MMOs: Moving on Up

I doubt it’s of any surprise to anybody that the MMO market is ready to move up. The MMO market is ready for something new. The number of people frustrated with cookie-cutter MMOs are increasing. All of these WoW-weary adventurers need somewhere to go.

I like the way Moorgard seperates the two in his blog. There are two different types of MMOs. There are MMO games and MMO virtual worlds. Apparently, Vanguard was supposed to be a next-gen game. Well, excuse me, but I didn’t happen to see anything all that great about it that justified the “next-gen” title. Everything these days is labeled “next-gen”. You want to know what I think? Nothing these days is next-gen.

To see next-gen, we must look back in time to a little game called Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided or the more commonly abbreviated version, “SWG”. Yes, well I’m not going to discuss the NGE or changes that SOE made to the game. They screwed up and they know it; it’s time to move on. If you aren’t familiar with SWG and would like to get an idea of the true immense innovation it offered, I suggest that you read Adele’s blog entry, “SWG – Perhaps the Best MMO Ever?“.

SWG offered variety like no other. In my opinion, it was the best MMO to ever be released and I still hold to that very opinion to this day. Mind you, I am referring strictly to the pre-CU SWG. SWG was a living, breathing world. You could make choices, you could socialize; you felt like you were in a world. Your purpose was not to mindlessly run after a number beside your avatar’s name. As I mentioned, I recommend you read Adele’s blog entry if you don’t know what I’m referring to.

Levels were the worst things to ever be added to MMORPGs. With levels, the game becomes a constant grind. The only goal is to reach that certain level, for when that level is reached lies great treasures. Well, what I’ve found is that when you reach that level, you do not find great treasures. Rather, you often find yourself quitting the game. That works mighty fine for companies, though. Levels capitalize on the addictive aspects of MMORPGs. What is their fix for people quitting the game when they reach the level cap? Easy—they add a few things called expansions. Once someone has quit the game, these expansions lure the person back into the game with promises of new lands to adventure in, new features, new mounts, and not to mention a level cap raise. So it is, gamer Bob is enticed to return to that game and that company once again has gamer Bob’s money.

World of Warcraft changed the MMORPG world for the worse. It annihilated an innovative market and replaced it with dozens of cookie-cutter MMOs attempting to duplicate WoW’s epic success. It ruined the best MMO, SWG. Of course it didn’t ruin it directly, but in-directly is another story.

Companies are capitalizing on all the twelve-year olds coming into the MMO market. The MMO market is rapidly expanding and newcomers to the genre are flocking to cookie-cutter MMOs. But excuse me, there is another demographic here! There is a completely different demographic that is sick and tired of cookie-cutter MMOs! That is the demographic that needs to be tended to!

SWG is the perfect example of how the floods of newcomers wanting a cookie-cutter MMO have ruined an MMORPG. What’s more sickening now is games are beginning to not even be called MMORPGs anymore. Now they’re “MMOGs” and such; it’s disgusting.

The MMO world is ready for something new. Some developers have realized that, such as Flying Lab Software and their Pirates of the Burning Sea MMO. Perhaps PotBS will be the next innovation in the MMO market or perhaps the next MMORPG the equivalent of SWG is yet to come. That is something that remains to be seen.

~ by backle on July 2, 2007.