At the risk of sounding like a bloodthirsty gorehound, I do kind of wish that MMOs did more to visually represent the damage that our characters take in combat than sliding a green bar down to nothing. Hit points work well as an abstract representation of real damage, but with the ability to actually show combat’s progression visually, I’m surprised we don’t see at least a little more in this field.
One game that kind of does this is Star Trek Online, as your starship becomes more visually beat up the worse your hull gets. It’s pretty cool to see chunks of your plating missing, smoke streaming out, and electrical arcs fizzing all over the place.
Is battle damage or blood something that would spice up combat for you in MMOs — or increase immersion? Or do you like combat clean and sanitized?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
