Life after Elves. What's next for MMO's?

[ZzZGuy]

I believe the trend is already starting.

Companies are starting to make non elvish fantasy games to try and edge in on the MMO market. Age of Conan is a example of a gradual change, where there are still swords and magic but it's more down to earth (at least that's what it looks like to me), still appealing to the fantasy market. EvE is proof that a Sci Fi MMO can succeed with some ingenuity (100k+ playing in one consistent universe, so you are playing with more people in WoW which has more players). Pirates of the Burning Sea is another new MMO that is mostly historically based with no fantasy elements that i am aware of.

Unless WoW revamps itself enough to keep the game interesting, WAR (Warhammer online: Age of Reckoning) seems set to continue where WoW left off with the fantasy world of elves, orks, swords and magic. So it'll be tough going to try and compete with WoW and WAR duking it out, or if one is superior enough to beat out the other.


My opinion is that within the next 5 to 10 years we will see non fantasy games running parallel to fantasy games, and finally a reversal of current trends (sci-fi being on the bottom, fantasy on top). It's hard to say if the top non fantasy games will be using swords or not, but i sure hope they move in a new direction.


Personally, I'm waiting for the day they pick up on the BattleTech universe for a MMO, i just hope piloting a mech is a rare and special thing rather then everyone starting in a 25 ton mech or something. Hey, they got to run out of easy ideas sooner or later.


So where would you like to see MMO's go? What's your oponion? Have any relevant news or info you'd like to share?

 

[AntiFreze]

I want to see an MMO called Life ... like second life, but applies all laws (man-made and nature) to the avatars. I want to be able to work a 9-5 job and feel underpaid. I want to be able to take my paycheck to a casino and blow it all on double zero. I want child support, lawyer fees, undeserving people to lotteries. But there should be no reset on it. No way to create a 2nd character. Once you make a mistake, you live with it till you die (which lives in real time at the same age you are at). To activate the game you have to be scanned so your exact body/appearance can be represented in the game.

who's with me?

 

[ZzZGuy]

Originally posted by: AntiFreze
I want to see an MMO called Life ... like second life, but applies all laws (man-made and nature) to the avatars. I want to be able to work a 9-5 job and feel underpaid. I want to be able to take my paycheck to a casino and blow it all on double zero. I want child support, lawyer fees, undeserving people to lotteries. But there should be no reset on it. No way to create a 2nd character. Once you make a mistake, you live with it till you die (which lives in real time at the same age you are at). To activate the game you have to be scanned so your exact body/appearance can be represented in the game.

who's with me?

Meh, too much grinding.

 

[Beev]

Blizzard is working on a next gen MMO. My personal speculation is Starcraft, that way it doesn't directly compete with the Diablo franchise. Of course, it could be a totally new IP.

If it *IS* Starcraft then I will cancel my WoW subscription the day it comes out. Sci-fi has always appealed to me more, and the Starcraft universe is just awesome.

 

[AntiFreze]

i feel like a starcraft mmo would be just like wow, only with different skins. Can they really make the play style that much different?

 

[KeithTalent]

I have a great idea for an MMO, but I'm not going to post it here because someone will steal it <shifty eyes>.

Anyway, the biggest problems with MMOs in my opinion is the grind and I'm not sure you will ever be able to get away from the grind in MMOs since that is what they use, essentially, to keep everyone subscribing. Content cannot come out fast enough to please the hardcore players, so they have to have something in place for them to do. /tangent

Maybe I would like to see a prehistoric MMO where I could kick some dinosaur butt or something.

KT

 

[PitViper2057]

A scifi MMO in the works for stargate fans, www.stargateworlds.com

 

[AntiFreze]

I think a way to get away from the grind is allowing users to become part of the creation process.... brainstorming here... lets go.

user starts with dev created content - story driven - unique - whatever.
user becomes powerful/wealthy. user builds a castle, hires guards, but only a certain amount of loot/gold can be carried. So the castle is full of loot.
user then buys rare creatures (possible bred to be unique by monster breeders) to protect stuff.
cue 2nd user - hmmm, lots of stuff in there... i dont want to earn it.... lets get a group together and raid the place
now the 2nd user has a unique castle to plunder, unique monsters to fight, completely generated by another user.

has this been done before? am I crazy? ... lets add....

