Archived from groups: alt.games.everquest (More info?)
EXPANTIONITIST: A disease plaguing every major MMORPG that exists, or
probably ever will exist. The symptoms are nearly unnoticeable at
first, but they ultimately become so painstakingly obvious that ardent
fans of the original game realize they are no longer playing the same
game they learned to love. To relieve themselves of the affliction,
they leave in disgust to join another MMORPG; only years later do they
realize that every MMORPG suffers from EXPANTIONITIST.
The condition of EXPANTIONITIST manifests itself when developers
knowingly inflict EXPANTIONITIST upon their on-line RPGs by annually
releasing new paid-for content known as "expansions". Their motives at
first seem honest enough: they want more money to make their venture
more profitable. Unfortunately, to persuade current players to purchase
the infectious agent known as the EXPANSION, the developers must
imbalance the original game by introducing into the MMORPG "better"
items than the MMORPG was ever designed for. The developers claim they
are making the gameworld "better", but in the end a heavy price will be
paid by all. Here are some of the ways they imbalance the game:
- more powerful weapons than anyone of a certain level was ever meant to
wield
- more powerful armors than the gameworld was originally designed to
support
- monsters giving better loot than before, lending itself to massive
mudflation
- better forms of travel (e.g., instantaneous porting around the world
instead of taking a slow boat or walking through the countryside)
- Newer classes more powerful than what the gameworld was ever designed
for.
- New territories and cities, which permanently restructures the
gameworld by shifting massive quantities of people away from the main
cities that were originally planned.
- automated merchant capabilities, enabling asian hordes to further pump
huge amounts of platinum into the economy
EXPANTIONITIST is never to be confused with mudflation. Players
mistakenly misdiagnose the problems with the MMORPG, claiming it has
become a victim of "mudflation" (simply monetary inflation within an on-
line economy).
The only true cure for EXPANTIONITIST is for a MMORPG have its
developers state that it is expansion-free. An expansion-free MMORPG
can continue to be developed and improved, but it will be improved in a
logical fashion, not through the desire to introduce imbalancing
material. The very term "Expansion" is synonymous with "imbalance"; as
long as MMORPGs thrive on releasing expansions they will continue to
each grow out of whack with their original design.
EXPANTIONITIST: A disease plaguing every major MMORPG that exists, or
probably ever will exist. The symptoms are nearly unnoticeable at
first, but they ultimately become so painstakingly obvious that ardent
fans of the original game realize they are no longer playing the same
game they learned to love. To relieve themselves of the affliction,
they leave in disgust to join another MMORPG; only years later do they
realize that every MMORPG suffers from EXPANTIONITIST.
The condition of EXPANTIONITIST manifests itself when developers
knowingly inflict EXPANTIONITIST upon their on-line RPGs by annually
releasing new paid-for content known as "expansions". Their motives at
first seem honest enough: they want more money to make their venture
more profitable. Unfortunately, to persuade current players to purchase
the infectious agent known as the EXPANSION, the developers must
imbalance the original game by introducing into the MMORPG "better"
items than the MMORPG was ever designed for. The developers claim they
are making the gameworld "better", but in the end a heavy price will be
paid by all. Here are some of the ways they imbalance the game:
- more powerful weapons than anyone of a certain level was ever meant to
wield
- more powerful armors than the gameworld was originally designed to
support
- monsters giving better loot than before, lending itself to massive
mudflation
- better forms of travel (e.g., instantaneous porting around the world
instead of taking a slow boat or walking through the countryside)
- Newer classes more powerful than what the gameworld was ever designed
for.
- New territories and cities, which permanently restructures the
gameworld by shifting massive quantities of people away from the main
cities that were originally planned.
- automated merchant capabilities, enabling asian hordes to further pump
huge amounts of platinum into the economy
EXPANTIONITIST is never to be confused with mudflation. Players
mistakenly misdiagnose the problems with the MMORPG, claiming it has
become a victim of "mudflation" (simply monetary inflation within an on-
line economy).
The only true cure for EXPANTIONITIST is for a MMORPG have its
developers state that it is expansion-free. An expansion-free MMORPG
can continue to be developed and improved, but it will be improved in a
logical fashion, not through the desire to introduce imbalancing
material. The very term "Expansion" is synonymous with "imbalance"; as
long as MMORPGs thrive on releasing expansions they will continue to
each grow out of whack with their original design.
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