[BucketBot]

I'm sorry that you can't find a game though. I am sure that my suggestion of the The Sims isn't going to fly, but I was wracking my brain trying to come up with something.
It's sad that MYST is ending and it might take you a while to get over it, but I am fairly sure you're not going to find another game that will "replace" it. It was one of a kind and now it's gone. You'll just have to try to find something completely different to do that's still fun in it's own way.
You could have a gander towards this website: http://www.mmorpglist.com/
They claim to be a list of every online game. Of course a lot of these are going to be really bad, but you might see something. They have them broken up by category and I saw they had a "real life" section.

[tsa]

Originally Posted by BucketBot

Idea!!
Have you thought about The Sims Online? Now The Sims is a game where I think you can say, "Couldn't I just do that in real life?" and be 100% right, but I think it's also a game where you don't have to kill anything and you can just wander around hanging with people.

That's an interesting one that had crossed my mind a bit. Definitely worth checking out. Thanks for the tip.

As for the difference between achieving in games and in RL: you're right about that. But I'm looking for an online game in which to just relax with my friends, not to achieve. Yes, I'm peculiar I know

[Austruck]

Hi I'm new here but not to Myst or MOUL or adventure games. I'm thinking that if you want a place to hang out with friends, you don't really want a game per se. It sounds like you DO want something like There, which is, well, a place to hang out with friends. There are a bunch of Uru/Myst-related groups there, and it's easier on the computer system than Second Life (and once you get in with Myst friends, it's a LOT less iffy than Second Life in terms of rudeness, etc.).

I love to go into There, perhaps even avoiding the friends, and get on my hoverboard and zoom around and try to see as much of the open countryside as I can, see what other people have built and what has changed or been added onto. It's definitely non-goal-oriented, although there are also buggy races and stuff that I have participated in with Myst friends. It's very casual and laid back.

The reason I say this is that I can't think of a single game that isn't goal-oriented in some way. That's kinda the point of it being a game.

And, although I, like you, detest pressure and shooting and stuff like that in games, I (amazingly) got into Guild Wars because of a bunch of Myst friends there. I am having a blast, which is no small feat for me, the real wuss when it comes to the FPS-type games. (Hate them.) The nice thing about GW is that you buy the game like most other adventure games, and that's your only fee. No monthly fees or anything, so there's no pressure to get your money's worth on any given month.

Try a few things out and see. Follow a few Myst friends into some other game environment. I think I enjoy some of these other online games solely because I got into them through Myst folks.

[Ascovel]

Originally Posted by BucketBot

Well, that is one way to look at it, but I do think that you're sort of missing the point of the in-game "achievements". In real life you can go to law school, get a degree, pass the bar, work hard, make partner and retire in style. But you'd have to look far and wide to find a place in real life where you can cast spells or build an explosive robot sheep or ride a giant griffon.

Your outlook of real life possibilities looks awfully somber to me. If one has to constantly worry about survival it can look rather dull, true, but such person wouldn't have time to play anyway. But if one has a bit of time on their hands, one can: write a story, make a painting, climb a mountain, make one's own movie or computer game, run a marathon, learn hundreds of different skills, maybe even ultimately build that explosive robot sheep . The possibilities are endless.

[BucketBot]

Hi Ascovel,
Everything you listed there were just more real life skills. I am neither a lawyer nor a law student. Nor is my outlook on life anything close to somber. I was giving a very short list of general "lifetime achievements" and then comparing them to the types of things you can do in games.
Of course someone could build an exploding sheep in real life. I'm sure some people would have absolutely no trouble doing it, but why would you want to?
Based on the OP's previous posts I assumed that they were probably a fairly serious person, so I picked a list of somewhat serious achievements. I could just have easily said "break your leg skateboarding, help abuse livestock in your local rodeo, write the longest poem about grapefruit,". Those would also be achievements, but they didn't seem like things the OP would be interested in.

[tastebud]

Sounds to me like what you need is a dating site, not an MMO, mister.

[Christian IV]

tsa i agree with you 1000 percent, re looking for a peaceful and creative multiplayer game, i still do feel MOUL will come back, in time...and in the meantime, I totally agree with your thoughts on the ones you have visited, There is a shallow sandbox, the Sims are a shallow reflection of the trials of ordinary life which i work hard to move far from in real lilfe so i have no desire to look for them in a game, and the violence ridden other major titles all lack real acomplisments or challenges that stimulate the soul, they rely on routine violence and agression and those are ways of moving along in life that have less than zero appeal for many of us.

Funcom is indeed working on a new multiplayer game and they have talked for some time about that and also episodes for Dreamfall....the pics of their multiplayer game are quite intriguing. There is a wonderful list that comes out each year of all upcoming and current game titles and there were quite a few multiplayer ones on it, but most have the flaws of violence and very limited quality objectives. Good to see you looking though and we certainly can hope that game makers will return to the quality and depth of games made for people who seek adventure and enjoyment and levels of experince that reach the depths of the human spirit and are not just jungle gymns for hyperactivity and guick thrills. I will look for that game list.

[scifigurl66]

Hi there. I am new to this forum, so I apologize if this isn't an appropriate reply. If it isn't, it's not intentional, just ignorance.

I am also looking for a nonviolent/less violent/alternative-to-violence role ORPG (I find the MM in MMORPG a little annoying, really).

Anyways, I played DnD (not online) for a while, but I was frustrated by how all (ok, almost all) the adventures centered around battles/violence. I kept trying out new characters to try to play in a different way, but it just wasn't possible.

