+- Southperry.net (https://www.southperry.net)
+-- Forum: Maplestory (https://www.southperry.net/forumdisplay.php?fid=15)
+--- Forum: Maplestory Discussion (https://www.southperry.net/forumdisplay.php?fid=31)
+--- Thread: Pan's Big Bang Preparatory Essay (/showthread.php?tid=32083)
Pan's Big Bang Preparatory Essay - Pan - 2010-10-30
This is a little something I whipped up. Felt this was the best place to put it. Enjoy.
Now, before you jump the gun and judge me for writing an essay on MapleStory, you can take your hands off that keyboard so ready to load hateful messages, navigate your cursor to the upper-left hand corner of the screen, and click the arrow that points to the left. Yes, that one. Personally, essays are a comfortable way for me to announce my opinion when theres loads of pomegranate going on in my mind, and Im likely certainly procrastinating. Either way, I needed to do this, so dont judge me.
We have a time and event of revolution upon us within the next several months. You guessed it the feared, the adored, the terrifying, the beautiful, the pissed-in-pants-on-sight, revolutionary Big Bang patch is almost here. With it, the sheer concept of what MapleStory was like five years ago will be completely lost, crushed under the brazen and ambitious boots of the Nexon employees. The New MapleStory will completely blow us all away, completely change our notion of what MapleStory is, unite us under a common goal, will leave us satisfied for years to come, and probably cure cancer along the way.
Or at least, thats what the Dev Blogs have been saying.
True, theres much excitement following in the heavy wake of the Big Bang Boat, hyping us up and making us all believe that the remedy for the flaws of MapleStory is finally here, and we will forever PQ in harmony. Some realists know that it cant fix everything (nothing will repair its ill-begotten community), but many among us would be lying if they said they didnt drool a little when they stumbled upon the entire details list on Basilmarket. Many are excited and ready with open arms for this new and radical change; other stalwarts that have been around for a longer time, such as the beta crowd, are either quaking in their boots or furiously blasting debates over a series of forums about why the old Maple was better when it was harder. I myself dont know what to expect, but I know that Ill miss the rough-and-tumble of Maple, back when I started in March of 2007.
I remember the day exactly. It was a Sunday, I was on my moms computer and I finally figured out how to use Email so I could verify my account for this MapleStory thing I had just downloaded. The small icon of the orange mushroom-like house sat on my desktop, begging for the double click that my index finger had so eagerly pounded into it. It was the start of a beautiful friendship, and an ugly addiction.
That day was a lot of firsts for me my first time using the computer for a game, the first time playing an online game, and my first time playing an RPG. Sure thats a lot to take and the average MapleStory starter nowadays has a little bit better of a background when he loads it up the first time, but I was a total greenhorn. I screwed up my build, messed up my equips, misconstrued my skills; it was a total nightmare for training in todays perspective but when I was thirteen, I didnt care. All I did was love the pomegranate out of that game, logged on to play it every day and played every hour for which the computer was available.
There was somewhat more of a camaraderie back then as opposed to what there is now; in our guilds and cliques and whatnot we would spend hours hanging out, and killing monsters. I suppose one could say we lived the Maplestorian Dream, so to speak: killing monsters and hanging out with friends. We would adventure together and pretend we were explorers forging a path through some foreign land; Sleepywood and the Ant Tunnel seemed so wild and untamed to us. Still, it was just a 2D videogame that I just poured hours of my life into, not a real-life experience. Oh, the sugarcoating of nostalgia.
After pouring what was months into a Page that got to level 36, screwed out its stats to something unimaginable (I had no idea these builds existed and so I added whatever I felt was necessary. Endgame for cgelozelda was with 13 LUK or so) and never made much more than 500k, I finally quit. Yet, the game would still haunt me for years to come and to this very day.
Because MapleStory was so modular, so seasonal, and so updated, I returned to playing roughly every six months. I was typically one to revisit old games, but MapleStory was different new updates would come, new scores of players would flood in, fluctuate out, so much so that it was practically impossible to keep track of your old comrades. I suppose that I believed I was among a select few engaging in this practice, trying to rekindle the fires of better days, and ultimately failing. After talking to friends who had eloped in and out of the game almost on a timed schedule, I found out that there were many more like me. And really, the game was just getting the same old, recycled players.
