aliceblue
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2006
I've been pondering this for a while: With so many searching for new games after the closing of VMK, how do we each define those elements that "hit the spot" for us? VMK appealed to such a wide variety of player styles, and watching the directions we are breaking off into now makes me appreciate (and miss) the game even more.
So two questions: What was it that drew you to VMK, and what for you would help to fill at least some of the void?
In my own case, I never set out looking for a game to play. I simply was curious if anyone had ever made an online representation of the park, and that's exactly what I typed into Google; "virtual Disneyland." The rest is history.
I was not a gamer, other than a few PC games like Myst and some really old text adventures. Had never done chat of any kind, and seriously almost ran screaming from VMK upon first entry. But I could not resist the beautifully rendered atmosphere of this place which echoed the Disney parks without really copying them.
So mystery, wonder, and exploration were what drew me in initially. It was many months before I ventured near the minigames, other than "Nedding" for my meager credits. I never would have joined for the games.
The theming too was key; one look at the Mad Hatter Tea Party room was all it took to insure my return visits, with dreams of collecting suitable items for decoration. I watched in awe as others whizzed around their rooms building complicated structures out of crates and tables; it was all I could do to get a few pieces of furniture to go where I wanted.
But designing rooms, (and later rides), turned into a larger focus. In fact, the world constructed by the players within the game became the "real" VMK to me, and despite my love for the public areas, I spent less and less time there. The endless possibilities for creation were the most potent draw of all.
I did not come prepared to socialize. But homogeneous ages and limited speech had the strange but charming effect of reducing players to a common denominator; and friendships, some which would have been unlikely in real life, flourished. The sense of humor that many approached the game with gave it just the right touch, resulting in an entire vocabulary of inside references. (How could we possibly take ourselves too seriously while watching that jerky little dance our avatars did?) Everything combined to promote, for the most part, a welcoming and cheerful atmosphere, and the fact that someone like myself could be drawn in by it is really saying something.
This is not meant to be a lapse into nostalgia, but an attempt to identify what VMK's appeal consisted of, to help me pinpoint what (if anything) I'd hope to replicate elsewhere.
Like most of us, I'd love to be able to continue friendships that were started in VMK. I have no interest in combat/level-up playing, but unfortunately those are the games with the most appealing themes and graphics. While minigames can be fun, I can't help wishing for a game that didn't rely on them. That really only leaves the creative aspect, which seems to be in short supply among what's available. While SmallWorlds does fulfill that need to some degree, I don't expect it to be endlessly engaging; it's really more of a personal 3D webspace/chat environment than a game. And really, that may be enough. Perhaps something limitless is not a good thing this time around.
What about the rest of you?
So two questions: What was it that drew you to VMK, and what for you would help to fill at least some of the void?
In my own case, I never set out looking for a game to play. I simply was curious if anyone had ever made an online representation of the park, and that's exactly what I typed into Google; "virtual Disneyland." The rest is history.
I was not a gamer, other than a few PC games like Myst and some really old text adventures. Had never done chat of any kind, and seriously almost ran screaming from VMK upon first entry. But I could not resist the beautifully rendered atmosphere of this place which echoed the Disney parks without really copying them.
So mystery, wonder, and exploration were what drew me in initially. It was many months before I ventured near the minigames, other than "Nedding" for my meager credits. I never would have joined for the games.
The theming too was key; one look at the Mad Hatter Tea Party room was all it took to insure my return visits, with dreams of collecting suitable items for decoration. I watched in awe as others whizzed around their rooms building complicated structures out of crates and tables; it was all I could do to get a few pieces of furniture to go where I wanted.
But designing rooms, (and later rides), turned into a larger focus. In fact, the world constructed by the players within the game became the "real" VMK to me, and despite my love for the public areas, I spent less and less time there. The endless possibilities for creation were the most potent draw of all.
I did not come prepared to socialize. But homogeneous ages and limited speech had the strange but charming effect of reducing players to a common denominator; and friendships, some which would have been unlikely in real life, flourished. The sense of humor that many approached the game with gave it just the right touch, resulting in an entire vocabulary of inside references. (How could we possibly take ourselves too seriously while watching that jerky little dance our avatars did?) Everything combined to promote, for the most part, a welcoming and cheerful atmosphere, and the fact that someone like myself could be drawn in by it is really saying something.
This is not meant to be a lapse into nostalgia, but an attempt to identify what VMK's appeal consisted of, to help me pinpoint what (if anything) I'd hope to replicate elsewhere.
Like most of us, I'd love to be able to continue friendships that were started in VMK. I have no interest in combat/level-up playing, but unfortunately those are the games with the most appealing themes and graphics. While minigames can be fun, I can't help wishing for a game that didn't rely on them. That really only leaves the creative aspect, which seems to be in short supply among what's available. While SmallWorlds does fulfill that need to some degree, I don't expect it to be endlessly engaging; it's really more of a personal 3D webspace/chat environment than a game. And really, that may be enough. Perhaps something limitless is not a good thing this time around.
What about the rest of you?