MMOs were not created to serve older gamers, they were created to serve (and create) a different market. I’m also talking more about changing an existing MMO rather than creating an entirely new one — adapting it to the market is a good idea, changing it because those who initially played your game are now X years older is not.

It’s also a bad idea to fundamentally change the gameplay of a game for pretty much any reason. Again, I’m talking about existing MMOs. World of Warcraft did a good job of changing existing MMOs into something new, but I would never convert, say, EverQuest or Ultima Online to be just like WoW because you’re just going to lose everyone who still loves your game (while continuing to fail to appeal to people who play WoW).

In a far more succinct statement, “stick to your guns.”

I’m glad the original developers of UO, EQ, etc. did not see this post! We have the MMO genre thanks to those who thought that RPG’s should be adapted to better fit the changing lifestyle of its fans. I think you are right though, if you want to make just another MMO, you won’t have to change anything.

Bob’s work will survive hopefully as long as The Famous Five, or Nancy Drew etc. As in that it will always satisfy a certain readership age, will go in and out of fashion, but will remain there past all our lifetimes. Genuine classics.

But MMO’s, or EEO’s, or whatever are not classics, at least not yet. My kids may laugh hilariously when i put my ColecoVision on, or my Atari and try and make my old TV play Pong or Asteroids. Those are classics from the 70’s and 80’s.

I don’t even know if it is possible to make a ‘classic’ game these days. Is it possible to update Pong, Asteroids, Elite, EQ1 to the rank of a new classic? At the moment, I doubt it.

The books of RAS will likely become classics - Drizzt will live on forever. Me, you, and the author will not though, just like computer games of this decade.

I’m finding that it’s getting more and more difficult for me to concentrate while playing an MMO for long periods of time if I’m not doing something that is highly directed (i.e. a raid or something of that ilk.) If I’m just out and about duoing with Tarkheena, I can tell she gets a little frustrated with me as my mind tends to wander and I can almost get us killed.

I’m definitely changing the way I play to avoid frustrating either Tark or myself during our regular play times. I’m finding that if I’m questing I’m more engaged than if I’m just out trying to slaughter mobs.

I’ll keep you all posted as my dementia matures.

In the early days of my career, when I was in news, I always said I would never schedule my life around the game/s I was playing at the time. Being all growded up and stuff, now I play games like an adult. I work gaming into my schedule along with everything else. And I talk to my wife about it. I just tell her that the guild is getting together on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning this week. I never get grief because she knows I stick to my schedule on off nights. My friends appreciate the heads up on my schedule so they can plan, too.

The aging gamer definitely has to adapt to the games.