11-16-2011, 03:28 PM
Diggles Wrote:Slamz you really didnt answer the question at hand. What is your motivation for playing games like Eve, PotBS, Planetside. What is the draw that keeps you playing instead of leaving after a week/month/etc. What motivates you to play it?
My answer is that I am motivated by team play elements.
I think I enjoy knowing that this tech base will let our team roll out tanks as much or more than I enjoy knowing that downing this boss will possibly net me a new sword.
Really, I think games like WOW are "single player, social network" games. That is, if you took away all the other players, you could have just as good of a gaming experience (and indeed, I think Elder Scrolls and similar games prove precisely that). All they're really adding by going "massively multiplayer" is a social component so that when you get your new sword, you can say, "Hey everyone! Look at my new sword!" That is the extent of usefulness of other players. You have no reason to care that in another dungeon, some miles away, there are other players killing some other boss. It matters not one bit to you. The social aspect is a big improvement over single player but from a technical standpoint, those other players are extraneous.
Whereas in a game with true team play, like Planetside, I care what the other players are doing miles away because it has some impact on me; and what I'm doing has some impact on them. That's a real multiplayer experience. That's the kind of gameplay that keeps me interested.
In POTBS, I want to patrol the St. John's red zone because I want those traders to get that oak shipment through safely. It's good for me; it's good for the team. I want to stop the enemy from flipping Bridgetown. I want to see us capture that French port. Team play - team goals.
I find that to be a bigger motivator for me than "hey, I found a new hat on this corpse".