The 3rd kind of player…

I played Everquest2 from early internal Beta (friends and family). I had read every word from the developers, for two years leading up to being invited.

When they finally lifted the NDA on October 17, 2004, I decided to share my feelings about beta over at Druids Grove. I had always read their site, and being a druid in EQ and other games…well that was a comfortable place to post.

I liked the moderator Ladred. He was always kind, insightful, and respectful – even if he disagreed.

I had no desire to start a debate, which is why I avoided posting at the official boards, IGN, Alla’s etc. I was just sort of sharing my thoughts with a few of my druid friends.

You can read >> The original post at Druids Grove…

I wrote what I thought were the strengths, and weaknesses of the game, at that time in Beta. What I did not expect..was that it would get 30,000 hits in the first day, nor that it would end up with over 100k hits and 24 pages of replies.

At post 54 (somewhere in page 4) I started a conversation with one of the members about:

“The 3rd Kind of Player.”

The problem in the MMORPG development community right now is they see players in TWO groups, when in essence they are really in THREE.

Let me see if I can explain what I mean:

The game developers as a whole (not just SOE) have sort of lumped us into two camps.

1. The Uber raiding player
2. The Casual Player.

I propose that indeed there are really three kinds:

1. The Uber raiding player. (most won’t like EQ2, and SOE has said as much)
2. The casual player (what they are designing EQ2 & WoW for right now)
3. The non-raiding player (thats my friends and I)

Ok so what exactly is this non-raiding player you might ask?

Simply put, non-raiding players are anything BUT casual.

They are just as competitive. They want nice gear. They love to do long involved quests like epics. They like to group with their friends and tackle amazing feats.

They just don’t like the ‘zerg’ mentality. But they want challenge. They want rewards. They want levels..and they want to build their characters to be unique.

Many have played MMORPG’s for longer than most, and have tired of the uber raids. They want games that are MORE advanced. More challenging.

They have made long term gaming friends by now, and just want to go hang with their play group and hunt..

The thread went on for many days….

I continued to point out, that if you play for 30–40 hours per week, by definition… you are not ‘casual’.

“No one is actually developing a game for very experienced players that just want something different and more challenging.

Until they recognize that there is a ‘THIRD KIND of player” beyond Raiding and Casual then I doubt there will be a game that satisfies us.”

—Morninglark 2004

The interesting things is…four years later, and the game developers have not figured it out.

Everquest2 has made enormous changes, and improvements. I love the housing and tradeskills. There are tons of solo quests, but sadly the challenge and magic that is EQ1, well it’s still missing.

Vanguard might have done it, but the game is so un-playable and buggy that it’s no fun to log on. I really can’t be sure, even though I have played it since early ALPHA.

WoW almost did it — in some respects — then dropped the ball. It’s friendly to casual player, but honestly; it’s not the level of challenge a long time MMO player would want. It’s more for players new to the MMO world. (but the dances in the game rock!)

I want a real Everquest-two. A new improved one. A new world to explore, with harder quests, and next generation tools. (I don’t want the dumbed-down content they are giving us today. ) I want a real dungeon crawl — Not an instance! I want trains, and groups, and contested spawns.

I want a death penalty, that makes me think twice before venturing out without a group. It should STING!

Most of all, I want it to have long term goals. CHALLENGE!

Dear Designers,

Please give us some challenge!

Sincerely,

The third kind of player

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