Simple Survey

Hello,

I am a student of DeVry currently clearing up my last couple of courses in the Game and Simulation Programming system they provide. One of my assignments is to ask the following questions of some of the players on an MMO of my choosing.

Pretty much copy/paste from the site, the last two questions I had to come up with myself (personally interested, aside from a grade). It would help me out greatly if any of you could find time in answering any of these questions, if you are bored enough. I am working on a solo game project, so I will check back in time to see what we have.


Questions:

Player Name:

Character Stats: (race/class/level/etc)

1) What’s in a name? : “I see your name is “...”. What is the story behind it? Where did you get it? What other names have you used in the past”
2) What’s in a job? : “Why do you play a “race/class/occupation? Do you find you play that a lot? Do you like it or would you play others? Do you have other characters with other race/class/occupation”
3) What’s in a game?: “What do you like about this game? What would you change or improve?”
4) What’s in a story?: “Do you have any funny anecdotes from playing this game? What is the greatest adventure you’ve been on in here?
5) What’s in a friend?: “Do you play alone or with a group? Are you a member of any guilds? What keeps you playing alone/groups? Do you have lots of friends in this world? Do you talk to them often?
6) “What got you into MMOs?”
7) “What new MMO are you looking forward to?”

Player Name: LISAR

Character Stats: Level 45 Magic Defender (Empathy/Radiation Blast)

1) What’s in a name? : Mr NoPants (before we were married) wanted me to talk in his IRC room but didn't like my online alias (Blond Bimbo) so he asked them if they had any ideas on what to call me. They decided I should be LISAR (real name is Lisa) and that is should be in all caps.

2) What’s in a job? : I had never played a MMO and didn't want to be combat based because I didn't think I would be able to keep pace with my husband's scrapper (then a Dark Melee/Regen) in combat. I have since moved on to other classes, I do enjoy a bit of scrapping and blasting but not tanking or controlling. My other two favorite characters are my Fire/Kinetics Corruptor Rasil and my Dual Blades/Dark Armor scrapper Super Lemon.

3) What’s in a game?: The customization is really great I actually started playing this because when I first started dating Mr. NoPants I played those online doll dress up games a lot and he said I might enjoy dinking around with the character creator while he was at work. I do think the game could use some asymmetry similar to what robot hands can do.

4) What’s in a story?: When I started I linked up with MNPs super group the Wolf (WoIf) Pack on Justice. One time they took me to Portal Corp to sidekick with them on a farming mission and I asked on Ventrillo what a farming mission was. They told me we had to save the dieing world we went to by getting a bag of seeds from a NPC near the entrance and planting them where we defeated groups of bad guys. They then kept yelling at me for not planting between groups and I kept jumping from the group to the entrance trying to find the NPC and when they had defeated everyone they said they would have to start over since I didn't grab my seeds and help.

5) What’s in a friend?: I normally play with a group known as the Wolf Pack (spelled WoIF Pack in game). I also have a few of my own SGs (Original Perfections on Champion) that are mostly seeded with W.P. members who wanted to play on different servers and hadn't started a base yet. We normally meet up in Vent and decide on where we are heading. This game just is more fun with people you can joke around with and talk to, even on PUGs I try to chat people up.

6) “What got you into MMOs?” My husbands addiction and the great character creator.

7) “What new MMO are you looking forward to?” I can't wait to see DCUO especially after I was throughly disappointed by Champions Online.

OK, I'll bite

Player Name: We'll go with "Samuel Tow"

Character Stats: Inapplicable/Varied

1) What’s in a name?

I picked the name Samuel Tow for my very first unique fictional character. I pulled the name literally out of the air. I subscribe to the notion that any name, good or bad, must be given to a character and then NEVER CHANGED. That way, as a character grows, the name becomes part of his identity, develops nicknames and basically grows "into" the character organically.

Beyond that, "what's in a name" is cool factor. Anything that sounds cool, is unique or is unusual is applicable. I have plenty of characters with "name names," such as my namesake, I have plenty of characters with unusual names, like "Velcro Kitty" (seriously) and plenty of characters with vaguely descriptive names, like the Meat Machine. The name itself doesn't need to "fit" the character in any way, but its sound usually does fit the character's intended personality.

2) What’s in a job?

We'll go with Archetypes here. I play Scrappers, Blasters, Brutes, Stalkers and Masterminds, which gives me about half the game. My reasons for selecting these Archetypes is pretty simple - they focus on an aggressive, offensive "get it done" approach to problem-solving and are proficient enough to do their own job by themselves. I'm averse to finding "smart" solutions when direct solutions are viable and I prefer to stand my ground when that is an option. How that reflects on me as a person, I'm not sure.

3) What’s in a game?

Easy. What's in a game is ME. Any game which is so designed that I can feel part of it as my own - be that my own creation or my own achievement - rather than a predefined option the developers designed for me and let me "borrow," scores major points with me. Characters in City of Heroes are just this - MINE. I designed their costumes, I picked their powers, I chose their names, I wrote their stories, I got them to where they are. I can show up at a mass gathering with my character, and it will still be MY CHARACTER, not just a random Level 50 Kat/SR Scrapper, just another of those.

Customization is key to this. The more I can make the character like what I always intended, the better. What I would change about the game is likely going to involve expanding customization further, extending the base-building element onto each individual character the same way costumes are, while at the same time GREATLY simplifying the base-building process, to the point where a player must only be concerned with WHAT he wants, not HOW he can achieve it. Simple tools are always more powerful for the casual user, even if they sacrifice some level of complexity.

