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West Meets East: A Week in Mabinogi
Posted by Maggie Greene at 5:00 AM on September 1, 2008
There is a hilarious article up on the Escapist on one MMO player's experience with Mabinogi, the Nexon free-to-play MMO that was released in North America earlier this year. I had to laugh because I'm not an MMO player and I've been having a culture shock experience of my own adjusting to a Western-style MMO. John Funk of WarCry admits that he's turned a blind eye to MMO offerings coming out of Asia, so a week in Mabinogi offered a lot of culture shock and total confusion:
So, as LALAa the 17-year-old human female entered the world of Mabinogi, I braced myself for whatever the game had in store for me.
Three hours later, I logged off feeling slightly like Gilligan and the Skipper - completely and irrevocably lost. I'd picked up the game's point-and-click interface fairly quickly (so I thought), but my confusion ran deeper than that. It wasn't even what I was being asked to do - the standard "go kill 10 (enemies)" or "bring me five (items)" are old hat to any MMOG player - as much as how I was being asked to do it.
While running aimlessly around the starting area, an owl suddenly flew by and dropped off a quest to bring five berries to a local NPC. I was baffled; what had I done to earn this quest? As far as I could tell, nothing, but a quest is a quest. The best way to gather berries in the world of Mabinogi, it turns out, is to attack bushes and trees over and over until they drop them - of course, they can also drop branches instead, I mercilessly clicked the local foliage in search of berries, unsure if I was doing this properly. What made me get a branch instead of a berry - was it random? Should I be focusing on bushes instead of trees? Upon gathering the berries and locating the NPC, I was informed that I'd taken too long to complete the quest, and it had expired. Naturally, I hadn't realised that the task was time-sensitive.
It felt like I was still in the tutorial phase, only they weren't explaining anything to me
After speaking to some avid Mabinogi players, Funk comes to the conclusion that he had approached the game in the wrong manner: it wasn't so much a Mabinogi problem as a problem of expectations. It's a funny look at getting outside your gaming comfort zone.
My Korean Fantasy Life [The Escapist]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
Witzbold
Posted 5:31 AM 1/9/08
The game does make for nice social gathering though.
Also all the different things you can make and wear is interesting, and Im sure there is much more in the game now than when I was in the J release of it.
Making ones own music is interesting too granted rather difficult. Few folks played music from other famous games which was quite amusing.
Also how your character can become fat or thin depending on what you eat. Hopefully they tweaked that a bit better since back then berries was the best way to get rid of all the weight.
Witzbold
Cronoking
Posted 5:22 AM 1/9/08
lol. I had the same problem with the game. I eventually figured out that even if the quests time out, I could just grab the same one from a NPC. Luckily the community was actually nice enough to help me out~
Cronoking
Edmon
Posted 5:19 AM 1/9/08
@Witzbold: I totally agree with you. MMO's are often a second job. Plus the horrors of trying to make friends on one when they all use the dreaded "MMOScript" method of talking...
VG cats summed it up best I think...
HOW I MINE 4 FISH?!
Edmon
Witzbold
Posted 5:14 AM 1/9/08
Yeah the game personally isnt that great. Plus its a huge cluster fuck to get the part time jobs "quests" to earn money and such. Since there is a limit to how many people can get the quests. So dealing with large numbers of others trying to get such quests to earn cash is quite an experience.
Think 10 unemployment checks for 1000 unemployed.
Not a pretty thought eh?
Combat is ok, but if you have a shitty connection or if there is lag it can really fuck you up since a lot of it is based on timing and such.
Items are too expensive, things break, the blacksmith at times puts your weapon into worse shape than you broght it to him in. Also costs quite a bit.
Though there are some other good points of the game itself I really dont think it makes it all that fun to really play, since most things become more a chore than anything and the last thing most folks want to do is come home from their 10-7 job and just get into another virtual one if you know what I mean.
Witzbold
Ario Reads Kotaku, Seems Pleased
Posted 5:12 AM 1/9/08
Yea lol I played MAbinogi for the social aspect. Ph34r my bear killing 12 year old who can play the flut like none other.
Ario Reads Kotaku, Seems Pleased
Applekid
Posted 5:12 AM 1/9/08
Careful, this, like Maple Story, installs some kind of anti-cheating rootkit.
Just trying it killed my keyboard and mouse driver and had to dig up an old PS-2 keyboard just to do a system restore.
Applekid
freetyme
Posted 5:11 AM 1/9/08
I'm just about to take my first step into an MMO. I have friends who play Guild Wars so I bought Guild Wars Prophecies for 25 bucks and it should arrive shortly. I figured since I have friends who play it they should make the learning-curve easier and maybe even let me in their "guild" (I think that's what you do in guild wars). If I like it I'll get the expansions but I chose it because it was cheap and came with no subscriptions with low system reqs. Should I be worried of what I may turn into playing this game?
Will I end up saying "HEAL PLZ" and chasing all female characters hoping they are girls? Or does that just happen to people who keep playing all day because they feel they have to to justify the monthly subscription?
Just give it to me straight: Are MMO players the drug-addicts of gaming culture, and will I be safe since Guild Wars is barely/ Not really an MMO?
freetyme
Ajey
Posted 5:08 AM 1/9/08
I suggest Combat Arms, also from Nexon... FPS, pretty fun.
Ajey
Edmon
Posted 5:03 AM 1/9/08
HEAL PLZ
HEAL PLZ
HEAL PLZ
...