I guess I fit into my demographic (don't you _hate_ that when it happens!). I like what the industry calls "puzzle" games. I am fine with competition and goals and skill-building, I just don't want to kill things or defend myself against violence (unless I can do it in a nonviolent way). I'd be willing to consider a game where other people are violent--so long as I can progress thru the game w/o having to be or be subject to violence.

I enjoy the skills, adventuring, teamwork, and different skill options of DnD but not the battles and violence. I don't mind building skills (though I certainly understand not wanting to do that). I started as a very charismatic, gnome bard who talked or sung her way thru everything. Then I tried a rogue gnome with funny spell casting (opponent falls down laughing for x rounds; grease makes everyone slip around in casting area). I like anything with treasure, ruins, mines, puzzles, maps, etc. And I like to play in a beautiful, or at least not ugly, environment--or an imagined one.

I will check out the other games mentioned already: Endless Forest, EVE, Secret World, Tale in the Desert, Endless Forest, and Everquest 2.

Any other suggestions for me?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

[scifigurl66]

Oh, btw, I doubt you'll like Sims. I play on playstation and it's all about skill building and networking and making "friends" which you need to advance your career. I play it only b/c it's the only nonviolent PS game I could find (ok, other than car racing which I'm also not into).

There is a PS game called Beyond Good and Evil which is fun to play. There is some shooting but you can usually sneak around instead of killing the dehumanized (they look a bit like stormtroopers) opposing soldiers. Dunno if the story would appeal to you. Basically, this young woman reporter goes around taking incriminating photos of the big corporation. Each time she gets a roll of film published in the newspaper, more of the other (generated) characters in the game start protesting the corporation. You also do have to whack some giant plant-like things, but it seems like they will recover. The graphics are more cartooney than Myst, but very nicely drawn.

[MikeRozak]

I am working on a non-violent MMORPG... kind of... there is some violence. Most of the gameplay is about understanding NPCs (aka: puzzles) and using this knowledge to "advance". Kind of like real-life "office politics".

The game not done yet. I'm working on more content at the moment, as well as improved text-to-speech. I'll be posting on this forum in a few months requesting another round of feedback.

However, if you want to try it out now, it does work: http://www.CircumReality.com . There is around an hour's worth of content. Once you get off the newbie island you'll enter a wierd world of half-constructed content, unintentionally similar to a twilight-zone episode. :-)

[Christian IV]

Cyan has regained the rights to MOUL which will be re released soon, possibly in a matter of months on servers run from Cyan itself. This is great news for all who enjoy non violent multiplayer games and URU MOUL is one of the very best ever. It will be coming back under the name, MORE or Myst Online Restoration Experiment. It is a wonderful opportunity to see one of the all time masterpieces of game design return to life, and there will be a process for mods or player created content to be added to the game possbily on a on demand system. Much is being worked out as we speak, and more will be revealed as time goes by. This is happy news indeed for the myriad many of us who do not enjoy or play violent or hyperactive games, and unfortunately a large number of otherwise beautifully made and elegantly crafted games fail due to their excessivly violent, lurid or overly kinetic content and speed. This is a happy day indeed.

[Jaquezy]

Hey, tsa can you post a link of all the games you'vw found... Im having the same trouble but Im downloading tale of tales and endless forest.. I hope they dont have viruses

[Fantasysci5]

Oh man!! I love Myst, or at least the story, characters, and environment-not a big fan of the puzzles. I would have LOVED to get into an online RPG...and now it's done before I even knew it existed.

[tsa]

Originally Posted by Jaquezy

Hey, tsa can you post a link of all the games you'vw found... Im having the same trouble but Im downloading tale of tales and endless forest.. I hope they dont have viruses

I'm sorry, I didn't see your post earlier.
A Tale in the Desert
The Endless Forest

Edit: That's all I have. But see my next post for some good news!

[tsa]

Originally Posted by Fantasysci5

Oh man!! I love Myst, or at least the story, characters, and environment-not a big fan of the puzzles. I would have LOVED to get into an online RPG...and now it's done before I even knew it existed.

Well, eat your heart out, because Myst Online is going Open Source! That means the source code will be made public, and fans can set up servers. Of course it will take a while to organize all that and Cyan will want to keep some level of control, but Uru will live on!

[Fantasysci5]

Yay!!! *rejoices in the streets* That'll be awesome!! Thanks for letting me know!

[tsa]

I hope you weren't taking a bath when you read that

[Fantasysci5]

hahaha I could have.

[dna777]

Hi, i was thinking about non-violent games for a few years. I like to play games but killing (even on screen) makes me feel bad and non-social. The adventure genre witch crossing terrain is a theme could be a perfect alternative to violent rpgs. The atraction ingredient could be an extreme agility of character (with great motion-capture animations) that could climb steep slopes, jump from tree to tree, cross swamps. Great graphics is also a component of attraction for players. Other idea is to walk in the forest as a naturalist scientist and to study animals and creatures i.e. try to sneak close to group of monkeys (or elves ) and study their behaviors. Eventually solve social problems between species within a forest by completing quests.

Making a game from a scratch is a huge project but it would be easier to create a mods or expansion packs to existing games. Maybe we could form group and start making mod based on Oblivion or other modable title with nice engine?


ps lately i've player in nice non-combat game Lost via Domus witch i can recomend.

[ShadeStorm]

Well, I think kind of differently, I'm ok with killing ghosts and stuff, but not assasinating citizens with blood and guts flying everywhere. Sadly almost every MMORPG is like that. The only good mmorpg I have found is called wizard 101, where there is no blood, and small amounts of violence. your just summoning creatures to try and destroy the enemy, usually a ghost robot skeleton, etc. I love this game but the prblem is, you have to pay 60 bucks to get the next 5 regions, and I liked the game so much I finished the first in like 5 months!