The Loner: Why Some People Play MMOs Alone 

As a loner, I'll answer this simply: I like the game and they don't make it in single player. Grouping takes way too much time and coordination.

Personaly i hate playing with other people but i really like to see them in my game. Feels alive in some ways.

People are really good at metagaming MMO's so hard that they feel like work to play. I don't have time for that. I want to use what build I want to use, I want to play the way I want to play, and playing alone is the only way I can do that without someone breathing down my neck. Being alone means I can play the game without being pressured into playing like everyone else.

Scanning through the comments, but I'll add my own reason: I'm actually a pretty social person IRL, but gaming is my "me time" so I prefer to just kind of veg out and do what I want at my own pace.

I've always played MMOs solo, mostly because I don't like when playing a game is put on a schedule, it begins to feel like work & less like leisure.

In the words of Yahzee "I usually like to play with myself, but sometimes I like to play with myself where people can see me"

What I want in an MMO is the ability to level and play solo but also having group events I can walk up to and join unofficially. Guild Wars 2 does this really well with the world bosses. I dont have to socialize but still get to join in.

This guy is apparently unaware that introversion and social anxiety are two different things. A person can be an introvert and not even be shy.

We all like being alone, together.

When you play with other people your usually being rushed or expected to know everything already...I'm one of those people that like to read the actual mission

Let's not forget that you get to start a new MMO you're excited by all of the abilities, and skills your character is going to try out. Then you're met with people who tell you that you can only play one way, and only use certain skills.

I think you’re missing a key reason why some want to play solo… many of us are professionals with jobs which require social interaction all day every day. Some of us simply want the freedom to choose, often I want to drift about without dealing with others, occasionally I may want to seek assistance with a specifically task, other times I may want the full on party raid experience. Those options don’t exist with a purely single player game.

Well, I don't know about everyone else, but *I* play MMOs alone because most MMO players are the type of person to walk straight passed the books in Skyrim, and then judge me for reading them.

Back when I played WoW it usually went like this: Join party -> do some quests -> go to bed -> go to work -> come home and open game -> party is now 10 levels ahead of me, guess I'm on my own again.

I prefer solo play myself. But I do love it when you essentially bump into other players and can help them out or vice versa. It adds to the realism. Never been into raids and the likes. I'm a narrative/exploration/customisation player.

I'm a loner because I feel becoming strong and skilled enough to solo content made for teams of people and overcoming challenges made for armies alone is one of the most fun and satisfying things you can do, and every time I progress with other players I feel unfulfilled knowing that I may not have been able to get so far without help

The reason some of us play mmos solo is very simple. We don't like playing with other people, but still want to play the game. It's as simple as that.

Anyone I've ever paired up with in MMOs go through quests and dungeons like their ass is on fire. I like to explore, take my time. I've yet to find anyone who likes to explore like me.

Him: "for the longest time the answer was no" Me: sat there killing cows alone in RuneScape as a kid.

I have social anxiety. I love the sprawling nature of MMORPGS, but I really struggle to get past my fears. Please, if you can, keep in mind the people who LOVE your game, but have panic attacks when forced into grouping up :( We're not weirdos or psychos, and Social Anxiety is a very common form of anxiety.

I just hate when my teammates try to control how I play a game.

I don’t have friends that play mmos and being in a guild makes me feel pressured go log in when I don’t want to.

I usually prefer to play these games alone cause I like experiencing things at my own pace and I feel like I would just bring other people down cause I'm not usually the best at some of these games. I usually only play games with other people after I have a good understanding of the mechanics so I can help people who are probably just starting out.

"Be like playing an FPS game without picking up a gun" Fondly remembers running around in mw2 with riot sheild and C4, ah those were the days

It's always fascinating to watch guys like this confuse shyness with introversion. As an introvert gamer, I have to point out that it isn't that we're "afraid to talk to that pretty girl at the end of the bar". It's that we never went to the damned bar in the first place, because there's way too many people who'd want to talk to you there, bothering you when you're trying to recharge from the social interactions necessary to your daily life. The prospect of which is simply exhausting for an introvert. We do still like people, of course. It's just tiring to interact with them heavily. The best way to describe our general attitude when playing an MMO would be to say that while we might not want to *be* alone just then, we do very much want to be *left* alone while there. We simply have less need for social interaction than extroverts and can "socialize by osmosis", as a friend used to put it. A lot of times, simply being around a group that is being social, without direct interaction, is more than enough to satisfy our occasional desire for wider social contact. I'm very often more than happy to amuse myself watching the public chat channels in an MMO. It can be very informative. In fact the speaker seems so confused about the subject, he has created at least two categories for us here. You see, the introverts very often *are* the people who go to the forums, etc. and absorb, but never post or talk if it can be helped. They are, for the most part, one and the same group. As you can see, we'll speak up when we feel there's a need, but generally, we're happy to play the game on our own. Not our fault the fuckers are trying to kill off the high-end, single-player gaming experience just because they want to fleece players to an ever-larger degree.

