We had lives then too.
Sometimes I read that some people feel like they all of sudden have responsibilites and jobs now versus in the "old-school" days. Then I read some people say that gaming "has to be" different now. Did people just magically not have commitments back in the "old-school" days? Of course they did! Seriously, we have lives now and we had lives then. We had jobs and school and plenty of obligations in the "old-school" days too. Many adults played Classic EQ, just as many kiddos did as well. That hasn't changed. And, we have commitments in the present time; that hasn't changed. What has changed is MMO's have gotten much, much too easy to play (why not just play candy crush at that point). I am looking forward to an actual challenging gaming experience again, and that's why I think Pantheon will be awesome.
I couldn't agree with you more.
The issue with the posts about we have lives now and can't commit that kind of time is that they are looking at it through only their own lens. So while they may not have the same time they once did, it doesn't mean others wont. Back in the EQ days there were highly successful working adults who played on a limited schedule, then you had the adults who weren't quite as busy and played more. You had adults who might have been unemployed and were able to play for hours on end. There are adults w/disabilities that prevent them from being able to work, but they are able to escape in game. Then you have the same wide range in the younger generation. You might have the kids who are in all kinds of sports and extracurricular activities and can only play a few hours on the weekend. Then you will have kids who will game in every waking free minute they have.
The point is, just because "your" individual gaming habits may have changed, it doesn't affect everyone. You will still have individuals who make up all of the different gaming groups listed above and more. The pendulum has just shifted and we are all possibly in a different category now than we once were. It doesn't mean that there aren't others who have now shifted as well to fill the void we just left. There is a whole new generation of kids with tons of free time looking to binge play like some of us once did.
Hi Syrif,
I agree with much of what you said.
Back when I played FFXI I went to school, hung out with friends, played sports, did homework, saw family etc. I mainly played during my lonesome hours at night. Fastforward 15 years and I'm approaching 30 years old.. married, full time job, back to university part time... I still have several hours of me time at night, which I currently spend reading a book. I will gladly spend those hours in Terminus!
Regarding how MMOs have changed... Yes, I believe that is the main reason I do not play MMOs anymore; the current model that has been adopted by most companies leaves me wanting more. When I play an MMO I want there to be goals that could take me years to accomplish. I want the world to have a real sense of danger; If I'm careless and die I want there to be a consequence for that because if everything is too forgiving then I find myself wondering why I'm investing the time in the game.
From what I have seen thus far, I am confident in VR to implement new and innovative features to the original formula we all grew up playing.
I think we all need to remember too what Everquest did to the relationships around us. I almost lost one of my best friends as she sat on my bedroom floor basically pleading for our friendship back, all the while I'm using my click stick rezzing the raid. I feel like there should be a nice balance and everything I'm hearing from Brad and Chris makes me feel like they're going to achieve that.
I clearly have twice or thrice the time I has back then, and I'm feeling good about it. I will never have as much as jobless people but that's fine. I can choose what, when and with who to invest time, and a game I would feel bored with a medium to hardcore gametime would feel unrewarding even for casuals.
kreed99 said: Why are we splitting conversations? Pick a topic and stay there. https://www.pantheonmmo.com/content/forums/topic/9268/people-have-lives
Please, this is not a topic that needs a separate thread chain, let's keep it all in the same place for convenience and discussion purposes.