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Originally Posted by
Planetarism
Yes, indeed, "So is WoW's", yesss and that's part of the problem!! I just repeated it, not once but several times in this very thread, I said, they're BOTH themepark designs, (every single game you mentioned so far in thread as a matter of fact, is) and therefore are all boring, stale, static! Even the great, lauded GW2 that was supposed to 'revolutionize' the themepark design into something fun!! xD
The only thing Blizz is committed to is making money, the 1 way they could genuinely be said to be 'hardworking' is in making game dev decisions that help increase ATVI's stock share price in the end. There is no difference between looking at members of US Congress, to give you an example, and saying "Ooh they're hardworking folks!!" & saying that, about a PUBLIC corporation like Activision-Blizzard. They've been scared of doing anything sandboxy & truly dynamic/engaging to wow for over 8 years now, because that might be revolutionary/risky/untested waters, and that's not what narrow-minded, visionless investors / executives / shareholders want.., and it's still not showing signs of being any different.
Same as WoW's boring themeparkianism, for all the other companies releasing/maintaining big mainstream themepark games, like :
~> -TOR- (Star Wars Old Republic ~ I know, great, moving storylines, unique item slot/'enchanting'/modification scheme, & companions, wow, all this will magically NOT make me bored to death after I've played a bit & done the storylines over..?? Can I go over to distant planets & take over bases/cities/ships & help raise an empire dynamically..?? Against PvE or PvP opponents or both?? Can I have any impact whatsoever in the gameworld that doesn't get wiped off the minute I'm done w/ that quest/move on to play another character/or in another game zone..??)
~> -Rift- (Whoa no 'real' class or spec restrictions..?? I can pick & mix any talents/spells together & make my own class (sort of), taking on different combat roles as needed in a fight? And what do I do this fighting in question, for..?? Oh, to repeat the same old boring themepark gear/content treadmills & inconsequential PvP? Ahh haha I see..)
~> -WS/WSO- (WildStar ~ Oohh look edgy hardmode, old-school, bring back the challenge, but guess what - What're the players doing these difficult raids & hardcore content for..?? That's right, for no reason other than stat gains & 'content cleared' badges of honor on their toons! Not for actual lasting (even if short time), dynamic, engaging game world impact!!)(Out in 2014)
~> -FFXIV- (Ohh look, old school & PITA-asian-hard gameplay, but guess what, still the same old static gear/content systems as the other themeparks! Still boring!)
~> -GW2- (What's that? Refreshingly different combat/item-based skills mechanics? No real set class roles/forced 'trinity'?? New paradigms in world exploration & (very limited) personal story? Well, I've to say, that starts to sound like it just MAY not be repetitive & inconsequential/unchallenging/unengaging enough to be considered yet another of those boring themepark designs, this is almost sandpark or sandboxy themepark!! & + WvWvW too.. Hmm..!! Well, grats!! Now if I can get a PC that can run this finally.. (I'm broke and I've a dinosaur ;p)
~> -TESO- (Even that drooled-over Elder Scrolls paragon, is set to be the biggest classic themepark example of modern mmo days)(Out in 2014)
~> -TSW- (The Secret World ~ Ooh mysterious world conspiracies & cryptics, guess what, STILL boring themepark gameplay)
~> -MVUO(?)- (Marvel Universe aka The Avengers/Hulk/Capt America/Ironman etc)
~> -Destiny- (Activision/Bungie's MMOFPS, not out till 2016+)
~> -CoH/CoV- (City of Heroes/Villains, passed away)
~> -DCUO- (DC Universe aka Batman/Superman etc)
~> -LotRO- (Lord of the Rings)
~> -AoC- (Age of Conan)
~> -STO- (Star Trek)
~> -D&DO-
~> -TERA-
~> -Aion-
~> -EQ2-
Now there's a small chance somewhat sandboxy upcoming games like ArcheAge & EQ3 (EQ Next), and even Blizz's Titan or WoW2, may bring about a truly mix between dynamic sandbox fun but without the confusing void of e.g. EvE Online open-ended lack of direction making lots of new players just feel 'lost' (what do I do next, where should I go) :
~> -AAge- (Asian-style, who knows if it'll be sandboxy enough to be continuously engaging, but I doubt it =/)(Was out in Asia this year, Out in USA next year)
~> -EQ3- (EQ Next, drooled-over as the savior of MMOs, apparently custom housing makes a game totally awesome-sandbox, yea.. =/)(Not out till 2017+)
~> -Titan- (Blizz obviously waiting for ATVI's Destiny to be released before finishing work on TT, given that it's pretty much the same themes (as Assassins' Creed..... ;p) for both games..)(Not out till 2019+)
~> -TRP- (The Repopulation, not out till 2016+?)
~> -WoW2- (Not out till 2024+)
See, you need strong sandbox features, in your themepark game, to make it fun, make it last, without a constant churn of players subbing in & out because they can't justify staying just to login daily (after a while, when they seen the sights) to simply idle in capital cities/LFR, bored, the same repetitive undriven gameplay time after time, the meaningless gear treadmill, so they just quit.
In a sandbox design or at least a solidly sandboxy-themepark, you won't have that, since the very core of the gameplay & game world systems is specifically set to encourage dynamic, engaging, immersive, challenging player interaction w/ their world and w/ the PvE & PvP components of the game. It makes you CARE, it makes you EXHILARATED when you play, EVERYTIME, not just THE FIRST TIME YOU ENTER THAT ONE RAID etc, & it makes you WANT to 'win' whatever battles you fight in the game because they have intrinsically TANGIBLE rewards attached to them that actually change something in your & others' gameplay, not just 'candy' rewards that add +stats, +loot/game currencies, or +achievements/pets/mounts/titles/gear appearance options. You get tired of getting those themeparky rewards (the stats/gear/loot/pets/mounts/achievs etc type) after a while - because they don't really matter, don't really change your gameplay meaningfully. You already had tons of pets, mounts, stats, gear, great looks, tons of achievs, what more are these extra ones gonna provide..?? =/
So, what IS a real sandbox then? One that truly makes you want to play & play more, without feeling tired or repetitive usually..?? Well :
~> -PFO- (Pathfinder Online, based on Pathfinder RPG which is the biggest non-D&D tabletop RPG system at the moment, is designed/started by ex-Wizards employees & is THE spiritual successor to old AD&D2 & D&D3.5 basically)(Out in 2015)
~> -SCO/SCz- (Star Citizen Online, one of the biggest KStarter project successes ever and getting bigger by the day)(2015+)
~> -WoD- (World of Darkness Online, also made by CCP Games, not out till 2018+)
~> -EvE- (EvE Online & Valkyrie/Dust-514, of course, made by CCP Games)
~> -MO- (Mortal Online, it's very small, struggling, underdeveloped though =/)
~> -EoC- (Embers of Caerus, near-vaporware for ages to come still =/)
~> -EI- & -??- (..&, Of course, last but not least.. My very own 2 MMO designs.. over a decade in the making ;p)(Not out till 2023+ & 2030+)