I remember when I first got into Everquest II and how much I hated having to look for groups to complete the “kill xx number of xx” quest that would gain me the experience jump that solo-killing mobs wouldn’t. It was a harrowing task for a DPS class as was the case of any MMO of that time period.
Talk to one of these guys authoring articles to complain about the Star Wars: The Old Republic tool for uniting people into groups and they would try to convince you that spamming “LFG” in a general chat plagued with the n-word, people trolling and that one guy talking about politics was a lot better in dem good ‘ol days. Sorry but my memory is very sharp and I remember having to do that as being a nightmare.
When you did LFG back in the day and you were a DPS it could take hours before you were picked up; and if you decided to be the one forming the group it was even worse – as the classes with roles came with demands.
Why would someone argue against a system that allowed an automation of this terrible device that was the spamming of LFG? Dem good ‘ol days led a lot of people to do the only thing that made sense in avoiding this… joining a guild; which didn’t change anything if the majority of that guild was at the max level.
The old MMORPGs were not the utopia of friendship that other authors of game sites would have you believe. You gained friends eventually but mostly through your guild or the same 2-3 people you find to group with on a daily basis. The same can be done with newer single-player-friendly MMOs even though they make grouping easier. I for one can say that I do not miss the Everquest II method.
Has MMORPG’s ever been about community and friendship?
Yes… they used to be if we talk about Star Wars Galaxies, Everquest and classic World of Warcraft; but with the popularity of Facebook and social media that need has been diminished in gaming and it isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s simply evolution.
Many of the classic MMO communities are still alive and running right now but hugely diminished due to the gamers jumping to the latest and greatest instead of sticking it out. When Star Wars Galaxies finally closed the lid on its coffin there were many disheartened players who became upset over it.
But being that many people who played these games used them as an interactive Sims experience first and an MMO last; why not go to the source and make a Twitter account that doesn’t cost $15 a month?
Look I know that nobody loves change but let us not make classic games into a paradise that they were not. People were as abusive as they were friendly; the quests and game style was built around grinds which would prolong membership ($15/month remember) and were mostly buggy.
I write this to let the newer gamers who came up on World of Warcraft know that most of these good ‘ol days articles are simply misleading and incorrect with the way they paint the past. Let us move forward and reward the good games with membership instead of acting as if nothing will ever compare to our chosen buggy game of the past.
