Both. When time is limited I prefer to group / play with family & existing friends. However, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting some great folk around the world who became good friends only because we played a game together. I find an environment encouraging community is a feature missing in most 'modern' MMORPGs.
Definatley random player interaction, I only play with one real life friend, and we are ussually on at different times. Mostly random encounters that form into new friends. it ussually gets down to a Core group of players tho.
Its a great feeling when u log on everyday and people are waiting for u to group up
"hey Atereb we been waiting for you, were going to that new dungeon to kill the Demi God Kilsin, I heard he's a pushover, with great loot"
and really if there wasnt random interaction, why play mmo's
Certainly both. Games like SWG, it was a very friendly social game. Friendships that lasted many years developed due to that heavy reliance on other players. For instance if you set up a great player city; had doctor buffs and entertainers all the time, it gained a reputation quickly and players leveling or grinding missions flocked there for buffs. It was very common to continue to see the same people over and over as well as new players who became regulars at the cantina. You generally had guilds running their own cities so it was great for recruitment. Many guilds made their own weapons/armor/food and drink buffs/consumables to sell, which with the influx of players brought in great commerce for the city. Many guilds would host parties and ingame events for some prize; such as tournaments, scavenger hunts, etc. which would get advertized and people would flock in great numbers.
There was even entertainer guilds who would perform like an actually band and put on shows hosted by player cities to play at parties. It really was a magical time in the game's history and I am glad I got to experience it. Being a higher end player would get me a lot of attention as well; back in CU having a Jedi character got you a ton of whispers, including jobs to take down really mean mobs for valuable crafing materials. Going to those parties and events mostly involved talking with my guild's leaders because I played such an important role in going into Death Watch Bunker, taking down Axkva Min or the Geonosian Lab. Was also cool to have the random Bounty Hunter player(s) crash the party to try and kill me. Was quite the specticle.
Every day felt like an adventure.
I always prefer playing with friends and family, but I think random player interaction does more to enhance the experience of an MMORPG.
Not having to fill every role or provide every tradeskill for yourself is great. You need a healer or a steel bar just ask for it. Randomly running into people in the world with different playstyles, goals, and levels creates that sense of community I feel an MMO should have.
Depends on the strangers lol. Needless to say, there are some strangers that can ruin your fun very quickly. But I think that causes some people to be too afraid of PUGs. Because there are also some strangers that go on to become lifelong friends. Those friendships are really special and enhance my gaming experience immensely. Overally, family is more stable and reliable. I have played with my family since I was a child. But it can also be interesting to meet new people - you can learn a lot from that :) That's really what MMO's are all about I think. I can play a multiplayer offline game with my family and friends. But MMO's allow you to meet people from all across the world!
In my experience playing with friends and family is safe and predictable which leads to favorable interactions even if you fail at your in game goal. Playing with randoms gives you a unpredictable experience. From the facepalm moments to the clashes of nerdy egos, there is always a sense of wtf in the air. Yet, when your ragtag bunch of misfits manages to pull off some amazing feat out of their arses it feels more rewarding. But in the end it comes down to personal prefrences. I myself have a high tolerance to stupidity and don't get offended easily by ignorance or opposite opinions. I laugh at the wtf moments and revel at those moments when your group of outcasts manages to do something pretty down right awesome. Even though I enjoy the relaxation of playing with friends and love ones there is a buzz I get playing with a bunch of drunken peasants.
I almost always try to find a group of friends/family to play a new game with. I have noticed that without that I don't usually stick around in the game for very long. Random interactions are important, but having that core group that I can always count on for groups and such is very key for me. The one exception is if I can find a really good guild full of good people that share my in game goals. Just joining any random guild doesn't always work. Without those random interactions though, finding a guild wouldn't ever happen.
Both are very important in their own right and both very much enhance the in game experience, assuming they are positive interactions.
I love to interact with other strangers in the world, this has created many stories to tell. But this can only work if the world and game mechanics made sense. If you force a lot of things on the player (including to be forced to interact with others) then it would lose its meaning. The world and the game needs to lay out the foundation and let us just dwell in it and choose our paths without hand holding, without quests-on-rails, without any kind of "dynamic" events. Then and only then where we'll just stand still and think "...oh, what should I do now? Hey you over there wanna group up and maybe try to kill those orcs?" if you keep us busy with crap that some designers might consider "smart" then the whole feeling of connecting/wander/awe would be eliminated.
Set us free, let us just relax for a moment. Fill the world with dungeons and areas of interest to delve into and adventure. Let us decide whether we go with friends, alone or strangers. EverQuest did one thing right and that's what I just explained, EQ set us free without any kind of unnecessary complications. That kind of freedom gave us the chance to look around and talk to people.
A double edged sword to be sure but over all I really believe it enhances the experience, for it wouldn't feel like a complete world without the strangers roaming all across the lands. I've had some of my best times with random strangers in groups over the years as there is always a chance to be pleasantly surprised, there are some genuinely hilarious people out there.
Random player interaction most deffinately enhances my gameplay. There is nothing better than exploring and finding a player in the same zone as you who may need a hand in something. Someone who you can assist or can assist you in getting through something or finding something. Also it is a great way to meet new friends and expand your friends list. Anyone you meet on the way is a potential friend and groupmate.
Nothing gives more satisfaction then picking up a spare piece of armor or weapon and finding someone along the way who is in need of that item. a donated item has much more value than the few gold or plat that you would get from selling it.
I personally enjoy both, but am not biased to either.
One of my longest standing friends i've met in EQ back in 04/05 and we still play together from 2000 miles away on a regular basis, as a matter of fact we put in a good 10 hour go yesterday lol
Another situation i was PL'n one of my alts in Velks Lab one day and a little beastlord shows up and i felt it only right to add her to the group to absorb the xp considering i was pulling everything. we talked and ended up playing together for on several occasions for a year and eventually started dating.
Be it guild, group or random encounters, i endulge on new adventures and experiences simply because there is a lesson to be learned allbeit good or bad you will still walk away from every encounter with more knowledge than you had prior
Without a question random people are a must experience... With very few exceptions my first experiences with any game came from joining up with people who happened to be in the same place I was in an adventure. The rest of them came from joining a clan/guild, most of which were one those random folks were already a part of...
Its nice when you can round up 5-6 IRL friends or upwards of 20+ if your whole clan/guild moved from one game to another but the reality is those who you constantly run into while adventuring match up to your play times and progression which is what you are looking for in a grouping experience in the first place.
I like a mix. If I'm doing really hard content I tend to have most success when playing in guild groups because we know how each other play and we do well together but I also like doing the odd pick up group as well to meet new people who want to join the guild and just to make new friends in the game.
Considering some of my best mates now originated as interactions with strangers I'd say it has to be my favourite part. You always know what you're signing up for when you play with friends and family but I think it's the sense of meeting new people that really makes an MMO.