Taverns/Inns need a reason for players to go there, otherwise noone is going to use them.
That's just how it is, and have been, in everyone MMO so far. Only exception is certain roleplaying guilds hanging out at inn's as part of the roleplay, but that happens rarely.
What could an inn or tavern have that makes it interesting.
Well... first off, players need something to do. Just hanging out and talking to strangers isn't enough... and if you are just talking to friends or guildies you can do that anywhere, not just in a tavern.
Some brainstorm ideas:
While writing this I realize a lot of it has already been proposed too :) Glad others feel the same way.
I'm sure many other things could be implemented to encourage players to actually go to the taverns and be active there. What I don't want is people just sitting AFK for X hours to gain some buff. That would just make taverns crowded by afk'ers. Let it be something players have to actively do in order to gain the buffs. Whether that is to do some crafting, play minigames, play music and so on.
At the end of the day though players need a reason and a motivation to go somewhere. And with global-reaching /tells and messaging people can just chat across the world and have no need to show up in person anywhere. That's why other things must be implemented to draw players to certain locations where they can run into others and interact with them.
And minigames should not be underestimated. Even the most rudimentary minigames, like the /gems in old Everquest, had some players ending up playing /gems more than they played the game itself. More indepth minigames, like "magic the gathering" type games (e.g. well, magic the gathering, heartstone, gwent and others) would certainly keep players engaged, and even to the point where those games become the reason they even play. Which would be a great thing in my opinion!
LOTRO did it right .
For many years the Prancing Pony in Bree was a place where people used to go to RP, perform songs (LOTRO had an excellent system for player made music), dance on the table, chat, drink (for those who felt like it) or decide on adventures . Every time you had nothing compelling to do, you could simply go to the Prancing Pony and you were sure to find people, adventures and entertainment . It was definitely a social and living place, not an afk place .
Deadshade said:LOTRO did it right .
For many years the Prancing Pony in Bree was a place where people used to go to RP, perform songs (LOTRO had an excellent system for player made music), dance on the table, chat, drink (for those who felt like it) or decide on adventures . Every time you had nothing compelling to do, you could simply go to the Prancing Pony and you were sure to find people, adventures and entertainment . It was definitely a social and living place, not an afk place .
Sorry but the instrument playing in LOTRO put me off going to taverns. It was horrible.
disposalist said:Deadshade said:LOTRO did it right .
For many years the Prancing Pony in Bree was a place where people used to go to RP, perform songs (LOTRO had an excellent system for player made music), dance on the table, chat, drink (for those who felt like it) or decide on adventures . Every time you had nothing compelling to do, you could simply go to the Prancing Pony and you were sure to find people, adventures and entertainment . It was definitely a social and living place, not an afk place .
Sorry but the instrument playing in LOTRO put me off going to taverns. It was horrible.
For me it was excellent, very original (don't rememlber any other MMO that had it back then) creative and there was much room for entertainment and continuous improvement . Listening to music in an inn and chatting with fellow adventurers was definitely a plus for the game considering how popular Prancing Pony was even many years after release .
This was my experience but for people not liking player made music the mileage may vary .
disposalist said:Sorry but the instrument playing in LOTRO put me off going to taverns. It was horrible.
That's mostly because, at least in the start, everyone were trying it out and lets just say not everyone is a muscician.
A lot of players were just facerolling on the keyboard and it made some kinda noise, which was pretty terrible for sure.
Later though people figured out how to play properly and there were some very good players who could play awesome music in the taverns.
It makes sense that gossip and stories are overheard in taverns..
So far weve seen pop-us for the perception system as being very vague. What if by completing minigames in taverns gives you a 'journal' of clues you can use the next time you see a perception pop-up.
Example: On a lakeshore you get a perecption clue "something lies in the murkey shallows of the lake". This is very vague and you might not know what it means, or what you should do.
If youve spent time in a tavern, youd have overheard a fisherman hid something in the mud he plans to retrieve later by casting a fishing line in just the right spot.. this note would be in your tavern journal. So you can now connect that journal entry to the perception clue, and youd think to try and fish where the perception clue appeared.
I don't know why Taverns aren't used for Games.
Why don't MMO's have a game interface of a game of Texas Hold'em? A chess board? Some other card game? You can get any number of these games to easily interface on Facebook, but MMO's (who seem to want people waste time in them) don't utilize an easy way to get people to stay logged in?
Your character walks into the Travern and your character sits at one of the game table (or even a slot machine?) and you can bet your characters gold on these games. Once your charcter sits down your computer screen changes and you see a game screen (of whichever game you sat down at).