So its led me to a conclusion that the reason these friendships dont form so readily in your second or third character is that, despite all the players being recycled with a few new ones thrown in, nobody knows who anybody is anymore. Think about it its almost as if you were at a Halloween party, became friends with a cool group of people, then later, everyone switches masks and everyone looks like a new person. Its my theory that we all were led to assume that these people we met were all newcomers, we were the true veterans, and nobody else on the map youre training on has had the same old experiences.
Many Maplers had their own individual stories, but they were all united in somewhat the same way: since we all were a low level at one point, and we all knew what it was like to be unfunded, what it was like to sell your first scroll for one million mesos and feel infinitely rich, to die when you had spent countless hours training only to blow it all away in one fell swoop. Some could count being stuck in Orbis because they didnt have enough money for the return trip (happened to me, sadly). Others could recount the first NX item they bought and how they went to strut their stuff in Henesys, only to be smacked down by the almighty hammer of somebody who probably stole their parents credit card.
To many, it felt that our characters were not just a digital representation of us for use in this game we felt that the little bobblehead-like figures were an extension of us; the relation was strong, and many would think that their character was a serious part of them that felt, just like every other part of the body. Despite the games extensive list of unrealisticity, it was easy to get immersed and to only care about what happened within the bounds of the game.
I suppose we built up some sort of gratification in our extensive, even obsessive levels of training and leveling up. It felt like an achievement to have a high-level character, when it was so difficult to level up and we became so involved with the game.
My lack of being able to be concise is getting at me again, and I feel I must readjust my course. Onto the update.
Like I mentioned before, the Big Bang Patch will violently shake the foundations of what we know to be MapleStory by toning down EXP curves, adding in new maps, re-constructing towns from the ground up, adding three new classes at once, and re-balancing the terribly imbalanced classes that are with us now. Really, its almost like theyre throwing the old game away, and replacing it with this new and improved version that will undoubtedly blow our minds away, for better or for worse. This has left the, in the immortal words of SlayerGhost of the NX forums, nostalgia-sickened patsies, crying squawks of treason and feeling betrayed by the Holy Empire of Nexon.
Eugh, romanticizing again. I admit its a guilty pleasure of mine, but alas, my brothers and sisters, we must stop that here.
Either way, the people that jumped on the metaphorical boat fresh out of Beta are mighty pissed that ANY changes happened about the game, that might have affected it negatively in any way. Much of the view (this population will be hereafter referred to as Nostalgics) feels that through the many updates, the community has been so contrived to be total whores for damage, and the super-fast leveling nowadays spoils the captivating and overbearingly manly camaraderie the game once had. This pattern of thinking seems to be counter-logical, despite being notoriously popular among forumers, with only a few holdouts that sincerely believe that the game has actually improved over the course of time.
The arguments (only counting sensible ones here) usually dont directly blame content for ruining the game. Many Nostalgics have stated that through updates that make it easier to level, the community has not seen the necessity to band together and play. Some say the guilds are not as dedicated, people are self-centered, and a CC pl0x is more likely than a pt me nowadays.
I however, disagree with these sentiments. Ill restate now that I started playing the game several years ago, which isnt immediately post-beta but still, was roughly the same. Back then it still took ages to level, especially when you had no source of funding or didnt know what a skill or stat build was. I did experience the camaraderie with my other clueless friends, but as I look in retrospect, it took eons to get from one level to the next. On my Page I didnt pass level 36 and still, I could barely level over the course of one dedicated-ass day.
And I recall far more times of being told CC n00b, and something along the lines of a party request was extremely rare. Still, I enjoyed the game a lot more back then probably more because it was difficult, new, and never before seen. Playing MapleStory now is somewhat jaded, but I think Im going to take a firm side on the Nexon Loyalist Brigade. I pledge allegiance to the thought that MapleStory is better now than it was so many years ago.
