I feel the need to preface this post with the disclaimer that I am not a Wildstar fanboy. I suppose not playing Wildstar because you don't like the aesthetic is as valid a reason as any other. But, really?
| Is this |
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| any worse than this? |
Now, I realize that not everyone wants to see "Guardians of the Galaxy," just like not everyone cares to play Wildstar. But I hate to break it to you: The Elder Scrolls Online ain't Shakespeare or War and Peace. Or even Lord of the Rings.
I assume that gun-toting rodentia breaks your immersion or something. I can't honestly say that Wildstar is an immersive experience for me either, but you know what? It's kinda fun. On the one hand, you have scenery-chewing bad guys (that the Alliance of Awesome seems hellbent on playing); on the other hand, you have tree-hugging space hicks and zombies. You have garish colors and sardonic announcers mocking how "badass" you are when you level or when you die. Come to think of it, Wildstar takes a lot of cues from Animaniacs—and Golden Age Warner Bros shorts.
And that's OK, not every game I play has to be painted in greys and browns to be worth playing.
~~~I assume that gun-toting rodentia breaks your immersion or something. I can't honestly say that Wildstar is an immersive experience for me either, but you know what? It's kinda fun. On the one hand, you have scenery-chewing bad guys (that the Alliance of Awesome seems hellbent on playing); on the other hand, you have tree-hugging space hicks and zombies. You have garish colors and sardonic announcers mocking how "badass" you are when you level or when you die. Come to think of it, Wildstar takes a lot of cues from Animaniacs—and Golden Age Warner Bros shorts.
And that's OK, not every game I play has to be painted in greys and browns to be worth playing.
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I loved this post. I think you're spot on. :) Everyone is allowed to want to play something different, and we certainly don't all have to enjoy the same things.
ReplyDeleteThanks, that means a lot. I think people are making value judgements over stylistic choices.
DeleteI'm fine with everything here except comparing Wildstar to Animaniacs. Wildstar is about as deep as a snake's belly in a wagon wheel rut. Animaniacs dug wells so deep that nearly two decades later we are still exploring just how far they down they go.
ReplyDeleteI won't disagree with you. Wildstar may only be very superficial. But I doubt anyone has had the opportunity or taken the time to do the sort of analysis you say has been done on Animaniacs.
DeleteThat's a fair point, but then, we all suspected from the jump that there was a lot going on in Animaniacs. I haven't encountered anyone yet with the same suspicions about Wildstar, even those wildly in love with it. (See what I did there?)
DeleteI thought Wildstar was nice enough. The design aesthetic didn't really appeal to me, but I can't say it really turned me off either. I didn't particularly care for all the visual clutter at 1st, but it didn't take long for me to tune it out either.
ReplyDeleteBiggest thing for me was that it simply didn't "grab me." I could see myself playing it a while down the line whenever I burn out on anything else that I might be playing, but as a primary game to be playing while paying a sub? Again.. maybe, if I'm not playing anything else that has a sub -- which I currently am. Whenever I tire of ESO, I may give WS a shot again, but by then there might also be a different "new shiny" to distract me too. Who knows what the future will bring?
http://nomadicgamer.wordpress.com/2014/05/13/wildstar-wildstar-impressions/
We basically plan to play because there's not really anything better right now. TSW will have Tokyo opening soon, but who knows how much new content there will actually be there. Plus, WS would be an excellent break from the inevitable grimdark of TSW.
DeleteI dislike short races, but I love playing the Chua because they have character. Same goes for Marvel Heroes. The first character I fell in love with was Rocket Racoon. People are already cheering for God's Racoon because he has character. For me, Wildstar has always been about making me smile when I play. It's not perfect and it's not all exactly like the game I want to play, but I smile playing it and that is worth 30 days of my time and money.
ReplyDeleteYep, that's what I figure.
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