SirTanic
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Posted - 2006.03.07 17:02:00 -
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Edited by: SirTanic on 07/03/2006 17:01:41
 Originally by: Telemicus Thrace
This is more about the difference between Gamers and Meta-Gamers I reckon. Simply put a Gamer pays to play the game, most of them have a healthy gap between themselves and the characters they play. They learn how the game world works and they adapt to it. When a problem comes up they work out ways within the game to solve it. They also tend to work well with others since team work is the greatest power in Eve.
On the other hand there is the Meta-Gamer. Instead of paying to play the game they tend to be of the belief that they are paying to play their game. An interesting side effect is what I think of as an unhealthy lack of seperation between themselves and the character they play. Going back to me being hunted although I want to get through to my destination I generally enjoy the adrenaline of being activly stalked (I lub the attention, it makes me feel special). Telemicus may be a bit gutted at losing his ship, at least I think so cos he ain't been caught yet, but if I had a larf playing the game then win or lose it's all good. What tends to happen when these guys face a problem is that they cry haxxor, exploit and run to the forums calling for CCP to 'fix' it.
Sounds about right to me. Further thoughts along those lines relate to the nature of probably 85% of games produced. Most games are focussed with the experience of the gamer, as an individual, being the focus. Take games like Half Life 2, Command & Conquer, and numerous others I can think of off-hand. The games are focussed on the view of the individual ultimately winning, and are tooled to allow the the player to win. You always get weapons or stuff you need generally at just at the right time, just as you face your 'hardest challenge yet', often in an near ultimate example of Deus Ex Machina.
MMORPGs are different. They're impossible to design in such a way that everyone wins, and if they were, what would, ultimately, be the point in playing them? No Deus Ex Machina here, you have to work to get stuff, and learn how best to use what you get. Meta Gamers that play to play their game, as you so succinctly put it, will never be truly satisfied because they're not the centre of game design, unlike probably for most of their gaming history. They're cogs in the machine, rather than the machine itself. If they can't cope with not automatically winning, then they should go and play something else because MMORPGs aren't their thing.
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