LOTRO

We're diving into the world of MMOs and I've figured out what my toon will be. According to my googling of LOTRO, as well as our class discussions, there are lots of things to consider when choosing a race and class. Different races have different difficulty levels and traits, as well as cosmetic differences. Class determines a toon's skills and abilities, and the role the character plays within the game. After reading up on all of my options, I've decided that I will be creating an elf hunter. Hunters are one of the easiest classes, which is ideal for me since I'm a "noob", and they also cause damage, but at a long range. I've chosen to be an elf primarily because I think their ears are funny. It sounds silly, but I don't really know enough about gameplay to be able to decide if being resistant to disease or being agile are important qualities (both are elf skills) or if it's better to have vitality and might.

I'm definitely nervous to start playing, but I'm also a bit excited. It's a whole new world, and at this point I'm sort of imagining gameplay as a combination between Facebook and Zelda. I'm anticipating that I will be really interested in looking around, understanding the game, and seeing what it has to offer. I'm usually driven by my curiosity. And since I've been learning a bit about digitally created art lately, I'll probably also be really into the graphics. I imagine that once I make sense of the game, I will also want to do well. I have a tendency to obsess over things until I achieve them, so leveling up or accomplishing specific quests will probably become important as well. According to Bartle's four player types, I'm probably primarily an explorer, but with some serious interest in achieving. I'm completely on board when Bartle says "most accomplished explorers could easily rack up sufficient points to reach the top, but such one-dimensional behaviour is the sign of a limited intellect." He pretty much sums up how I view achievement based on socially decided norms in the real world, and I doubt that my view of it will be any different in the virtual world.

Bartle does say that "these areas cross over, and players will often drift between all four," but I have trouble imagining that I will be a killer. Though my interest in socializing is fairly minimal, I understand that it's an important part of an MMO. It's not called "massively-multiplayer" because you play on your own. However, harassing other people just seems unnecessary and cruel. And the killer player type is all about the end goal, but I find that the means to the end are more important the end. We'll see if my perspective changes once I start playing.