Very strange, why all spinks post is about the one time events at GW2 (the picture above the post is from the Lost Shores) is that the type 1 don’t like them… So, basically, you are saying spinks is tottally wrong and type 1 gamers like one time events…

Maybe the problem is that some people think that “dynamic” is a sandbox pvp full loot MMO. However, the players type 2 are growing with single player RPG games that are not sandbox. Dynamic for these gamers is not build and destroy and rebuild sand castles (and that is basically everything you can got from a sandbox, nothing more than that), but NPCs that interact and change and behave diferently with the action of players. Basically, the NPC interaction we see at Elder Scrolls and other games of same kind.

The “dynamic” is not restricted only to sandbox and pvp and that mistake will make some dreams be nightmares, because the wolves ever will be a minority that cannot pay enough for mantain a MMO. The Darkfall 2 is an example to soon to be nightmare, the problem with that game ever was the pvp full loot, sheep will never play it and pvp with wolves against wolves is not fun, and they not effectivelly changed it. If Everquest Next is made as sandbox pvp full loot I am sure it will be a disaster worse than Vanguard…

[maybe you like to use the example of EVE as a sucess of pvp full loot, but sorry to say it, less than 10% of EVE players go to systems bellow 0.8 - but we will see forever posts at bloggers about how to fix systems 0.0, when it is something that never will be fixed]

I saw a lot of people at GW2 forums having problems why they don’t get the rewards at Lost Shores and that do’nt like one time events because they can lost them. For me, that are type 1 gamers. GW2 is not a type 1 friendly game.

However, I saw at GW2 forums more people that like the idea of one time events than people that not like it at . Most critics are going after the problems with implementation, mostly bugs and lag issues, but not against the idea of one time events, they said just want better implementation. From what we saw, Anet will not only make the xmas event, but too they have preparated one time events for january (confirmed at GW2 official site) and february (from dev interview), so let’s hope they make the implementation better. From a dev interview we too have the impression they will make that one time events each month.

But quoting from my head some comments I saw about the incoming one time events each month, I saw two player quibling like this: “Let’s hope they make the attacks to other cities and not only to Lions Arch” ” why not? There are half tower at Lions Arch that was not destroyed yet”

My guess is that there are a lot of places that Anet can destroy at Tyria: that dam near DR (that will just open a new area north to DR), DR itself can just collapse at that huge hole, ghosts can just overun BC, the real owners of Rata Sun can return, that huge wall that defend tengu city can fell (making tengu a playable race). My guess is that GW2 will have a lot of one time events with too much creative destruction…

“You cannot explain how GW2 is the second most played MMO game at Xfire if “the majority of core MMO gamers” are Type 1.”

Actually I can.

GW2′s version of dynamism is a fixed number of options (defense, escort, invade) that cycle randomly with outcomes depending on the number of participants. You can set your watch by it.

Due to the lack of world PvP or competing for resource nodes with other players, plus the fact that Lost Shores and Mad King were totally opt in, GW2 is probably one of the most type 1 friendly games out there.

I’m all for dynamic, and difficult, worlds – early start RIFT was spectacular, less so when the invasions became timed. But the fact is they made that change because people were leaving the game. Most players like the stability of a fixed world. This, I expect, is why we don’t see too many sandbox games and those that exist are fairly small.

I wouldn’t make too much of the bloggers talking up novel game mechanics, this is a self-selecting group that almost by definition isn’t talking about the more standard fare.

It was 8 million last time I saw, they lost 1 million before MoP. If they lost one more million (that I think q4 2012 report will show), they will be 7 million, not 9 million.

