MCBiohazard
Member Since 07 Sep 2012Offline Last Active Today, 02:24 AM
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In Topic: Kurzicks and Canthans: The Walk, the Talk, the Looks
21 January 2013 - 07:17 AM
BuddhaKeks, on 19 January 2013 - 01:30 PM, said:
I'm all for not offending people or use stereotypes that make cultures look bad, but preventing the rest of the gaming world to see content, because of nationalistic pride goes a bit too far. I get they don't like getting mixed up by clueless westerners, but mixing up cultures is a stable in fantasy fiction. If the game was about the real world and real cultures, yes mixing them up would be wrong, but it's fantasy world and Anet can do whatever they want with it and they should.
On that front, how many western style fantasy settings mash all western cultures into one mishmash but supposedly homogenous and unified 'occidental' nation like you so often see with exotic far east 'oriental' settings? Do they have a pantheon of gods that include Odin, Zeus and Jesus Christ analogues next to lesser gods Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and Krampus? Do they have wild west cowboys in the wide plains next to knights in manors next to French-style musketeers? There may indeed have been such a thing but I hope you do see how taking license with distinct cultures from a region dissimilar to your own can produce something way too silly to stomach for people who know better.
In Topic: Build that makes PvE a joke
28 December 2012 - 02:29 AM
AlmostDecent, on 27 December 2012 - 08:03 PM, said:
I compared your build, but unless I am not understanding it, this is completely different, no? It reads as Sceptre+Dagger, whereas his is Staff with Lava Font.
RF's build is scepter/dagger but with the first major Fire trait as the one that gives you free Lava Font on down. That's where it comes from.
In Topic: The Effect of Quasi-Living for the Success of an MMO.
21 December 2012 - 01:26 AM
Feathermoore, on 19 December 2012 - 09:08 PM, said:
I am not saying these things don't happen. I am saying the basic game design doesn't encourage it. There is no reason for you to ever enter a party with a random person in the open world, not being in one is just as effective as being in one. This makes interplayer communication less likely as talking is annoying. Crafting can be done completely alone (as opposed to EVE where it requires a chain of players or alts to make things) and trading even involves no interaction. Multiple guild systems is great for staying in contact with multiple groups of people... except that I can only talk to one group of them at a time.
These things don't seem to matter as they are so small, but this group of small features is what fosters and encourages connections. Being able to create your own chat channels to keep in contact with different groups is such a simple, yet powerful tool. Crafting and trading systems that require the input of multiple players and other systems that cohesively bring players together that have similar goals is a powerful system that builds connections.
GW2 doesn't help the players come together. That doesn't mean you can't, or that it doesn't happen. It just means that the game doesn't foster such interactions that are crucial for the longevity of a game. Some of the "features" even inhibit such a community from developing.
These things don't seem to matter as they are so small, but this group of small features is what fosters and encourages connections. Being able to create your own chat channels to keep in contact with different groups is such a simple, yet powerful tool. Crafting and trading systems that require the input of multiple players and other systems that cohesively bring players together that have similar goals is a powerful system that builds connections.
GW2 doesn't help the players come together. That doesn't mean you can't, or that it doesn't happen. It just means that the game doesn't foster such interactions that are crucial for the longevity of a game. Some of the "features" even inhibit such a community from developing.
I really feel you on these points. They're such minor things but they really hinder the ability to casually interact with your fellow players and feel as if you're actually connecting with them on some level. Guild Wars 2 launched slightly before NCSoft announced the closure of Paragon Studios' City of Heroes, and that is a game I sorely wish Arenanet stole more ideas from because it was a game that truly fostered a sense of community through its game design. Teaming with literally anybody was feasible and had meaningful rewards for everyone involved because they implemented a sidekick and exemplar system that matched all group members to the team leader's level, enabling people to play together no matter what level they were and the difficulty and rewards of the instanced missions the game threw at you scaled with the number of players on your team. That one feature is the only thing I wish would be implemented in every future MMO coming out but for some reason nobody else wants to take the idea. It allows small groups to regularly team with each other and solo at their discretion without throwing a wrench into the level spread. It allows big groups to form up full teams no matter who is around.
GW2 only scales down by area without allowing lowbies to tag along with more experienced players in return. As a result, no max level alt really ever wants to hang with lowbies because they're artificially nerfed but not enough that they still can't make trivial work of the lowbie's content either for little reward. I wish Arenanet stole the sidekicking idea before Paragon Studios got axed. I wish GW2 was as fun to team in as it is to solo explore. I really miss City of Heroes.
