Filed under: Game mechanics, MMO industry, Opinion, Virtual worlds, The Soapbox, Miscellaneous
The war between sandbox and themepark MMOs is being fought now, not just in the hearts and minds of players but in the simple matter of which project is getting funding for development. It's a war in which adherents to one design philosophy loudly decry the other, where both sides sling insults at one another and mourn how the other side has damaged the promise of MMOs or has no idea how to make a compelling gameplay experience. It's a battle of words and of subscription fees.
It's also really, really stupid.
Setting up the MMO sphere as a battle between two opposing design philosophies probably feels like a great chance to explore a two-faction system in real life, but it's also shortchanging not just MMOs but games on both sides of the nonexistent fence. It sells a number of games short, and it adds nothing useful to the genre as a whole. It's time to stop seeing the onling gaming sphere as a match of opposing forces and start seeing it as a varied and frequently awe-inspiring spectrum.
Continue reading The Soapbox: Sandparks
The Soapbox: Sandparks originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 28 Jun 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