4) What’s in a story?

Outside of the occasional ragdoll fun or chance shot, nothing really stands out. In a game of numbers, "achievement" is a pretty meaningless term. As such, my greatest adventures have been following the storyline as presented to me, saving the world from an alien invasion (which later happened anyway), stopping and unimaginably large-scale conspiracy, discovering the truth behind an ancient civilization and facing off against a genuine goddess... All of that, along with the many mini-encounters, such as fighting giant flaming demons, or scores of killer robots, or sinister lawn gnomes, or walking plants, or 1920s gangsters, or space aliens, or time travellers or werewolves or, hell, even the Nazi! There's a lot of fun to be had here.

5) What’s in a friend?

Not too much to say here. Friends are always nice to have, and playing with friends is ALMOST always more fun than playing alone, but the game must still be judged on its own merits. Friends, as good as they may be, are not always available at my beck and call, and I need to be able to play in these times when they are not.

6) “What got you into MMOs?”

City of Heroes. Pretty much.

7) “What new MMO are you looking forward to?”[/QUOTE]

None. If my previous experiences are anything to go by, they all suck, and they're all the same, just variations on the EQ/WoW framework, just with different settings. I don't know what happened to City of Heroes to make it so different from the others and so not crappy like the others, but I'm one step from convinced that all MMOs other than this one simply suck.

I hope that helps

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

I'm game for a survey.

Player Name: Heulengeist

Character Stats: Lvl 50 Grav/Storm Controller

1) What’s in a name? : Heulengeist's name is actually rather unremarkable and to some people the origin is kinda stupid too. Routinely I make names for my characters based around their power sets (example, a Dark/Ice defender named Nether Cryonics Rep). When I first created Heulengeist he was a Storm/Psy defender. I had a theme for him (special forces soldier) and felt he'd use his codename for his hero name. I studied german in high school and I still like to play with it. I settled on Howling Spirit and babelfished it. Heulengeist.

2) What’s in a job? : I like playing a controller because I can turn crazy groups into useless groups and make sure that the one super pest in that group is totally shut down and not a threat. With my buff/debuff secondary, I also speed the team along as we wipe out the enemy even faster. My damage isn't too great, but I contribute what I can in that sense and it does help.

3) What’s in a game?: I've enjoyed this game for years. I've never been a big fan of the whole elves/dwarfs/etc. universe that can be found in other games. I found this game a nice change from many of the other games I had been playing (RTS, FPS, dungeon crawls). I also had the fun of experiencing this new world with my best friend.

4) What’s in a story?: There are many stories in this game. Been here long enough that I've experienced too many to remember. They are also hard to relate to people and retain their interesting points. Many of the interesting moments in this game come from new experiences, familiarity and, often time, frustration. Usually it's things that break the norm that create the hilarious and interesting moments.

5) What’s in a friend?: I joined the game with a friend and we both still have active accounts. We both have been playing less as of late (sometimes you need a break). I've also made friends in game over the years. A few still play but I've seen many disappear as they quit. The few SGs I am apart of are made of these friends.

6) What got you into MMOs: I never really cared about MMOs over the years. I watched my brother play EverQuest and I didn't care. When the summer began and my classes ended my friend picked up City of Heroes. I watched him play that first day and it just seemed cool to me. The next day I went out and picked up a copy. I was instantly hooked. I enjoyed the new world to explore, the theme, and doing it all with a friend.

7) What new MMO are you looking forward to?: I don't really care for other MMOs that much still. The only other exception has been Guild Wars. As Guild Wars Two is being developed and shown off, I am looking forward to how it will turn out.

I think that City of Heroes / City of Villains (and the upcoming Going Rogue) is(are) rather genre-bending compared to other quality MMOs. I think it's important to stipulate that with the exception of a few things here and there (like the incoming Incarnate "end game" material) this game is very, very, VERY alt-friendly. Alt-demanding, even, for the creatively inclined.



What’s in a name?
Letters, mostly.

More seriously, I think that question carries with it the baggage of single-main-character design elements. What's in a name? Nay. What's in nameS?
Using City of Heroes / City of Villains as a chariot for telling stories, I've found that it's very, VERY rare that the name comes first. Usually my first step is having a character concept which I want to see 'come to life,' or sometimes I see a combination of powers which I'm really interested in exploring.
Next comes The Look! Something which other MMOs really pale in comparison with, and I think ultimately is much more important than the name. The outfit/costume/skin/appearance of a character holds a LOT more weight for me than their name does, especially when I can give a character a plethora of nicknames. While I'm not a fan of looking at CoH / CoV as a "comic book game" . . . I do have to at least nod my head in appreciation to the concept of "secret identities." Or, perhaps more realistically, the idea of callsigns, such as those used by pilots in various real world militaries.
What's in a name? Very little. Very, very little.



What’s in a job?
It's not a job! It's a game! . . . that's what I keep telling myself . . . but somehow I can't believe what I'm saying.

