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What are the likenesses of a WoW Clone to WoW?
MMOExposed
Member RarePosts: 7,400
What are the likenesses of a WoW Clone to WoW?
I have seen people on this forum and even other MMO forums label many different games as being WoW clones.
But really, out of these games, what is the similar part, that makes them WoW clones?
*The Graphics?
*The UI Graphics?
*Levels (theme park)?
What is it?!!?
Do any of these listed above automatically make a game a WoW clone if it (has Lower Graphics requirements), (Has a UI that’s polish with things like a mini-map, and Debuff log for avatar and party info), (Has Levels or Classes)?
Well what about gameplay. Has a WoW clone in the history of flaming ever been considered a WoW clone because of the gameplay?
I have seen people label SWTOR a WoW clone, I seen people label AoC, Warhammer, GW2, RIFT all WoW Clones.
So if thats true, than that would mean
WoW==SWTOR==AOC==WARHAMMER==GUILD WARS 2==RIFT
^-----right?
Philosophy of MMO Game Design
Comments
The title of this thread gives me a headache.
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How do you think I feel when I hear people whine and QQ about the Genre being destroyed by WoW Clones.
Philosophy of MMO Game Design
*hugs*
IT'S MAD HOUSE....A MAD HOUSE!!!!
There is no such thing as a wow clone.
A few things come to mind when looking at a new MMO game.
I will generally call something a WoW clone (my own personal opinion) if it has a UI that is very similar. Specifically the character's face in a circle at the top of the screen, with our target next to it, chat on the side, and a hot bar. I know almost every RPG game does it this way, but if those things specifically look too close to the way WoW's is set up ( not just location, but the way it actually looks) then that is one indication. Allods would be a prime example.
2 factions.
Instanced Battlegrounds.
Item treadmills.
Forgiving death penalty.
Skill Trees. Again I know almost every RPG ever made does this in some way, but if the trees 'look' too similar to WoW's, that is another good indication.
Quests NPCs with '!' and '?' above their heads.
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On this subject again, eh? ok, I'll play. To me, a wow clone is a game that uses a similar formula as wow. This formula can basically be described as mmolite. Themepark oriented, "quest" based (but 99% of the "quests" aren't really quests, they're just a tool to hide the grind), a small world that players cannot change, lack of meaningful crafting or pvp, no housing or player cities, raid focused end-game, overuse of instances, bind on pickup gear, static loot tables, etc.
To sum it up, a wow clone misses out on the first M in MMO. wow clones are simply not massive games.
The facts that it's an MMO seems to be pretty much the only thing it takes to label another game as a WoW "clone", considering how many of them people like to brand as such.
When's the last time you've heard someone call eve a wow clone? Or Darkfall? That in and of itself pretty much nullifies your argument.
Sure, wow clone is an overused term, without a shadow of a doubt, but there are very good reasons why the term exists, sort of like stereotypes.
For me a wow clone is a game that has practically the same design ideals of WoW:
Static world/quests
Linear gameplay
Simple game, easy to understand, don't have to think too much to play it
No risk X reward just play=reward
Ive always said EQ-clone . .. WOW came after EQ and was basically the same but easier and cartoony. Being a WOW-clone doesnt seem as accurate as being an EQ-clone.
This is an EQ clone:
- You choose whether you want to heal, hold aggro, range DPS, or melee DPS.
- Auto-aim tab-targeting with 1,2,3,4 repetitive button mashing.
- You start out as level one and run from NPC to NPC doing quests such as 'collect 10 rat tails' or 'deliver this letter'
- Mobs presence is made obvious from red circles and floating names and you can usually tell the difficulty by their color or by some other easy method from far away so that you can avoid them completely if you wanted to. If you get within 'aggro range' than you will pull the mobs.
Does that answer your question?
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A few months ago, people were doing just that on Darkfall, because it didnt live up to the hype. all on this very forum.
They claimed it wasnt a sandbox mmo as well. not sure where that came from but hey.
Philosophy of MMO Game Design
None of those to me.
To "me", a WoW clone is anything that has wizards and elfs and magicians and swords...basically every coming game minus SWToR.
Its a cynical and deserved term that arose from other studios attempting to reverse engineer and recreate WoW's success. Never mind what it looks and plays like. Their reasoning is that if Bliz can make X dollars, they can make X / N dollars for a lesser version of the same thing.
But of course it doesn't work like this. A lesser version will not necessarily attract a proprtionately smaller playerbase, because few people want to play a similar but inferior version of WoW.
Then you have never seen a game named Alganon.
Google it and see for yourself.
All those memories will be lost in time, like tears in the rain.
Yes but lets not overlook the EQ clones, seeing as WoW is EQ with Warhammer lore, does that make all these "wow clones" both wow clones and EQ clones?
Is every burger joint a mcdonalds clone? Despite burgers had been served long before mcdonalds?
Is every car a ford model-T clone? Despite the automobile had existed beforehand?
Is every football game a Techmo-Superbowl clone? Despite football games existed before hand?
People are forgetting what makes a game a mmorpg a mmorpg, and are calling games that use fantasy lore (as we know it) and mmorpg game mechanics a wow clone. However they do say ignorance is bliss.