Response – “Socially Adaptable Games”
May 10th, 2007 by NelksThe “Socially Adaptable Games” article seems to serve as a primer to MMORPG devolopers everywhere. I have no doubt a painstaking amount of effort goes into grapical work, sound, animation, and content during the entire process, but this readin addresses some of the less obvious qualities players look for in online gaming. It tackles the issue from the players perspective as if to say, “I want to do/be/behave such-and-such.” Make it doable ingame. The concept of Intra/Extra Ludic events was particularly intriguing to me, as it touched on the least predictable components of any persistant online environment – people and time… or rather, how the two intertwine. The ability for people to hop in, make a ripple in the community, and hop out while that ripple continues is what makes the entire MMO concept so appealing to so many. The aspect of functional and social roles brings up an important question as well – In game, there are roles and occupation that some could pursure but don’t, or want to pursure but can’t, whether that relies on others, or content that is too difficult to access isn’t so much the issue… Did online gaming inadvertently create these social roles? - nudging the players to specialize in things
that might mesh poorly with their real-world interests? – Or did gamers create them, and now, having fallen into a groove, will demand and expect them from future titles.
(Extra Credit)