I guess how many millions subscripters WoW will have after a long bleed that will be 2013. We will not see any WoW expansion at 2013…

“My point is that people may ask for more dynamic worlds, but when it comes down to it, many players prefer the sort of dynamic event that is under their control and will never disrupt their own playing schedule. ”

The problem is that all new MMO gamers are coming from single player games with dynamic worlds (or at least the illusion of be dynamic worlds). That is the reason they ask for dynamic MMO worlds. However, while they can control their own playing schedule at single player games, that is only possible at MMO if they are static…

There is a trade off. The question is that if the new MMO gamers that come from single player games that are dynamic can accept lose the control of shcedule for have a MMO dynamic world. If they can do that trade off, the future will be dynamic MMO worlds, not static.

Anyway, I think funny see a lot of bloggers to note the fact the players are everytime looking for the new “shinny” at MMO but cannot relate it with the fact that the new players are coming from dynamic worlds (single player games) and soon find MMO static worlds boring.

There is some new phenomena happening with these new MMO players that a lot of devs need take note. MMO games as TSW that have a very interesting setting, a good skill system and a combat similar to single player games are failing at just get that single player gamers taht they were created for be the market target. IMHO, the problem with TSW, Tera and City of Steam, that are made for attrack that single player gamers (so, the combat system), is the same: they are static worlds.

My point is that people may ask for more dynamic worlds, but when it comes down to it, many players prefer the sort of dynamic event that is under their control and will never disrupt their own playing schedule. You talk about the 1m players who may leave WoW this quarter. I point to the other 9m who will stay.

I don’t follow xfire numbers but I assume GW2 numbers are way down when there isn’t an event weekend on. So while a good number of players will pop back to investigate the dynamic events, they won’t all settle back in to play continuously outside that. We know events do well for F2P games, so that’s the pattern Anet will likely keep following. Will people keep being interested enough to keep checking on them? That’s something we will see.

I have one problem with your analyses: I am not sure that the Type 1 players are the majority of core MMO gamers. If that is true, why we see everyone, including MMO bloggers, saying that want LESS static and MORE dynamic worlds? Or why we see too many MMO bloggers defending the creation of sandbox MMO? Just look at the commnets of your post and you will see a lot of players saying “I am Type 2″. No one saying “I am Type 1″.

Take note that MMO players too play single player RPGs and all that games currently try create an illusion of dynamic world. And ALL the new MMO players come that single player RPGs.

IMHO, we live at a diferent eletronic game age than when EQ and UO were launched. Currently, the new MMO players will come from dynamic world single RPG games and they will look for MMO with dynamic content.

IMHO, that is the reason WoW is showing its age and losing subscripters (q4 2012 will show WoW losing more 1 million subscripters, and they had MoP expansion…): WoW is a static world.

I think Tobold just saw that problem with MMO static worlds when he make a fast analysis of World of Steam (http://tobolds.blogspot.com.br/2012/12/my-apologies-to-city-of-steam.html): the quests and the world are static. The same problem apply to TSW: a good setting is not enough for create a 1 million subscripters game.

Take note that Tobold quit WoW after some weeks of MoP and wrote a post about the “MMO of the Future” (http://tobolds.blogspot.com.br/2012/11/the-mmo-of-future.html) where he basically say want a more dynamic MMO world. I think it is funny that a lot of features he wants at the “Future MMO” currently exist at sandbox MMO (ATITD, Wurm) or exist at GW2 (dynamic events). There is a sense of irony when someone wants future features that current MMO games have…

Finally, when GW2 start an one off event, Xfire show the GW2 hours played going up by 30%. While that 30% certainly are Type 2 gamers (one off events will not attack who likes a static world, sorry…), IMHO the GW2 normal population have both Type 1 and Type 2, but mostly Type 2. GW2 have the dynamic events and while the dynamic events are not so dynamic, they are not the same static quests that ask for “kill ten rats”… forever.

You cannot explain how GW2 is the second most played MMO game at Xfire if “the majority of core MMO gamers” are Type 1. You too cannot explain why TSW, that have a very good setting, lore and skill system, failed to be a 1 million subscripter game if you not see that the NEW MMO gamers, that come from single player RPG games, are mostly Type 2.

There’s nothing wrong with MMOs except other players.