Again, sorry about the silliness, but that is something I find really compelling in my discussions regarding MMOs. It's marketed as a "game" and often said to be "fun" . . . but some people can really treat the whole thing like a career! Hell, some people even manage to pull it off.
Certainly, gaming IS growing in popularity and intensity, or at least this modern style of gaming is. That particular ludological debate can wait, though.
What Archetypes do I play the most, and why? Well, I'm a control-freak. Gotta admit to that, for better or for worse. Not surprisingly, my first favoured Hero was a Controller version of myself. When AoE Control powers were reduced in duration/increased in recharge waaaaaay back over ten Issues ago, I felt hugely cheated. The "compensation" of Containment was something I had no interest in. I felt that if I wanted to be impatient and focus on dealing damage, I would enjoy Blasters or Scrappers. Instead, it was the patience of slowly bringing a helpless foe down which I enjoyed. The idea that my character was untouchable! . . . as long as I applied suitable amounts of effort against my foe. Being able to give my entire team that same feeling made it alllllll the sweeter. . . . and then it was taken away from me.
Next I tried my hand at Tanking, exerting that need to control on my teammates. Best not to delve too far in to that, heh. In my own defence, though, these were the days when it was commonplace for the Tanker to be considered the Team Leader.
Then came City of Villains, and while I first tried to get in to Dominators, I found my true calling: Masterminds! The ability to control individual pets, while buffing/debuffing/healing really, REALLY appealed to me. It felt a heckuva lot like a game from 2000 called Sacrifice, which, until CoH / CoV, I considered my all-time favourite PC game. Even prior to the Bodyguard boost to Masterminds, I found it quite satisfying to play the Archetype.
Of course, these are just my "mains" . . . and since a redname has let the cat out of the bag about the Going Rogue Closed Beta currently going on, I can't contain my excitement over Electric Control! I finally, FINALLY feel like a Controller again! I've finally recaptured that feeling I first had when I locked down an entire mob during an 8-person Task Force with my old Fire/Kinetics. Electric Control / Trick Arrow is very possibly going to become my next "main" for a while.
Aaaaaand, well, I have over 170 /active/ characters on one server, spanning 7 accounts (well, technically two of those accounts are lapsed due to financial issues, but I WOULD be playing them if I could). That number doesn't include all the other characters I have on other servers. I haven't got an estimate on that . . . but I wouldn't be surprised if I've broke the 300 mark at this point. I have characters for every Archetype (and thanks to the recent change with FUI17, this now includes Epic Archetypes). While I don't have a character for every possible combination thereof, I've got at least one character for each individual Primary or Secondary set.
Looks like I've given myself the job of keeping track of my huge stable, heh. Could it get any more control-freakish at this point? (Yes.)



What’s in a game?
I really don't see CoH / CoV as "just a game." There are times when it's more game-ish than not, such as with Merit Vendors or some of the really painfully limiting content . . . but mostly I see CoH / CoV as a medium for telling stories, sharing ideas, and exploration (more on that in the next question).
But what would I do to improve this as a game? Make content more inclusive, for one. The Devs have already made great strides to this effect, what with "Super"-Sidekicking, the changes to Exemplaring/Malefactoring, and Ouroboros . . . but still I feel they've fallen short in a few places. Such as the market. Personally, I'd rather see it removed completely in its current state, and replaced with a system which promotes sharing and helping other players, instead of trying to exploit prices and undercut the competition. I prefer my PvP to be strictly gameplay, not meta-gameplay. But HEY! I know a lot of people seem to derive a lot of pleasure from that sorta thing. I would have personally preferred they went over to EVE for it, but it's here now, so I've gotta deal with it.
Another example is currently under protection by NDA, but it's one I feel very strongly that the Devs are approaching with a flawed concept of what design philosophies truly work for this game. Again, though, I'm one tiny voice in a great din, so not a fat lot of change I can impart there.



What’s in a story?
Wait, are we talking in-game lore here, or Architect Entertainment, or life stories? Adventures? WHAT?!

This seems to be another question that's geared more towards "traditional" MMOs, in my perspective. But, I'll try and touch on all three of the categories I just listed:
In-Game Lore: There is some really, REALLY compelling and interesting about the content in this game. There are villain groups and signature characters which I just want to learn more, and more about! Lughebu and the Banished Pantheon, probably foremost. (Some of you may have noticed our attempts at summoning the ancient deity here on the forums, Bwa-ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!)
Sadly, though, some of the content is kind of poorly written, particularly when you repeat said content on various characters. I know that there are folks out there that find this appealing, but I can't accept the concept that time progresses based on character level. Time is constant, as shown by all the player-character interaction which takes place. I can't jive with the idea that the game-world revolves around my characters, let alone my characters one-at-a-time!
This is why I see City of Villains as so much more superior to Heroes. Most of that content seems to have been written with the understanding that players have more than one character. The thought that my character is THE one who discovers that the Lost are Rikti-to-be, or that my character is THE one which is the first to cause Nemesis soldiers to surrender themselves to the authorities . . . I just can't accept that. If I wanted to be the star in my own little (game) universe, there are single-player RPGs for that.
However! Architect Entertainment now offers us the chance to write our OWN stories, where we can come up with all sorts of plausible (or entirely nonsensical) 'adventures' for our own characters, our friends' characters, and the general population! I don't know if I've found any Architect Arcs which I've found as compelling or as enjoyable as some of the canon storylines, but the potential is there, and it's the potential which really gets my blood pumping!
. . . and speaking of pumping blood . . . real life anecdote: Due to something which most folks consider a deformity, I was QUITE the shut-in for most of my formative years. I had no friends, was constantly bullied, blah-blah, same old nerd sob story, ya? Well, after I moved to Pinnacle I met a series of people which helped me discover some very important things about myself. MY greatest 'adventure'?! Using fantasy and roleplay in a video game to discover who and what I really am, and actually finding happiness in the real world! I'm now in a lifelong poly-relationship(s) with a woman and a young man, and we're looking to start our family together. I have no doubt that if it had not been for certain events in-game with other players, I would not be where I am today. This "game" has had a PROFOUND effect on my life.



