I’ve been informed that I have missed a couple of MMORPG’s, and they happen to be ones I can express an opinion about.
Star Wars Galaxies: I was in the beta for SWG thanks to the generosity of a fan with an extra account. I very much enjoyed the game, aside from the fact that the beta test was very laggy. I experienced frequent disconnects, and poor latency conditions, which as you might imagine, made really sitting down and getting involved with the game rather difficult. It’s hard to immerse yourself when you’re being booted every ten minutes.
The beta experience turned me off of the game’s launch initially, but earlier this year I did go pick it up and start playing, giving the game a second chance since it had had some time to mature. I did enjoy it for a short while, but eventually my interest waned.
I was (and still am) impressed with the amount of roleplay potential they give you with the game, via all of the many emotes, and things as simple as being able to sit in chairs, change clothing styles, own houses, decorate said houses, etc. When I was playing SWG, I was roleplaying (on the unofficial RP server) and I was in-character 80% of the time. Unfortunately, all of the roleplay potential in the world is worth squat when there is no one to roleplay with, and I found the game, in most instances, fairly devoid of fellow player occupancy.
I haven’t and probably never will play Jump to Lightspeed, but from what I’ve heard, it’s a step in the right direction, but ultimately more monotany.
Q: Have you played it?
A: Yes, played it quite a bit on multiple occasions.
Q: Do you play it, and what’s your character name?
A: Nah, there are bigger and better things out. Even the Star Wars name isn’t enough to hold me to this one.
Q: How come you don’t do [more] comics about it?
A: I did a series of comics about it when the game was new and hot. It’s a bit stale now. There is plenty of other material to use.
Guild Wars: I first experienced Guild Wars during the E3 for Everyone event early this year, the short weekend trial period they gave us to play a very early build of the game. I did a couple of comics on the game, and was approached by the creators of the game who very much enjoyed my comments and comics on GW. They offered me a slot in the Alpha test early summer, which I jumped on.
During the time that I played in the Alpha test, the game was still very much under construction, and while there was some gameplay to be had, most of when we were doing was actual testing, as they added new content to the game. Most (90%) of people clamor over beta tests because they think it’s a chance to try out a game before everyone else. They don’t even bother actually assisting with the beta testing process. With an alpha test, you don’t have any other choice than to test, retest, bug report, bug duplicate, etc, because the gameplay in the alpha stage is fragile at best. That’s why the general public aren’t usually allowed into Alpha tests.
I found Guild Wars to be a nice change of pace from the normal MMORPG. They had really cool objective based missions, some fun solo quests, and really pretty, glowy graphics. And I’m absolutely positive that the absence of a monthly fee is going to be a draw for a lot of people.
Q: Have you played it?
A: Not since the early Alpha builds. I’m sure the game has advanced a whole lot since I played, enough so that I think it’s safe to say that I have no actually played Guild Wars.
Q: Do you play it, and what’s your character name?
A: The game isn’t even scheduled for release until next year, but I’m sure I’ll give it a play at some point after release.
Q: How come you don’t do [more] comics about it?
A: It probably won’t happen until the game is out in stores, and even then only if inspiration strikes.