triptych

I love games, especially RPG's. However I've never really liked multiplayer games – even MMO's give me a kind of competitive vibe that turns me off big time. If a major game comes out that's “only” multiplayer, my interest drops dramatically.

I'm not sure why this is the case, other than what I think happened to me when I was younger. I went to Catholic school as a little kid, and often I would find myself alone during recess. I had friends, sorta, but when it came to playing in games with other kids, I was always the last one picked for the softball game, or the one everyone blasted first in dodge ball, so that the “real kids” could finish playing.

I think because of this, my taste for interacting with others in a competitive way was soured. However, some of the most fulfilling experiences I've had online were when I was in a game that started you out as a clueless newbie, and when you encounter another player, if they want, they can guide you through a set of tasks, and it turns you into a “real” player with skills, magic, etc. And you are forever bound in a positive way to your “mentor” as well as all your “classmates” that go through the process with you. I think it really struck me because it was the first time in an online game that something other than blasting or somehow exploiting someone else was rewarded in a game.

Most mobile games now are about Clash of Clans, PVP in 3 minute doses that give you some kind of enforced ranking. This is so unappealing. I wonder if someone came up with a multiplayer game where you had to somehow help each other, or lift up someone less fortunate than you (another newbie?) how popular it might be.

I know I'd play it.