the group social structure will retain coherence for the time being. The game is still fun, and you might even think about it while at work, while driving, or while playing other games.
NEXT UPDATE: MMO Mid Life Crisis