MMO pacifism: Expanding combat alternative systems
Murder. Death. Kill. These words are synonymous with most MMORPGs (oh, and 1993's Demolition Man too, but let's not go there). There have been a number of systems introduced to the genre since its birth, but combat (PvE and PvP) has always been at the forefront. One blogger wants that to change.
Syp of BioBreak has been playing a lot of LOTRO lately and he's starting to feel like Turbine are a bunch of nature-haters forcing players into the roll of exterminator extraordinaire. "It's not just 'kill 10 rats,' it's 'kill 10 of every freakin' last thing that ever walked, crawled, slithered or flew over the earth, just because'." This got him wondering about what the alternatives were. If done well, what activities would he choose over combat?
He came up with a fairly extensive list of established features that could use some buffing up in his opinion, including: crafting, mini-games, puzzles, trading card games, vehicle action, achievements, and diplomacy/politics. Head on over to read his thoughts.
