General Discussion

I don't think much about levelling when playing. I mean, sure, I get that occasional glee when I see the notice that my character has levelled up but I don't usually play just for the sake of levelling (unless it was a mission that a reach level _ to proceed with the story). Like most people said in their posts, I consider my play through a game a journey. If playing a game is like going through real life, I could say that levels is somewhat like our age, we get more experiences as we age. But, that doesn't mean our life gets more meaningful as we grow old. But, since life IS life, you don't think about stuff like that that much and just try to savor the moment.

Umm... Wow... I think I became a wee bit philosophical at that moment.

It is just a game feature on my own opinion. Since, it will always be a fact that whenever you'll play a certain game, you'll try to achieve of something. So, you are forced to level up your character to feel a sense of fullfilment. After you'd be satisfied with the current status of your account, sometimes you are quite bored as ever and you won't be having the time already to level up your account. In the end, it will always end up on how thus the pilots patience works.

i believe it to be a true gaming concept except that the gaming companies are making it hard therefore making the natural concept unnatural. back then leveling came as a natural process of following through the game's story. now it isn't.

    Leveling used to be a way to work on your skills and get to know your class but I dont think games are being made that way anymore......Part of the downfall of dumbing down games is that players dont see much reason to bother leveling anymore because it is often trivial........

Originally posted by Theocritus

    Leveling used to be a way to work on your skills and get to know your class but I dont think games are being made that way anymore......Part of the downfall of dumbing down games is that players dont see much reason to bother leveling anymore because it is often trivial........

more than trivial, it is being thought of as a chore. because of that they tend to look away and just forget it.

Originally posted by Korby

Where are you going to get that sense of accomplishment in a game without levels? The only thing that can replace this is an in-depth crafting system (Spending hours to get an item instead of a level). And even then, the people who play more are always going to be stronger & better.

This is easy, there are many goals you can achieve besides ding +1 level.

1. money (needs a real economy ingame, this makes crafting and stock markets viable accomlishments)

2. land (owning of land and building cities/bases is defenitely next gen stuff)

3. war (factions fighting over land is the unltimate endgame)

4. pvp (battlegrounds arena tournaments are all fun)

5. politics (some may not like this but i believe voting is a widely unused feature in games)

In games without levels planetside,wwiionline,10six i can leave for 6 months and come back and play for one month and still be competitive. Those games arent perfect but they are a good example of a base gamplay that they could add some real endgame to them. 10six is a perfect example though 100% pvp, levels do not effect char strength (they let you own more land), land is your source of income, full loot pvp with player pricing on items, so its worth what someone will pay for it. Endgame (world domination via empire building) starts day 1.

the journey is the game my son....... If the journey holds no meaning reroll a new game.

I like leveling and what comes with it but on the other hand when you reach max level and nothing left but some boring raid, that is where I move to another game and do the leveling stuff.

Let's say, no level

You start off with some skill and you can buy more, or maybe upgrade them with loot of cash )training with a teacher)

you've got raid to get better armor and raise some of your stat

you could have pvp, wich could give some reward, like cash for training, or gear.

soo, you got to keep the character advancement, but with leaving behind leveling. The levelign process replaced itemization. But you still got the training thing with trainer to raise skill, not lvl.

It might end up finishing to look like Monster hunter with a bit more stuff ;)

i dont think anyone wants leveling as a hobby. unless you have a darned boring personality. i agree with the fact that leveling makes way for the game systems to work, but then again, one way or the other it will reach a point when it becomes a pain in the arse