What’s in a friend?
SPITE AND BILE!
(and don't go using the word "Guilds"! FOR SHAME! We're SUPER/VILLAIN Groups around these parts.)



What got you into MMOs?
. . . actually, I think I'll go back to that previous question first.

What's in a friend?
I've actually met some of the most amazing people through this game, and some real stinkers. Including my first "boyfriend" (that is, boy who I grew to be intimate with) . . . and I'm not entirely sure which of those two categories he falls in, heh. Drama, drama, drama, blah blah blah blah!
Mostly, I play solo. However, this is largely due to my OCD nature. That "legion" of characters I have? Well, I try to give them ALL some attention, and I try to ensure that they aren't left unloaded for too long. This causes some strain when it comes to finding other players who I can reliably team with. I used to have a small close-knit group, but some drama and harassment caused them to split.
However, we stay in touch through Skype, and often roleplay and chat for hours on end. I still try to encourage them to return to the game, but they usually answer with: "Not until so-and-so quits the game!"
Making new friends has been tough with the diminishing population on my server, and I've invested so much on Pinnacle that I don't feel I could start over somewhere else. I had originally started on Victory, in fact, and I kind of regret having moved away from that wonderful community. On the flipside, I met some people on Pinnacle who REALLY helped me (see answer to previous question).



What got you into MMOs?
A girl.

No, seriously, heh. One of my first online "friends." While she and I have fallen out of touch (my fault! *is ashamed*), she got me hooked on a small, free-to-play MMO being developed by one person in his spare time. Eternal Lands. I think it's still out there, actually. Suffice it to say, I'm not quite "hooked" on that game any more, heh.
I was mostly looking for a way to fill the loads of free time I found myself with when first starting university. Not having many games with me while living alone away from home, I resorted to downloading free games. Eternal Lands wasn't particularly enjoyable, and I would have dropped it fairly quickly . . . if not for the social aspect which MMOs afford us.
I joined City of Heroes in *checks sign up date* May or June of 2004! Thanks to some REALLY helpful people on Victory, I was hooked in no time, and bought my second account after only a few months of playing (if that).
From here, I tried a few other MMOs. None of them appealed to me. Their communities, gameplay, and setting all seemed terribly lacking. While I won't say that City of Heroes is perfect . . . it's certainly the most appealing MMO that I'm aware of. It's gotten to the point where I don't see this as an MMO, so much as I see it as a second home. It would take a colossal "rooster-up" on par with the player-run market to ever get me to willingly cancel my subscriptions. Hell, call me insane, but I'm willing to forgo food to ensure my main account never lapses.
There's a little more to my answer for this question, but assuming my post doesn't cause this thread to derail as-is, what I have to add is liable to cause some posts which aren't congruent to getting the answers you seek, Langes. Ultimately, though, this additional reason to my madness is deeply personal. It's related to what I said in my answer to question 4.



What new MMO are you looking forward to?
I'm looking forward to seeing the City of Heroes / City of Villains / Going Rogue franchise continue to evolve and grow! I'm looking forward to any possible sequel, ESPECIALLY if the Devs find a way to import our existing characters, Super/Villain Groups, and the like in to the new game. I'd feel incredibly dejected if the Devs decided on an approach which would force us to recreate everything from scratch.


BONUS QUESTION/ANSWER!
What's in a game dev assignment?
When I went through my game design and development courses, I found that the teachers were very polar on the issue of designing "safe" games (using tired, but so-called "tested and true" approaches, or the so overly-hashed catch phrase of "Is it fun?") versus experimental and economically risky design philosophies (such as treating games as an artistic medium). Something to keep in mind, perhaps, when handing your paper in to your professor is to first find out which side of the fence he/she/they/it may be sitting on.
I won't suggest that all game design teachers were as black-and-white as my own, but it may still be worth the effort for you in this case. Does this teacher believe that games NEED to make money, or does this teacher believe that games are the medium to approach the next level of post-modernism?

Best of luck to you, Langes! I hope that my post is helpful. And sorry to everyone for The WALL O' TEXT!

1 - My name is what my mom called me when I was little - and still calls me sometimes

2 - I only have one avatar - a Scrapper, which I picked because it was the only one that could use the martial arts power set, and it sounded a useful all-round sort of AT

3 - I love superheroes, and this is the only MMO that lets you be one.
The main improvements I can think of would be to enahnce the realism of our avatars, and freshen up some of the older zones.

4 - It's hard to pick the most memorable thing I've seen or done

5 - I team and solo, and have a one-woman SG - my global friend list is full, so I guess that answers the question

6 - I was given CoH as a gift - it's my first and only MMO.

7 - CoH 2

Player Name: Ironblade

Character Stats: Level 50 broadsword/regen scrapper, magic origin.