Why i play alone? Easy, i have no friends. So what happens when they make a new WoW expansion is i can play for a few weeks and i have to quit again because that is when i run into endgame content that can only be done with organised groups. It is the constant having to prove you deserve a spot in a raid more than someone else that i don't want to get into anymore

Introverts aren't shy, or "socially awkward"(idiotic definition), or afraid, or even loners, none of that stuff. Introverts just have reduced need for social interactions. It's all there is to it. Most introverts I know, and certainly not myself don't hate people, or dislike being in social situations. It's just you need way less to satisfy the herd itch in your brain. An hour a day? Maybe less, is enough to feel like you are not lonely anymore. Last thing I want when I come home after seeing people all day at work is to do the same in my escapism hobby. I just don't feel like it would be useful to me anymore. It's excess. Why play an MMO then? Well, why take a walk in the street if you don't plan to chat with any of the strangers? Same reason.

Not quite an MMO, but I've got nearly 400 hours on Warframe playing almost exclusively solo. I like to be immersed in the gameplay and world and take my time in the levels. Having to conform to an efficiency meta, or being carried through levels at a breakneck pace by more powerful players, are both unattractive options to me. Playing cooperatively in these kinds of games comes with an expectation of playing "correctly", which isn't the way that a lot of people want to experience these games.

Have you ever been in a group where people yell at you for reading the quest-giver's text? I have. A lot of times.That's one more reason why.

I play solo because: 1- I want to enjoy the game fully and at my own pace. In a group almost all of the time, it's a rush to get the points and finish the task to jump to the next. Can't look at the scenery graphics, can't read the story, can't interact fully with the NPCs etc 2- In groups, it feels like a pinball game. And I don't like pinball games. I want to immerse in the world, not just farm, get points, stuff and level. 3- I don't play games to meet people. When I want to meet people, I go out of the house. 4- When I group, it is usually to help someone else with a challenge, which gives me the opportunity to try those group-only missions. But once help given and done, it's back to solo fun. In short: to each his own.

When I play an MMORPG, I'm playing for the "RPG" part, not the "MMO" part.

Another thing I like about MMORPGs is fighting, fighting monsters and grinding... but also suddenly finding idyllic places just absorbing myself in the environment, having a moment of relaxation and feeling that I really live in that world. I mean, who the hell is going to feel comfortable in a world where you fight at ease for an hour and then another hour, and then another hour, non-stop. It's just not natural. We need spaces of tranquility that make the contrast and allow us to rest to stay connected for longer. Unless of course the intention of the game is a brief and super intense interaction... and then plug out.

I am 62 years old and play only solo. Where I enjoy coop play with random strangers, I really don't want to interact other that casually, in a friendly manner, without commitment, and just incidentally. When forced to group, I get anxiety, self conscious about my skill level and performance and cannot wait until I can leave group. It is nice to be around others if the interaction is friendly, see what others are doing, what their avatar looks like, encounter random acts of kindness and feel like the world is full of nice people. I want nothing to do with toxic people or those that want to force others to be the subject of their hostility.

I play alone because I, simply put, have no friends. Then when they hit me with the "You must have X amount of players in your party to...." I just quit the game.

I would LOVE to play MMO's with like a group of friends. But I barely have any friends, and the ones I do have never play the same games as I do.

So this sounds weird, but I want to play what I want to play, when I want to play it. MMO can be fun, so I want to play. I don't want to be hassled with things I don't want: forced to join a guild to go farther, leaving game play to raid when I didn't sign on to do that, etc. Is a waste of time. I want to play... to play the game. Forcing to wait or play someone else's game the way THEY want is not fun. Better to be on your own. If something is too great to do alone, its time to evaluate if the "fun" is worth the "lack of fun"

I often hide my online status because even when my friends are online (whether I made them online or irl), I don't like feeling like I'm on a schedule.

