I enjoyed reading this as a reflection on the 90s/00s MMO era, which has been slowly dying ever since. Game designers do seem to have learned the lessons of this time. Well, at least they are no longer building games where 'multiple fictions' are on offer. The idea of developers supporting player-generated content (remember 'UGC'?!) is also dead.
What remains in MMOs place are massively singleplayer/co-op experiences. ARC Online, Helldivers, etc.
I enjoyed reading this as a reflection on the 90s/00s MMO era, which has been slowly dying ever since. Game designers do seem to have learned the lessons of this time. Well, at least they are no longer building games where 'multiple fictions' are on offer. The idea of developers supporting player-generated content (remember 'UGC'?!) is also dead.
What remains in MMOs place are massively singleplayer/co-op experiences. ARC Online, Helldivers, etc.
The first third of this opens with so many delightful, quotable pieces of writing.
And the last third sets up something interesting.
And then it just stops. It lays groundwork for an interesting idea and then immediately abandons it.
Choose your fictions well...
Okay, but how?