TOPIC: The evolution of communities in the past 20 years
The main aspect of MMORPG is its community. Players from all over the world, from all paths of life, from various cultures, philosophies and sexual orientations. A vast sample of humanity gathered in the laboratory of virtual worlds.
While the social aspect of MMORPG still exists as a core pillar of its foundation, the situations have evolved. Over those last twenty years the community has grown, changed. And mostly the way the community interacts today is different.
At the beginning, communities where created within the games themselves. Players gathered in guilds to thrive and overcome the challenges they faced in the games. Players organized themselves via the official forums or their guild headquarters and sometimes used voice chat software, such as Teamspeak or Ventrilo.
World of Warcraft widened accessibility of the genre to a larger public. Games become more complex yet easier to get in the hands of players. Features that created frustration were replaced by quality of life systems that taught players to be assisted at best, and lazy or entitled at worst. Things started to become more fast paced, for smaller playing sessions or quick binges over a few days, the content created to last months instead of years.
Somehow, MMORPGs lost their way. At least for a while. The community started to feel something amiss. Guilds structures sometimes feel obsolete. Most MMORPG can be played alone with extraordinarily few interactions with other human beings. Players are striving for more social interaction, for more meaningful playing sessions. But they seem to have forgotten how to make friends. Many speak with nostalgia of the good ol' time "back in my days..."
But something is important to note that as the community grew, as the MMORPG industry evolved, the internet changed. Youtube, Justin TV (then Twitch), Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and beyond.
The way players communicate and the way players bond with each other has changed. Now it happens more often outside of a game, on a Discord server, on Twitter, or on the Twitch channel of a streamer. Most players are nomads. They rarely settle for a single title for any length of time anymore. They play games for a few short weeks and constantly rotate between them. They hop from one game to the next, following the latest trend, following communities where they are heading. For this reason, platforms or systems that allows flexibility, diversity and inclusivity are striving.
And you? What is your experience with communities? How have you experienced the metamorphosis the gaming community went through? What are you hoping for in future?
MY OPINION
The MMORPG world is different today than it was in the early 2000s. Yet the situation is not as grim as it can seem to be. Communities do exist. Players still enjoy playing with each other. Some things never change. However, the way players socialize is definitively different.
If you really dislike the use of social media, Discord, or hanging out on a stream, then be that one person that initiate a guilds, a community, working in the old school way. I promise you that you will find the persons you are looking for if you just make the effort to find them or create a place for them.
There is space on the internet for all kind of people, for all kind of moods, for all kind of structure. If you do not find what you want, then create it! Some people will thank you for it!!
The main aspect of MMORPG is its community. Players from all over the world, from all paths of life, from various cultures, philosophies and sexual orientations. A vast sample of humanity gathered in the laboratory of virtual worlds.
While the social aspect of MMORPG still exists as a core pillar of its foundation, the situations have evolved. Over those last twenty years the community has grown, changed. And mostly the way the community interacts today is different.
At the beginning, communities where created within the games themselves. Players gathered in guilds to thrive and overcome the challenges they faced in the games. Players organized themselves via the official forums or their guild headquarters and sometimes used voice chat software, such as Teamspeak or Ventrilo.
World of Warcraft widened accessibility of the genre to a larger public. Games become more complex yet easier to get in the hands of players. Features that created frustration were replaced by quality of life systems that taught players to be assisted at best, and lazy or entitled at worst. Things started to become more fast paced, for smaller playing sessions or quick binges over a few days, the content created to last months instead of years.
Somehow, MMORPGs lost their way. At least for a while. The community started to feel something amiss. Guilds structures sometimes feel obsolete. Most MMORPG can be played alone with extraordinarily few interactions with other human beings. Players are striving for more social interaction, for more meaningful playing sessions. But they seem to have forgotten how to make friends. Many speak with nostalgia of the good ol' time "back in my days..."
But something is important to note that as the community grew, as the MMORPG industry evolved, the internet changed. Youtube, Justin TV (then Twitch), Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and beyond.
The way players communicate and the way players bond with each other has changed. Now it happens more often outside of a game, on a Discord server, on Twitter, or on the Twitch channel of a streamer. Most players are nomads. They rarely settle for a single title for any length of time anymore. They play games for a few short weeks and constantly rotate between them. They hop from one game to the next, following the latest trend, following communities where they are heading. For this reason, platforms or systems that allows flexibility, diversity and inclusivity are striving.
And you? What is your experience with communities? How have you experienced the metamorphosis the gaming community went through? What are you hoping for in future?
MY OPINION
The MMORPG world is different today than it was in the early 2000s. Yet the situation is not as grim as it can seem to be. Communities do exist. Players still enjoy playing with each other. Some things never change. However, the way players socialize is definitively different.
If you really dislike the use of social media, Discord, or hanging out on a stream, then be that one person that initiate a guilds, a community, working in the old school way. I promise you that you will find the persons you are looking for if you just make the effort to find them or create a place for them.
There is space on the internet for all kind of people, for all kind of moods, for all kind of structure. If you do not find what you want, then create it! Some people will thank you for it!!