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: Beev
Blizzard is working on a next gen MMO. My personal speculation is Starcraft, that way it doesn't directly compete with the Diablo franchise. Of course, it could be a totally new IP.

If it *IS* Starcraft then I will cancel my WoW subscription the day it comes out. Sci-fi has always appealed to me more, and the Starcraft universe is just awesome.

I highly doubt it'll be a SC MMO unless SC2 is an MMO. SC2 is already pretty far along in development (from early SS, a traditional RTS) and the chances of Blizzard releasing concurrent SC titles is pretty slim imo. Diablo-based MMO would make a lot more sense and many would argue Diablo 2 was their first "MMO experience". The success of Battle.net was certainly something that convinced Blizzard they'd do well in the MMO arena and they certainly have found success there as well.

As for a Sci-Fi MMO, there's a good chance that'll come to bear with BioWare's new MMO which is going to be done in collaboration with LucasArts. Many are hinting (or hoping) for a KOTR-based MMO and certainly all of the key elements are in place to make it happen.

As for the OP's wish for a MW-based MMO, I agree that it'd be pretty incredible with a game universe that lends itself to the genre. A mix of the early BattleTech games (Crescent Hawk's revenge etc.) where you run around sans Mech early on until you salvage Mechs to pilot. There's also a lot to draw from in terms of a Planetary Assault engine, which was integrated in a web-based stat tracker with StarLance for MechCommander and built into the game engine with MPBT 3025 Beta.

Unfortunately, I doubt there will be any chance for a MechWarrior/BattleTech MMO as the franchise fell into ruins last year in MS/XBox's hands culminating in FASA Interactive's demise last year. Last I heard was one of the original creators purchasing back the PC/Console game rights, but not sure if there's any plans to bring the franchise back to the video games arena.

 

[Beev]

Diablo would compete directly with WoW, since they're both fantasy. It wouldn't make sense at all.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: Beev
Diablo would compete directly with WoW, since they're both fantasy. It wouldn't make sense at all.

They're very different though and have been from inception with their own fan bases, story and lore. There was also a quote from Blizz (Morhaime I think) that stated the Diablo franchise would be revisited, but he didn't say when. I think many were surprised Blizz's first MMO wasn't Diablo-based, I doubt they'd take a pass on it a second time given how successfull Diablo2 was on B.net and how long its been since we've seen a new Diablo title.

 

[JRich]

Yarrrrrr

 

[AntiFreze]

why dont they do like the cartoons of the old would do... franchise cross over.... wow opens a portal to diablo universe... hilarity ensues.

 

[FallenHero]

Originally posted by: AntiFreze
why dont they do like the cartoons of the old would do... franchise cross over.... wow opens a portal to diablo universe... hilarity ensues.

Gives the secret cow level a whole new meaning.

 

[techwanabe]

I really enjoyed RoseOnline www.roseonlinegame.com

Unfortunately developement of the game took a nosedive and has been stalled for nearly a year now. I liked it because it was so different than the run of the mill WOW/Everquest stuff thats out there. It had alot of adults as well as kids in it.

 

[Xavier434]

I believe that WoW is still going to dominate to a ridiculous degree over all of these MMO's coming out. The addiction alone to WoW across the world is enough to ensure that even though there are many other good arguments. It will lose the most players to WAR but that will primarily be those who are unhappy with the PvP in WoW which I do not believe is going to carry enough weight to make a major impact. The internet buzz might suggest otherwise, but it's important to remember that out of almost 10 million subscribers only a small fraction of them voice themselves over the net regularly and it is only a fraction of that fraction which are both unhappy with PvP and feel strongly enough about it to switch. People will switch for other reasons too but it will prove to be a small sliver of the pie.

