This is perhaps one of the lessons I've learned in playing MMPORGS for the last 6 or so years. When the gaming system becomes transparent to the point that the rules become indistinguishable from the world, social interaction suffers. Usenet Flamewars, Everquest's Community forums, Battlenet, Blogs - all contain perfect examples of Pundit's type of trolling.
The main reason MMPORGS are so attractive to - well.. everybody, is that they offer effortless, convenient immersion, real human communication, and zero consequences. Try behaving badly in a RPG and your GM will smack you in the head. Behave that way in a MMPORG, and all you need to do is change characters, or names at the end of the day.
MMPORGS effectively offer the "perfect" GM to a player. Tireless, knows the system completely, but does not interfere with how the player wishes to play the game. Regardless of the system, you always have a perfect GM.
If you have a good system (As Warcraft seems to be), then you have the situation where everybody wants to play it at the expense of all other systems out there - regardless of a person's age, language, religion or political belief.
Arguing or romancing over existing or future RPG systems is not going to bring them back as a popular recreational activity. RPGs have gone the way of VHS, and vinyl. I think I find that to be the most amusing thing about his entire argument. Basic D&D was only as good as the GM that runs it, because as an unmodified system it was pretty shocking.
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Date: 2007-01-08 11:03 pm (UTC)The main reason MMPORGS are so attractive to - well.. everybody, is that they offer effortless, convenient immersion, real human communication, and zero consequences. Try behaving badly in a RPG and your GM will smack you in the head. Behave that way in a MMPORG, and all you need to do is change characters, or names at the end of the day.
MMPORGS effectively offer the "perfect" GM to a player. Tireless, knows the system completely, but does not interfere with how the player wishes to play the game. Regardless of the system, you always have a perfect GM.
If you have a good system (As Warcraft seems to be), then you have the situation where everybody wants to play it at the expense of all other systems out there - regardless of a person's age, language, religion or political belief.
Arguing or romancing over existing or future RPG systems is not going to bring them back as a popular recreational activity. RPGs have gone the way of VHS, and vinyl. I think I find that to be the most amusing thing about his entire argument. Basic D&D was only as good as the GM that runs it, because as an unmodified system it was pretty shocking.