1) What’s in a name?
It's clean and simple; anyone can pronounce it and see the link with the character. It's iconic. In fact, there is a temporary power in the game called the Iron Blade. My character came FIRST (by years).

2) What’s in a job?
I originally picked this AT and powersets for simplicity and survival while I learned the ins and outs of the game. I did make a second scrapper, but retired him long before reaching 50. Ironblade is my favorite. I have multiple characters of the other AT's.

3) What’s in a game?
I've played many pen and paper RPGs. I happened to be mostly playing Champions when this game came out so I tried it. I like everything about the game so I'm still here.

4) What’s in a story? What is the greatest adventure you’ve been on in here?
A fight against Malta back when sidekicking had a limited range. I was SK'ed to a high level player and everyone else on the team was dead. I started to retreat and got the warning that I was at the limit of SK range and the Malta were still pursuing me. I used every inspiration and every temp power I had and defeated the whole crowd while my teammates cheered me on. There were 11 of them, including a purple-con Titan and 3 red-con lieutenants.

5) What’s in a friend?
I run a group of 3 coalitioned SGs. I am a member of several others (red and blue side), one of which is in the top 10 on my home server. I also play with a regularly scheduled group organized on the forums. My global friend list hit the maximum size multiple times back when the limit was 100. I rarely solo.

6) What got you into MMOs?
A bunch of my friends that I played RPGs with started playing this game.

7) What new MMO are you looking forward to?
None. I have only ever played this MMO and have no plans to play, or even try, any other.

1) What’s in a name? : “I see your name is “...”. What is the story behind it? Where did you get it? What other names have you used in the past”

Mr Mac was nowhere near my first character... I joined with Villains and added heroes a few months later, aaand thanks to a bit on confusion with adding codes to CoV I accidently ended up with two accounts... I couldn't get into the heroes ATs at first and eventually I created Mr Mac a INV/SS tanker thanks to Superman being my favourite comic book character.

The name is somthing my step dad called me quite often, and seeing as I made the character to look as much like me as I could it fit quite well.


2) What’s in a job? : “Why do you play a “race/class/occupation? Do you find you play that a lot? Do you like it or would you play others? Do you have other characters with other race/class/occupation”

Mr Mac. is my Main toon, He's a tanker and if i'm ever bored or unsure who to play as, he's usually the one I log in as. I have at least one toon of every other AT out there, however I can't get into Defenders or Dominators but I do like Controllers and Corruptors...
Mac is the only Tank i've been able to stick with,
I'm probably a scrapper at heart.

3) What’s in a game?: “What do you like about this game? What would you change or improve?”
I Love this game, I've taken 2 or 3 6month (at least) breaks from it but it always draws me back. I've tried most MMOs and none of them do it for me... The only reason I play STO occasionaly is because I bought a liftime sub (thank GOD I couldn't afford a Champs Lifer at the time ^.^)

Not to mention that I actually HATE WoW, Perhaps it could just be the fantasy setting that I don't like...


4) What’s in a story?: “Do you have any funny anecdotes from playing this game? What is the greatest adventure you’ve been on in here?

Greatest adventure... I've done alot in this game, I havn't done it all... yet! Not many people have... I always remember going through Faultline with Mac just after the revamp, that was some good times...

Or before making my move over to Union from Defiant my first toon, that I had no idea how to slot or choose powers for, was a NRG/KIN Corr who made it to 50 last year btw. I remember doing the first respec trial with him and the team planting again and again... wasn't until I thought "hmm ill work Transfusion into my attack chain" and all of a sudden all the melee toons were staying alive and we were taking town this tree rather quickly... hmm

Good times! Far too many for noting here

5) What’s in a friend?: “Do you play alone or with a group? Are you a member of any guilds? What keeps you playing alone/groups? Do you have lots of friends in this world? Do you talk to them often?

I play with groups wherever I can. My RL frinds who played this (actually met him in game by accident)-Good story actually... I had just got heroes and I was playing around with a concept toon in Atlas when I saw West Ham Man standing under the globe... Intrigued as my friend is the biggest West Ham fan I know I called him and said, Uh (Name?) are you playing a game right now?
Friend: Yea...
Me: Are you standing under a Globe?
Friend (getting excited) Yea!
Me: Do you see (Character name)?
Friend: No way?!
Me: Yupp ^.^
Friend: OMG!!

And so fourth. The fact I had moved away about a year earlier and we didn't speak as much as we should have is the real gem behind the story... Did I mention he was also my best mate in school?


6) “What got you into MMOs?”

Was in HMV, bored, picked up CoV, looked at the character creator and thought what the hell... It took a week or two to get into it but I was there

7) “What new MMO are you looking forward to?”

I want to say DCUO buut realistically i'm really wanting SWTORO! SWG was shocking so this should be quite epic!

I would like to thank each of you for putting forth a great effort into each of these questions. I seem to have every bit of information that I need, so I must also thank you for an A in this assignment.

We are done, however feel free to continue this as each one of your responses were interesting. If this is still going on after I crawl out of my "Finals Bunker", I may just respond as well.

[QUOTE=Langes;2942790]

Player Name: ebon3

Character Stats: (race/class/level/etc) Technology - Blaster - L50 - NRG/NRG

1) What’s in a name? : “I see your name is “...”. What is the story behind it? Where did you get it? What other names have you used in the past” WarMain - after experimenting with the different ATs and settling on a tech blaster, I went through various names (mostly taken), and finally settled on grabbing an RPG supplament (in this case Arcana Unearthed), despite really being more appropriate for a tanker, I really liked the Warmain class name.

