MMOs

[Letitha]

It's kind of sad that every MMO is immediately compared to WoW, of course, this wouldn't happen if a lot of MMOs weren't trying to replicate the same interface. Now, before anyone replies to try and prove me wrong, please first note that I said A LOT not ALL, and secondly note that this is actually going somewhere
I've lost count of the number of threads I've seen proclaiming a new 'WoW killer' which ends up disappointing people. But I'm kinda question WHY anything NEEDS the be a 'WoW killer' - people don't just play one game in genre, they generally play a few, because they might have the same genre, but they're all different.
Now, you might argue that they're not, but I'm going to dispute that. There have been some interesting releases out recently and if FFXIV 'flopped' I'm going to say that it was still visually good and had some good ideas even if they were poorly implemented and there was some major design flaws in the interface. What about Rift? Now it sounds good, and if some people are whining about it being like WoW, then maybe people should stop making it try to be WoW, just take a look over at the message boards and you'll seen the number of threads in the suggestions board asking for things that they had in WoW. Lastly, it's not out yet but what about Guild Wars 2? From all the stuff they've announced it looks like an actual attempt to get AWAY from WoW and be its own game. So even if the games industry isn't quite there yet, I'll be really surprised if in the next five years we don't have a game that at least RIVALS WoW. (Which by the way, I have no problem with, I played it for three years and still think it's a great game even if I didn't like some of the changes in Cataclysm and don't have time to play it right now).
Now, if you still disagree with any of this then that's fine, we're all allowed to voice our opinions. I just thought it was something that needed to be mentioned

 

[MolotoK]

The only way to make a successful MMO is to simply not compete with WoW. Do something different.

One good example is WW2:Online / Battlegrounds Europe:
http://www.battlegroundeurope.com/

It can't be described as successful, but has been online and actively developed for almost 10years.

 

[Letitha]

Of course it can't get killed, after all it was never alive Nah, it's almost an ingrained part of popular culture now, especially after the Mr T. adverts, I lost count of every time someone asked if the Mohawk Grenades actually turned people's characters into Night Elves. XD

There are so many games I want to try, but possibly after exams

 

[Om Nom Nom]

Another good example is EVE Online. Though that one caters to a niche in the market (hyper-capitalism/bigger isn't better/very steep death penalty) and probably won't ever compare to WoW in popularity; it's been steadily growing ever since the servers opened.

 

[Alizee Serenity]

After playing various MMO's its obvious that WoW hit the hardest in graphics and if any gamer is like me they suffer from "OOOOH SHINY" syndrome and once they get hooked in, they absorb the rest. The only thing other MMO creators can hope to save their MMO is a rival in graphics, a lower subscription fee, and ...practically trying to outdo WoW given their resources.

[this is coming from a gamer who plays Ragnarok Online, LOTRO, and Shaiya]

 

[MrShowerHead]

The only way to make a successful MMO is to simply not compete with WoW. Do something different.

One good example is WW2:Online / Battlegrounds Europe:
http://www.battlegroundeurope.com/

It can't be described as successful, but has been online and actively developed for almost 10years.

Ah, thank you. So I'm not the only here who knows about this game.
I'm playing my 2nd trial of it at the moment. There can be some very epic firefights. One lasted for 4-5 hours.

 

[Arawn.Chernobog]

My oppinion? Companies should stop comparing their games to WoW or trying to make them look like WoW or "Like WoW but better!"... Nobody is going to drop what is effectively now a habit for a clone or tweaked version of said habit, do something DIFFERENT, at it's very core make it different.

I've started playing DC Universe Online (Actually played it since launch) and I'm enjoying it, a lot, the customization options are great and it effectively is built on nearly the mirror-opposite of WoW, it focuses on fluid combat with a combo system, fluid movement system, character customization (all the way up to the colour and shape of your gear) and so forth, consequentially it's not really possible to turn it into a super-hardcore, number-crunching experience due to playing like a "Beat-em-up" or "Action" title, but it succeeds in providing a casual experience and makes good use of the DC IP.

There are other examples that go in other directions, such as EVE Online (that stretches towards hardcore complexity and economy simulacrum) and a few others.

Fact of the matter is: World of Warcraft is the best at what it does, no other loot-based fantasy hot-key centred MMO is going to "de-throne" WoW anytime soon and they shouldn't try simply because we'll just end up with YET ANOTHER nameless bland game to forget about.

I would like to see an MMO centred around the Role-playing aspect of RPGs anytime soon, not that RP isn't incorporate into must modern day MMOs (even if just by the community) but there's been a loss of investment into that aspect of an online community set in a specific fantasy (be it medieval, sci-fi or any other) setting.

 

[Letitha]

I'd like to see different genres of MMO too, I mean as has already been said, there are games that appeal to certain niches, but there are so many things that companies could do with MMOs that haven't been attempted, let alone released.

 

[Nimcha]

Isn't the root of the problem that WoW pretty much was the first to try and perfect the classic standard MMO gameplay (and somewhat succeeded) so that every other company that tries immediately gets classified as a WoW ripoff?

 

[1nsignia]

Wow is just D&D, they don't copy wow they copy D&D

people don't understand do they.

 

[Letitha]

Probably. But I think it was the Age of Conan review (Zero Punctuation) in which it was pointed out that everyone always tries to keep the interface the same. Which is another problem, it's almost like they're ASKING to be compared to WoW.

 

[Letitha]

SWTOR? I'm probably being really stupid right now but...

Edit: Just remembered, doh!