Right now anti-rogue sentiment within World of Warcraft is rising to a fever pitch. A lot of that has to do with the poor initial implementation of the game's PvP "honor system", which has not only turned players into farmable resources but which has in-built incentives which actively encourage play that many regard as griefing. A level 60 character is rewarded for killing a level 49 character--which, somewhat predictably, has led to many level 60 characters flooding into zones where level 49 characters are known to be going about their business. Rogues especially. Since I play a level 60 rogue on a PvP server, I'll confess: I submit for your comments the idea that the reason many developers have a hard time finding anything of value not only from researchers, but often from their own players, is that they are, in effect, seeing a different world, all the time. They looked friendly enough--at least, no one had fruit ready to throw at us.
There's a small set of design features in MMOGs that cause recurrent problems again and again, problems that are both technical and experiential in nature. That is, there are questions about coding and implementation of the feature and then questions about the way the feature interacts with player expectations and desires.
However, not all content created through pushing is benign – MMORPGs are systems balanced between competing forces: players, technical constraints, game design, social habits. En masse zerg performances introduce stresses that tip the balance. Just as real world soccer matches aren’t designed with siege-craft in mind, nor are PvE or PvP sub-games typically designed to handle swarming attacks. A good example of this is that the meaning of zerg is often characterized not by absolute numbers, but by the differential between the encounter design and the numbers of players participating (from here): I submit for your comments the idea that the reason many developers have a hard time finding anything of value not only from researchers, but often from their own players, is that they are, in effect, seeing a different world, all the time.
Recently I fell into a discussion of the Rebellion of Boudicca (AD 60-61, see Tacitus) - a time and a place where trained and disciplined (Roman) legions triumphed over the horde (Britons). In this day and in our culture one can’t help but to reach to Starcraft’s Zergling Rush for edgy (albeit simplistic) analogies. The trouble with zergs is that while long among us in MMOs, their new presence is filled with energy and insufficient cunning…I submit for your comments the idea that the reason many developers have a hard time finding anything of value not only from researchers, but often from their own players, is that they are, in effect, seeing a different world, all the time.
Maybe the issue is the "larger" community. It's always easy to abstract and oversimplify at that level. But I know that on an individual level, there are real conversations and collaborations going on. I don't want this to turn into some rosy "it's better than we think" or "can't we all just get along" thing, but I do think that perhaps the situation is not as dire as it's hyped to be. But then again, I haven't gotte my evals back yet.
Maybe the issue is the "larger" community. It's always easy to abstract and oversimplify at that level. But I know that on an individual level, there are real conversations and collaborations going on. I don't want this to turn into some rosy "it's better than we think" or "can't we all just get along" thing, but I do think that perhaps the situation is not as dire as it's hyped to be. But then again, I haven't gotte my evals back yet.
Maybe the issue is the "larger" community. It's always easy to abstract and oversimplify at that level. But I know that on an individual level, there are real conversations and collaborations going on. I don't want this to turn into some rosy "it's better than we think" or "can't we all just get along" thing, but I do think that perhaps the situation is not as dire as it's hyped to be. But then again, I haven't gotte my evals back yet.
Maybe the issue is the "larger" community. It's always easy to abstract and oversimplify at that level. But I know that on an individual level, there are real conversations and collaborations going on. I don't want this to turn into some rosy "it's better than we think" or "can't we all just get along" thing, but I do think that perhaps the situation is not as dire as it's hyped to be. But then again, I haven't gotte my evals back yet.
Maybe the issue is the "larger" community. It's always easy to abstract and oversimplify at that level. But I know that on an individual level, there are real conversations and collaborations going on. I don't want this to turn into some rosy "it's better than we think" or "can't we all just get along" thing, but I do think that perhaps the situation is not as dire as it's hyped to be. But then again, I haven't gotte my evals back yet.
Maybe the issue is the "larger" community. It's always easy to abstract and oversimplify at that level. But I know that on an individual level, there are real conversations and collaborations going on. I don't want this to turn into some rosy "it's better than we think" or "can't we all just get along" thing, but I do think that perhaps the situation is not as dire as it's hyped to be. But then again, I haven't gotte my evals back yet.