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dragonchasers.com - 10/12/2009
Convenience vs Immersion
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By the standards we use to judge games today, Ultima Online, at launch, was a terrible game full of down time and grinding. Let me give you a recap in case you never played it. The land of Sosaria was mostly wilderness when the game launched. There were a handful of cities with guards that ...

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We Fly Spitfires - MMORPG Blog:  “You’re in Our World Now”: How Much Does Setting Affect MMO Enjoyment?

Player Versus Developer:  Dungeon Backflagging and Involuntary Role-playing

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Blog Reactions

“You’re in Our World Now”: How Much Does Setting Affect MMO Enjoyment?
We Fly Spitfires - MMORPG Blog — ... The world/setting is the most important part of an MMO to me, outside of gameplay mechanics. I want to find a world that makes me want to exist in it like Ultima Online did when I was 16. Part of the glory of an online world is the feeling that the world itself does not owe you anything. Too often the entire world exists for no other reason than to facilitate the gamer to move through it, and because of this, developers will often make the world similar to another successful property instead of developing ...

Dungeon Backflagging and Involuntary Role-playing
Player Versus Developer — ... and Pete both lament the loss of role playing from the more recent entries in the genre. They're not wrong, but the answer is not as simple as telling players to go farm more. I'm starting a new job on Monday. The pay is good and the work is interesting, but the hours will almost certainly be longer. Spending more time simply is not an option for me. ...

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