It's the end of the world as we know it...every single time...

Quick blog today before breakfast.

I was just reading the plot for the new Guild Wars 2 game and, would you believe, it apparently takes place in a shattered world of destruction and violence?

Let me say this - I enjoyed the first Guild Wars. I didn't think it was the best MMO out, or even the best FREE MMO out, but it was enjoyable. The problem I had with it, and you'll come to find its a problem I have with lots of MMO's, is that the world was supposed to have this great history and setting, but most of it was destroyed and crumbled.

That's fine and all, but then I read about the sequel which is set 250 years after the original game. AGAIN, the world is under fire and a miserable place to exist.

Why is it MMO's always go the route of "EVRYTHING IZ VIOLENTS!!!" and give us a shell of a world to play in? Part of the reason I love WoW so much is because you have various kingdoms to explore and a world to live in, not just survive in.

I know the old doomsday switch has been a vital part of RPG's for as long as they've existed, but these aren't simple single player games where your character is the be all/end all of heroes, and these games aren't supposed to end a few hours later once you've "beaten it."

No, these are supposed to be living, breathing, virtual worlds of wonder and excitement. Why does it have to be doom and gloom all of the time?

It seems like the only online RPG's that don't drop me in the middle of some kind of war are the Eastern MMO's, with their far too happy upbeat anime graphics that just don't speak to me like they did when I was a confused teen looking for something to belong to.

I personally would like to see a return to the kind of MMO's where you felt like you were in another world, not another world constantly on the brink of destruction. Ultima Online had in game events where the world was threatened, and it even lost a whole city to chaos once. But it didn't happen as soon as you logged on! You didn't live in the ruins of Sosaria your entire virtual life. It was a rare occurrence, and it made you feel like you were apart of something special.

Warcraft is doing it with the next expansion, Cataclysm. Of course, WoW has been around for years now and its awesome to see the world I've adventured in since release change because of the war I've been fighting in for years to protect Stormwind, the massive city of righteousness (not the ruins of Stormwind, or the one tiny village left somewhere on the map).

So I ask you developers, why do you hate the world so much? Have we become so bloodthirsty as players that we can't live in a peaceful world that has the potential for conflict? Do we need to be forced to kill others at all times and not waste our days with non murderous activities?

Maybe we shouldn't point fingers at the ones making these games. After all, products are usually modified to fit the tastes of the consumer.

Maybe we should look in the mirror and ask ourselves some questions.