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What uncommon setting(s) do you think would work well for an MMO?
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Member UncommonPosts: 351
What sorts of settings do you thing would be good for an MMORPG that haven't really been tried yet?
Personally, I think an MMO set during the fall of Rome would be amazing: tons of possible factions/races (Goths, Vandals, Franks, Huns, Persians, etc), lots of geographic variation (snowy Alps, thickly forested Dalmatia, windswept plains of Armenia, barren Sahara desert, barren ancient ruins of Egypt, bustling markets of Rome and Constantinople, etc), and an instantly recognizable world and "lore" (if it can be called that) without having to pay for a fictional IP.
Personally, I think an MMO set during the fall of Rome would be amazing: tons of possible factions/races (Goths, Vandals, Franks, Huns, Persians, etc), lots of geographic variation (snowy Alps, thickly forested Dalmatia, windswept plains of Armenia, barren Sahara desert, barren ancient ruins of Egypt, bustling markets of Rome and Constantinople, etc), and an instantly recognizable world and "lore" (if it can be called that) without having to pay for a fictional IP.
Comments
- Albert Einstein
A setting like Shadowrun (cyperpunk fantasy?) would be awesome but require rather different mechanics from what we are used to.
Anything with semi modern firearms (early 1800s+) really demands a system where being hit in the head would be a very bad thing indeed. That doesn't mean you can't have progression but it means any combat is risky since even the worst opponent could kill you with a lucky shot.
A bullet proof vest helps of course but such game require tactics, an ambush is far more deadly when the opponent have rifles then swords and bows.
That doesn't mean it is less fun, I would say it can be more fun but you would always have to think a bit before jumping into a fight unless you are willing to die a lot.
With that in mind there are plenty of interesting settings, from Wild west and steampunk that have already been mentioned to cyberpunk, dieselpunk (remember the Crimson skies setting?) and a lot of other more moddern and sci-fi options.
With current level based mechanics I think the low fantasy pen and paper RPG "Iron heroes" (made by Monty Cook who also worked on D&D 3rd edition and Pathfinder) would be really fun. It is a low magic game with focus on character development instead of gear. You don't have combat healers but you have a pool that will fill over to your HPs to heal you after each combat to cut out downtime.
The classes are rather different from D&D (and MMOs) since they are based on your combat style, not your profession. You archer, executioner or armigeer could be a soldier, a smith or almost anything else, the difference is that the armigeer is tankish character that uses his armor to tire out the opponent before going for the kill while the archer is a sniper. The executioner go for hitting vital spots...
Anyways, not relying on magical stuff but far more focus on your character would make an interesting game and magic is somewhat weaker and less reliable then what we are used to in MMOs.
For history based I would say Byzantium would be ideal, it would look like no other MMO.
From a couple of RPG's how about steampunk and the fae in Victorian England.
거북이는 목을 내밀 때 안 움직입니다
Something loosely based on America's "canal age"/"Riverboat age" with some liberties taken to connect the Mississippi to the great lakes. Basically right when everyone is starting to industrialize, but enough large projects/change has happened that you can see some of the outcomes already. Though it could be pretty easy to bring it into steam punk genre if not careful.
Make all the players insects in a PvP game. Where "loot" determines what you can come back as after you die, and experience is used to unlock skill trees for each insect.
SCP-3008: http://www.scp-wiki.net/scp-3008
An alternate history where "teleportation" was the equivalent of "nukes", then toss it in the cold war era. Basically cold war era (most important part) with an overwhelming technology still in existence, but one that players get to use.
Mars/Moon colonization could be interesting.
Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent.
"At one point technology meant making tech that could get to the moon, now it means making tech that could get you a taxi."
The books were not as good, but still a big enough IP. But I think Wheel of Time would be rather too traditional a MMO setting.
I think a new Warhammer fantasy MMO would struggle because of the problems of its predecessor, which is a shame its such a brilliant setting. Vermintide and Mordheim show just how great a MMO setting it could really be.
ASOIAF mean?
I'd do an EVE online setting but have the planets be interactable and have a nice interface with the actual EVE online game. I guess they promised that and Starcitizen is supposed to be like that.
I'd also be okay with:
Starship Troopers.
Cryomatrix
You can see my sci-fi/WW2 book recommendations.
Practice doesn't make perfect, practice makes permanent.
"At one point technology meant making tech that could get to the moon, now it means making tech that could get you a taxi."
I had fun once, it was terrible.
But besides that you are right, with the right mechanics and fun gameplay you could probably turn almost any setting into a success. In many cases is that far harder then others though and a crappy made setting needs an awesome system to be fun.
I always thought Midkemia from The Riftwar Cycle would be awesome. They actually did make 2 games way back when (this should show my age) called Betrayal at Krondor and Return to Krondor, the first of which was widely considered one of the best games ever made, but alas, nothing more.
For anyone who has read the series, there is SO MUCH lore there that could be made into an MMO it's mind boggling. So many different enemies, so many different physical locations, races, etc etc.
Ugh, its driving me nuts just thinking of the possibilities for awesomeness.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
Let's party like it is 1863!