Choices in MMOs
stargrace 
I was running out of ideas on what to post this morning (it’s been “one of those” weeks) – and didn’t want to break the three year streak of posting on a daily basis, so thankfully Calthine over on twitter suggested I ‘blog about too many choices in MMOs’. Something I hadn’t really thought of a whole lot.
As much as I love to game (and trust me, I game a lot) there comes a time when I really don’t want to have to think. I don’t want a huge selection of choices on where to go and what to do. Some times I just want to pop into a game and simply play. MMOs are not exactly the type of games that offer this I’ve discovered. If I want that sort of game play (and it doesn’t happen often, but it does happen) I typically pick up a console game. RPGs offer a great selection of ‘follow the story’ where I feel as though I’m progressing, but I don’t have to worry about who I’m playing or what I’m doing.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying I want LESS choice in my MMOs, I certainly don’t. I’m just saying that some times, having that much choice simply doesn’t appeal to me. Some times I have no idea who I want to play. What server I want to play on, whether I want to quest, adventure, mentor, craft, collect shinies, or any other huge selection of things in EQ2. Some days even figuring out what game to play is a chore in itself. It’s nice that there are SO many games out there, and so much selection, but in times of confusion, or when all you want is something comforting, it can create a headache.
Am I the only person who gets like this? Do we develop gaming ‘habits’ where we log into our favorite MMO with no indication of what to do and simply sit around and log off a few hours later having done nothing ‘productive’ at all out of habit? If I logged into a PC game or a console game I know with a pretty clear mind what I’m going to be doing in any particular game. Again I’m not saying it’s bad, but it makes me think even more about the different types of gaming out there, and how a lot of us are simply not satisfied with one method.
I have no idea if this is what Calthine had in mind when she offered the suggestion, but at least I got a post out of it today (grins). Happy gaming no matter where you find yourself, and I’ll see you in Norrath.