The article documented a meeting where a number of notable persons from leading game development companies recently got together to discuss the ‘current state of the MMO’.
If you've found your way here and are still reading this then I'm sure you'll agree that it's a noble and worthy topic.
During the course of what I’m sure would have been an interesting conversation to eavesdrop on (I would love to read the unedited highlights!), more than just a few references were made to World of Warcraft.
This worries me somewhat if I’m being completely honest.
If you look at any of the reviews written on MMO’s released in the last few years, you’ll notice a disturbing trend of comparing them to Blizzard’s behemoth. Seriously, go check out PCGamer, PCFormat and their ilk.
The genre or style of the new release could be galaxies apart from WoW, but still it is rated on whether it may have the potential to topple Blizzard from its ivory tower.
When CEOs of major companies start making these comparisons and express hesitance and even negativity at the possibility of outdoing WoW, God kills a LOLcat!
Now, on the one hand, I can see that it’s a fair enough standpoint to take. If you consider the sheer number of people playing WoW, it means that any comparisons made will be understood by more people who now have a benchmark against which to measure.
But is it necessary? Can a game not be judged on its own merits?
Blizzard took tried and tested formulae and created an MMO that was easily accessible. They made a world which appealed to gamers who had never considered MMOs before with its easy user interface and 'kill ten rats' system.
But, with the exception of their scripted raid encounters, what did they do that was new? Ok, so they made the core graphics of the game accessible for people running on lower end systems, which gave them an even larger playerbase to get their greedy paws on.
But what else in the way of 'groundbreaking'? I would say 'very little' tbh.
The whole argument for innovation in upcoming releases is fairly self evident. The market is currently stagnating with old ideas dressed up to look new and exciting. Something needs to be done to jumpstart MMO gamers back to life. A responsibility which lies solely with the latest generation of devs.
In laymans terms, what the gaming world needs is a steel toe capped kick square in the family jewels.
WoW is causing developers to think twice about taking them head on in the fantasy genre due to the failures of recent releases. The choice between fighting for a share of Warcrafts paying customers or carving out a niche corner in the market is becoming less of a decision and more a foregone conclusion.
Will AoC change that? Stay tuned to find out.
Even companies which have gained access to the intellectual property of a well known brand are not always granted to produce dead certs these days. One only has to look as far as Lord of the Rings online to see how things can turn out.
And then there's the payment method and the microtransaction vs subscription argument. But that's a whole other can of worms.
Basically, it is going to take a company with a decent bankroll to produce something remarkable enough for people to sit up and take notice...and a fairly large pair of balls to stand up and say “WoW, your days are numbered”
I have my ideas on what is needed and I’m sure you do too. All we need now is someone brave…a visionary…to take these dreams and make them a reality.
No, Richard Garriott, not you.
Go sit in the 'naughty corner' and Shh!
Anyway, the source post can be found here. But before I sign off for this entry, I wanted to share one thing with you that really caught my eye in this article.
To say that I almost fell off my chair laughing when I got to this point would be like saying that the Pope is just a little bit Catholic!
I quote Mr John Smedley of Sony Online Entertainment (the people responsible for Star Wars Galaxies):
"We have the job of making great games, running great games and innovating. I think you have to balance it. If you go too crazy with innovation, you might drive your loyal customers out."
Am I the only one who finds this ironic?
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Mr John Smedley…
/tumbleweed
/golfclap
The ‘balance’ and ‘enhancements’ made to Star Wars Galaxies in the name of innovation were single handedly responsible for driving away loyal fans of the game by the hundreds and thousands.
Either he is finally realising his mistakes a few years too late or he really needs to practice what he preaches!
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