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TTL
I've been giving this whole thing some thought... For years, people have been begging for "anti-drama" changes to the game; yet, the more "anti-drama" measures get added to the game, the more boring it becomes. I mean, look at it now: Compared to the drama-intensive "yesteryears", TSO is a bland, sterile AFK-fest.
I say, bring back the drama! It was the drama - good or bad - that kept conversations going and incited actual passion within the game! To hell with all this sterility! Bring back the balloons and the tagging, and give us an unlimited number of them! Bring back the auto-accepted interactions! Bring back the things that actually helped make this game fun!
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Drama is why most of us go to the movies, or watch TV, or read books. It provides flavor to life. I am never against drama in game, per se.
Tagging I am against, because it was usually performed by hit-and-run griefers. Some players were devastated by getting red links. That was not healthy for the game community. As for me, I found it to be annoying, the same way I find swarms of mosquitos at sunset annoying, or dog farts. It was an obstacle to my game enjoyment, and got in the way. I'd arrive at a house and bam, some idiotic kid would be throwing a glove at me.
We have a mix of ages in this game. I'm not adolescent, and I admit I find the testosterone driven antics of many adolescents in game to be not only annoying, but maddening. I know that my game play, where I have goals of skilling and making money, and visiting with friends, is boring for the younger crowd. We need to co-exist if this game is going to be enjoyable for a wide audience.
One group cannot impose drama on an unwilling group and think the game will be the better for it.
I agree that the game can use more drama, more flavor, more depth. I disagree that this should come from griefing or the manipulation of player against player. It is easy to look to player dynamics, because we are accustomed to the game being passive -- we watch our sims skill, we watch our sims craft, we watch our sims use objects. Player to player interactions are about the only non-passive activity we have in this game.
I believe what is added is not player-against-player, but game activities that allow us to be actively engaged in the dynamics of playing. The more choices we have in pursuing goals, the more paths we have to follow in achieving results, the more fun there will be in the game.