Have you ever had an odd moment where you wondered what your favorite MMO would… smell like? If aromas could waft out of your computer monitor as you explored these worlds, what would your honker pick up? Would it immerse you more deeply or repulse you entirely?
Imagining MMO smells is the challenge we put to readers last week, and they came through in a weird way. BalsBigBrother wouldn’t suggest smells for Path of Exile: “To keep it polite lets just go with this smells bad and leave it at that. It is probably somewhat telling that my Templar has pulled his bandanna over his mouth and nose.”
Maybe that’s when the game should give you Lysol to spray everywhere. It would be a consumable. A very common one.
Continuing with the theme of “odors that you’d never want in your nostrils,” how about a pile of decaying blubber on a scenic Black Desert beach? Presented to you in 4K vision!
Xijit documented this tableau: “As for smells … this has got to be a doozy.” Indeed. But we could slice it open, crawl in, and stay warm for the night (and you thought they smelled back on the outside).
“There are so many places in games where people speculate on the senses we can’t experience through the virtual world,” Hikari posted. “Especially smell. Like Agartha in Secret World Legends. I always imagined Agartha as being nearly odorless, the sheer power of the world tree burning away most scents, leaving only the crisp smell of ozone before a storm mingled with the ever-present honeyed anima.”
That’s a better smell I can get behind!
Of course, if you were to bring smell into World of Warcraft, that would cause players to avoid the 5% of quests in the game that are inexplicably poop-related. Seriously, some developer on the team has a really disturbing fetish that he or she is trying to push on the rest of us.
Utakata braved getting gook on her foot for this picture. She is a modern-day hero.
Reader Skorry takes us home with this Guild Wars 2 shot: “This is a fascinating challenge. For as much as we get the full audiovisual experience, I’m kind of at a loss at where the sense of smell comes into play in worldbuilding. I mean, Smell-O-Vision isn’t a thing (yet) but there’s plenty one could do with descriptions and NPC chatter.
“On that note, I went back beneath the branches of the Pale Tree to get this shot of the local eatery. I already imagine the Grove has a pleasantly flowery scent, but throw in some honey nectar chicken and I’d imagine you have a kitchen to make even Gordon Ramsey feel right at home.”
Now I feel that I have to one-up last week’s screenshot challenge, so this one will be even more tricksy. The theme this week is “decoration fusion” — the idea is to submit pictures of places in MMO worlds that combined aesthetics or themes. Like places that combine nature and architecture, or magic and steampunk, or clowns and peanut butter. Ever see places like that? Let’s share them!
Every week, One Shots shines a spotlight on the best community screenshots from your MMO adventures. If you have a great pic to share, email it to justin@massivelyop.com with the subject “One Shots.” Make sure that the picture is over 880px wide and comes with a description or story!