2) What’s in a job? : “Why do you play a “race/class/occupation? Do you find you play that a lot? Do you like it or would you play others? Do you have other characters with other race/class/occupation” Blasters are generally my favorite characters to play with scrappers being a close second (my main character is areally more of a blapper) I like the damage potential and speed at which you can despense foes, the low survivability is also a fun mechanic as it adds an element of danger to any encounter.

3) What’s in a game?: “What do you like about this game? What would you change or improve?” My favorite aspect is probably the casual nature of the game with PvP not being an end game activity.

4) What’s in a story?: “Do you have any funny anecdotes from playing this game? What is the greatest adventure you’ve been on in here? Hmmm... there are many, trying to think of my greatest adventure? I'd say the first respec trial in the game very early in CoH's introduction, it still feels like an epic achievement.

5) What’s in a friend?: “Do you play alone or with a group? Are you a member of any guilds? What keeps you playing alone/groups? Do you have lots of friends in this world?
Do you talk to them often? Mostly a solo player, my SG is composed of my characters and the family memebers that play the game. I do pick-up teams from time to time.

6) “What got you into MMOs?” Bought Ultima Online on a whim (hated it), then tried Earth & Beyond, from there its been a steady stream (SWG, Conan, DDO, EVE, to name a few)CoH is my all time fav, been here from nearly the beginning.

7) “What new MMO are you looking forward to?” Secret World, like Conan, it seems like its got alot of atmosphere, but I suppose I'll grow tired of it in the same way I did Conan Epic PvP just isn't my thing. Although exploration is, and hopelly like SWG and Conan, the game wont disappoint in that regard, Also liked exploing in CoH, the badges for doing so was icing on the cake (same with SWG, but with much less shiny)

Player Name: Kelenar

Character Stats: Well, uh. Kelenar was my first main in City of Heroes (Level 50 Storm/Elec Defender) but I deleted him years and years ago. I have a handful of characters I split my time about equally between these days.

1) What’s in a name? : “I see your name is “...”. What is the story behind it? Where did you get it? What other names have you used in the past”
Long ago, in a distant land, I (AKU) bought Baldur's Gate, the first RPG I ever owned. And I made me a wizard. I said to myself, I said, "What would be a good name for a wizard? Uhhhhhhhh. Kelenar. Sure." And then I used that name for my EverQuest character. By time I got to CoH, it was just habit.

2) What’s in a job? : “Why do you play a “race/class/occupation? Do you find you play that a lot? Do you like it or would you play others? Do you have other characters with other race/class/occupation”
I've played every AT in the game except Peacebringers to at least level 30, so I've tried darn near everything. I tend to focus on Defenders, Brutes, Dominators, and Scrappers, in about that order. The specifics of my likes and dislikes are kind of complicated (I can't stand some of the most popular Scrapper/Brute sets), but it generally comes down to 'I like to be able to do good damage, but doing nothing but damage is boring.'

3) What’s in a game?: “What do you like about this game? What would you change or improve?”
The fighting looks good--and I don't mean that it has triple-filtered quadrilinear omnivoxels or whatever the big thing is these days. It just looks like fighting instead of guys swinging weapons vaguely in each others' direction, like most MMOs. And it's fast-paced, and above all, makes your character generally feel powerful.

4) What’s in a story?: “Do you have any funny anecdotes from playing this game? What is the greatest adventure you’ve been on in here?
Not sure on this one. Most of my fondest memories of the game have been roleplaying moments, which don't tend to make good anecdotes if you aren't personally invested in that time my character had a fist fight over the last sandwich or whatever.

5) What’s in a friend?: “Do you play alone or with a group? Are you a member of any guilds? What keeps you playing alone/groups? Do you have lots of friends in this world? Do you talk to them often?
Had a lot of good friends in the game back in The Day, but most of them have quit MMOs altogether. I dated one of them for ten months and ended up living about three miles from another one, though, so I'd say I got my money's worth. These days, I mostly solo, group with strangers, or team with the few people I still know in the game.

6) “What got you into MMOs?”
A lot of my friends got hooked on EverQuest when I was in middle school (1999. I've been doing this crap for 11 years, it would seem.) They dragged me in.

7) “What new MMO are you looking forward to?”
Not much. The Old Republic is about it. For the most part, the vast majority of MMOs bore me now that I've gotten tired of the reward grind.

Player Name: Teldon

Character Stats: Level 50 Natural Scrapper (Martial Arts/Invul)

1) What’s in a name? : I have always like the name and decided to go with it.
2) What’s in a job? : Normally I like to play support in some way, shape, or fashion. I decided to try melee in this game when I first got it. At first I was not used to the camera and fell back to support classes but as time went on I eventually learned how to handle the groups and combat in general.
3) What’s in a game?: The biggest thing for me when I got this game was that I could make my character look however I wanted him or her to look. The game being based on comic books was just a nice bonus for me. Seeing as how they created a comic book mythos from scrath and made it fully fleshed out was amazing as well.
4) What’s in a story?: Weirdest coincidence I had was my first stalker had a mission where she had to kidnap a Nictus and have it inhabit her body. I really did not like the power sets I choose for her so I just ended up deleting her while still in the mission. Flash forward a few months in the future I finally got a level 50 character and unlocked the Khelidan Arch type. I remembered that old character I had and BAM instant backstory and perfect way to recreate her. She went from being a character I disliked to one of my favorite to play.
5) What’s in a friend?: It is about 50/50 with my solo and group play. I build all my characters with team play in mind but they can hold thier own solo. I do belong to a good SG and we talk all the time over a voice chat program.
6) “What got you into MMOs?” I wanted to see what all teh fuss was about. I tried EQ for a few days and was bored out my mind. Then I decided to try DAOC and became hooked.
7) “What new MMO are you looking forward to?” Honestly I look forward to DCUO the most. I started out as a Marvel fanboi when I was younger but as I matured I grew to enjoy DC more. Being able to interact with that world seems like it will be fun.

