Coelacanth
Stalker
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2005
- Posts
- 2,167
- Location
- Alberta, Canada
- Avatar Name
- Coelacanth Coelacanth Maryka
Time & time again, I've read players' criticisms of EU, and the lack of social interaction is a common complaint. The old-timers, and even the not-so-old-timers, fondly remember a time when the game was a lot more social and a lot more player/avatar interaction happened. So the question is, how can the game increase social interactivity between players, and what things negatively affect social gameplay?
Here are some thoughts on what might've contributed to the downfall of social interaction...
1) Auctions: As auctions effectively put to death traders & merchants as a profession, so too did they negatively impact player interaction. Players don't trade nearly as much as they used to, which means much-decreased interactions to discuss item info & stats. People just stand around like deaf-mutes by the auctioneers, often completely oblivious to any nearby conversation. Auctions are a useful part of the game so you can't just eliminate them.
2) The elimination of the avatar speaking gibberish. It was cute to listen to, and made anybody within earshot aware that a conversation was happening. I don't think I can recall when we stopped gibber-jabbering, but it's so conspicuously absent, there's nothing but profound silence in most cities. I say "Bring back the gibberish!" because it can't hurt, didn't do anything bad for the game (to my knowledge), and in its own small way, was a positive feedback for making your avatar talk...it was fun to listen to.
Feel free to add your thoughts & suggestions for ways to get more social interaction happening in EU.
Here are some thoughts on what might've contributed to the downfall of social interaction...
1) Auctions: As auctions effectively put to death traders & merchants as a profession, so too did they negatively impact player interaction. Players don't trade nearly as much as they used to, which means much-decreased interactions to discuss item info & stats. People just stand around like deaf-mutes by the auctioneers, often completely oblivious to any nearby conversation. Auctions are a useful part of the game so you can't just eliminate them.
2) The elimination of the avatar speaking gibberish. It was cute to listen to, and made anybody within earshot aware that a conversation was happening. I don't think I can recall when we stopped gibber-jabbering, but it's so conspicuously absent, there's nothing but profound silence in most cities. I say "Bring back the gibberish!" because it can't hurt, didn't do anything bad for the game (to my knowledge), and in its own small way, was a positive feedback for making your avatar talk...it was fun to listen to.
Feel free to add your thoughts & suggestions for ways to get more social interaction happening in EU.