by Darkgolem on Jun 04, 2007
by: Tony "RadarX" Jones
<!-- if (!document.phpAds_used) document.phpAds_used = ','; phpAds_random = new String (Math.random()); phpAds_random = phpAds_random.substring(2,11); document.write ("<" + "script language='JavaScript' type='text/javascript' src='"); document.write ("http://ads.tentonhammer.com/adjs.php?n=" + phpAds_random); document.write ("&what=zone:19"); document.write ("&exclude=" + document.phpAds_used); if (document.referrer)http:// document.write ("&referer=" + escape(document.referrer)); document.write ("'><" + "/script>"); //--> href='http://ads.tentonhammer.com/adclick.php?n=a44824e0'Grab some mat boys and girls while Grandpa Radar tells you a story. A long time ago in something called the Reagan Era a professor named Anthony Giddens proposed a theory. He basically stated that rules (what he referred to as structures) must be studied in order to understand a social group. Right now you are either A) Going Duh. or B) Wishing like I did you paid more attention in Sociology. Giddens called this fancy schmancy theory Structuration. Now what the crap does this have to do with Lord of the Rings Online?
I was reading a blog the other day over at Terranova and Timothy Burke discussed the social evolution of LOTRO by examining its structure. Specifically he examined emotes and player behavior in relation to other MMO's using World of Warcraft as an example. Yes, we all like to pick on WoW, especially the Gnomes.
Mr. Burke made five statements which I'll paraphrase so you don't have to read words like naturalistic, and synthetic.
First he wonders if perhaps the designers made the current emote system to be consistent with the game. In World of Warcraft you have silly emotes such as breakdancing, telling jokes, etc... LOTRO does have a few silly emotes but for the most part they are very serious in nature. I can agree with him on this particular idea. Turbine seems to have sent a clear message they weren't shooting for a casual silliness that you'd find in many other games. Emotes are clearly no exception.
Next, he asks if players are aware, even subconsciously of the mood surrounding Tolkien's world and are acting appropriately. In the books and movies we see hobbits as whimsical folk, but humans and elves very serious. Reccallling the human named XXXTHEMASTERXXX I saw the other night, I'm not sure I can agree with this. I can admit the environment can be very compelling but not to change the goofy play styles which have been around for years.
He continues by considering if emoting is used less because of reduced social play. More and more of MMO content is instanced, so less player interaction means less chance of seeing emotes (especially silly ones). I can agree with use this using a number of cliches: Monkey see, monkey do? Out of sight, out of mind? Unfortunately instancing has not reduced statements like Wht r u doing?
His next statement supposes LOTRO is drawing a unique playerbase totally unfamiliar with MMO's in general. He believes many people don't know what an emote is or even realize they have them. I can admit emotes have gone the way of the Fluffasaur. It's just icing that even the most experienced MMO players rarely think about it. I have yet to see or do an emote in the game and up until now I really haven't even thought about it. Perhaps this is a large shift in play style.
Finally, Mr. Burke makes my favorite statement of his entire blog; Maybe players aren't bored yet. If you aren't aware how dangerous a bored player is, I need to introduce you to a few people. When players aren't having fun, they have a tendency to create their own at whatever expense. This could mean following someone around doing some type of squat emote, or dancing repeatedly around a group they want to annoy. I can agree its too early to know if players are bored, but when some of them get that way I can imagine certain emotes getting obnoxious.
The statements were interesting and just go to show how different Turbine is trying to make things from other MMO's. Sure it's easy to pick on WoW and say its built on a far less mature level, but how does LOTRO stack up against EverQuest 2, Star Wars Galaxies, Vanguard, Dungeons and Dragons Online? I think its still a little too early to say for certain. As time goes on and things develop we'll have a better feel for how players act in general. For now, we can just talk about complex sociological theories and how they apply to MMO's.