MMORPG Project: Gamers Wanted

[Z-MANA]

Hello,

I've been browsing through the forum and didn’t see anything wrong with posting this, if there is then remove it moderators!

I'm currently gathering data for my thesis. I’m using an online questionnaire to explore MMORPGs. If anyone has any free time could you please fill it in? It's confidential and it’s exploring the psychosocial effects of online game playing.

I want as many participants as possible. So your participation would be greatly appreciated.

The link below provides you with more details about my project;

http://ess.ntu.ac.uk/surveys/zhussain.htm


Here is the link to the questionnaire;

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=yfZy7a7cTXqznydfN9iqmQ_3d_3d

Sorry for the shameless plug,

Thank you for your time.

See ya

 

[Z-MANA]

Hey moderators,

Would it be possible for me to post the same "call for participants" like the one above on other stratics off-topic forums?

Please reply.

 

[Z-MANA]

Hi there,

I should have mentioned that it is important that you read the information in the first link above if you want to know more about me and my project. Basically, I think MMORPGs are cool and I would like to study them. That's what it kind of says.

 

[Z-MANA]

I still need loads of gamers to take part. Especially OU players. I think OU is the first MMORPG to ever be made, or is it Anarchy Online? Does anyone know the answers?

 

[Aran]

UO. Ultima Online.

And no, AO came several years later. UO was the first successful graphical MMORPG (Someone's going to chime in with Meridian. Tough ****, nobody remembers it but the nerdiest of nerds, and it wasn't that successful)

 

[Z-MANA]

So UO was the first graphical MMORPG but what year was it released. What year was Anarchy Online released? And what year was Meridian released?

 

[Farsight]

Meridian 59: Sept '96
UO: October '97
Everquest: March '99
Anarchy Online: June '01
Lineage: '98
WoW: Nov '04

 

[Z-MANA]

Thanks for the list of MMORPG releases. Looking at the list it is interesting to see that it took 8 years for a MMORPG (WoW) to be released which obtained so much popularity and hype. And also it gained a huge stake in the MMORPG market (more than 50%).

It just makes you wonder why and how WoW became so popular! Any answers to this?

 

[Farsight]

1. When UO started, it started with only a few 10's of thousands of subscribers (you'll have to google the exact number, I'm too lazy today) Back then, that was a massive amount of numbers and completely dwarfed any expectations.

Since then, each successive successful MMORPG was a little bit more popular, so people today say UO's approximately 100k subscriptions is a complete failure.

2. WoW was created after the immensely successful Warcraft series, which gave it a larger audience, namely the MMO fans and the Warcraft fans.

3. Blizzard has a history of making entertaining games, and since their reputation is for good games, they couldn't really go wrong.

4. They delivered in the great majority of their pre-production promises.

5. They have constantly advertised their product through TV ads, internet ads and magazine ads, and through that exposure have increased their popularity.

It may interest you for your research to look into the Blizzard business model and compare it to say... EA's and see what the differences are.

 

[Aran]

Don't forget that WoW is bland, generic, and unoffensive enough for just about everyone and their grandmother to play.

 

[Z-MANA]

Hey,

It's interesting how Blizzard used many different channels for advertising. WoW may well be unoffensive enough for just about everyone and their grandmother to play. But bland, I don't think it is bland.

An examination of Blizzard's business model would be interesting. I don't think Blizzard has much of a history. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Is it true that most of Blizzards game developers are ex EQ developers?

 

[Aran]

It's bland.

And...are you as new to video games as you are to MMOs?

 

[Z-MANA]

It's bland.

And...are you as new to video games as you are to MMOs?

WoW rocks, The Lich King rocks dude. I've been playing MMORPGs for almost 2 years. I've been playing video games for more than 10 years.

How long have you been playing dude?

 

[Kiminality]

WoW rocks, The Lich King rocks dude. I've been playing MMORPGs for almost 2 years. I've been playing video games for more than 10 years.

How long have you been playing dude?

Oh, no you didn't...

Not only is that unprofessional, but you're going to lose. Ready your comebacks, or your tissues.

Rather than simply disagreeing outright ("It's bland" "It's not bland"), you should investigate the reasons for their assessment.
Then, look at the reasons for your assessment.
Aran: Doesn't like WoW
You: Does like WoW
All you're doing, otherwise, is an internet pissing contest. In which case, I say good day, sir.

(PS. If you're going to claim more gaming experience than another, then you can't turn it around in your favour when someone says something like "8 in MMOs and considerably more in gaming")

 

[Aran]

WoW rocks, The Lich King rocks dude. I've been playing MMORPGs for almost 2 years. I've been playing video games for more than 10 years.

How long have you been playing dude?

