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https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/8235739/
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/8235739/
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Immersion in ESO (How to not play it as an MMO)
briannewton_ESO
Soul Shriven
http://www.reddit.com/r/elderscrollsonline/comments/2246bk/i_felt_something_when_i_was_playing_last_night/
I don't know if I'd go to his extent, but I do agree, ESO has made me feel emotionally invested, has made me not focus on the progresion, "What's my next quest, level, item, skill", but instead focus on just being in the world and exploring and experiencing the stories and settings, which, like him, I haven't felt in an MMO in a long time.
However, I do think it's possible for someone to become disenchanted with ESO, if they are primarily exposed to the MMO-ey nature of it all, because it's definitely there. A friend and and I played a bit last night, and instead of exploring, I brought him to collect a skyshard and we did a very linear quest chain with very static events (archers infinitely shooting at fighting NPCs that never die), which felt very MMO-ey. The friend also pointed out that most conversations allow you to just click through with few options.
I get the sense ESO wants to support the WoW (and clones) MMO-er, who doesn't want to get into the lore, explore the world in a sandbox way, who wants to be more directed, hence why they initially made the starting area very linear. They don't want people to be overwhelmed or lost, they don't want to force people to read lorebooks and listen to all the dialogue. They want to support everyone going into a dungeon or be next to other people when doing a quest, even though it can often break immersion, with the end boss being dead or everyone waiting to pull a lever. However, ESO is only a mediocre - good average MMO. But it's an admirable attempt to take the wonder, exploration, lore and history of Elder Scrolls and put it into a multiplayer environment.
So... I know they've done much to pull away from MMOs, adding first person, adding weight to combat, starting people in a major open city. I think they could do more (even within their foundation) to make it feel less like an MMO and more like an experience. For example they seem to have the ability to seamlessly instance small sections/areas. Do that more aggressively when you're doing a plot point/boss battle/quest dungeon. Also the friend and I noticed that trying to do lore based quests in groups is challenging, because you might be both following the same mob, but you both have your own version and can't see the other person's. As a group, each individual might choose different paths on a quest and then are split. It seems most suited to doing lore based content individually, rather than SWTOR's attempt at making them group activities.
In essence, I think that the more ESO doubles down on what makes it unique, which is its representation of Elder Scrolls in a multiplayer environment, the more successful it seems to be. It reminds me of the original Thief. They were one of the first FPS sneakers on the market. However, in the first game, they included levels that were more inspired by traditional FPS games, such as shooting zombies or dinosaurs. They received feedback that those levels were poor, because they were not capitalizing on what made the game special. Future games did away with traditional FPS elements and doubled down on sneaking. ESO I think would do best to follow that model, go through and look at every system and ask, "Are we doing this to make things easier for people coming from other MMOs, or because this enhances a multiplayer Elder Scrolls experience?" If it's the former, consider moving it to the latter.
Thoughts?
I don't know if I'd go to his extent, but I do agree, ESO has made me feel emotionally invested, has made me not focus on the progresion, "What's my next quest, level, item, skill", but instead focus on just being in the world and exploring and experiencing the stories and settings, which, like him, I haven't felt in an MMO in a long time.
However, I do think it's possible for someone to become disenchanted with ESO, if they are primarily exposed to the MMO-ey nature of it all, because it's definitely there. A friend and and I played a bit last night, and instead of exploring, I brought him to collect a skyshard and we did a very linear quest chain with very static events (archers infinitely shooting at fighting NPCs that never die), which felt very MMO-ey. The friend also pointed out that most conversations allow you to just click through with few options.
I get the sense ESO wants to support the WoW (and clones) MMO-er, who doesn't want to get into the lore, explore the world in a sandbox way, who wants to be more directed, hence why they initially made the starting area very linear. They don't want people to be overwhelmed or lost, they don't want to force people to read lorebooks and listen to all the dialogue. They want to support everyone going into a dungeon or be next to other people when doing a quest, even though it can often break immersion, with the end boss being dead or everyone waiting to pull a lever. However, ESO is only a mediocre - good average MMO. But it's an admirable attempt to take the wonder, exploration, lore and history of Elder Scrolls and put it into a multiplayer environment.
So... I know they've done much to pull away from MMOs, adding first person, adding weight to combat, starting people in a major open city. I think they could do more (even within their foundation) to make it feel less like an MMO and more like an experience. For example they seem to have the ability to seamlessly instance small sections/areas. Do that more aggressively when you're doing a plot point/boss battle/quest dungeon. Also the friend and I noticed that trying to do lore based quests in groups is challenging, because you might be both following the same mob, but you both have your own version and can't see the other person's. As a group, each individual might choose different paths on a quest and then are split. It seems most suited to doing lore based content individually, rather than SWTOR's attempt at making them group activities.
In essence, I think that the more ESO doubles down on what makes it unique, which is its representation of Elder Scrolls in a multiplayer environment, the more successful it seems to be. It reminds me of the original Thief. They were one of the first FPS sneakers on the market. However, in the first game, they included levels that were more inspired by traditional FPS games, such as shooting zombies or dinosaurs. They received feedback that those levels were poor, because they were not capitalizing on what made the game special. Future games did away with traditional FPS elements and doubled down on sneaking. ESO I think would do best to follow that model, go through and look at every system and ask, "Are we doing this to make things easier for people coming from other MMOs, or because this enhances a multiplayer Elder Scrolls experience?" If it's the former, consider moving it to the latter.
Thoughts?
0