A little weary of killing and nothing else in MMORPGs? You’re not alone because Star Wars Galaxies and Ultima Online creator Raph Koster pines for a wider array of MMO experiences than mindless slaughter.
Commenting on a panel at this week’s Konsoll 2018, Koster said, “The talk on tend-befriend games by @briecode at #konsoll2018 was beautiful and inspiring. It made me think of all the players in MMOs who just wanted to grow flowers, dance with friends, build and decorate a house, sew shirts, and hang out in taverns; and how little they are served by so many games out there. All too often we denigrate experiences that are just about experiencing, about just… being. About having rather than getting.”
Yesterday, MOP’s Bree penned an essay along these very lines as she lamented the extreme gamification of MMO busywork. “MMOs weren’t about storylines,” she wrote, “they were about living in a world. And you can’t have a truly living world, a life simulation, without work (we can barely conceive of a holodeck-life, we children of work-ethic culture).”
The talk on tend-befriend games by @briecode at #konsoll2018 was beautiful and inspiring.
— Raph Koster (@raphkoster) November 2, 2018