Player Name: Golden Avariel

Character Stats: Avariel Elf, Magic Origin, Electric/Electric Blaster, 29th level

1) What’s in a name? :

I created the character in the Neverwinter Nights single-player game and eventually re-created her on a "persistent world" server where she made it to the maximum 40th level. Her name in NWN was a typically elvish name but I decided I needed something with a comic-book flair in keeping with the genre. So Clark Kent is Superman, Bruce Wayne is Batman and Anadrilia is Golden Avariel.

Most of my characters have a similar double-identity.


2) What’s in a job? :

Blasters seemed to have the easiest learning curve and that's why I chose it for GA. I didn't feel confident about being able to do the sort of pinpoint maneuvering a melee-oriented class might require.

I've learned a lot since then and now I have tried almost every AT in the game. I do not have a preference for any particular AT. I do like scrappers for solo play but I have fun with all my characters.


3) What’s in a game?:

* costume customization - this is EXTREMELY important to me
* The game can be as fast or slow as you desire
* It lends itself to casual opportunity-time play
* I love flying and the ease of travel in general
* Difficulty can be customized
* It is easy to team (super side-kicking, no "required" team makeup, etc)
* No encumbrance rules!
* No insta-kill rules (getting one-shotted by a tough creature isn't the same)
* There is a learning curve but no mistake is crippling
* There is always *something* to do


4) What’s in a story?:

Talking about times in the game is part of the fun of the hobby and I laugh out loud at something in game most days. But a lot of it requires more background knowledge about our group than I want to go into now.

I have had a lot of what we call "sweaty palms" times in City of Heroes, mostly in task forces but the World Wide Red arc against the Malta was a recent example of "ordinary" content that got the adrenaline flowing.

Stories are the main reason I prefer to run missions slowly and dislike the tendency of others to rush through everything - especially task forces. While being able to brag about how fast you ran something is a story, I much prefer the stories about camaraderie, overwhelming odds, epic battles, and funny moments.


5) What’s in a friend?:

Our supergroup/coalition numbers around a dozen active players and we get together frequently. They include my wife, friends from our old table-top roleplay games, and quite a few from Neverwinter Nights. We've also gained new friends through this game. Our group is mature and composed of several married couples. Socialization is definitely a big deal for me although I'm fully capable of having fun playing solo.


6) “What got you into MMOs?”

When Neverwinter started getting stale I decided to make a leap to MMOs. I played a couple of different games but never really liked them for one reason or another. My son had played COH for a couple of years back when it first came out and I had always been intrigued by it so I looked it up to see if it was still around. I loved the customization but also the helpfulness of the players we encountered during our trial. It helped a lot that one my favorite friends from Neverwinter "found" me and came over too. We were only going to do it for a month but soon we had dragged the whole gang over and been here ever since.


7) “What new MMO are you looking forward to?”

None at the moment. If a game like COH came out with a fantasy theme I'd probably be all over it.

Player Name: Cherry Nobyl (in this instance)

Character Stats: 50 radiation/kinetic corrupter

1) What’s in a name? : “I see your name is “...”. What is the story behind it? Where did you get it? What other names have you used in the past”

seemed like a decent choice at the time for an eastern european with a bone to pick. other char names include: e-razor (kinda like email, etrade, eharmony, but not.) greasetrap (the most godawful collection of crap you could never hope to meet, also happens to be a great debuffer.) neural overload (reflective of electricutionary play, and information overload.)

2) What’s in a job? : it can be easy to lose focus and get bored playing straight destruction. i find being a kin (or most other buff/debuff types) to be more engaging and retains more focus on complete play.

3) What’s in a game?: i've never been one for sword and sorcery types. as one of the few established games set in a contemporary/alt universe space with a reasonable set of mechanics and plot it holds my interest.

4) What’s in a story?: met a phenomenal group (that no longer plays) within the first few days of arriving. i'm a complete newb, and these people decide to go through the praetorian av arc with me in tow. a straight 30 hours later i have a much better idea of how to play the game..... ;p

5) What’s in a friend?: “Do you play alone or with a group? Are you a member of any guilds? What keeps you playing alone/groups? Do you have lots of friends in this world? Do you talk to them often?

all of the above.

6) “What got you into MMOs?”: a friend recommended the game back in jan 2004, i bought it thinking the game time would be enough to check it out but it turned out to require a payment regardless. it sat on my shelf for close to a year after that until that same friend picked up a time card for me. coh is my first mmo.

7) “What new MMO are you looking forward to?”: near term:dcuo; med term:swtor; long term:wh40k.



good luck with the data.

