Warframe: True Master

Finally, I've won Warframe!

Haha, not really but this was my main personal goal and it feels great to finally have reached MR30. I know there are (so far) two more levels higher than this (Yue is on legendary 2 O_O) but I think I'll leave those ranks alone for now. All I really wanted was the ability to put gigantic statues of myself on the relays! :P

That's a pretty good likeness!

For those wondering, my Loki Firewalker and Xoris combo was excellent for the mastery 30 exam. The disappearing platform tests (MR10/MR13) were more annoying but the (MR28) condensed thermia one was definitely the harder, if not the hardest for those first thirty tests.

Now with that obsession out of the way I might be able to look at other games again. At least for a week or so until the Duviri Paradox comes out. :P

Dark Souls: This is Dark Souls

Tales from Dark Souls - spoilers ahead! You can follow the rest of the story here!

This is Dark Souls: after training like mad, Ornstein and Smough still beat me easily. I thought I should fight fire with fire, by using Jolly Cooperation! While there happened to be many signs at the nearby bonfire, none of the players could connect to me. Fortunately I knew Solaire's summon sign was near the fog door so I hoofed it over there and of course, experienced Murphy's law. I was invaded and slain by a scythe wielding pvper who taught me (violently) that scythes go around shields! This is Dark Souls!

Sorry I didn't get your name Scythegirl!

In this game the way to avoid invasion is to be hollow, which is your natural state unless you use a semi special item to become fully human. Being human gives a lot of perks, heightened stats, and the ability to use summon signs for cooperative play - but it makes you a candidate for invasion. I decided I'd just have to fight O&S solo. And I was crushed. Repeatedly... this is Dark Souls!

Good lord, he gets... fatter?

But each time I'd get better. Then it happened, I managed to kill Ornstein. The result? Smough powers up tremendously and obliterates me. Of course returning to the room means both of them are alive again because this is DARK SOULS! I slaughter Smough first this time, only to have Ornstein powerup and impale me! Yes, this is Dark Souls!

ARRRGGHHHH!

I try again, and again. Sometimes getting obliterated before doing anything, but each time I learn something knew. Learn when to strike. When to dodge. When to run (which is pretty is like 80% of the time). I still f-up. I still die. This is Dark Souls!

And then finally. FINALLY, I find myself fighting super-Ornstein (after slaying Smough) - shooting gigantic lightning bolts and leaping around the hall like a mad man with his giant spear. Being point blank is his weakness. His health at half. 30%. 10%. I've almost got him! Then he does the bullshit lightning buttslam. This is DARK SOULS!!!

He shoots it out his ass too!?

But I've seen him do it before. I've seen him kill me before at this very point in the fight. I evade. Twice and run back to him. I swing my sword. He finally falls... I AM VICTORIOUS and the feeling of TRIUMPH IS AMAZING! THIS IS DARK SOULS!!!!!!!

MMOs: Winning Conditions

[Part of my MMO Design Folder]

You are the chosen one. The hero who saved the day. Just like everyone else.

That's the feeling I and many others get when MMO's offer a main storyline quest. In Guildwars 2 I'm the commander of the Pact, second only to a lettuce man (the true hero of the story), and I've helped slay an elder dragon. Any character that completes that main quest can say the previous line and it would be true, but by having so many of them existing in the same world at the same time really kills any importance or bearing it may have had. Indeed, there are as many winning conditions as there are people playing so why force everyone into one mold?

Unique experiences are always the best ones which is why human controlled game masters add so much to virtual worlds for me. However since they seem to be being phased out of the online scene I think that instead (or aside) from the main "plot" each character should be given their own quest, their own reason for existing - and who better to decide what that is than the player playing it. Part of the character creation would be including a goal. A few examples might be:

-Finish the main story (if there is one)
-Find the secret doo hickey in the secret dungeon that constantly changes position and ONLY YOU can find
-Get all the (non cash shop, non tradeable) hats. Possibly one from that secret dungeon above
-Kill x number of specific targets (players) randomly chosen by the game (must be people who have been active lately)
-Slay the boss of whatever dungeon on a particular difficulty
-Forge the uber sword of uberness
-Assist x number of other players achieve their final personal goal

However, they also need to choose a fail condition. The two simplest that come to mind are finish within x number of months or die x number of times. Now the catch is if you fail OR succeed, that character is then retired (complete with cutscene). Maybe you can still log in as them, but you will be limited to being in the safe zones only for RP and show-off purposes or some other limitation. If you wish to keep playing, you will need to create a new character who will have their own overarching goal. Should their predecessor(s) have been successful maybe they start off with a cumulative bonus (like the uber sword) based on how difficult the previous goal was and how harsh the fail condition was. Indeed, not all stories will have happy endings.

Guess how Xena ends.

It's still a hamster wheel. All I've done is add some stops and removed some over population (of players) in the higher end zones. I'm guessing if any game attempts this they'd still need an option just to have a "standard" character though for those who want to opt out - of course those characters cannot gain benefits from any previous ones. What do you think? Would you play a game with this setup or does having a visible finish line break the whole concept of an MMO?