As great as MMOs can be, they are still limited to a mere two senses — sight and sound — and have their interfaces strapped to either controllers or a mouse-and-keyboard setup. It doesn’t take much to spark the imagination for possibilities to expand beyond these limitations, such as using your entire body to control an avatar instead of just your hands and fingers.

Lately we’ve been seeing a few studios and enterprising hobbyists experimenting with Kinect-like controls as a way to interact in a whole-new way with MMOs. It’s not hard to see the potential for increased immersion (and increased silliness, perhaps) as you wave your hands to cast spells or chop the head off an innocent villager. Er, I mean “rampaging Orc.” Yeah.

So if this technology advanced to the point that your favorite MMO was using it, would you play a motion sensor-controlled game? Does it seem as if it would suck you more into the game or just frustrate you? Would this be an excellent way to both exercise and level up?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today’s Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: Would you play a motion sensor-controlled MMO? originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 03 Mar 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s an interesting conundrum: Are our standards for MMOs getting higher or lower?

In a way, I can see both from the general tone of dedicated MMO fans. On one hand, it certainly seems as though the community demands much more from newer MMOs and has far less patience for mistakes than ever before. It’s no longer enough for MMOs to simply be “massive” and “online”; they must contain a wide range of features to satiate all playstyles — and it all must be highly polished and quickly accessible.

But on the other hand, I’ve seen complaints that MMOs have been dumbed down to meet the expectations of gamers who don’t want to struggle with learning intricate games — they just want to get in and play. Plenty of MMOs have simplified systems in order to appeal to the widest possible audience, which may signify lowering standards overall.

So what do you think: higher or lower?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today’s Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: Are our standards for MMOs getting higher or lower? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 02 Mar 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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OK, we’re all nerds here, so let’s not look at the title and think of kissing or snogging or whatever other deviant “firsts” you may have in your criminal record. Instead, let us swim to the safer waters of gaming firsts, where we either accomplish something before anyone else or do it for the first time in our lives.

Seriously, folks, CLEAN UP YOUR MINDS. That’s my last warning!

MMO players have a long-standing obsession with firsts of many kind — world firsts, server firsts, cheerily posting “FIRST!” in any comment thread as if there were a Pulitzer Prize for Fastest Internet Responder (although there could be — I’ll check into it). Our first MMO experience tends to be the one we remember the most fondly; the first character that we took to the level cap becomes a sign of our immense prowess.

So what was your most memorable first, either personal or server-wide, in an MMO?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today’s Daily Grind!

The Daily Grind: What was your most memorable first? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 01 Mar 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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