Another big name [url="http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/06/30/news_6101727.html"]MMORPG has been cancelled[/url]! Mythica, True Fantasy Live, Warhammer, and now Ultima X:Odyssey has ended up on the scrap heap.. It seems like publishers are jumping off the MMORPG bandwagon like there's no tomorrow.
quote:But it just doesn't appeal to me, i would rather shoot some in a normally online FPS then walk around socialising in an MMORPG
That's okay, just so long as you don't play a MMORPG and pretend its an FPS. People who do that should be hunted for sport. If you've played on EverQuest's Rallos Zek server (Pure PvP), you know what I'm talking about.
Hehe ? yeah, who would want to interact with real people online when you can just play all by yourself offline! [:P]
BTW, I strongly suggest checking out Guild Wars when it comes out ? great online team play (or PvP) but no ongoing fee. Just buy the game, and play it whenever you want without constant credit card bleeding!
*Curses expensive Everquest subscription*
quote:Originally posted by Souri
It seems like publishers are jumping off the MMORPG bandwagon like there's no tomorrow.
It was only a matter of time, the thing with MMO's is that you have to pay a month fee for any of the good ones so that the game severs can be updated and be maintained (also new content and have evens happen.) Because of this fee there are very few people play more then one MMO and there are only so many people which play them. I think publishers know this and are not going through with less then perfect MMO's.
But with that said, I think that in a few more years MMO's will be the most played type of game, no AI is as fun as playing a human character.
Gordon Walton (Ultima Online, The Sims Online) did a talk at the GDC 2003 titled "[url="http://archive.gamespy.com/gdc2003/top10mmog"]Ten Reasons You Don't Want to Run a Massively Multiplayer Online Game[/url]" which gives some of the reasons why it's hard to even launch a MMORPG title, let alone keep it going.
I do like the idea of MMORPGS (although I've only experienced a web based java MMORPG called [url="http://www.runescape.com"]Runescape[/url]), but I think they really do cater only for a hardcore group of gamers. The kind that will pay $40 a month AND devote a lot of their time to level up. MMORPGs encourage levelling up as a path to new experiences, so the casual gamer won't get the most out of what they shell out for.
From a stat that I read a while ago, it showed that the MMORPG audience isn't growing substantially - each new MMORPG doesn't capture new gamers but takes away the players from other MMORPGs. So instead of companies throwing more MMORGs to the market, I reckon there should be some middle ground to cater casual gamers. Take away the monthly charge - make it $40 a year. Of course, this means a huge cut in revenue, so production costs will be lower than your usual big MMORG title.. Cater the casual gamer - from the idea of Animal Crossing, make the game where you reach a point after an hour or so of play a day where you just have nothing left to do that will level you up. Or make missions that can be accomplished within weeks. Levelling up shouldn't be the main focus of the game if it's aimed for the casual gamer..
Guild Wars is fairly similar to what you are describing there Souri. It is just a series short missions that can be done within an hour. It feels like a really arcadey RPG. More like Diablo than D&D :)
As you said though, leveling up is aimed more at the hardcore gamer.... Damn straight :) That's the best part of an RPG. Having a character that actually grows. My friend has PS2 game (can't remember the name and it isn't online), that has a level cap of 999,999. Standard leveling up deal as well. One level at a time :)
New(ish) game called Disgaea for ps2 with characters that can progress into the 1000's of levels, but not only that you can change professions start again and re level them to above the previous profession level and gain all the skills from both.
Off topic I know, but being a compulsive RPG'er that was enough to sell me the game [:D]
Apparently the whole focus with The Sims online was to try and generate new mmog players, since it?s focus is apparently quite different from the usual online game. I believe it?s doing really well, as it?s one of the only online games to have mass appeal to female gamers as well as the blokes. It?s also a game that doesn?t require extreme dedication to have fun.
Hey HazarD, did you check out the E3 live test of Guild Wars? If you did, I?m just wondering what you thought of it. I wonder what it?s appeal will be to the serious RPG lover, since it?s much more arcadey then most mmorpg?s. I think it could do very well due to the mission-based play, enabling the casual gamer to have fun, but still catering to the power players with the typical rpg bits (like leveling, item collection, guilds, crafts, and all of that kind of thing). Though I doubt it will be very attractive to fans of true role-playing.
Personally what I?d really love to see is an mmorpg that somehow enforces, or at least encourages true role-playing. It?s so annoying when you want to role play with the party your in, and someone says something like ?We will rain death to the foul beasts that dwell over yonder!? to which someone else replies ?Yeah dudes, lets go kick their homie arses :P?. It?s so hard to find role-players these days!! ?Actually for some reason I?m thinking that Middle Earth online might attract true RPGers. Time will tell, if it doesn?t get cancelled also.
quote:Originally posted by Souri
MMORPGs encourage levelling up as a path to new experiences, so the casual gamer won't get the most out of what they shell out for.
I'm not sure if you have been following World of Warcaft, but this was there beef with MMO's and they have gone to a huge effort to fix this and some of there ideas are very good. And because of this I think I may play WoW but it comes down to the cost per month if I will pay for a more then a few months.
I'm not a big fan of mmorpg's, i don't know why, probably cos i have never played one. But it just doesn't appeal to me, i would rather shoot some in a normally online FPS then walk around socialising in an MMORPG. Also isn't there a subscription fee or something which would also deter people.