Intelligently Artificial

In most MMOs, all too often other players don’t matter, not really. Of course, if you are part of a guild, then your guildmates typically do matter. But to a large extent that “mattering” derives from associations and motivations that while linked with the game world are often external to it. There are many games out there that encourage players to group. But they do this chiefly by bribing players. They try to encourage Joe and Jane Gamer to break out of their entrenched solipsism by then encouraging them to see other players simply in a self-serving light, as props to their own prowess. So grouping with other players will give you an XP boost, or provide you with healer support, etc. This, however, is a long way from feeling that other players really matter. Because what matters to you is not the individual player but rather their class and/or level.