Because dealing with other people can sometimes be immensely trying.

I like playing alone because I can enjoy content at my own pace. I can check out the sights in the dungeon, I can watch the cutscenes, I can listen to the boss dialogue. I can also play however I want - perhaps a suboptimal class that I enjoy the lore flavor of, or dressed in suboptimal gear. Basically, I can prioritize my own enjoynment, without having to consider anyone else.

The game that his MMO was named after was a critically acclaimed cult classic single player only game, and he wonders why people ask if they can play his game solo. Perhaps he should ask why his game is full of mechanics that force grouping instead?

I currently play WoW "solo". My primary reasons for doing so (even back in vanilla) was that I am an "explorative" player. I play games not for the socialization aspect, or even for good combat (though I do enjoy both). I play primarily to wander the world, and explore and appreciate the game's smaller details. This form of gameplay is not conducive to social play. Would you like to spend hours of your day following someone around as they wander aimlessly around a map, sinking minutes into reading in-game books and looking around the interior of buildings that have nothing interactive inside them? Spend even more hours as they simply run up a coastline around entire continents, just to look into caves and see what kind of reefs and ground elements they hid under the water...avoiding combat and not seeing quests for days? Climbing trees and mountains by repeatedly jumping...not to reach any objective but simply to see how far you can go? I've played this game since it released....and until the Warlords expansion....that's exactly how I played. I was that level 20 running for my life in a level 60 zone, trailing aggroed enemies as I ran from certain death. I didn't need other players to take what I needed, what I *enjoyed* from the game. I simply wasn't interested in the other content. The world itself was simply enough for me. "Why not play a single-player game then?" They don't provide the same depth-of-world for me as WoW and the other MMOs I play do. They have limited maps, and even if it allows you to wander about (Dragon Age 1&2) you are restricted to certain paths, clearings, etc. You can't climb, wander into the woods beside you, or scale buildings. Single player games more so than MMO's are focused on delivering a story, a narrative, and you are simply the main character. While enjoyable...they can't deliver what I desire from a game. But Archeage, EQ 1&2, ESO, FF14, SWTOR, Tera, WoW, and more all have...can....and do. After Warlords though, my play style has changed to a more social aspect. My parents are the ones who introduced me to MMO's, and it's one of the few ways I can spend "time" with them, despite the distance and schedule conflicts between us. But even then we don't neccessarily play together, except in rare occasions. Its just a social forum for us. However, as I've gotten older, and lost opportunities for real-world socialization (graduting HS, College, moving into a more solitary job sphere), I do crave some socialization from the game. But I'm still not interested in intimate connections with other players. Toxicity towards female players, elitism in the more social content, and so forth all keep me away. However I do enjoy more silent social content. I like joining PVP raids (25-40 man groups v another 25-40 man group) and simply healing people, jumping aroudn the battlefield helping people and taking pride in my ability to keep these people alive long enough to crush the opposition. I don't talk during this, but instead follow the group doing whats needed, and taking delight in each objective that's cleared from our mutual teamwork...despite the lack of overt communication between us. The mere *presence* of the other player's avatars are enough to make the world feel alive. Playing MMO's solo simply provides a form of content (that developers may not realize that they've made) I cannot find elsewhere, consistently. The ability to simply wander a world, and feel just for one moment... That you're a physical part of this fantasy.

Life is an MMO, and I still prefer to play alone.

When I played alone , I wanted to become strong by my own merits , by my strength and determination , In the future I could even join others when I was not dead weight

Deep down I just want a single player version of that game, so playing alone is the next best thing. Fallout 76 is an example.

