ROLEPLAYING made more compelling...
One of the things that pulled me into Anarchy Online and has kept me here was the incredible sense of 'place' Funcom has been able to achieve. Graphically, the game is superior to most other MMORPGs out there and the audio portion of the game simply carries the mood and immersion over the top.
The other thing that enticed me to TRY AO for the first time was their claim at a real STORY that we were all a part of. This, I'm afraid, has been the weakest part of the entire experience. Sure, there have been complaints about character balancing, weapon tweaks, exploits, etc.—these are all valid, I suppose, but only within the confines of an actual PURPOSE. So far, the only reason we're all concerned with building 'uber' characters is because there isn't much else to do.
I applaud FUNCOM on their inclusion of new NPC-derived quests...we could use MORE. I am pleased that there are more static dungeons...these are also fun (though a bit overcamped).
What I would like to see, however, is more of Rubi-Ka's storyline sneaking into the ambience of the gameplay itself. To that end, here are some suggestions:
As an Omni-Tek employee, I travel around our fair cities often. During these travels, I hear the soothing female voice reassuring me, "Omni-Tek is your friend." Unfortunately, that's about all she says (outside of, "buy a gun, kill a clan member). Also heard are chants of 'Bronto, Bronto Bronto!' from the vendors and a few other choice soundbites. What I would love to hear (and this could be sent via a bi-weekly patch) that pleasant female voice announcing/reporting on a Clan raid or the Bronto guy announcing he's closed his franchise 'till they stop the bronto supply raids in Newland. It would feel more compelling to the ROLEPLAY experience if the world actually reflected the plot developments of AO's story.
NPCs could be given pat responses having to do with events in the storyline. The world would feel more alive if you walked by a conversation in progress about a Clan raid, etc. The mini-quests that certain NPCs could be expanded to certain NPC 'classes'—talk to ANY NPC of a given class and eventually (by wading through plot elements, you might be able to receive a quest. Some NPCs may offer the quest right away, others might talk your ear off first.
Install Monitors with small staticky news-casts (looping).
Basically, there are lots of things that could be done to bring the story INTO the game. I think it's rather sorry that for me to ROLEPLAY or feel as though there are actual CHANGES in the world, I need to LOGOUT and read a web page. It really breaks the immersive experience and reduces most roleplaying attempts to, "I've got my next level! woot!!"
Leveling should NOT be the focus of this game but the side effect of pursuing a global outcome.
Next time I enter Omni-Ent and see bodies lying on the ground or an Apartment building in ruin, I want to HEAR the female voice reassuring me that 'everything is ok. Omni-engineering corp will have this fixed in no time..." I want the truth to be covered up IN-GAME. I want to talk to an NPC and have them give me a rumor that it was really a successful clan raid. I want to be offered a chance for a vengance quest.
FUNCOM, it doesn't take much to play with our imaginations. You've done a TERRIFIC job setting up a believable world. Let's bring a PURPOSE to it IN-GAME.
Hear my cry. Help those of us interested in actually ROLEPLAYING do more in your world than power-level.
