Building the Sports MMO Genre 52
Kheldon writes to point out an interview with David Chang of GamesCampus about the up-and-coming sports MMO genre. He also talks about their efforts to bring older demographics into gaming. Quoting:
"One of the things about the baseball game in particular that's so great is that there is a leveling component, not just to the team, but also to players. So you're exactly right in terms of the persistence. We want people to not just play a baseball game, but ... to grow their team and their players over time. So, there are things where if you win a game, that's how you gain experience points. If you win against a higher level opponent, you get more experience points; if you bottom feed and you take advantage of lower-level players, you don't get as much, and so on. There are a lot of MMO-type concepts in the game. If you're talking about individual players, if you hit a lot of homeruns, or if you steal a lot of bases, your power or your stealing stat will increase over each season."
I am clearly missing something (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:I am clearly missing something (Score:3, Insightful)
I know sports games are popular, but MMOs require a lot of time and devotion. If you care enough about a sport to play it with others online and devote months or years of your life playing it, why not pick up a ball a play the real thing outside, with friends?
Because playing a sports game is not the same as playing the sport. Many people like sports that in reality they have no physical ability or coordination for.
Re:I am clearly missing something (Score:3, Insightful)
Same reason as with anything: Because you can't. 4'6" and dreaming of pro football? Forget it :)
Hulk-sized and want to be a jockey? Hah! Wheelchair-bound? Steeplechase is not for you.
An online world where you can pick from a number of sports are excellent then. Plus, it might even be A NICE DIVERSION, WHICH IS THE BLOODY REASON PEOPLE PLAY ANY , computer or not!