I was trying to figure this out the other day.

[Derek0660]

What makes PSO so addictive?
And fun?
The gameplay is VERY repetitive, the graphics suck, the music sucks.
WHY IS IT SO FREAKING FUN?

[trypticon]

IT isn't. The community is.

Consider if you are stuck offline. The game isn't fun. It is repetative, and that's it.

If you are stuck offline with no access to fan sites like this one, it's even worse.

The community, if it's a good one (not on GC anymore, sorry, not on Xbox either, and from the sounds of it, not so much on Blue Balls either) gaming can be fun.

I defined the game early on as one of the few multiplayer games I actually had fun with. But it isn't fun along the lines of River City Ransom fun, PSO fall far short of that. If there were no chat functions available, the game would still suck online, even in a group of people. It's the ability to cast a personality over your character through your gameplay, and your words that makes the game interesting. It's fan sites like this one that carries that on, because even people you don't game with regularly or at all can then know about you. It's like a sense of desperation, in a way, making sure you are known by many people you will never meet in the hopes that when you stop playing, you will be remembered.

Looking at it in that light, it's like bragging rights, but at the same time, we don't want to downgrade our fun, or our known personalities to simply that. That would be an insult to all of us.

The game, while not having much to it, even online, allows for the freedom to create a persona to be known by. Who views me as anything but a big red robot? There's a reason I refuse to show any real pictures of me online, because I'm not known for being a real person, only a digitized character. Certainly, in real life I'm not known as that, but the personality that resonates from the digital also resonates from the real, and it has changed over the years, another reason for the games longevity.

Freedom for personality, but also time enough and freedom enough for that personality to noticeably change.

The game isn't fun. The impressions can be.

[shinobu_seta]

For me there are several reasons.

1. Customer characters (yeah this is in a lot of games), however they appear to have a cuter/anime look to them rather than the usual western fantasy looking style.
2. It's Sci Fi (not the usual mideavil type world MMO's are set in)
3. It's more action oriented, rather than the usual "mouse over your enemy and click attack to watch them pummel each other."
4. It as a strong background and history (albeit some genesis games that were "love it or hate it" I thought they were great IMO)

5. The best reason of all though, are your friends and community that you share the game with. That's what can either make or break this game for you, because playing by yourself gets old pretty fast.

[Skorpius]

Complex simplicity. http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif

[Derek0660]

On 2005-12-11 12:37, shinobu_seta wrote:
For me there are several reasons.

1. Customer More custom characters (yeah this is in a lot of games), however they appear to have a cuter/anime look to them rather than the usual western fantasy looking style.
2. It's Sci Fi (not the usual mideavil type world MMO's are set in)
3. It's more action oriented, rather than the usual "mouse over your enemy and click attack to watch them pummel each other."
4. It as a strong background and history (albeit some genesis games that were "love it or hate it" I thought they were great IMO)

5. The best reason of all though, are your friends and community that you share the game with. That's what can either make or break this game for you, because playing by yourself gets old pretty fast.



I have to admit, though, when you find a red box not knowing what it's going to be labled "? SPECIAL WEAPON" there is nothing like the suspense of getting it tekked.

And there's also the thrill of "Yes! I found a rare!"

Edit: Customer characters (they pay lots of cash) http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Derek0660 on 2005-12-11 15:22 ]</font>

[zwandude15]

On 2005-12-11 12:42, Skorpius wrote:
Complex simplicity. http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wacko.gif


All you ever needed to hear was in that two word sentence.

[Delfi]

for me its all about HARD WORK paying off when that rare you have spent 3 months or longer looking 4 finally turns up - oo the adrenalin rush is awesome - better than most fairground rides.

[EphekZ]

It's not the online portion its liek skorp said complex simplicity. you have so many choices in th egame too.

The best part is its an RPG but not turn based fully real time. where its not like other games where you're walkin and you warp.

[whiteninja]

The RED BOX! Once you see it, there is no turning back. It gets you forever addicted to PSO... it and it's slowly rotating red glory... with the little gray corner... It's hypnotism!

