If you don’t watch our streams, you might not have noticed that MOP’s Chris and MJ kicked off a series this year in which they watch and comment on other people playing games for their stream, rather than playing them themselves. And whose footage are they laughing themselves silly over? Ours, of course. Some of the MOP writers have contributed video of our playing random MMOs. And a few weeks back, I spent a few hours recording myself playing Star Wars Galaxies, and I warned them up front: No mobs were harmed in the making of that video! It was strictly non-combat play.
Don’t get me wrong; I am an MMO player, which means MMO combat is part of my life story at this point. But I play Star Wars Galaxies (on a rogue server) specifically because of its non-combat content. I can get good combat anywhere; I can’t get high-end crafting and housing just anywhere. In fact, the vast majority of my time in the game is spend doing things like crafting, stocking, shopping for resources, harvesting, factorying, and decorating. Oh, and spreadsheets. So many spreadsheets. It’s boring to watch, but it’s fun for me and all part of parcel of running an in-game shop.
So I started wondering whether everyone’s day-to-day might be equally as boring. Sure, in an endgame-centered themepark, the highlight of your night is going to be the guild raid, but how much time did you spend farming mats for potions, standing at the auction hall sniping, or trying to sort our your cosmetic gear before the big boss? That probably wouldn’t look so hot on Backseat Streaming either!
How much time do you spend doing non-combat stuff in MMOs?
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!
