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Solo in the MMO World

Discussion in 'Game/SP News & Comments' started by chevalier, Sep 19, 2009.

  1. chevalier

    chevalier Knight of Everfull Chalice ★ SPS Account Holder Veteran

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    Remove all ads!
    [​IMG]BioWare's Damion Schubert, member of dev team for The Old Republic, has been dissecting the solo crowd within the MMO crowd, while offering sample suggestions on how to cater to those categories of players. So there is the sociopath, the noob, the refugee from a broken-up guild, the commitment-phobic and all of them have specific needs and specific reasons to play solo, willingly or not. Various comparisons to real-life situations round off the picture. Here's a snip:

    Designers also need to take into account the casual people on the fence, those who want to be "part of the club" but are afraid they don't have the chops. Schubert said people want to be the key role in a big team effort, but are terrified of being the weak link (the Bill Buckner of the raid, as he put it). To address that issue, Schubert said developers can ensure that casual players can compete with and get into the same recruiting pool as the hardcore players. The gap between the best of the best players and the casual ones should be "not nothing, but reasonable," Schubert said. Newbie-accessible roles (like cannon fodder, basically) that still provide value for the team are another way around the problem, he said.

    Read the rest at GameSpot.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 19, 2015
    chevalier, Sep 19, 2009
    #1
  2. Merlanni

    Merlanni Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!)

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    Interesting. I played Guild Wars. For the most part Solo, some parts with a team. I never got a guild most likely due to being a bit commitment-phobic and a loner. I liked Guild wars but left it after a few months. I went back two years later to play again with two expansions and got the kick out of it solo.

    I got stuck for not being able to join a group on places that needed good teamwork. After waiting for an hour to join a group, I left for good.
     
    Merlanni, Sep 19, 2009
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  3. WCG Gems: 1/31
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    I like to solo because I like to explore and discover things on my own. That's more fun for me than the combat - and certainly more fun than having everything explained and/or given to me! And I like to play when I want, not when I must.

    But I haven't played an MMO for awhile, because it was hard to play solo on the ones I tried. I'd either get attacked by gangs of 12-year-olds looking for newbies to kill, or I'd find that the game just wasn't set up for solo play.

    Well, I understand that solo play isn't the point in these games. But if they made them solo-friendly, for players like me, they might find it worthwhile.
     
    WCG, Sep 20, 2009
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