MMORPGs ~are~ Crafting

Back in the fall, after the core of our guild transformed itself into a game development group, Nelg said to me:

“This has replaced my urges to play MMOs”

That struck me. Making a game (mod at the time), was fulfilling the same desires Nelg had pursued thru many hours in WoW, CoH, LOTRO, etc.. Now I wouldn’t be surprised if Nelg had said it replaced crafting within MMOs, because that sounds natural to me. Make something here, make something there; the similarity is obvious.

The more I thought about it though, the more it made sense. In an RPG, you’re crafting a character. Not just when you level up, but as you gain other experiences and tangible assets (IE: gear).

The concept hit home again as I watched friends give up MMOs for Minecraft. We’re not just talking about the value of their time. It’s about comparable experiences, or at least overlapping ones.

I am bound to get back into a large scale RPG again, there are other good reasons to do so. Whether it’s Guild Wars 2, or SWTOR, I don’t know. I will note however: When I was feeling the urges most strongly to jump back in, it was during my downtime on the 4thWall project.