I've been thinking about what I really like in a game, and what I don't like. Below are some characteristics of my "perfect" game. I'm curious what others would like to see in a "perfect" game!

- I don't want a single player game, I want a game where you can be very social and play with friends. But you aren't forced to be social when you don't want to be--you don't need a lot of people to complete game objectives.

- I like to make new characters, so I'm frustrated in games like Pet Society where I can have only one. On the other hand, World of Warcraft allows me to create too many characters! I think the perfect number would be around 5.

- A rich environment to explore. I love all the scenery in World of Warcraft, the subtle movie references and all those little touches, but don't like so much that everything is trying to kill me, LOL.

- A chance to be truly creative. This was wonderful about the GoPets item maker, the fact that you could make something that was really used by your pets. Even if you weren't into making your own stuff, you could still use items made by others.

- An auction house! Search everything for sale, buy from anyone for in game currency and not worry about being scammed. (If a game has a small percentage of rares or bind on account items, that's fine, but I'm sick of games that are geared entirely to keep items you want out of your hands.)

- Being able to level and gain currency in a variety of different ways. Could include professions, puzzles, selling items you created yourself (as mentioned above), credit for exploring, combat--the key is you don't have to do any one thing, you can enjoy the combination of activities that you like best and still get ahead. Include things that encourage good community spirit, like leveling credit for giving gifts.

- A set fee. I know some people hate this, but I much rather pay $15 a month for unlimited fun on World of Warcraft, than be constantly tempted by these pet games that want me to spend more and more, and trying to push you to do dubious surveys and all that crap. Of course you'd need some kind of trail period to get people hooked before you ask for money.