![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Some random blowing-off of steam
Oct. 28th, 2004 06:14 amY'know, I saw something on TV that reminded me of an annoyance... which reminded me of another, unrelated annoyance.
Now, I'm sure we've all heard that there's going to be a MMORPG based on the Matrix Trilogy. Now, from what I've seen and heard, the game could very well be fun. Y'know what's going to be the best reason not to play it, though?
The other players.
I like the setting of the Matrix. I'd like to jack in and play around with the rules of the world. But the last thing I want to do is attend an online convention of Neo wannabes (or Smith wannabes, since to my understanding you can play a character allied with the Machines). At least, if there had only been the first movie, there'd be a whole three characters that everyone would be ripping off (personally, if I was going to blatantly rip off any of the characters from the trilogy, it'd be Mouse), but because the way the movies went nobody's going to want to play the once-interesting characters that were relegated to Neo's Apostles in Reloaded and Revolutions. The designers' intent to the contrary, everyone's going to want to play Neo.
On the game's website, their official FAQ address the question of "Can I play The One?" and at least once on the forum someone asks if you can play as Neo. The designers' response? In so many words: "Why would you want to play Neo when you can customize your character in so many ways and give him/her unique abilities to excel at life in the Matrix?"
Let me regale you folks with an anecdote. My friend, Sean, was handling character application approval for a World of Darkness MU* at the time the first movie came out. That weekend, he literally received hundreds of applications for trenchcoat and sunglass-wearing Virtual Adept martial artist hackers, not a one of them any different from Neo, Trinity, or Morpheus. Hundreds of characters with names like 'Neon,' 'Geo,' and 'Orpheus.' I'm not kidding. Naturally, he sent them the form letter responses, saying that their character concept 'didn't fit the theme of the MU* at that that time.' Despite that, a year later Virtual Adepts still accounted for 3/4 of the Mage player-characters on that particular game.
These are people capable of describing their characters purely through text and their own imaginations rather than dealing with drop-down menus of clothing and other visual design choices. Players who have about as much freedom as you can have to make your character unique, 'visually.' And they still would rather play Neo rip-offs. Let's face it-- there's no way in hell I'm paying to interact with hundreds of these people on a regular basis.
The other thing that bugs me, and this is completely unrelated, is when people automatically assume that my schedule either conforms to them or that I'm free to make it do so. It isn't anyone on this journal, but there are multiple people whom I'll talk to online for a bit. Then they'll have to go, or whatever, and they'll send me a message like "Log on early tomorrow afternoon so we can hang out online!" or "Give me a call after 4:30pm tomorrow." and then log off immediately afterwards.
Why do these people assume that because I'm generally never around at the times they'd prefer, that I'm capable of restructuring my entire day's schedule just to spend time with them? Seriously. If you've only ever seen me online after 10pm and even then only on weekends, would you assume that I can just squeeze in a few hours' of online roleplaying at 2pm on a Wednesday?
What is it with these people? Do they really think I have that little of a life?
Now, I'm sure we've all heard that there's going to be a MMORPG based on the Matrix Trilogy. Now, from what I've seen and heard, the game could very well be fun. Y'know what's going to be the best reason not to play it, though?
The other players.
I like the setting of the Matrix. I'd like to jack in and play around with the rules of the world. But the last thing I want to do is attend an online convention of Neo wannabes (or Smith wannabes, since to my understanding you can play a character allied with the Machines). At least, if there had only been the first movie, there'd be a whole three characters that everyone would be ripping off (personally, if I was going to blatantly rip off any of the characters from the trilogy, it'd be Mouse), but because the way the movies went nobody's going to want to play the once-interesting characters that were relegated to Neo's Apostles in Reloaded and Revolutions. The designers' intent to the contrary, everyone's going to want to play Neo.
On the game's website, their official FAQ address the question of "Can I play The One?" and at least once on the forum someone asks if you can play as Neo. The designers' response? In so many words: "Why would you want to play Neo when you can customize your character in so many ways and give him/her unique abilities to excel at life in the Matrix?"
Let me regale you folks with an anecdote. My friend, Sean, was handling character application approval for a World of Darkness MU* at the time the first movie came out. That weekend, he literally received hundreds of applications for trenchcoat and sunglass-wearing Virtual Adept martial artist hackers, not a one of them any different from Neo, Trinity, or Morpheus. Hundreds of characters with names like 'Neon,' 'Geo,' and 'Orpheus.' I'm not kidding. Naturally, he sent them the form letter responses, saying that their character concept 'didn't fit the theme of the MU* at that that time.' Despite that, a year later Virtual Adepts still accounted for 3/4 of the Mage player-characters on that particular game.
These are people capable of describing their characters purely through text and their own imaginations rather than dealing with drop-down menus of clothing and other visual design choices. Players who have about as much freedom as you can have to make your character unique, 'visually.' And they still would rather play Neo rip-offs. Let's face it-- there's no way in hell I'm paying to interact with hundreds of these people on a regular basis.
The other thing that bugs me, and this is completely unrelated, is when people automatically assume that my schedule either conforms to them or that I'm free to make it do so. It isn't anyone on this journal, but there are multiple people whom I'll talk to online for a bit. Then they'll have to go, or whatever, and they'll send me a message like "Log on early tomorrow afternoon so we can hang out online!" or "Give me a call after 4:30pm tomorrow." and then log off immediately afterwards.
Why do these people assume that because I'm generally never around at the times they'd prefer, that I'm capable of restructuring my entire day's schedule just to spend time with them? Seriously. If you've only ever seen me online after 10pm and even then only on weekends, would you assume that I can just squeeze in a few hours' of online roleplaying at 2pm on a Wednesday?
What is it with these people? Do they really think I have that little of a life?
