Why is the goal handed down from on high? I don’t think even this break from reality is true in an MMO.
If we mean that the game is telling you what to do, what you have are various NPC questgivers (employers) who are hiring heroes (players) for various jobs and offering various rewards. Then each group of players (guild, group, etc) decides together which of these jobs they want to accept. Alternatively, there are places you can go with things to be accomplished. This isn’t that different from freelance work.
Even when there is a central overriding goal, you are still free to ignore it and set your own goals.
If we mean that the guild is handing down the goal from on high, well, that’s highly realistic: Your boss is telling his workers what to do. You don’t like it, choose new leadership or quit.
I mean that your goals are extremely concrete, and their value is extremely concrete. “Kill this many boars and you will gain this many experience points.” “Earn this many experience points and you will gain a level.”
My conception of the real world is that goals tend to be vague (“figure out and fulfill my own utility function”) and subgoals tend to be unpredictable (will keeping a diary help? A food diary? research on the internet? Spending time with friends? What balance between “figure out” and “fulfill”?)
It is true that the system is MORE liquid than in most single player RPGs, where it is not uncommon to encounter a narrator saying something like “monsters are everywhere! Our hero sets out to defeat them all!” Which is on a bit of a different level.
Why is the goal handed down from on high? I don’t think even this break from reality is true in an MMO.
If we mean that the game is telling you what to do, what you have are various NPC questgivers (employers) who are hiring heroes (players) for various jobs and offering various rewards. Then each group of players (guild, group, etc) decides together which of these jobs they want to accept. Alternatively, there are places you can go with things to be accomplished. This isn’t that different from freelance work.
Even when there is a central overriding goal, you are still free to ignore it and set your own goals.
If we mean that the guild is handing down the goal from on high, well, that’s highly realistic: Your boss is telling his workers what to do. You don’t like it, choose new leadership or quit.
I mean that your goals are extremely concrete, and their value is extremely concrete. “Kill this many boars and you will gain this many experience points.” “Earn this many experience points and you will gain a level.”
My conception of the real world is that goals tend to be vague (“figure out and fulfill my own utility function”) and subgoals tend to be unpredictable (will keeping a diary help? A food diary? research on the internet? Spending time with friends? What balance between “figure out” and “fulfill”?)
It is true that the system is MORE liquid than in most single player RPGs, where it is not uncommon to encounter a narrator saying something like “monsters are everywhere! Our hero sets out to defeat them all!” Which is on a bit of a different level.