02-23-2011, 03:39 PM
My own experience to date with browser based games has been that, by and large, they are boring. Repetition, itself, can be either boring or fun. I used to do a lot of repetitious stuff, back when I played Warcraft II and Starcraft on Battlenet, many years ago, but I had a lot of fun in the process.
Browser based games also suffer from a malady common to numerous post-postal PBM games - namely, interface issues. Often times, interfaces for games are not very intuitive, and the player invariably struggles with the interface. Interface issues can ruin an otherwise interesting sounding game. The interface can be a real interest killer, at times.
With postal gaming, the time delay between turns can help to build the anticipation factor, even as it acts as a retardant to the potential for game burnout. Players can become burned out, playing PBM games of the postal variety kind, to be certain.
Of the games on your short list above, I've tried Travian. It sucks. It gets old very fast, thus, it has no staying power for me, where its appeal factor is concerned.
Of the browser based games that I have tried, thus far, the one that I liked the best (but which I also no longer play) was Warlords of Eluria. It's been a long while since I have played it, though. I took a glance at the game's Top 100 Player rankings list, just now, and several of the players listed there are current or former players of the play by mail game, Hyborian War. I don't know how many of those players still play Warlords of Eluria, though.
The thing that I liked best about the game was its fledgling character system. One of the things that I disliked about the character system, though, is also one of the things that I also dislike about Fate of a Nation's character system - you have to grow a cast of characters, rather than starting with the equivalent of a royal court or assembly of great leaders, as is the case with both Hyborian War and Middle-earth PBM.
With browser based games, the player faces an accelerated curve for both familiarity and disenchantment. Imagination tends to be the "glue" that holds a postal game together. For all of the numerous deficiencies and shortcomings and outright problems that postal games tended to have (and to still have), whether computer-moderated or hand-moderated or a little bit of both, imagination was the great equalizer for postal games. Because there was a sizable span of time between turn results, players' imaginations were kept active and engaged for longer time spans, than browser based games tend to enjoy. Browser based games tend to be more bug free and more efficient, but efficiency devoid of imagination tends to yield rather dry results. Dry, in turn, equals boredom.
Browser based games also suffer from a malady common to numerous post-postal PBM games - namely, interface issues. Often times, interfaces for games are not very intuitive, and the player invariably struggles with the interface. Interface issues can ruin an otherwise interesting sounding game. The interface can be a real interest killer, at times.
With postal gaming, the time delay between turns can help to build the anticipation factor, even as it acts as a retardant to the potential for game burnout. Players can become burned out, playing PBM games of the postal variety kind, to be certain.
Of the games on your short list above, I've tried Travian. It sucks. It gets old very fast, thus, it has no staying power for me, where its appeal factor is concerned.
Of the browser based games that I have tried, thus far, the one that I liked the best (but which I also no longer play) was Warlords of Eluria. It's been a long while since I have played it, though. I took a glance at the game's Top 100 Player rankings list, just now, and several of the players listed there are current or former players of the play by mail game, Hyborian War. I don't know how many of those players still play Warlords of Eluria, though.
The thing that I liked best about the game was its fledgling character system. One of the things that I disliked about the character system, though, is also one of the things that I also dislike about Fate of a Nation's character system - you have to grow a cast of characters, rather than starting with the equivalent of a royal court or assembly of great leaders, as is the case with both Hyborian War and Middle-earth PBM.
With browser based games, the player faces an accelerated curve for both familiarity and disenchantment. Imagination tends to be the "glue" that holds a postal game together. For all of the numerous deficiencies and shortcomings and outright problems that postal games tended to have (and to still have), whether computer-moderated or hand-moderated or a little bit of both, imagination was the great equalizer for postal games. Because there was a sizable span of time between turn results, players' imaginations were kept active and engaged for longer time spans, than browser based games tend to enjoy. Browser based games tend to be more bug free and more efficient, but efficiency devoid of imagination tends to yield rather dry results. Dry, in turn, equals boredom.