If the game said I’m a chosen one, then I gonna be only one damn it

Answer from a mostly solo player : I like MMOs because having other people around feels like being part of world bigger than myself, its immersive and awesome when done well, but I stick mostly to solo play because I prefer to explore and enjoy that world in my own way, at my own time, doing things that aren't necessarily tuned for group play. If I want to go fishing for an afternoon for example, few people would be willing to tag along for such a 'boring' (I prefer relaxing) activity. I put on some music, or a 1-4 hours podcast I want to listen to, then I go fish in a video game and enjoy my time alone, knowing that the virtual collection of fish I bring back are useful items I can sell or use to advance the progression of my character in some other way latter down the line. But a big part of the reason I play MMOs mostly solo is the way they are designed. I've never seen MMO fishing that requires group play to be successful. Indeed, you can clear a lot of the content of such a video game on your own, and I believe its a good thing. It allows new players to learn the ropes of the game, such as how to play your class in combat, without hindering or slowing down more experienced players. Its worth noting that MMOs surpass most other games in the sheer amount activities and systems one needs to learn to claim a full understanding of the game's content. The last MMO I played was Final Fantasy 14. Most of the 100 or so hours I spent in that game was dedicated to being initiated to the numerous systems and activities contained therein. From the combat, crafting, flexible and complex class system, to running dungeons and various side activities and mini games which could be considered whole games of their own, FF14 is wonderfully complex, but also filled to the brim with content designed for solo play. New players tend to dedicate more time to solo activities than veteran players, that is a factual, observable trend. It helps that most of the endgame in an MMO is group play oriented, while most of its initial content is solo play oriented. Since most people don't stick around with any given game to reach an MMO's endgame, you'll see a lot of newbie solo players running around who eventually drop off. They get bored of the MMO "before it got good", or another game showed up to grab their attention, or, if you're me, you got a nasty case of early carpal tunnel syndrome and you're forced to stop playing any games for several months in order to more or less recover... In order to reach the point where you are consistently playing in groups, both because you want and feel ready to, and because the game's balance warrants it, you need a level of dedication and passion for that exact game that most people won't ever share with you, hence why an MMO's hardcore population always tappers off to a slim minority of its entire playerbase. And those are the only ones whom I'd say spent more time playing in groups than solo. As for the people who play MMOs entirely alone and don't want to ever have to deal with other players, here's my brief take on them : 1.They're there for the game, not the people. Final Fantasy, for example, is a beloved franchise full of charm, nostalgia and good compelling gameplay mechanics. And its mostly a single player franchise. Some players are willing to try the MMO version just for the sake of it being a Final Fantasy game. Same goes for WoW, or Star Wars, or The Elder Scrolls, or any big name franchise you can think of. 2. They got peer pressured to try the game and stuck around long enough to enjoy it, but still won't group with people because introverts are a thing. Dealing with people can be exhausting, and these people really just want to relax with some alone time. They do it in an MMO, of all places, out of habit. 3. They just flat out don't like people. And who can blame them? A lot of them are assholes. So why don't they stick to single player games? Because they've cleared all of them, as one who doesn't spend time socializing is bound to do, and the MMO offers hundreds of hours of solo content for them to chew on despite their aversion for social interactions. Okay, so that's why I think some people stick to solo play in MMOs, now to listen to the video and see what they had to say about it.

"Many people prefer to do their learning alone, away from social scrutiny and the potential shame of failure. According to some research, this is especially true of women." Makes me want to cry that there is actually someone (some men, specifically) that do recognize this. I thought nobody could comprehend it. Many men treat us as the representatives of our gender - when i fail, they'll use that as justification to discriminate against ALL women. Never mind the ridicule i myself face if i fail - "classic egirl" etc etc. It quickly becomes "all girls are bad at games" just because i couldn't in my first 3 hours pull off what you can after 500. And that's before we even begin to take into account the kind of "genre-wide" skill that comes from practicing hundreds of similar games. If you were ever good at Halo, chances are you took to a game like Overwatch WAAAAY quicker than someone that only ever played super mario before. Likewise, Call of Duty players have a much easier time picking up Battlefield than those who'd only played God of War, Shadow the hedgehog, Chrono trigger etc. I grew up with Spyro, Ratchet & Clank and Jak & Daxter. Star Wars Battlefront II was the first shooter i ever played, and i am so glad i did - free from the prying eyes of the world, no one but me and whoever i played split-screen with - my brother, or some friends from school. Once i got Halo 3 from a friend for my 13th birthday, it was my first "true" hardcore shooter, and half a year later my first time ever playing online multiplayer, on the internet. My first two-three weeks playing that game put me off voice chatting with strangers forever, and that was despite being relatively good at the game - in fact, a lot of the abuse i received was BECAUSE i played well. Boys and men couldn't handle losing to me. And then when the abuse started, i'd play worse to get them to stop - which they'd subsequently use against me as proof the fact i beat them in the first place was just a fluke, and clearly i am not supposed to be there nor are any other girls or women like me. Losing in a game meant all the men in the lobby would lose any respect they had for me, too. If i didn't win, i had no value and should just get lost. As much as i try to change myself, that's still my nature today - i get extremely competitive and take losing far too seriously, especially when i play with friends where i'll blame myself and my lacklustre performance for every single loss, every single failure my friends face while playing with me. Now i get it, i'm a young adult and i've learnt not to listen to people talking shit. I respect myself (a little) more now. But back then, as a young teenager that'd grown up in an environment where all abuse was physical and words were usually only used in civil manners, speaking to each other properly and respectfully? I had a LOT i wanted to prove. And to prove that, i had to get good. I prefer playing most games alone, a lot of the talking points in this video feels extremely close to my heart. MMORPGs rarely hold me for long, but i do like them nonetheless - i don't want to directly interact with other people, but i'll still feel more fulfilled if i am just... Living my life alongside them, you know? A populated, social MMORPG feels alive, and so much more valuable than lonely games like Skyrim. I can observe parties of other people having fun playing together, and so sort of get to live that social experience without having to put myself in the position of having to deal with other people. And the intense, suffocating fear of failing them.