OMG R U GURL?!
5555555!
/MMOScript
Edmon
MelodyKitn
Posted 5:39 AM 1/9/08
Ever since they messed up cooking, I stopped playing, but I occasionally step in to see if its been fixed (big negatory).
It's a great social game, but yeah, lag will frustrate anyone wanting to do any fighting (and I wasn't a big fan of rock, paper, scissors wait-to-attack fighting anyhow).
Not to mention I was well worn out after beta-ing the game and only having two cities to travel to. (There's four now, but if you haven't played it yet, just wait till they finally get to the generation/season where the other continent is open, lest you get bored really fast)
Oh, and a very big BOO to not having it open to any region. I hate mmos that do that.
MelodyKitn
SegevRaz
Posted 5:59 AM 1/9/08
@SegevRaz: "but you can expect some people saying "OMG LUUULLLLZ" a lot "
there, fixed.
SegevRaz
SegevRaz
Posted 5:59 AM 1/9/08
@freetyme: Some can say Guild Wars is a bit more civilized, but you can expect "OMG LUUULLLLZ", because you know, it is a MMO after all.
But its a great game, so don't worry about not having fun (unless you're not into RPG's) .
SegevRaz
Kia
Posted 6:56 AM 1/9/08
@freetyme: Anyone that has a modicum of self-control won't fall into those stupid stereotypes, I'm happy to say.
I myself am a huge WoW fan, but I've been playing on and off for months and don't even own a mount yet, thanks to casual playing and being an alt-aholic. Just because you play an MMO doesn't mean you have to grind away 24/7.
Some people might say I'm stupid for taking so long to do anything when it's pay-per-month, but if I'm having fun...who cares?
Kia
IAmNotKira
Posted 7:20 AM 1/9/08
If you are from Europe you can't play this game. They don't allow europeans to play for some reason. That and they don't seem to mention it anywhere on their site. Shame really a lot of people really praise this game.
IAmNotKira
WillyFourEyes
Posted 7:19 AM 1/9/08
I tried Mabinogi, but quietly slipped away from it after the first few weeks when I found out that I really wasn't getting anywhere. I don't know how soon I'll go back, if I do at all.
WillyFourEyes
GodKiller0
Posted 9:05 AM 1/9/08
I don't really see what is wrong with : heal plz.
It should be just : heal
But I guess we have to be nice and not sound too demanding, but I'm not going to say in the middle of the action : Excuse me but I appear to need medical assistance, so could you please heal me?
GodKiller0
antialias02
Posted 12:19 PM 1/9/08
@GodKiller0: To ask for a heal at all means you implicitly don't really trust your healer, which can (and often is interpreted as) an insult.
A healer knows that its' his/her job to keep you topped off. They will, just chill.
(70 Draenei Priest)
antialias02
Reilaos~
Posted 12:44 PM 1/9/08
@IAmNotKira: There are region specific servers. NA servers only accept NA and Australia, Japan only accepts Japan IPs, and Korean servers only accept Korean peoples.
Yeah, I play Mabinogi. I think it's fun, though Nexon itself seems to be capable of breaking things when they're only supposed to be translating, and their PR/customer service is the worst you'll come across.
The game itself is good.
Reilaos~
Shocky-
Posted 3:48 PM 1/9/08
@Edmon:
I almost ruptured my spleen laughing.
Shocky-
Channing
Posted 8:54 PM 1/9/08
@antialias02:
If you played a non-healy class you'd see how many incompetent healers are out there.
Channing
fuchikoma
Posted 4:04 AM 2/9/08
I wonder how far you can solo though. I've played other Korean MMOs that start that way and end up anything but.
BTW, NO JAM. 555
fuchikoma
JEEB
Posted 4:05 PM 2/9/08
@Reilaos~: The Japanese server currently works for me, being in the Europe, but the lag is really not worth it if you have no Japanese friends etc. that could keep you interested. And I heard that the Korean server wasn't that locked-in IP-restriction-wise either (no real experience from over there since I really can't read Korean).
In other ways I was actually positively surprised when I got to Mabinogi. It does have its quirks, but I really liked the "freedom" it gave me in some things. Also if tutorial quests are followed, they usually get you into the beginning and understanding how the game system works.
Too bad they stopped taking gaijin credit cards with their last big update :/ (Nao support could be checked as cheating, but with the lag at around 500-3000ms it enables me to go to places where there actually are people around...)
JEEB
lilaliendog
Posted 12:38 AM 3/9/08
im playing this game too and actually didn't get lost at all, they give you like this book to read about how to do this or that and explain everything and your sword even gives you tips. Most of the life skills have books which explain things in even more detail and you can pick up the books again at a book shop/library if you missed something or drop the original book. The quest window actually tells you if there is a time limit on a quest and shows progress for that quest so it is actually very easy to play.
I am more busy composing in game music right now I am working on Ninja Gaiden2 level 4-2 and 3-2, I finished Bubble Bobble, and and going to rewrite Ghosts and Goblins now that my compose level is higher.
lilaliendog
fatfoogoo
Posted 12:25 AM 3/9/08
Really good to hear that the feedback from this free-to-play isn't all negative. :)
@Ajey - 100% agreed. Combat arms is quite possibly one of the best free to play's we've come across.
@Jeeb - yeah, sadly that's what happens when your microtransaction system isn't ready for/built to handle foreign transactions. fatfoogoo on the other hand has that problem solved. ;)
fatfoogoo