Player Name: The Thorny Devil

Character Stats: (Level 50 Necromancy/Dark Miasma Mastermind)

1) What’s in a name? I'm a big lover of lizards, and Thorny Devil is the name given to my favourite lizard of them all. I have a few toons with 'Thorny' in them, Furious Thorny being one example.

2) What’s in a job? I try all types of AT. But my favoured is Masterminds and Stalkers. I have 2 of each AT except for VEATs and I have no HEATs, I just can't get on with them.

3) What’s in a game?: The community, no MMO is as friendly as this one. Yes there area few fisty-cuffs from time to time on these forums, but they aren't as bad as some game forums I might not mention...

4) What’s in a story?: So many to mention, but I can't think of any.

5) What’s in a friend?: I have a lot of friends in-game. One of them is my fiance, and one is my brother. The rest are people I've teamed with over the 4+ years I've being playing. Most of them belong to a private channel we are always chatting on.

6) “What got you into MMOs?” The first MMO I played was Phantasy Star Online on the Xbox. After that I was watching a computer game show once and City of Heroes was a feature on it. I looked it up and brought it and loved it ever since.

7) “What new MMO are you looking forward to?” Star Wars Online. Also City of Heroes 2 and Warhammer 40k Online (if they are ever made)

Player Name: Mirai

Character Stats:
I have 46 characters, including at least one of every archetype, ranging from levels 21 to 50. I like variety. My favorite character, Yukihime, is a Level 50 Magic Ice Blast/Ice Manipulation/Cold Mastery Blaster.

1) What’s in a name? :
Some of my names are influenced by Japanese anime and manga (Yukihime, Midori Mink, Shatterer Arare, Tobineko, etc). Some are names that I commonly use in gaming (Crysandre, Gisellen, Sibrin, Risommer, etc). Other than that, I generally try to present a traditional superhero/supervillain style with my names (Glitter, Black Clover, Doctor Anomaly, Crystal Snowflake, etc).

2) What’s in a job? :
I much prefer to play solo, so all but a few of my characters have to do well solo. I normally pick powersets and powers that excel in solo play. Naturally that means I have more scrappers than other archetypes, although I actually enjoy playing blasters the most. (Coming up with solo friendly combinations is a little trickier for blasters than scrappers.)

3) What’s in a game?:
I like that this is a solo friendly superhero game, with good character models and graphics, and a vast array of costume possibilities. To improve it for my tastes, I would make Archvillain/Elite Boss missions more solo friendly.

4) What’s in a story?:
My scrapper Suiren (now level 50) was my first character to get Super Jump. At level 15, while jumping through Steel Canyon, I accidentally shot past a group of high level Freakshow that appeared as an ambush for another player. I was promptly killed. That convinced me to get Stealth for that character. Several days later (at level 16), while jumping through Steel Canyon, I shot past a high level Rikti ambush group. A Rikti Drone spotted me through my Stealth, and I was promptly killed. That convinced me to respec from jumping to flight, since I wasn't fond of the jumping mechanics anyway. These days, all of my characters can fly.

5) What’s in a friend?:
I've been in a few super groups and villain groups, but I normally prefer to make solo groups for my characters. My heroes on the Champion server are in the Forumites United group, while my villains there are in the Forumites Unleashed group. Unfortunately, those two groups are pretty much dead these days except for me.

6) “What got you into MMOs?”
City of Heroes. That was the one. It's still my all-time favorite computer game. I'm really not into MMOs, since I'm a soloing type. However, I've also become fond of Star Trek Online.


7) “What new MMO are you looking forward to?”
I'll probably buy DC Universe Online when it comes out.

...researching "social engineering" in your class?

Just finished my final game project for my final class. Guess I can look forward to receiving my bachelor's degree, before sticking that in a box and moving on to my master's degree soon.


Player Name: Langes Towem

Character Stats: Fire/Fire Blaster

1) What’s in a name? : This is the name I always use for my mage/alchemist/scientist characters. Langes is usually my "mad" character where you can never tell if he is laughing at a joke or thinking of experimenting on you. When he is a Pyromancer, it is extra fun. The name is nothing, other than the history of it's use within RP. Crazy mage. I have been known to play a knight (Ademis) or a rogue (Senim).

2) What’s in a job? : I like the place the glass cannon in games and very rarely play anything else. I had once enjoyed life as a melee (berserker, then a stealther), but now spend my days as a ranged DPS that can't take a hit. I will play a fire caster whenever possible.

3) What’s in a game?: You can make anything you want. This has produced many great RP sessions with my ex RP partner. Other than that... The game is mostly about combat, where I enjoy some crafting and toying with the market.

4) What’s in a story?: Nothing to do with online friends. I have had many great RP sessions with characters created in this world. Namely Langes and Bakemono (SS/WP Brute).

5) What’s in a friend?: I mostly play alone and do not get attached to anyone online. I could make someone a great friend, enjoy their company online each night and then just forget them when I move on from the game. Guilds are important to me, either way. Without people, it really does get old faster.

6) “What got you into MMOs?”: I started on my own with Everquest and Ultima Online. I loved the idea of a persistent world, as I often find our own rather dull.

7) “What new MMO are you looking forward to?”: Star Wars: The Old Republic and Final Fantasy XIV. I am a crazed Bioware fan who hopes he may work with them someday and I had played FFXI for several years and let me say... People on Aion do not know grind.