to things i will say to you

1 unless we make indie mmorpgs

2 does tibia offer the same experiance

I was playing Daoc before WOW and had followed a crapton of beta's/releases.

What captured me the most about WOW beyond the great atmosphere and tongue in cheek humor of the game was the absolute smooth performance, the great character control (responded really well), and the fact that compared to the state MMO's were released before that, WOW was really low on bugs overall. (by the EU release anyway). That, on top of the fact that I felt like I needed several accounts in Daoc to play/compete properly, yet despite my hoarding habits I was already playing WOW for 2 weeks before I even realized I hadn't thought about needing more than 1 account even once.

Was a great time in my opinion.

WoW was basically the polished, finished product that evolved from its predecessors. Other members have mentioned ultima online, and for quite some time the Big 3 mmos were UO, Everquest and Asheron's Call, with EQ being by far the most popular. I played EQ and AC extensively.

The premise is similar but the execution was inferior. WoW basically took all the best ideas, put them together using a recognizable IP and polished to the max.

My knowledge of MMOs certainly does not extend as far back as UO and EQ1, but I feel one of the biggest change to MMOs over the years is the community aspect. Older games seemed to really focus on the players and allowing them to make the world truly their own. Nowadays, it feels as if MMOs are little more than a solo affair with community interaction being entirely optional. Story seems to be the main focus now.

A few examples of the MMOs I played are Shadowbane, Anarchy Online, Star Wars Galaxies (pre-cu), and Lineage 2. Shadowbane was great, as the world was pretty unrestricted in how players interacted with each other. Players built cities, fought each other, and created a pretty fun and dynamic environment. Lineage 2, while not quite as open, was still interesting (the first few chronicles anyway) with how dynamic and political the community became. To me, that is what kept things fun, as each day you logged in, something new and interesting was going on. The players essentially made the games what they were, the devs did little more than build the foundation to make it happen.

I only played a short portion of WoW on a friend's account, so I can't really speak for that game in particular, but it certainly did not seem like it was leading to anything like the previous MMOs I had played. I just know that every trial I attempt for modern MMOs, I feel as though I am just being funneled through fedex quests and a bland story line, most of which can usually be done alone. I hardly see others, as they are either in instanced missions or off soloing the game as well. There is no forced interaction or dynamic, player created environments.

Just my two cents anyway. Hopefully I can elaborate a bit more later, but wanted to rant a little bit before I head out for dinner.

off topic question

is neverwinter nights considered a mmorpg?

This pretty much sums up my thoughts on the difference between EQ1 and Warcraft.
Which style you prefer is, of course, a matter of personal opinion. Myself, I find the trend towards eliminating the need to interact with other players in a genre defined other players, a bit odd, but it does seem popular.

The most striking difference, to me, is the difference this makes in the type of communities the games have. The solo-friendly games seem to generate a community with a more selfish, less cooperative attitude. Whereas games which require more interaction and cooperation, seem to, on the whole, end up with friendlier communities.

I think that is one problems with multiplayer games of any kind.

If you think about making a multiplayer game more easier and accesible to the point of solo play then gamers pretty much don't need to rely on teamwork and cooperation like for example:

when was the last time in Call of Duty where you ever really played like a team
compared to older shooters like Rainbow Six and Battllefield 2 so much aspects that forces you to play like a team such a limited health etc. etc.

which one? the original AOL one? some people do consider it, some do not.

i did play it, but i do not remember the world being persistant. it has been so long, i can not remember.

i consider UO to be my first "real" MMO.

sorry for the non-answer!

I meant bioware's neverwinter nights

No. While there are persistent servers, it is still questionable if they quite count as MMOs (not massive enough).