As a game designer, I think the perfect balance is to make people simply exist within the same world, but not force them to interact. In the same way that you can “solo” in a MOBA, but playing with friends is much more rewarding, I think making a massive single player game, then adding social/competitive aspects on top of it give people a reason to play with other people without making them feel like they’re at a loss for not working with a team.

"Hell is other people" - Sartre

I like playing alone, and randomly running into strangers in the world, that's nice..

For me, when i first got into MMO’s with Wow and wrath of the lich king, and what i hated the most, and more then likely gave me MMO-social anxiety, was dungeoning, be doing my usual tanking, and suddenly someone stops healing me, calls me trash and shit and leaves the party, where the others in the party would say “LOL” then leave, or i randomly get kicked from the party, also being in guilds that have drama always going on, i’ve moved on to FFIV and i go solo, doing quests and battling boss and monsters on my own. Toxic players and general social anxiety killed being in groups and interacting people with me, by being alone, i feel much better.

I used to really love to play with others in mmos, my best memories of mmos were lvling with my guild ... but the groups in modern ones have this ogogogo attitude that stresses me out too much. Therefore I prefer to play alone, at my own pace instead.

Why? 1- too many a-holes 2- too many squeakers 3- too many 18hr a day players

I think there's a certain charm into "soloing" challenges that usually needs a group of people to overcome.

I always played alone. I do like other (preferably introverted) people and theoretically, i might have liked playing with them, but whenever i was in a team, it was always too much, too fast. Even if it's just a friend inviting me to play among us with 3 strangers. I want to be close with the people i'm spending time with, otherwise the stress outweighs the enjoyment. I could see a 2-player team working for me, if chatting is convenient and i can make friends. I always made a couple of friends as long as i could write with them privately one on one, but that never became a team.

"People start any game they play as a casual". Truth

Well since everyone else is sharing I might as well... for me it's because I like to explore and experience at my own pace. The second I group with others it changes to go with their pace... which is usually as fast as possible. To use warcraft as an example, I will never group with others to go questing as I like to read all the text and give the quest giver a voice while immersing myself into my own character, giving them their own personality, backstory etc. That becomes harder the second other players are thrown into the mix which is why I've given up on dungeon quests as if I try to read it and immerse myself I lag behind and get chewed out by the others. I dunno why I've never joined a guild though, most of my experience with it is with bots randomly inviting me or someone I've never met or played with before getting butthurt over me rejecting their invite.

I'm a hermit and it extends to my online activity.

Excellent talk, thank you for reposting it.

Thank you for posting this talk!

I play games so I don't have to socialize with people.

My excuse is crippling social anxiety. People can be complete pricks and I don't like being yelled at for when I mess up because I know it will eventually happen (not in a self sabotage type of way but my internet has 2-4 second lag spikes) and then all the sudden I'm the entire problem and no one is defending me. I would rather play alone and take on harder challenges and maybe miss out on a quest rather than join in.

I prefer solo to start, and let the story and players envelope around my wanderings. Like I started eve online back in 05. I wanted to fly a thorax, it was such a sweet drone ship (at the time it could field 8 heavy drones. Now it's 5 medium drones.). I knew I wanted to go combat, so I wanted to run protection for miners. So I had to find some miners who had pirate problems. Thus I sought out people to fulfill the role I wanted to play. I found some nice miners and wound up getting a contract with. I also wound up fighting some pirates, who I became friends with, and wound up joining them. Those miners came along as well, and for their corp we scouted out a perfect pocket high sec system surrounded by low sec with the lowest being a 0.2. Their corp joined the pirate corp in a loose unofficial alliance. I generally played solo even then, until I wanted to take out hunting parties. Then I got some of my buddies to fly with me on my hunting trips, and I guess I started fcing small scale hunts. Most of the time though I'd just pop in for an hour or two, get a hunt in, maybe a kill or two and log off.

