Bloody Ethics: It's not a game, it's a world

[Choppa X]

I wouldn't be so quick to say gaming companies have been missing something. While I too enjoy the free for all style of UO, it's not a sound business model for a game. The stark reality of gaming is, most people do it casually, for fun. They aren't overly competitive, they have 1-2 hours a night to dedicate to the game, and they want to get right into the action.

Games like UO and Darkfall are destined to be niche games because they are mainly only going to appeal to hardcore gamers. The sandbox nature of these games always results in a large amount of abuse, and most casual gamers don't enjoy getting railed and having their stuff taken on a regular basis. They also lack the motivation to make their own fun in the sandbox environment. The profit margins just look better for games that are a little more forgiving.

That's part of the reason UO freeshards do so well. There just aren't many alternatives for sandbox gaming, because companies would rather do what is more profitable. Lack of profit leads to a lack of innovation in the genre, so UO is still pretty much the best sandbox experience you can have, all these years later.

Great post.

[Red Morgan]

Just look at all the games that cater to "nice" people aka every other MMO out there. Those games are so stifling and constrictive they just strangle your soul until it's dead dead dead and before you know it, you're spending 80 hours a week raiding for purples like some joyless zombie. What I'm getting at is that you should thank your lucky stars for the scum-- they're a sure sign of a healthy gaming environment. lol

[Lachdanan Temujin]

Good read!

For me thats exactly why UO has such a place in my heart still. UO was more of a world than a game. I bought UO on day 1 of release not having a clue what I was getting into. I Ended up a victim more often than not until I joined with a group of anti-pks. It was the massive risks that you took just for loggin in, the moral crusade that I turned to when I had had enough of the crime, it was the need to maintain your characters life as well, nothing was handed to you. I had to develop a day job (mule char) to fund my anti-pk adventures. It was just so much more authentic and real than simply dungeion crawling for in-game fame/bling. It was a world, and I was able to shape it in my own little way.

[Lonebob]

Wow great article! It especially hit home when I read about SiNister. I was one of the first members of SiN on Great Lakes with Bone Dancer after our old guild Dark Empire had broken up. Oh the good old days. The reagent hording thing was after I was gone though. SiN is still a guild that spans multiple games.

[Tweakin]

i came across that a while back...it's still a good read

such a shame the eq model flourished while uo took a back seat

[mungrin]

I think UO was the only game that made me shake in terror.I remember farming in the woods and a PK chasing me and my heart was pounding trying to get away.What a RUSH!

[nightshark]

I think UO was the only game that made me shake in terror.I remember farming in the woods and a PK chasing me and my heart was pounding trying to get away.What a RUSH!

first time i fought back against a PK on UOSA instead of recalling, i got those shakes again. 7 years of not playing ultima online brought back some of those old feelings.

[Panthor the Hated]

i remember that feeling

[morganm]

I think UO was the only game that made me shake in terror.I remember farming in the woods and a PK chasing me and my heart was pounding trying to get away.What a RUSH!

Now even 14 years later I can still get that rush! Couple of times a week my heart gets going while playing on UOSA.

[Berock Shagando]

I just recently found this server yesterday...I played back in "The Day" on Sonoma when T2A was released. And like many of you here haven't ever felt the same about any other game since. My main was CANDY MAN and i ran around with ICECREAM MAN and the Harbingers of Death [H^D]. UO:R killed UO plain and simple...These articles posted make me want to slap some sense into the little babies and whiners who are essentially the ones who destroyed everything I come to love about the great virtual life I once lived. I was a teenager then and ever since have been wishing to find something similar and have failed until now...I found a community dedicated to the preservation of The Second Age! No more insured items. No more Blessed uber weapons. no more 100% LRC mages. No more all 70 resists. No more TRAMMEL!!!....Hello theft and looters. Hello Item Identification and vanq weapons. Hello PKing and piracy. Hello all you lost skills that were rendered useless long ago. Hello crafting and vendor houses. Hello DEATH!!...I welcome you!
Finally I've found my way HOME!!!

[Panthor the Hated]

woot woot sonoma

I dont remember you but I was Lore

[Berock Shagando]

No doubt we have crossed paths. [H^D] use to PK all over but mostly around the xroads SW of Brit thru the mountain pass and of course on Ice Isle.

[morganm]

My friends and I all played Sonoma as well and mostly hung around the x-roads. We were in [dXm]... the guild master sadly died recently =( Flackman will forever live in our hearts.

[Panthor the Hated]

we shouldnt derail this too much but I was in many of the big name guilds - though I didn't do anything of note till I went solo

409,hre(zog),pas,bg.. some others I don't recall. We have a lot of former sonoma players here. thrax is probably most notable but he got wtf pwned and may have quit again.

the old bloodrock orc clan BOC is here too - though virtually no members are from the original sonoma clan (its Urk here)

[Berock Shagando]

HA! I remember BOC, ZOG, and 409. Was thrax his sonoma main character? the name sounds familiar