Dying in the modern MMO has about as much emotion tied to it as dying in Quake. It only becomes meaningful when you're playing at a competitive level. I admit, it's tedious loosing and having to back to "grind" and "farm" to get back to the fun part of the game, but that doesn't have to be how things have to be. Loosing is only a tragedy if the MMO experience is centered around materialism and material wealth. The focus needs to be put back on engaging in your community and roleplaying, and by roleplaying and community I don't mean queing up to tank or dps in a dungeon raid. As for the likes of Shadowbane and Darkfall, there needs to be things to do and fun to be had at all levels of the game, not just a grind to get to the "end game."

To put it another way. I think I would have more fun defending a farming or logging providence from NPC orcs, getting a reward for my services and spending the evening fighting/gambling in the local tavern's boxing ring than I would raiding for the top-tier equipment of WOW. I say that because I had more fun in the early days of UO, meeting my neighbors and participating and policing local events than I have had in any MMO since. As UO became more and more a game about acquiring material wealth and less and less about social encounters it became less and less of a role-playing experience. Now, some of that was due to game design changes and some of that was due to my perception of the game as I amassed more items, but there is no reason that another game can't come along and be what it is that we imagined, even though UO itself wasn't it.

I think people get mixed up in calling UO the pinnacle of Sandbox gaming, when really it was just the beginning. I think the reason we don't see Survival Sandbox MMOs becoming more popular is because investors look at early UO as a failure; they wronly attribute EQ's success as proof that gamers want Themeparks and not Sandboxes, but I grantee you that if UO were the first voodoo 3d accelerated online game and Everquest was the 2d isometric game that looked a decade old the MMO scene today would favor the Sandbox.

Last edited by Bleakwise; 10/04/14 11:27 AM.

--The difference between Communism and Fascism is predicated on whether one hates one's self or "the "other."