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The Daily Grind: Does gamification stymie your roleplay?
Some colleagues and I were discussing roleplay in MMOs the other day, and the conversation briefly touched on our preferences for MMOs as games or MMOs as virtual worlds. One of my co-workers explained that mass gamification and an inability to affect the world or other players isn't a detriment to his roleplay because it's private and personal, whereas I find myself roleplaying much less than I used to because my actions can't affect anyone or anything in most current MMOs. What about you, Massively readers? Does gamification stymie your roleplay? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Daily Grind: Which game world do you love the best?
The game world can be a magical, wondrous place, and it can be a mechanical, sterile gaming experience. The difference between the two types is both subtle and clearly apparent for me. I've been in MMOs where the world is just a stage where props have been thrown around to provide a basic, expected setting. I've also been in MMOs where the world honestly comes alive to me through the shared imaginations of myself and the developers. So I have a simple dare when I log into a game: Make me fall in love with your world. Enchant me. Come alive to me. Be more than a winter zone stitched together with a lava zone, and exude a history and continuity that helps me believe that this could be a place where people actually lived. Of all of the game worlds you've experienced, which do you love the best and why? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Put your Age of Wushu avatar to work while you're offline
When you log off from your favorite MMO, does your avatar dream? Maybe, but when you log off from Age of Wushu, your character continues to be an active participant in the wuxia-drenched fantasy world. Many of the NPCs that you see milling about the game's cities and towns are in fact offline player characters going about their business. Your offline avatar can be a fire-breathing street performer, a cafe owner, a blacksmith, or one of several other professions depending on where you log out. There are both risks and rewards inherent in the the game's offline systems. The former include the ability to be kidnapped (and to subsequently log in to an unfamiliar location) while the latter allows you to collect money and items earned from various tasks. Read all about it at the official Age of Wushu website.
