tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352155589322140093.post8117580024572245313..comments2015-08-13T13:23:23.270-04:00Comments on That's a Terrible Idea: Play is Extreme Simulationismmotstandethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06296441082624422375noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352155589322140093.post-29613407346809977552011-01-05T04:58:46.836-05:002011-01-05T04:58:46.836-05:00But Dblade: imagine an experimental MMO that liter...But Dblade: imagine an experimental MMO that literally limited its scope to JUST those crafting jobs. You play in a "community" - which would be a world instance with a population cap somewhere between, say, 10-25 players. There are no players who are warriors, wizards, knights, champions, etc. Those characters are all NPCs who desperately need the things your community is creating, and who defend your community from the terrors you cannot actually protect yourselves from. <br /><br />You can walk around your small world and interact with players as you like, but aside from that element it would be a purely rural crafting experience. ALL the gameplay would be centered on the act and nuance of crafting, and because the designer isn't bogged down with the need for a "massive" world full of crap, can afford to make that as deep as they like.<br /><br />Since worlds are small both in scale and population, you could push off most of the responsibility of server control to the community, the way Minecraft does (I don't even think minecraft HAS an official server for SMP). So being niche would be fine.Eugene Conniffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08027150408998316769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352155589322140093.post-20871049604944425792009-10-04T20:36:13.758-04:002009-10-04T20:36:13.758-04:00moto GP never reall cracked more than 50k copies f...moto GP never reall cracked more than 50k copies for each iteration here in the US though, with the bulk of sales coming from europe, and even then it was 200k. Tourist trophy doesn't have sales figures, but in japan it was 110k, and maybe that again for USA and EU. Not bad, but the team that did Gran Turismo did it.<br /><br />I think we overestimate niche appeal sometimes, beyond a critical level, some niche games may not be able to draw people enough to stay profitable.Dbladehttp://mmomisanthrope.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352155589322140093.post-1979219638304162532009-10-02T17:39:08.492-04:002009-10-02T17:39:08.492-04:00It's only a problem if you're angling for ...It's only a problem if you're angling for the mass market. For a niche market, like the one that buys Moto GP games, it could work well enough.<br /><br />I'm all for a game world that treats non-combat jobs as interesting things in their own right, complete with a real effect on the world. It's just not for everyone. *shrug*Teshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11760350503235227686noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352155589322140093.post-14387879150915759912009-10-01T01:32:42.944-04:002009-10-01T01:32:42.944-04:00I think the success would be limited, for the same...I think the success would be limited, for the same reasons why not many people play either tourist trophy or the Moto GP games.<br /><br />Both games are designed to be serious simulations of motorcycle racing. This isn't arcade racing with time limits and floaty controls, success requires you to learn how to shift your weight, use both front and rear braking, corner effectively, and other things that are direct paralells to real life racing. The problem is both games are hard as hell.<br /><br />I tried moto GP and I couldn't even get the bike to start without wheeling it. Part of it is the nature of trying to feather acceleration on a game pad, but another is the game is too close to real life. Just getting it to turn through pylons is an achievement.<br /><br />I think if you stick with it, it could teach a lot of the real-life lessons and positive aspects you want to see. But most players either cant manage to do it, or don't want to invest the time in either game. That might be a problem with your system, if it takes a high amount of skill and dedication.Dbladehttp://mmomisanthrope.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352155589322140093.post-62285479870122740122009-09-29T13:07:17.726-04:002009-09-29T13:07:17.726-04:00EQ2 doesn't go far enough. It makes an essenti...EQ2 doesn't go far enough. It makes an essentially AFK thing into a boring process that you'd rather be AFK while doing. I am not aiming for slightly more gameplay, I'm aiming for almost an entire game for each profession. In order for alternate paths to be equally appealing, they have to have equally deep gameplay. MMOs will benefit significantly from taking crafting seriously. (I'm not even convinced that MMOs take combat seriously at this point.)evizaerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09836136474835816824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3352155589322140093.post-19853034570398594422009-09-29T10:31:49.390-04:002009-09-29T10:31:49.390-04:00What do you think about the "crafting" g...What do you think about the "crafting" games in things like Fable 2 or EQ2?<br /><br />I assume that you are thinking of something with a bit more meat, but you might be able to combine the "sim" with an interesting mini-game involving several stages. For example, to create a sword, you might have one step to heat the metal, one step to shape the blade, then one step to sharpen it. Each step is a mini-game and the quality of the final product would be based upon your performance in the mini-game. FWIW, "crafting" in Free Realms was a bit like this, although there was no pretense of "sim".Fogehttp://foge.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.com