And then there's people like me who for the life of them can't seem to gravitate towards other people and become close enough with them.

Simple answer from a loner: I don't really like playing with other people and don't see the point of PvP. Nothing gets me more disinterested in a game than the multiplayer tag. But some really special titles (like Warframe & Monster Hunter) interested me enough to play despite the multiplayer elements. That's the important word: despite.

I'm listening to this in the background while I'm working and have to keep stepping away for stretches of time. Does he ever mention not wanting to deal with elitists?

Why? Because I love the thrill of beating a dungeon that's meant to be beating with 4-5 players that's meant to be level 15-20, and beat it by being over leveled.

This guy swallowing heavily in the microphone is the thing I will remember the most of this conference.

This is exactly why I don't play MMO's. 1. The scheduling: Im not insane yet I'm not going to schedule when I play a game, that seems like work. 2. The huge beginners hurdle: it takes weeks to learn how to play games like that, let alone being good at them. 3. The Players: There are a lot of awesome people playing these games, but there's also a lot of scumbags, that just want to exploit, steal, grief other players especially new ones. 4. The grind: playing one game for years is not for me. I just don't have that kind of time, or to be honest the dedication to keep playing that when there's a million single player games I want to play. 5. Some of the tactics used in certain MMO's to keep players "paying" or playing I don't agree with.

Yeah I never like the excuse people use to trash the loners "Its an MMO you're not supposed to be alone".. Some people like doing stuff alone, or with 1-2 friends. Some people don't have the time waiting around for others join.. This doesn't mean they don't love the game and world, or ONLY like to play alone.. They will play with others and have fun in content, and they love seeing the world populated with other players, and will help.

Not sure if anyone is still reading these comments, but what would make a great innovation in MMOs would be adding hire-able NPCs to fill in some/all the empty spots for a full dungeon party - provided the AI could be made "smart" enough to successfully perform the strategies needed for those boss fights. No more waiting forever to find that healer you're missing. No more waiting until the "right" time of day to have enough other people online to fill a group. Solos won't quit the game in frustration when they can't progress their character any longer because there's no way to get better gear than running dungeons. THAT feature alone would draw players, regardless of what genre, pay structure, etc. the game featured.

Conclusion: gamers do be living in a society :(

39:25 "But making a massively single player game isn't the answer". How would a game that would appeal to around 50% of the gaming audience, which is introverts, be a bad idea? It seems like giving them the ability to put the social stuff on the back burner or opt out would be a good idea

Thank you, the genre isn't (MCO) Massive Co-operative Online: rpg or game. Its (MMO) and all that says is other people playing in the same game world. I mean we don't rely on other people to do everything in the MMO that is real life.

How the hell did youtube know that I am a loner in MMOs and studied game design and actually suggested me a video which fits perfect to my parameters.

Amongst my friends, none of them really likes mmos for it’s immersive world, the fantasy, the role playing, atmospheric story, character customisation, etc. I don’t understand, how do people not like immersing within the fantasy world.. and still play an mmo.. it’s the whole point.. it sounds so painful to play that way, which is, I assume, the reason why they never stay with the mmo. I would sit on top of a tree in a very pretty area and watch people questing and interacting, or help new players clear difficult content randomly on the road, it’s enjoyable for me that way.

The talk, while interesting, comes off as a developer who is a hardcore player that doesn't understand its non-hardcore audience. He just assumes you should get as many people as possible into the hardcore level of play, while only accepting the non-hardcore playstyle for people doing something else or being tired (e.g. the vacationer, the guy playing on a break during work). If you're going to explain solo players, you can't ignore non-hardcore players. Almost all built-in social interactions are practically designed around hardcore playstyle, which alienates a good part of your "social" audience. It speaks badly of the developer and is often reflected in games that are a shitty grind to the endgame, where the "fun part" is (even though you might not find it fun because it's often way different from the grind). This kind of explanations don't help. Also he grossly misuses the term introvert.