My first video game experience (that I can fully remember, at least) was Buck Rogers, on an IBM PC back in 1989. It was a cassette game. From there, I moved on to the Atari, then the NES, Sega Genesis, SNES, Game Gear, Game Boy, upgraded to a "top of the line" Compaq in '99 when we first got our home internet connection (Up until then all my internet experience was at the library, school, or a friend's house). I also own an N64, PS2, PS3, Wii, GameCube, XBox360, two Nintendo DS (One's a Lite), and I custom build my own gaming rigs now.

Feb of 2000 I picked up a copy of Ultima Online, which I had heard so much about online. I'm currently at three accounts.

Between then and now I've tried many, many MMOs; Dark Age of Camelot, Redmoon Online, Anarchy Online, Everquest, Asheron's Call, EVE Online, Final Fantasy XI, Majestic: The Game, Tabula Rasa, Toontown Online (Actually, I was in the beta for it, lol), World of Warcraft, and crap, I can't think of the others but there are definitely more.

I've beta tested my fair share (and more) of the above, too. I was in the beta for both UO Third Dawn and Kingdom Reborn, Toontown as I mentioned, Tabula Rasa, etc.


World of Warcraft was, is, and ever shall be, a generic cesspit of idiocy that any half-wit frat boy can log into and pretend to not be a pathetic lush riding on daddy's coattails long into his late-20s without having to invest a single brain cell to play.

 

[Farsight]

An examination of Blizzard's business model would be interesting. I don't think Blizzard has much of a history. Correct me if I'm wrong.

You're wrong. More than 16 years in the gaming industry is a very long time indeed.

And if you are gathering data for a thesis, I'll leave it to you to actually go out and gather the data. The histories of the companies involved is probably important to your thesis.

 

[Aran]

I don't see this guy graduating in the near future.

 

[Z-MANA]

My first video game experience (that I can fully remember, at least) was Buck Rogers, on an IBM PC back in 1989. It was a cassette game. From there, I moved on to the Atari, then the NES, Sega Genesis, SNES, Game Gear, Game Boy, upgraded to a "top of the line" Compaq in '99 when we first got our home internet connection (Up until then all my internet experience was at the library, school, or a friend's house). I also own an N64, PS2, PS3, Wii, GameCube, XBox360, two Nintendo DS (One's a Lite), and I custom build my own gaming rigs now.

Feb of 2000 I picked up a copy of Ultima Online, which I had heard so much about online. I'm currently at three accounts.

Between then and now I've tried many, many MMOs; Dark Age of Camelot, Redmoon Online, Anarchy Online, Everquest, Asheron's Call, EVE Online, Final Fantasy XI, Majestic: The Game, Tabula Rasa, Toontown Online (Actually, I was in the beta for it, lol), World of Warcraft, and crap, I can't think of the others but there are definitely more.

I've beta tested my fair share (and more) of the above, too. I was in the beta for both UO Third Dawn and Kingdom Reborn, Toontown as I mentioned, Tabula Rasa, etc.


World of Warcraft was, is, and ever shall be, a generic cesspit of idiocy that any half-wit frat boy can log into and pretend to not be a pathetic lush riding on daddy's coattails long into his late-20s without having to invest a single brain cell to play.

Aran, you are one of the most experienced gamers I have ever conversed with. You must be the Daddy at Gaming competitions. Have you ever won big prizes at games competitions?

Have you ever worked as a games developer?

 

[Aran]

I'm not at liberty to discuss the specifics of my past.

 

[Mishkam]

why's that Aran... the priest promise you a candy bar to keep quiet?

 

[Z-MANA]

I'm not at liberty to discuss the specifics of my past.

You don't have to tell me everything dude. Go on tell me something, are you the Gaming Daddy?

 

[Kahlan_FHP]

World of Warcraft was, is, and ever shall be, a generic cesspit of idiocy that any half-wit frat boy can log into and pretend to not be a pathetic lush riding on daddy's coattails long into his late-20s without having to invest a single brain cell to play.

Someone got picked on in college, or had his g/f stolen from him. LOL! Or he's just a typical stereotyping piece of garbage.

 

[Z-MANA]

Someone got picked on in college, or had his g/f stolen from him. LOL! Or he's just a typical stereotyping piece of garbage.

Lol, that's harsh.

 

[Aran]

World of Warcraft was, is, and ever shall be, a generic cesspit of idiocy that any half-wit frat boy can log into and pretend to not be a pathetic lush riding on daddy's coattails long into his late-20s without having to invest a single brain cell to play.

Someone got picked on in college, or had his g/f stolen from him. LOL! Or he's just a typical stereotyping piece of garbage.

