Whether PlaneShift will be a \"different game\" or not is a responsibility that goes beyond the power of the Devs to create a neat combat system, an enthralling world and an attractive context. When we say \"different\" we of course imply a game that transcends the limits of being \"just another MMORPG\" and becomes a higher standard of the gaming industry.
However, it is not entirely up to the ones in charge, the developer team, but also up to the players. It is the player base the ones who, with their actions and behaviour, drive the game to monotony, or success, or utter failure. PlaneShift, as any other massive multiplayer game, will be shaped and molded by the community.
It has been said that one of the biggest focus on PlaneShift is to make the game as cooperative as it is competitive. Competition is nice, if not in excess. But I have seen many MMORPGs were the only tangible goal is to be the one with the highest level around. Now, there you have an example of a shallow and unimaginative perspective.
On the other hand, if developers, GMs and players alike encourage cooperative interactions, including but not limited to hunting parties, partnerships, associations (licit or illicit, you name it!), make good use of a job system, tell a story by playing their characters, and bring the world to a true virtual life, then you have a dynamic, ever-changing and entertaining game.
It is a mistake, from where I see it, to sit back, rest your chin on your fists and ask, \"Okay, what are the Devs going to do to entertain us?\". It does not work that way. In a single-player, offline game it IS the case. But not in one of this nature.
In here, you have a community of not dozens, but hundreds of players! The entertainment value is perceived by having fun interactions with the other playable characters.
A game with a choppy and clumsily put together system can still be a hoot to play if the players make the effort of finding the aspects that keep you glued to the screen for hours to no end.
- Golbez