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Lately the kids have me chasing Pokemon. That app is busted! you have to restart it about every 5 minutes. And I do. Over and over. As I've watched that thing over the past week, I've been asking myself, "Why doesn't playing UWE make me feel this same way?" I'm not sure I know, but maybe we can discuss it here.
STABILITY. Imagine the clamor here if the app was as unstable as that one is. The servers are clogged, you can't get in. So what did Niantic do last Friday? Turned it on in 26 more countries! They've had a total global outage of 2+ hours on Saturday and again on Sunday. People hope they get it figured out, because they face the prospect of being outdoors on a sunny day for no reason at all. ADVANTAGE: UWE
GOTTA CATCH 'EM ALL. Wouldn't it be great if we had all watched Underworld cartoons 20 years ago? Collecting the set finds a huge audience. While collecting and leveling up LT's is a similar activity, it's just kind of niche. ADVANTAGE: PoGo
FIGHTING. UWE has PvP AND EvE. Pokemon has only PvP. And it's a bit strange to me. I don't know enough about which ones do well against which other ones to even try to play matchup advantage. Now that I think of it, comparing PoGo's CP (Combat Points) is not too different from comparing player levels and battle rank at UWE. I think that the fighting thing is more complex in PoGo. Is it too complicated? ADVANTAGE: You tell me.
LEVEL UP SWAG. Every time you level in UWE, you get SP. Every time your trainer levels in PoGo, you get stuff. Like, PokeBalls, healing potions, incense ... it feels like when a boss job finishes. Advantage: PoGo.
BOSS JOBS vs PokeStops. That's not really apples and apples, but you can hit a pokestop every 5 minutes and get 3-5 items. There are spots in every town where you can see 3-4 pokestops and just farm them. In UWE, a Boss Job is the closest thing I can think of, and it's way slower to reload. You can't keep starting one right when the other finishes - you have to cool down a couple of days. You can find someone else's boss job, and it's clear that some players just go from one Titan to another as long as they can find one. ADVANTAGE: PoGo.
VALUE. You can buy about 1200 pokebucks for $10, and about 14,000 for $100, same as a VIP. With $10 you could get a 5-pack of incense and a 5-pack of lucky eggs and probably level your guy up a couple of times. With $10 worth of FP, you could buy 2 LT's, or 20 scratchers, or 2 crate rolls. I'm not sure which gives a player more leverage if they wanna spend a few bucks. My sense is that for a small spend you might get more leverage with PoGo, and for a big spend you get more leverage with UWE. ADVANTAGE: you tell me.
GAMBLING. Until I compare it to another game, I'm not conscious of how much of UWE is gambling. I have no objection to dealing with drop rates and random outcomes, since they're really up front about it. But when I look at things like Crate Rolls and Scratchers, I realize that the gambling is a lot more up front in UWE than in some comparable games.
GO! One of the most unusual things about PoGo is that you are supposed to get outdoors and walk around to play. You meet other players at Parks and Malls. This is very different from the lagamorph playing video games in his mom's basement. People walk several kilometers to incubate their eggs, and they walk all over to try to catch pokemon in their nearby display. UWE has no connection to real world geography and a sedentary old man like me can play it all day without ever getting a tan. No lie, PoGo is a hiking game. I see why "go" is in the name. And I'm kind of glad that UWE doesn't make me do so much.
Oh, and yes, I did go down to the basement and find my old turntable to try to incubate my eggs. Taped it to the ceiling fan too. Don't bother.
Those are just a few early thoughts. I have been playing UWE for almost 3 years (another month and I'm there), and it's become a kind of lifestyle. My little brother has been playing WoW for 10 years. They have 10-year reunions and stuff over there. I'm not looking to leave. But I wonder if there aren't some enhancements to UWE that we could steal from other popular games.
I'm looking for a PokeStop in UWE. Instant gratification, early and often. More cheesy swag for me. Pile it high. Charge me to get a bigger backpack.
STABILITY. Imagine the clamor here if the app was as unstable as that one is. The servers are clogged, you can't get in. So what did Niantic do last Friday? Turned it on in 26 more countries! They've had a total global outage of 2+ hours on Saturday and again on Sunday. People hope they get it figured out, because they face the prospect of being outdoors on a sunny day for no reason at all. ADVANTAGE: UWE
GOTTA CATCH 'EM ALL. Wouldn't it be great if we had all watched Underworld cartoons 20 years ago? Collecting the set finds a huge audience. While collecting and leveling up LT's is a similar activity, it's just kind of niche. ADVANTAGE: PoGo
FIGHTING. UWE has PvP AND EvE. Pokemon has only PvP. And it's a bit strange to me. I don't know enough about which ones do well against which other ones to even try to play matchup advantage. Now that I think of it, comparing PoGo's CP (Combat Points) is not too different from comparing player levels and battle rank at UWE. I think that the fighting thing is more complex in PoGo. Is it too complicated? ADVANTAGE: You tell me.
LEVEL UP SWAG. Every time you level in UWE, you get SP. Every time your trainer levels in PoGo, you get stuff. Like, PokeBalls, healing potions, incense ... it feels like when a boss job finishes. Advantage: PoGo.
BOSS JOBS vs PokeStops. That's not really apples and apples, but you can hit a pokestop every 5 minutes and get 3-5 items. There are spots in every town where you can see 3-4 pokestops and just farm them. In UWE, a Boss Job is the closest thing I can think of, and it's way slower to reload. You can't keep starting one right when the other finishes - you have to cool down a couple of days. You can find someone else's boss job, and it's clear that some players just go from one Titan to another as long as they can find one. ADVANTAGE: PoGo.
VALUE. You can buy about 1200 pokebucks for $10, and about 14,000 for $100, same as a VIP. With $10 you could get a 5-pack of incense and a 5-pack of lucky eggs and probably level your guy up a couple of times. With $10 worth of FP, you could buy 2 LT's, or 20 scratchers, or 2 crate rolls. I'm not sure which gives a player more leverage if they wanna spend a few bucks. My sense is that for a small spend you might get more leverage with PoGo, and for a big spend you get more leverage with UWE. ADVANTAGE: you tell me.
GAMBLING. Until I compare it to another game, I'm not conscious of how much of UWE is gambling. I have no objection to dealing with drop rates and random outcomes, since they're really up front about it. But when I look at things like Crate Rolls and Scratchers, I realize that the gambling is a lot more up front in UWE than in some comparable games.
GO! One of the most unusual things about PoGo is that you are supposed to get outdoors and walk around to play. You meet other players at Parks and Malls. This is very different from the lagamorph playing video games in his mom's basement. People walk several kilometers to incubate their eggs, and they walk all over to try to catch pokemon in their nearby display. UWE has no connection to real world geography and a sedentary old man like me can play it all day without ever getting a tan. No lie, PoGo is a hiking game. I see why "go" is in the name. And I'm kind of glad that UWE doesn't make me do so much.
Oh, and yes, I did go down to the basement and find my old turntable to try to incubate my eggs. Taped it to the ceiling fan too. Don't bother.
Those are just a few early thoughts. I have been playing UWE for almost 3 years (another month and I'm there), and it's become a kind of lifestyle. My little brother has been playing WoW for 10 years. They have 10-year reunions and stuff over there. I'm not looking to leave. But I wonder if there aren't some enhancements to UWE that we could steal from other popular games.
I'm looking for a PokeStop in UWE. Instant gratification, early and often. More cheesy swag for me. Pile it high. Charge me to get a bigger backpack.
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