Nah, I barely talk to anyone here (just getting my degree and moving on, no need to make friends with the yokels I run in to), my fiancee and I have been together since before we went to college, and as soon as you can show me someone in a fraternity, at least here at IUP, who doesn't fit the stereotype, I'll happily cling to it.

 

[Z-MANA]

Nah, I barely talk to anyone here (just getting my degree and moving on, no need to make friends with the yokels I run in to), my fiancee and I have been together since before we went to college, and as soon as you can show me someone in a fraternity, at least here at IUP, who doesn't fit the stereotype, I'll happily cling to it.

Great come back Aran, good to hear that your studying for a degree. And you didn't get picked on in college. Dude, your a good guy!

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

Nah, I barely talk to anyone here (just getting my degree and moving on, no need to make friends with the yokels I run in to), my fiancee and I have been together since before we went to college, and as soon as you can show me someone in a fraternity, at least here at IUP, who doesn't fit the stereotype, I'll happily cling to it.

Great come back Aran, good to hear that your studying for a degree. And you didn't get picked on in college. Dude, your a good guy!

you're...la

 

[Z-MANA]

Is he blagging?

One day, there was this lawyer who had just bought a new car, and he was eager to show it off to his colleagues, when all of a sudden an eighteen wheeler came out of nowhere and took off the driver's side door with him standing right there. "NOOO!" he screamed, because he knew that no matter how good a mechanic tried to fix it, it never would be the same. Finally, a cop came by, and the lawyer ran up to him yelling. "MY JAGUAR DOOR WAS JUST RUINED BY SOME FOOLISH DRIVER!!!" he exclaimed.

"Your a lawyer aren't you?" asked the policeman. "Yes, I am, but what does this have to do with my car?!?!" the lawyer asked. "HA! Your lawyers are always so materialistic. All you care about is your possessions. I bet you didn't even notice that your left arm is missing did you?" the cop said. The lawyer looked down at his side and exclaimed "MY ROLEX!"

 

[Z-MANA]

I'm not at liberty to discuss the specifics of my past.

You've discussed parts of you past already!

 

[Z-MANA]

I don't see this guy graduating in the near future.

I'm glad you're not going to be examining me!

 

[Aran]

Me too, Z-MANA. Me too.

 

[Kazumi the Wild]

Nah, I barely talk to anyone here (just getting my degree and moving on, no need to make friends with the yokels I run in to), my fiancee and I have been together since before we went to college, and as soon as you can show me someone in a fraternity, at least here at IUP, who doesn't fit the stereotype, I'll happily cling to it.

I know plenty of upstanding, intelligence, kind gentlemen at a frat at my school (UCSD), but being a gay/allies frat, it probably defies most stereotypes anyway.

That said, stereotypes often have something they are based upon... but rarely, if ever, are they the full truth, and are most commonly based on what is PERCIEVED as most common, not necessarily what is ACTUALLY most common. And it seems a bit odd to me that you'll claim you barely talk to anyone at your university, but can still make a broad, sweeping claim about a sizable subset of students. Perhaps you're a genius at thin-slicing?

Not saying all frats are scholars and gentlemen, but painting a relatively diverse set of people with such broad strokes strikes me as misleading, unfair, and inevitably wrong at least on some scale.

 

[Aran]

You don't have to talk to people to observe them.

 

[Kazumi the Wild]

You don't have to talk to people to observe them.

And what does one who observes some guy who doesn't talk to anybody, doesn't socialize, and generally is standoffish think of that person?

Observation isn't everything. And it doesn't tell you anything about those you don't observe.

 

[Z-MANA]

I need a name for my project/thesis. I was thinking of calling it the "MMOPROJECT". But I think it's too basic. I need something more catchy like the "The Daedalus Project"!

Can anyone think of a good name for my MMORPG Project? Something different and new which stands out. Please post on here or email me your ideas at [email protected]

Thanks in advance.

 

[Bara]

You may want to check out the Daedalus project for inspiration. It has been going on for a long time and has many essays and studys on mmo culture and psychology.

It may even have some studys on the futility of internet based pissing contests.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

For the record; I feel that any mmo which is moderately sucessfull, and makes it's playerbase happy, is a good game. (even if I don't personally like the game)

*hugs

 

[hen]

Call it MONKEYLAND!

 

[Z-MANA]

You may want to check out the Daedalus project for inspiration. It has been going on for a long time and has many essays and studys on mmo culture and psychology.

It may even have some studys on the futility of internet based pissing contests.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

For the record; I feel that any mmo which is moderately sucessfull, and makes it's playerbase happy, is a good game. (even if I don't personally like the game)

*hugs

Thanks for the advice. Do you have any good suggestions for a title?