I blame the sweet poison of reminiscence, nostalgia, for deluding my former brethren into believing it was better back then. George Wildman Ball has been quoted to say, Nostalgia is a seductive liar, and I couldnt agree with him more. She can make it seem like there were no hardships, it was simpler then, and everyone depended on one another. But shes a dirty, dirty trickster. When I joined MapleStory back then, a solid 60% played assassins, people scammed, people hacked like there was no tomorrow, I was called a noob more times than I can count, and the amount of time it took to level was damn near dangerous to my health.
In a matter of weeks or so, or whenever the timeframe opens up to me, Im going to own up to my big talk and play some Maple. I already reserved an IGN for a new Brawler, KiltCommando so if anyone wants to join me in my escapades, feel free. What I am looking forward to is the Big Bang Patch, so whenever that comes to smile and clear Nexons name, youll either be seeing me on that character or some other amongst my collection.
The patch is looking like a hot drop in December, and nobodys entirely sure about how its going to affect how we like this game. Admittably, Maple is solid and fun, but bitterly redundant and excessively repetitive. What I would like to see is an addition in variety (both PQs and normal quests, as well as maps and training spots) that add some level of challenge to doing any task. So that more than just aesthetics and time requirement change when you swap leveling spots or go up to the next PQ, and the challenge actually becomes different each time and frequently.
Building on that, is what I think is essential to making any video game fun and playable to its greatest extent. That with the variety, more than just the F2P MMO market is attracted to this game it becomes a hot topic for console gamers, and challenges the P2P market by swinging a metaphorical plantain in its face and laughing maniacally.
The ambitious future of Nexon lies not within being modest and passive, making alright games with decent game output, given the two extremes of fun and boring. I think that destiny relies on making a big decision, that this Big Bang could put MapleStory, Nexons old mule, onto the big show. MapleStory needs to become a mode of bragging rights, exclusive to Nexon that raises the bar and forces the rival companies to fix their pomegranate.
You may now be reading this and singling me out, calling me an over-the-top nerd who has nothing to do better with his time. While thats true, you cannot believe how much subtle fun I am having right now. That given, Ill smash some ideas together for a conclusion of sorts.
Whatever the Big Bang Patch brings in terms of content, theres a few impossible tasks that I want it to accomplish: Unite the userbase, Vary the gameplay, and reintroduce the brotherhood instilled in us. Unity among users is the distant hope that the Nostalgics and Loyalists may once again join in brotherhood, Variety is the hope that we may actually do something different every once in a while, and to reintroduce the camaraderie is to strong-arm us into using teamwork. One thing to suggest here: If a single PQ is varied, inconsistent, then it will be more teamwork-demanding for the participants of it.
The Big Bang has a lot of our hopes riding on it. Hopes that may be distant and faint, hopes that might be a little bit more realistic. Either way, its the most conversational thing about Maples future, and I hope I aided to quell most of that conversation.
Pan's Big Bang Preparatory Essay - rayhovite - 2010-10-30
Your paragraphs are too short as well as the body. It appears your transition sentences are nonexistent.
I can't find a conclusion. The last two lines seem more worthy of an intro than for a conclusion. Lastly, you have many sentence fragments.
DO AGAIN
Pan's Big Bang Preparatory Essay - Pan - 2010-10-30
rayhovite Wrote:Your paragraphs are too short as well as the body. It appears your transition sentences are nonexistent.
I can't find a conclusion. The last two lines seem more worthy of an intro than for a conclusion. Lastly, you have many sentence fragments.
DO AGAIN
This isn't a normal essay. It's a conversational tone.
Like, as if I were talking to you but you were a mute so you couldn't say anything.
Pan's Big Bang Preparatory Essay - larmie - 2010-10-30
Pan Wrote:This isn't a normal essay. It's a conversational tone.
Like, as if I were talking to you but you were a mute so you couldn't say anything.
So it's a very long post, ja?
The title is misleading: it's not a preparatory essay, it's an editorial piece. It also has nothing to be discussed about; should belong in your blog.