Because other players are a-holes. *video ends*

I do it because I can play at my pace. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

This was really interesting. I love hearing these.

You guys need to get it out of your head that every person who plays an MMO wants to be the top dog. I play MMOs to have fun but I don't have a lot of time for gaming and when I feel like I have to play all the damn time in order to get good enough so that the game is fun, I leave. Most people, especially the people you have not captured to play your game, play casually and have lives and other things that they do. The thing I hate the most about these games is how they seem to have the mentality that you have to suck down all of your extra time in order to play the damn game. You can't just play a few hours a week. It seems like a lot of lost Revenue. This is why I personally avoid arenas and don't play the hardest levels for dungeons or raids. I don't have the time to build up the skill and get all the gear to really compete and I don't want to.

For the same reason in any kindergarten class, there is always the one or two children that play in a corner with the legos: They can amuse themselves.

For me, I think a great way to incorporate the loner is to have a low-commitment position with low-to-no communication requirements. Those positions should have a noticeable and visual impact on the gameplay of those around them because that gives a sense of pride and accomplishment. I think Death Stranding made a good starting step in that direction. I loved constructing geometry that would improve the ease of travel for others playing the game, and the likes helped to reinforce that feeling. I wasn't forced to communicate, but I was able to help. It felt good, and the feeling was addicting for me.

I like seeing people around and talking to them in a chat. I absolutely abhor being forced to interact with anyone any further than that.

Some people don't have rl friends that game and don't like dealing with people they don't know, voice chat and guys always laughing and trying to make jokes and rage players.

The people who play Habbo hotel by themselves are a terrifying true neutral energy

I played ESO for at least a year and mostly as a solo player. I just liked taking in the world at my own pace, getting into my character's headspace, and playing with other people obliterated that immersion. There was a little nook high up a mountain on one map, a spot the devs hadn't expected you to be able to get to, and I'd just sit there looking at the world through the cloud layer and feeling contented. I think that's where my character was left when I stopped playing, sitting on a crag, watching the world go by.

Maybe I'm weird, but I don't like adventuring in a group, but prefer to adventure by myself so I can take time to explore, and really take in my surroundings at my own pace. Take time to read the quest, find Easter eggs, and seek out lore like hidden notes and such. Really appreciate the effort the devs went into with their world-building. I hate impatient people who just rush the game. Like Mass Effect and Dragon Age: Origins, I've sat there and just spent hours reading the codex/lore. I had some filthy casual ask why Mass Effect has unlimited ammo, and I wanted to slap him because it tells you right there in the voiced section of the codex. I also love the idea of running a social gathering place like a tavern or inn where I get to participate with many social groups without having to be committed to all their bullshit and drama. Like in the game Ark: Survival Evolved, I built a beautiful tavern and lodge up on a deadly frigid mountainside, and welcomed any passers-by with a place to warm up, get food and drink, and have a safe area to heal up. It was pretty cool, because I became a trading hub, too, sort of a neutral ground where the other tribes agreed to ceasefire, and I was seen as an impartial, trustworthy person who could help ensure fair trades by them trading the items to me, then once I have all the items, I finish the trade. I wouldn't ask for any compensation, either, only for donations of wood (super cheap resource) to keep the fires going. For me, that's fun. It's a loner style of gameplay, as I had no other tribe members and built everything myself, but it's also social because I become that funny hermit on the mountain who minds his own business, but is still friendly, hospitable, and trustworthy if you pay a visit. I can't really do this in most MMOs, so I don't really like MMOs. Going on raids doesn't interest me, especially if you're raiding another player's base. I survived in Ark by not making my base worth raiding, but made it a place worth doing trade and having some laughs. I wish MMOs had that kind of thing where you could custom build your own establishment and create a social hub for the adventurers who do like to group up and go raiding. Space Engineers is one of those games I also like because it lets me do just that. I can build a cool space station in orbit around a busy planet, create an actual safe zone, and become a trading hub. I don't like spending hours building a ship only to go get it blown to bits in PvP. That's not fun to me, but it is to others, and it can be pretty entertaining watching space battles unfold outside of my safe zone, then I go out and salvage the aftermath wreckage to expand my station, refuel it, or even grind it down into components or ingots to sell to people. I like being independent, but I also like interacting with people on my own terms. I love building and crafting things more than looting things.

