Post by Morreion on Jan 7, 2011 11:01:26 GMT -5
The Anvil of Crom: Roll the bones (Massively)
Originally formed on Star Wars Galaxies' Starsider server in early 2004, Venja is a self-described heavy roleplay guild and the brainchild of Dan "Khethys" McFatter (who's also responsible for the Darkenvane RP guild from Aion and Warhammer). What exactly is heavy roleplay? Well, aside from in-character guild chat, Venja roleplay consists of weekly interactive story publishes (and associated web-based chronicles), weekly events including fighting tournaments and gambling nights, guild rank progression that unlocks custom lore and benefits, and an elaborate "prestige" character-advancement system that makes use of in-game dice rolls and character statistics inspired by tabletop roleplaying games. Finally, lest you think it's all about sitting around the local watering hole and emoting the night away, Venja also runs old-world dungeons, raids, PvP minis, and Khitai 6-mans with regularity (and in-character, of course).
...Indeed, roleplaying in MMOs is rapidly becoming a lost art, in large part due to the genre's exploding popularity with muggles and the increasing marginalization of a small subset of narrative-loving nerds. As more non-traditional (and time-strapped) gamers have begun to throw their collective financial weight around, game companies have responded by moving MMOs away from their virtual world roots and towards a lobby/action game mentality. Fans of character- and story-driven gaming are left to use their imaginations and deal with simplistic, repetitive, and highly restrictive game mechanics, most of which are at odds with how creative types wish to play their characters. The prestige system, as well as Venja as a whole, is designed to mitigate the inherent "we can't do that in the game" roadblocks that MMO roleplayers constantly encounter.
This looks like a fresh approach! Grats to Venja!
I do get the impression that RP is slowly dying off. It does not help things at all that MMOs seem less and less interested in 'fluff mechanics' that are aids to RP. When a game doesn't even let your character sit down, you know the golden age is over.
Originally formed on Star Wars Galaxies' Starsider server in early 2004, Venja is a self-described heavy roleplay guild and the brainchild of Dan "Khethys" McFatter (who's also responsible for the Darkenvane RP guild from Aion and Warhammer). What exactly is heavy roleplay? Well, aside from in-character guild chat, Venja roleplay consists of weekly interactive story publishes (and associated web-based chronicles), weekly events including fighting tournaments and gambling nights, guild rank progression that unlocks custom lore and benefits, and an elaborate "prestige" character-advancement system that makes use of in-game dice rolls and character statistics inspired by tabletop roleplaying games. Finally, lest you think it's all about sitting around the local watering hole and emoting the night away, Venja also runs old-world dungeons, raids, PvP minis, and Khitai 6-mans with regularity (and in-character, of course).
...Indeed, roleplaying in MMOs is rapidly becoming a lost art, in large part due to the genre's exploding popularity with muggles and the increasing marginalization of a small subset of narrative-loving nerds. As more non-traditional (and time-strapped) gamers have begun to throw their collective financial weight around, game companies have responded by moving MMOs away from their virtual world roots and towards a lobby/action game mentality. Fans of character- and story-driven gaming are left to use their imaginations and deal with simplistic, repetitive, and highly restrictive game mechanics, most of which are at odds with how creative types wish to play their characters. The prestige system, as well as Venja as a whole, is designed to mitigate the inherent "we can't do that in the game" roadblocks that MMO roleplayers constantly encounter.
This looks like a fresh approach! Grats to Venja!
I do get the impression that RP is slowly dying off. It does not help things at all that MMOs seem less and less interested in 'fluff mechanics' that are aids to RP. When a game doesn't even let your character sit down, you know the golden age is over.
