I find that when some downtime does happen for whatever reason (after a wipe in a PuG, or waiting for an event to kick off) then most players don’t talk – but if someone does start, then the rest usually join in. This can turn a wipe around from people going “FFS noobs” and quitting to pulling together and beating that boss.

My own theory is that the “all solo together” thing has become a self-reinforcing paradigm. New players note that the more experienced others in the group aren’t talking and are all about the “go go go”, so they behave likewise because they want to conform. Once one person takes the step to break out of that mould, the rest are happy to follow. So maybe the the way to make our MMOs more social is for us to be more social?

I’ll probably roll a wizard next

It’s sad, I enjoyed virtual worlds and the escapism of making different characters. I suppose the majority prefer to socialise online without the RP element, and gamers mostly just want progession. But for a few years, we had an overlap and it was very cool.

We have a quandary now – any game using techniques to encourage socialisation is likely to be very harshly criticised by a sophisticated player base who see through dead time and resent it.

Sadly, you were also right in that soloers would take over the genre. I like that there is a choice; I like to get away from the social ties once in a while. What is not acceptable if that a by-definition multiplayer genre gets muddled up by all those solo/casual features that harm that social interaction that the soloers want to see but don’t care to foster. I’ve experienced the exact same situation you describe – organising an event and have people not come because it would alter their solo plans. On the other hand, I’ve also had amazing and random events in which everybody had a part to play. In any case, it always takes a toll on you. I always end up being an officer or having some major role in the guilds I’m in, because I care too much about providing for me and for the rest a good multiplayer experience.

What we’re witnessing is the triumph of the casual. And, as we have seen, with it comes the devaluing of the community. LFD, LFR, those were tools that detracted the socials from an environment that was initially theirs, and also worsened the experience of those soloers who used to tag along, in those guilds that were social-managed, but which had their share of soloers. In my current guild we have a couple of people who only come for raids. It’s a valid way of playing, of course, but I’ve never been comfortable with it. I guess that for me MMOs are not “just a game”, they are my online community (now along with you bloggers ).

Thanks for the link to that post, it was really interesting, and prophetic!