I almost exclusively play MMOs solo because the marjority of the types of games I like to play are single player games. I have a handful of friends who I game with, but they're mostly like me, so finding a multiplayer game we all want to play is fairly rare. City of Heroes was my introduction to MMOs, and this guy's right, it's a very solo friendly game. My friends played it too, but I bought in after the Villains expansion so all my characters were unable to play blue side until many years later when they gave you the ability to switch back and forth so most of the time I played solo. I missed a lot of end game content that required lots of cordination and people, but I didn't care. I had fun designing characters, leveling them up, kitting out their IO sets, and farming infamy for my superbase. It was fun playing with my friends, but I loved that I could enjoy the game by myself without needing anyone else to be online. These days I work nights, so being able to play solo is very important for me. I understand why people group up and join guilds in MMOs, I made a few friends in CoX before it closed down too, but solo play is super important. If you can only play when other people are on it's too restrictive. You can always join a pug but it's usually more fun to go at your own pace and the social interaction to get things rolling can be exhausting when you just want to log in and play for a few hours. Being able to solo play in an MMO is an absolute must for me to even consider picking the game up in the first place. Also, I want to be somewhat competent at the game before I start playing with other people and there's no safety net in solo play. It makes shifting to group play a little tricky since you have to get used to buffs and similar, but it gives you a better understanding of when you're in danger and how to stay alive. At least, that's my take from my own personal experience.

Being in an MMO is already massively multiplayer. The selling point is NOT just raids. Existing in a fictional living breathing world populated by other humans IS the selling point. Not sure why at some point that switched over to small instanced group content of 40 ish or less people. I mean lets be honest, true end game experience in every MMO is afking in town 99% of the time and actually playing the game briefly upon new content patch before going back to afking.

I'm a Gaming Dad with a young daughter and quite a busy work schedule on top of that. I enjoy a wide variety of games. Unfortunately, playing an MMO alone is the most enjoyable way for me to play an MMO. Playing with others, mostly people who don't have kids or don't understand the restrictions of gaming with kids and a full time job, adds a lot of pressure that as a parent I don't need or want. Things like the obligation to be on a schedule, being online frequently and reliably, or spending hours on raids, and so much more. Playing solo, I can hop in and out as needed, whenever I get a chance, and I can do whatever I want to. I can basically use my time to enjoy the game effectively the way I want. Unlike Multiplayer games like COD, Overwatch, Fortnite, etc. MMOs offer a great experience, story, and depth, even for solo players who don't have the time to invest endless hours a day in it. It'd be a shame to miss out on some of those experiences just because you think you MUST play it with others.

I’ve played Guild Wars 1 alone on and off for the better part of a decade. I’ve run into some people I’d talk to for a few days at a time but never made any real relationships. Also, no one i knew in real life plays the game which i feel wouldve been different as i love playing games with irl friends.

Mainly I have two reasons... I want to play at my own pace and I don't want to be forced to a schedule. It feels like a job if you are forced to play for X hours on Y days of the week and being older, I tend to take more time at things... I don't want to rush and I don't have the twitch skills of a teenager.

A very interesting and good discourse. I´m a solo player, me reasons are that i´m tired of having to take care and being thinking about what other people want to do, or want me to do. I´ve lived all my live ( nearly 60 years ) allways with a lot of people, lot of friends, was over decades a MC Biker, have survived managing a family, runned my own buissness, and so on. So now, at least in my digital life, i just want to do exactly what i want, and doing it by myself, without having to make compromisses or anything else with others, just on my own run. The only multi-games i play sometimes are pvp shooters... ;)

I like to know I'm not the only person in a world. It's really satisfying to know that there are other people wandering the world and experiencing things for themselves.

some of the talk still relevant, kinda nice i can watch this vid when building a siege guild with fren

I play MMO's almost exclusively by myself simply because I can't stand the toxic populations of 99% of MMO's.

The overall behavior of gamers has changed in mmos, it has mostly become toxic, and it is not fun to play with toxic players. MMOs used to be about teamwork, now it's about dps meters, PvE has become too competitive to a very negative point, and what's the point of playing a game, when it's not fun to play with toxic players. The bottom line people deal with enough BS in r/l, why deal with it in a social game?

One thing I've noticed in California is that people in the city are very unsocial compared to those outside the city. I visited Arizona, Missouri, and smaller parts of Texas. Everyone is sociable. Everyone it seems comfortable talking with one another. It was a culture shock to me.

I don't work on the videogame industry and I find many of the GDC talks incredibly interesting. This is one of them.