IT is a world
Only after playing for a few weeks did I realize that I needed to take 2 boats and run my character through multiple zones in order to unlock flight paths (flying taxis). It was such a grind, but as I ran, I would see different creatures, the landscape would change, there would be landmarks, I would encounter other players, pick up new quests . If I would have fast traveled to these areas I would have missed all that. It seemed as if the slower I went, the more the world felt like a place. Even when I'm taking a flight from Stormwind to Stranglethorn Vale, I'm able to see the world change around me. This was a world---- with destinations that had a beginning and an end.
In our world, if I want to travel to New York City from California, I would either have to walk, take a train, travel in a car, or an airplane. For the same reason people say its better to travel by car or walk because you get to "see the country"that I feel developers need to force their players to see their world.
A lot of these new games install fast travel (or instant travel) to appease the many that say "it takes too long to run through the Barrens". They should take a note from WoW, or Bethesda games and force their players to run through it---even multiple times.
I have to admit that I am part of the instant gratification culture as I don't always have the time to enjoy the journey. When I do have the time it is nice to take those long strolls to nowhereinparticular especially in Zones I haven't spent much time in but it's really nice to have the option NOT to have to walk from Exodar to Ironforge. I did that once and it's a fond memory but once is certainly enough for that one.
ReplyDeleteyou get a sense of the georgraphy when you have to traverse it multiple times (run it, or walk it. you know that Winterspring is next to Felwood, Darkshore leads to Astranaar which leads to Felwood....etc
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