First-day MANDATORY updates. Because its fun to have to wait to play the game you just dropped 60 bucks for or lost 12 hours of sleep waiting to play
An amalgamation of the previously mentioned gripes, but with a few addendums:
!: The M.F. Grind can be fun.
Crazy, I know, but just let me explain. Sometimes I've found myself shutting off my brain and letting my fingers go through the motions, while a decent soundtrack plays in the background. I know its not exactly engaging, but sometimes I don't want to have to constantly be thinking about how to beat the next mob, or how in the blue hell I'm going to survive the next boss.
Sometimes, I really don't want to think -- I just want lots and lots of things to die so I can get to another level!
@: How a quest is designed can very much affect how much people will like it.
When I played WildStar (first-day access whoo! <3) the thing that really struck me first was that I never really
felt like I was doing fetch quests. I certainly was at some points, but the way the devs hid it was rather clever, and I appreciate the effort put into those moments that made me laugh and smile - or even cry.
#: I try to like people.
I really do. There are some that I know that are actually NOT obsessed with levels. I know - its crazy!!
$: Sometimes, the single-player experience is better, though.
I know of at least one friend that usually plays solo through MMOs. Mostly because he hated dealing with other people, but part of it was (I think) that he was more interested in the content than the companionship or competition.
And my own additions to the b!%@#-list:
A: Few game options/low customization
Not avatar costumes or crap like that; I like to have my games set up in a very specific way, and if a game won't let me fix it to conform... it can be a deal-breaker. Indeed, this is what made me throw out PSO (Phantasy Star Online - waaaay back ye olde school) when I tried to play it back a year ago :\ Even knowing it was made to be played on a controller doesn't help the fact that I want to throw these games through a window in frustration.
B: Absolutely crapastic cameras
The camera can make or break a game. If it ain't workin' for me, no matter how "Incredible" or "Amazing" it is supposed to be, I ain't willing to play it. More of a general caveat of games overall, but also applies to MMOs --
especially action-based ones.
C: Horrible chat filters/character limits
This one makes me want to eat my hat. Okay, so you don't want to hear the 12yo across the way screaming obscenities like he just learned what they meant an hour ago, but sometimes it feels good to let loose with a few explicitives. And I get that some "kids might be playing" -- even if they have filthier mouths and minds than
I do. But when I can't shut that off just for myself? What the crap, game?
Even more annoying are when some of the things being blocked aren't swear words at all. In
one particular game I can think of, words like "gm" or "event" are bleeped as often as real authentic cursing. Even worse is when the bleeping takes place between words, right in the middle of an otherwise clean sentence, making it unreadable to anyone else!
Nevermind that chat filters can be easily bypassed by
anyone with slightly more imagination than a sea cucumber. And for the love of Pete, don't snap back our swear-free messages with some dumb quip that the programmer learned from a 5th grader. Let us adults swear, and let the children put up with the hurricane of asterisks. (or alien characters, in the case of WildStar XD)
As for character limits (how many letters/numbers can be typed into a single line), for those games that have 50-character limits, I only have this to say:
D: The M.F. Min/Maxers
I want to slap some people. Even some people that I like.
Why?
Because it seems that nobody stops to appreciate the game that the developers put their time and effort into creating. All they wanna do is level fast, reach the top, and then apparently grind as much money as possible. For me, that sounds like the absolute WORST, most BORING thing ever. If I'm going to aim for max level, I want to actually enjoy the ride -- not be carried there by a pre-set plan that
everyone and their dog takes.
Oh, and this annoys me too:
Anytime I ask "What's the point of reaching cap?", all I hear is "Endgame content!"
"What's that for?" "To get more stuff!"
"So what do you do with that stuff?" "Get even MORE stuff!!"
Bleah-toast with meh-butter on top.
And I just know this'll carry on into the future; when our brains are finally jacked into The Matrix or whatever for the first time, half of everyone will STILL be trying to out-compete one another, ignoring anything beyond what the devs put into the ruleset. Who cares about that beautiful alien sunset? We have another 3 hours to grind 10 more levels, and another five events to get through before midnight!!