[AxelgearVII]

On 2005-12-11 20:30, whiteninja wrote:
The RED BOX! Once you see it, there is no turning back. It gets you forever addicted to PSO... it and it's slowly rotating red glory... with the little gray corner... It's hypnotism!



Yes. Its like virtual crack. You find one and get that high, then you're off on another hunt trying to regain that same high. I try to end that spiral when I hit level 200 or else there wouldnt be an end to it. >_>

[Dana]

On 2005-12-11 12:32, trypticon wrote:
IT isn't. The community is.

Consider if you are stuck offline. The game isn't fun. It is repetative, and that's it.



>.>;;;

yeah O.o

but, PSOPBB is fun, i really hate the keyboard but, that can be changed http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/anime1.gif

It's definetly the people which make the game fun http://pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/anime1.gif

[fronebullare]

Like every one said before..the red box!! it's the only reason i still play pso really..that and the community!

[Bladehunter]

The steady goal of pushing the last 29 levels, and ofc the red boxes. Once it drops, you can't stop.

[RadiantLegend]

Most of all, its using that red box you just found.

[metatime]

I agree with skorp, it is the simplicity of the game and the fact that hunting and leveling up can get addicting.

I have been offline for the longest time before I went online so being with other people is not a huge factor.

Its like eating a hotdog without ever putting ketchup on it. Once you put ketchup on it, you don't want to go back to a regular hot dog.

[goofyfoot12]

Okay I have to say, playing online is VERY fun. I myself don't have the privalige of playing online (surfing dad... go figure) Anyways, yes the game is repeative but who cares the game is really fun. I never get tired of going over the same lvls over and over again til I beat it. Also there is that time when you find the red box and you are like yesssss time to get rid of this buster+30 that I have been using all through v-hard mode!

[xxTrystanxx]

I thought about this once, too. My fiance has played PSO for a long time. I watched him play a lot before I ever had the gumption to try it myself. I'm still new, so the excitement of new levels and quests to play keeps me interested, but you do hit a point where say, like I am, I'm not quite ready for Ultimate mode yet, but Very Hard really isn't a challenge either. So what keeps me interested?

Item hunts! I'm an anal kind of person who likes to chart and graph and extropolate various data. So keeping logs of my item hunts and perhaps contributing information on this site through excavation reports keeps me interested.

[Getintothegame]

I agree with it being the community... it's really the competition and show off of the game and the ability to find rares.

There's always something better, so hunt for it-- that's about it. And get to level 200!

[Fossil]

The only few reasons I found this game so addicting was because of the thrill of hunting rares and having other people to game with online. That isn't including the "community". If I actually had real life friends that played this game I might've never cared for online besides the content.

[Sharkyland]

The characters... online... simplicity... stress reliever (WORK SUCKED TODAY, MELQUEEKS NEED TO DIE!)

[Neith]

-Red box Hunts got me hooked.

-Different from other RPG's, more 'user-controlled'?

-No 'LFG, Monk, lolz'

-The hike to Lv200

For me, the community had no part of making me like this, they actually had the opposite effect, putting me off.

I prefer offline play most of the time, no n00bs telling me how to play a game I've played for years. Online, I only play with a circle of friends, and never in open games.

So yeah, it's more the aspects of the game itself that hooked me, not the players.

[BahnKnakyu]

It's not a true MMORPG, and that's what I love about it. It's Dynasty Warriors-style hack'n'slash, where you have the capability to avoid an attack someone does not (only) by your evasion or whatever silly number the game uses, but by PHYSICALLY moving your character out of the way of the attack.

This bugged the heck out of me in Star Wars Galaxies, I could not quite grasp the concept of being shot at, moving out of the way and still getting hit because the shot 'locked' onto me. I also don't like the "click this, click that, and use only 5 out of the bazillion skills that are actually useful to the game" feature that most MMORPGs suffer from.

Basically, the fact that I actually beat the stuffing out of the stuff I fight *online* is what makes it so addictive. I don't think any active multiplayer online game matches PSO in its unique gameplay style.

I just hope that PSU builds upon this concept, but gets rid of the huge dependency on items to survive in the later difficulty levels.