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Poll: Fantasy novels most deserving of a MMO
verdantrex
Member UncommonPosts: 100
It's great when a MMO company is brave and goes with their own original concept for a fantasy MMO (Hero's Journey, Everquest, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, etc), but truthfully, like most types of video games, there is an incentive to make MMOs based on properties that people already know and love.
So, I thought I'd start a poll featuring some of the most popular fantasy novel series that have not yet been put into development (excluding Conan, Lord of the Rings, etc for obvious reasons).
I will do a similar poll for SF and other genres at a later time. : )
MMORPG.com has a 10 answer limit, so for the sake of space, I had to exclude series that are based on pre-existing franchises (like Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms), which maybe I will try a poll for at some later point. And of course, I'm sure there are favorites I missed... feel free to mention them below. : )
V
Comments
Dragonlance is my favorite series. Don't know if an MMO would work with this though. I also don't like the idea of MMOs being made off of series or some sort of idea already created somewhere else. Everyone's expectations get way too high and worry too much about getting every little detail right that it just falls apart in the end. Only my opinion.
Bah, time for meaty adult level fantasy MMORPGs - A Song of Ice and Fire! (Based on George RR Martin's series of course)
Probably wouldn't go over well with most players who love sparkly magical effects with fairys and unicorns prancing everywhere or garrish cartoonish designs.
Though it would appeal to RvR, PvP and RP fantatics.
I'd choose 'none of the above', if it were a choice. Having learned from my experience with SWG, never let an mmo destroy a wonderful story. Hense the reason why I won't get involved with LORT: Online.
Some stories should remain on the pages of a book or on the screens in a theatre.
Ico
Oh, cruel fate, to be thusly boned. Ask not for whom the bone bones. It bones for thee.
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Steelarm, Doctor of MMO gaming, ethics, and ideas.
1. Forgotten Realms - Techincally not a novel series, although plenty have been written for the world. This is maybe the most developed world, other than Tolkien's Middle Earth. It's a natural to be made into an MMO, it would take an enormous feat to pull it off.
2. Dragonlance - The ultimate group-based novel series, other than Middle Earth, of course. Dragonlance has it all and would make a great MMO.
3. Harry Potter - Maybe not the best world, but it's a cash cow and a money maker. This would be the soulless cash in MMO, similar to Matrix Online and probably Middle Earth Online.
George R.R. Martin's series is great, but like you said, it's lack of flashy magic would sour a lot of folks on it.
Since so many people here seem to be going with novel series that are based on RPG games (ie, Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms), I started up a separate poll to address them:
http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion.cfm/load/forums/loadforum/51/loadthread/71013/setstart/1/loadclass/35
...so this thread can just be about original properties not based on D&D. : )
By the way... the other titles that I would've included if I could have more than 10 titles are: the George R.R. Martin books, Aspirin's Myth Adventures, Lewis Carroll's Wonderland, Terry Brooks' Shannarra series and Brian Jacques' Redwall series (you know.... those books where woodland animals are anthropomorphic heroes).
V
Not really fantasy more sci-fi, but on the subject.
I always wanted to see a game based on Isaac Asimov's The Foundation series. Or Fredrich Pohl's Gateway. Both very cool settings that would make GREAT MMO's
The Millenium Lee
Wild Cards by George R.R. Martin
No Discworld love?
I'd love a graphical Discworld MMO, The Discworld MUD is cool, but I need graphics!
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No Userbar here, sorry to disappoint.
The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind would make a great MMO.
Frank Herbert's Dune is just crying out to be made into an MMO. Spice anybody?
I support Belgiums efforts to get noticed ... at all.
Although I also feel that any game based on an existing intellectual property will never measure up to the original, in following with the spirit of the topic, I submit the following;
Xanth. - I absoulutely loved the series. I know there has been a PC game based on the series ( many years ago ) that was really bad.
Sword of Truth - As someone else noted, a great series of books.
Saga of Recluse series - I haven't seen this series mentioned yet, but I think the magic system develped in the books would work well in the PvP arena.
Dinotopia - I don't know anything about this but I saw some books in the bookstore once and it looked pretty neat?
Magic the Gathering - Again, I have never played this game, but if it worked for D&D then why not this one?
Just my $.02
Sword of Shannara
Dragon Riders of Pern
neither listed but dont you think eithe would make a good game?
(I voted for wheel of time)
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a robot foot stomping on a human face -- forever."
ya definitely. man you just brought up something thats been nagging me about MMO's for the past year.
lack of originality. how many god damned fantasy MMOs do we need? I can think of 6 settings that have nothing to do with an elf, hobbit, dwarf or dragon.
good christ.. look down the projected MMO's.. why do they always want to improve on existing settings instead of introducing a new one? even the sci-fi mmo's are redundant.
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a robot foot stomping on a human face -- forever."
His Dark Materials was a brilliant series, but i dunno if it'd work as an MMO. maybe a single player game.
i would love to see 3 movies based on those books tho. i need to find more authors that have that similar feel. too many elves and ye olden days for my liking.
kinda funny since i'm semi playing EQ2 (i think i truly HAVE burnt out on Fantasy.)
hrm... i dunno then.
Oz? maybe... but maybe the darker American McGees version. or that w/ Alice and the likes. perhaps a whole warped world surrounded by old stories. Peter Pan, Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass and so on. NOT Kingdom Hearts, tyvm.
i'm down w/ the Discworld the most tho.
so my vote is for Discworld.
-t
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Now Playing:
EQ2
Prior Games (in no order):
SWG, L2, RO, PT, ROSE, CoH/CoV, AO, UO, EVE, WoW and a bunch of others.
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Personaly I'd vote for none of the above.
IMO being told "sorry we can't do that because we have to stick to the lore" is a bunch of BS. How can a MMO world evolve if they can only add things that go with a pre written book.
MMOs need an original lore so it can evolve as the game does.
I agree 100%