 

[hooflung]

I think the American and European gamers aren't going to allow too much more high-elven fantasy MMO's on the market. WoW and WHO will fit the bill nicely with EQ and EQ2 sucking up the rest. GW, GW2 and Conan will take the rest. As for SCI-FI I think we really need a good cyberpunk/post apocalypse franchise to round us out. Unfortunately, or fortunately the Star Wars franchise might be renewed in a KOTOR. I will play that game for sure. I loved SWG! However, I don't expect it to be much more than a WoW clone. I hope they prove me wrong. EVE is still top dog in the sci-fi and players get 'walking' in stations late this year with a host of new features.

City of Heroes/Villians and Tabula Rasa are starting to really piss me off. I can't play them because NCSoft refuse to fix their problems with ATI. They either look like shit with stuff disabled or they just don't work period. I can see those games keeping their small market share for house wives and college kids and english majors.

 

[ZzZGuy]

WoW can only remain king for so long. It will probably be around for the next 20 years, but at some point it's going to become outdated unless the game keeps evolving at a fast enough pace to keep with the times, graphics and gameplay wise. Not to mention that people will eventually want to try something different.

Stargate Worlds looks interesting, but there isn't much out yet as to gameplay it seems. I'll keep a eye on it.


As for the BattleTech MMO idea, i'm thinking city/country/empire building. Sort of like in age of conan but on a much grander scale. I'm thinking that most people would have attack choppers or medium to heavy tanks. Clans, alliances, corporations and mercenaries are going to be the ones with the fleets of mechs, and the need to use them. Kind of like dreadnoughts in EvE, not much use for them until you start having wars between corps/alliances. As for grinding, I'm thinking little if no "skills" are required to do most anything, money will be the issue. Money should be more automated and brains -not skill- should be what nets you the biggest profits. Then you dump the money into military hardware and that is where skill comes into play. As you can guess, i haven't worked out the fine details.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: ZzZGuy
WoW can only remain king for so long. It will probably be around for the next 20 years, but at some point it's going to become outdated unless the game keeps evolving at a fast enough pace to keep with the times, graphics and gameplay wise. Not to mention that people will eventually want to try something different.

I can't disagree with that and Blizz knows it too. I am sure this is why they were (are?) hiring for their "next-gen" MMO. I believe that the big one which will hit WoW will just be another MMO from Blizz. That game will not only hook a lot of WoW players but probably steal a lot of people from all of the upcoming titles we are hearing about now. However, WoW still has at minimum 2 years to remain king. Realistically, they probably have another 3-4 years.

 

[Ika]

I was reading the SC2 story primer at the website, and the more I read about it, the more awesome an SC MMO sounds.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: Beev
Diablo would compete directly with WoW, since they're both fantasy. It wouldn't make sense at all.

Well, with the new race in WoW (and the subsequent lore rewrite), Blizzard incorporated a "starcraftish" like race into WoW. I do not see why they would make a new MMORPG just yet and possibly cannibalize themselves, it would be better to continue to rewrite WoW lore and incorporate elements from the other Blizzard games into WoW and thus maintain a single MMORPG to operate / maintain.

Assuming one could pull that off without losing any players (just gaining fans of the other franchises that have yet to sign up for WoW). Was there a noticeable loss of subscribers during the entire lore rewrite controversy a while back?

 

[40sTheme]

Originally posted by: ZzZGuy

Originally posted by: AntiFreze
I want to see an MMO called Life ... like second life, but applies all laws (man-made and nature) to the avatars. I want to be able to work a 9-5 job and feel underpaid. I want to be able to take my paycheck to a casino and blow it all on double zero. I want child support, lawyer fees, undeserving people to lotteries. But there should be no reset on it. No way to create a 2nd character. Once you make a mistake, you live with it till you die (which lives in real time at the same age you are at). To activate the game you have to be scanned so your exact body/appearance can be represented in the game.

who's with me?

Meh, too much grinding.

I think that was his point. That's pretty much how MMOs feel to me too.

 

[CP5670]

I never saw the attraction of MMOs for the same reason. I don't have that much time for games in general anymore and like to be able to just jump into a server, get some nonstop action for a hour or two and leave.

 

[Throckmorton]

Scifi is good, but more realistic ones would be good too, like prehistoric and classical eras.

 

[Kur]

The main problem with MMO's is companies who don't know how to do MMO's get the good licenses because they have deep wallets.

Star Trek MMO anyone?