Take the Long Way Home....

alyndale

Greetings to one and all!

 

Rather than attempt to compare or downplaying any MMO, I hope to bring at least a thought here as to what I believe could be a competitor for Blizzard's WoW.

What are the most important aspects of a good MMO?

• Story Lore and immersion
• Quests and Quest chains
• Community and guilds
• Adventuring and exploration
• Crafting
• PvP  or castle seiging
• Dungeons and Dungeon Bosses
• Open-world Bosses

These are just a few of the major aspects, I do believe. I would like to say, before I go on that WoW IS the established brand name today in gaming.  In no way do i propose nor do i see a game actually dethroning WoW as the preeminant game for MMO's. However I am going to attempt to plants some seeds for thought here as to what I feel could at least be a game that would hold it's on with WoW.  This game does not exist...yet...but in time..possibly.

 Part of the Scenery...

What i propose is NOT rocket science nor would it truly be "different", but it might be thought of as a bit unique.  First and foremost, it would take money, and i would imagine lots of it. It would also take dedication from the CEO all the way down to the company receptionist.  This would take a legion of developers, but a truly hearty group of guys and gals that love the genre.

What if they could create a game with all the positive aspects from games dating back to EverQuest? Yeah, I know there have been games to "copy" out there, but I truly mean develop these aspects not just "copy" You know for me, it doesn't bother me if there some things out there that remind me of WoW or L 2 or DAoC.  I mean really, it's not that big a deal.  Certainly now, you would see some extension of the "good ideas" we saw from past games.  Before you shut down your thinking systems here, just recall what you really liked about the old EverQuest or remembered about that castle seige in L 2.  Why does this have to be so bad a thing in a new upgraded MMO for the future?

Part of the problems I have seen with games coming out since Vanguard is hyping that it is truly new or unique or "next-gen". They just simply didn't work. Now this post is NOT about slamming these games, hell Vanguard has some truly unique things that should be considered in my "new game". Ok, for those of you that would possibly enjoy extending this thread in a postive way I'm going to create a list of things I remembered from some of the games I have played. It's competition that matters in a free market folks, not attempting simply "kill" your rival.  You can't KILL WoW, but you sure as Hades can compete with those guys. By the way, there were several guys from Blizz that played EverQuest that it is said started the whole "theory-crafting" raid running "leete" guilding concept we now see in WoW.  Keep this in mind...

It's so Unbelievable..so Unforgettable

My list consists of these wonderful MMO's...and what I thought made them unique...

EverQuest:  obviously the QUEST  EverQuest brought a sense of some immerssion through the exploration and adventure involved in the "quest".  It's in my opinion the father of the modern MMO. /bows humbily

DAoC: I didn't play this one long, so you ol' adventures should help me here...from what I've gathered here DAoC did faction or realm v realm pvp right.. therefore we should insert the excitement of RvR from this good ol' MMO.

Lineage 2: I still to this day believe this was the BEST open world PvP game in the business.  I would bring from the grand ol' "Korean" MMO, guild leveling/questing, castle seiging, intrigue and politics stemmed from the fact you talk to your enemy. There was always some truly HOT gossip flying in channels..and it played out on the questing "grinding" fields of Aden.  It also has a beautiful soundtrack!

WoW: humor and of course WoW's "one trick pony" the dungeon raids

LotRo: beautiful graphics and a smooth engine for playing.  Another classic story lore to build on here.

Vanguard: an enormous world and a unique diplomatic system that easily could be redeveloped and extended in a "new game"

EQ2:  many races to choose from...this is a big plus!  This game and Vanguard thus far have the best of the crafting systems but obvious can be improved on in a "new game"

Ryzom:  I didn't get past the free to play island area some years back, but I do recall a very unique skill tree and a harvesting system that seemed very addictive to me.  You folks that have stuck to this old game please help with this one as I do think the harvesting and crafting to be very different as compared to many of the games currently playing.

AoC: well remember this is my opinion here, but I thought the way these guys worked the initial 20 levels was the most creative I have ever experienced.  Some do not like cut scenes, but WOW ..lol..I loved them! Made me feel as though I was in a movie!  This would be very expensive but imagine carrying this concept all the way through an MMO..obviously you'd have to cut down on the cut scenes, but at least use the actors voices a bit more...

 

When You Look Through the Years...

For now, this will be enough, but it rolls through my mind each time I visit this forum and read so many unhappy threads about failed games and dashed dreams!  I have a feeling that there are  actually people that work for gaming companies and those that are aspiring to do so that read these forums and i hope to try and be a positive beacon for thought.  My wish is that you think about the future by looking to the past and see what was so much fun so many of here. Maybe the next big game shouldn't necessarily be so new but be refreshing and something we can count on to be there in the years to follow.  I don't have to play a "WoW Killer" but would enjoy playing a game that develops the best of what we all love about this genre!

 

More to follow later...