Musings and Stuff.
Random thoughts and musings.

So, another day, another blog. This time, it will focus on something that has been nagging me for a long while, but which I haven't put into words yet. This is an attitude that is growing more open in recent times, but has been there for a long while in "disguise" so to say, or rather, not as vocal as it is now.

I am talking about the people who think themselves better "gamers" or even better "people" because they like a different kind of game. Yes, you guessed it right,a bunch of the DF Gang (particularly the ones posting here, many of them at least) fall into this category, but they are not the only ones. I noticed this behaviour as well in my time in EVE Online, though, as I said, these people are not as vocal outside their own game.

Now, let me specify for a moment, what I mean here.

I am not talking about the "my game is better than your game" discussion which is silly in itself. No, I am talking about the people who actually -believe- that their taste and their desires for games are more important and also, more valid than anyone elses. I am talking about people who claim that only -THEY_ know what a good game actually is. People who are so deluded with their elitism that they seem to have forgotten that it is games we are talking about and that the one thing that defines a -GOOD- game is that it is FUN for the one playing it.

So, these days, the DF Fans come out and denounce every game out there and as if that were not silly enough, they also denounce the players of said games. They throw around phrases like "people playing WoW would not recognize a good game if it bit them", "we are the people who know how good games should look like" (obviously not quoted by the letter). And even if someone replies to that effect, telling them that they are welcome to play their game while others will play others, they reply with scathing remarks and silly little jibes.

So, why? What makes these people believe they are so superior to us? Yes, i count myself as one of the denounced side, because unlike others, I've had fun in other games and I consider them good games for that. I've had fun in (*gasp*) WoW, I've had fun in EVE, I've had fun back in DAoC and even had fun back in UO (the little while I played). So basically, all these games have been good games, since they served their purpose (in my case) well. They let me have fun and let me enjoy the gaming experience. But according to some people, that is wrong. It is -wrong- because....well, because they say so.

I enjoy diversity in games. And I know that diversity is something the MMO Market greatly needs right now. It needs a game like DF to succeed so other companies can learn from it and can adapt. The hundreds of basically same games with a different skin slapped on are already somewhat stale and that is why I wish games like DF, Earthrise and Fallen Earth and the like all the best. I hope to see them take off and succeed enough to be considered a financial success, so that larger companies will take a bite out of that and learn from them.

However that doesn't mean that i think they are the only way to go. I do not think they are the only truly, good games. They will be (/hopefully) good games, but they will serve their purpose while other games, such as WoW, WAR and the like will serve theirs. And if you are too narrowminded to accept that there's more than one "good" kind of game out there, then you should really take a step back and ponder if you are taking this all too seriously.

These are games. They are here to entertain us. Just because someone enjoys something you don't doesn't make them a less worthy person. I like classical music, other people my age joke about it because it's not exactly typical for a person my age, but I like it and I consider it truly -good- music unlike a lot of the stuff in the charts these days. Does that mean I thrash every other music because it is not composed by a genius from Austria? No, I can enjoy other music, too.

I repeat, we are talking about games. Your taste in games is not "better" than anyone elses, just different. There are measureable things in games, to measure how "good" they are. These are things like the absence of bugs, the polish of the game, the fluidness of animations etc.. This can be measured and a game with great ideas but poor execution will be a -bad- game.

But that's not what most of the people these days talk about, is it?

I have better taste than you....because I play a game with different features. Come on...who does NOT realize how silly that sounds?

So, this weekend has brought us all something many did not expect, others prayed for and still others were certain would be ground-breaking. A new sort of life-sign from Darkfall, a large, HD Video, taken, as stated, 100% in game with Developers behind the controls of the characters seen.

And now, the Forums have been in an uproar all the last two days. Threads have been started about the same topics numerous times, and the praise for the game has, in some cases, gone far beyond the realm of the appropriate, as has the oftentimes ludicrous counter-wave to said claims. It's an all out fanboi-vs-hater war all right, with everything such a war needs and....boy doesn't this sound familiar?

With little to nothing as proof, people claim this game will be awesome. Those same people claim it will be a game that people like me (unimaginative, lazy people with no taste whatsoever) will never be able to play, because it takes so much more skill than any other game out there. They proclaim that their game is much better than any other (even though not they nor anyone else have ever played it so far), their tastes are better and they are the only ones whose opinion counts in this matter. The zealousness with which this game is being hyped is astounding to say the least.

In part, I can understand that. DF promises to be what many many "veteran" gamers have been looking for for a long long time. It promises to be a huge world where the player is the one shaping the world with unparalleled freedom and by the strength of his/her skill alone. It's appealing, it is promising...

It is also much too early to say anything apart from: "This looks promising." followed by "Let's see how it actually turns out."

Of course, people do not like to hear that. Some of them anyway. The merest notion that something could be wrong with the game is summarily dismissed by some. Some claim that even masses of bugs would not make this game bad, simply because of the concept behind it. But mostly, the people place their full faith in the Developers to "do things right", despite having no evidence that they are doing so in many cases.

So, Darkfall is a new hope for many people. It is a "beacon" of hope for those who enjoy sandbox, and sandbox only. It promises to deliver what the market may very well need. A breath of fresh air. If it can live up to the promises, it might just make other companies see and might just cause changes in titles yet to come. We can hope for that. I hope for that.

The Hype that is now starting to surround this game is growing and growing and with it come all the hallmarks of over-hype. I caution everyone to fall into the same trap that many (myself included) have fallen for in the days gone. Until I am play-testing the finished, polished game for free, I will remain a skeptic and continue to point out possible problems with the game. And there are possible problems. Even if people don't want to see them or gloss them over with the best and final argument of the DF Crowd "Gameplay is everything".

Until the game has delivered on all of its promises (or at least, most of them), it remains just that.

A Hope.