In this setting, I think adventure includes fear of combat. If there were no combat, would it be an adventure? So does that make combat more important than adventure? or adventure inclusive of combat.
I think going out, knowing the areas travelling through are frought with peril and new things is by definition an adventure. In this venue I think Jump-scares are ok, since you could absent mindedly run into something you shouldn't, or not know something is there that you haven't learned to be wary of, yet. There is heightened anticipation of combat when you intentionally head into a dungeon for the purpose of a quest or adventure
Combat, you can find anywhere. Adventure, you have to seek.
Manouk said:In this setting, I think adventure includes fear of combat. If there were no combat, would it be an adventure? So does that make combat more important than adventure? or adventure inclusive of combat.
Leevolen said:Manouk said: In this setting, I think adventure includes fear of combat. If there were no combat, would it be an adventure? So does that make combat more important than adventure? or adventure inclusive of combat.
Agreed. A few virtual examples do come to mind, but none that fall in the MMORPG category.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myst
"Apart from its predominantly nonverbal storytelling,[3] Myst's gameplay is unusual among adventuring computer games in several ways. The player is provided with very little backstory at the beginning of the game, and no obvious goals or objectives are laid out. This means that players must simply begin to explore. There are no obvious enemies, no physical violence, no time limit to complete the game, and no threat of dying at any point.[2] The game unfolds at its own pace and is solved through a combination of patience, observation, and logical thinking.[3]"
It's interesting that you bring up Myst in this context. I loved the original Myst and played it fanatically for about a month until I beat it. I remember specifically that in the beginning, it took me a fair while to stop being nervous that something dangerous might be around the next corner or inside the next door I opened :)
While I agree with the common definition that 'Adventure' typically includes danger or some risk, I certainly felt that I had been on an adventure when it was over.
Will it really feel adventurous if there is no combat? Will combat be any fun if there is no adventure? I guess I'm gonna go with 50/50. ... unless VR finds another source of danger other than combat that makes adventuring without combat 'adventurous' :) Exploring in the depths of an ocean could feel quite adventurous if there is real danger to be there, or up high in some mountain range, ... or rock climbing. I guess for me the key to adventure is that it has to have some element of danger; in an MMO the most common form of danger is the chance of death. If there was a way to add a few other elements of danger then maybe combat would not need to be the main focus all the time.
Adventure. While combat can be fun, no one's ever going to find better combat in an MMO than in a single-player RPG, action-RPG, or fighting game. But what those things (other than the RPGs) lack is the sense of adventure, and even the single player ones lack that in a persistent world.
Interesting combat, combat where you can perform team attacks (think Chrono Trigger Dual-Techs with party members or Star Ocean 2 where the team attack activates if the second character activates their ability within that window of the first player doing theirs - why more MMO's don't do this, I don't know, since TEAM is kind of the name of the game in MMO) and having some nuanced combat systems and such are fine. Great, even.
But I tend not to play MMOs for the combat. I love the exploration, dungeon diving, meeting people to see the world with, etc: The adventure.
Jothany said:Leevolen said:Manouk said: In this setting, I think adventure includes fear of combat. If there were no combat, would it be an adventure? So does that make combat more important than adventure? or adventure inclusive of combat.
Agreed. A few virtual examples do come to mind, but none that fall in the MMORPG category.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myst
"Apart from its predominantly nonverbal storytelling,[3] Myst's gameplay is unusual among adventuring computer games in several ways. The player is provided with very little backstory at the beginning of the game, and no obvious goals or objectives are laid out. This means that players must simply begin to explore. There are no obvious enemies, no physical violence, no time limit to complete the game, and no threat of dying at any point.[2] The game unfolds at its own pace and is solved through a combination of patience, observation, and logical thinking.[3]"It's interesting that you bring up Myst in this context. I loved the original Myst and played it fanatically for about a month until I beat it. I remember specifically that in the beginning, it took me a fair while to stop being nervous that something dangerous might be around the next corner or inside the next door I opened :)
While I agree with the common definition that 'Adventure' typically includes danger or some risk, I certainly felt that I had been on an adventure when it was over.
There is no combat without story, as you would not have a purpose or a motivation. You are always pitted against something, good vs. evil human vs. insects or monsters, zombies, etc.
If it was not the premise of adventure in World that provides the props, there would be no motivation for combat. So, it's both Adverture first followed by combat, otherwise games would have not evovled past Pong.
Neither really, I'm usually playing a game for what it's weighted towards. For Pantheon, combat is a part of the overall adventure the way I see it. I'll be smashing rocks, trees, and lore in equal measure as well as beasties. In games like Vermintide 2 however, I feel like the adventure aspects helps to add to the predominant combat.
A story that matters and makes sense, that includes adventure and combat intertwined inside the lore of the game. Becoming part of the world and helping NPC's with meaningful tasks that give you a sense of accomplishment. Especially when people group together to accomplish the same goals and objectives. Felling that sense of accomplishment when a piece of gear drops, or being able to finish that quest that took a while.
Looking back on my most beloved in-game moments from MMOs past... adventuring! Combat is important, but a game that is just "combat" is Call of Duty. The adventure is what sets MMOs apart and brings the RPG into MMORPG. I go out into the world to adventure! I get loot and prestige on the world from adventures I complete. Combat is a necessary part of adventure to defeat the great evils in the world and gain the great loots, but it is the adventure that brings me there and the adventure that I remember. Looking at The Hobbit book, combat sealed an exiting adventure and yielded the great Mithril armor and Elvish weapons and gold and rubies, but the adventure was what was written down and remembered and the whole reason for leaving the shire in the first place.