What have happend to the MMORPGS?

[Muggizz]

Well, first of all I use the term "mmorpg" very loosely. Second, it feels like blizzard are the only ones who actually developed a decent rpg. At least after their extreme shock of World of Warcraft who gained over a million subscribers in under a year developers started seeing interest in the business, but other than that nothing good have really been produced.

To me it feels like developers for games have just shat out games with shitty engines and no real end game content in attempts to do just as good as WoW did.

While the game have gotten really shitty today it still dominates the market with 12 million subscribers. And even though WoW is fun from time to times I would like to see a company that really took thier time, effort and thought into a mmorpg and actually put something decent out there that explores the possibilities of a mmorpg.

I still got my hopes up for Vindictus and Guildwars 2, but I still don't see any good titles coming out in a near futre.

So what have happend to the MMORPGS?

 

[thenamelessloser]

Um.. look up Star Wars TOR, Best hope probably for a quality MMORPG. No real interest in it because I only like single player games though.

 

[Muggizz]

Um.. look up Star Wars TOR, Best hope probably for a quality MMORPG. No real interest in it because I only like single player games though.

Yes yes i know about Star Wars TOR but to me it looks like nothing more than a hootkey MMO with no depth in it what so ever. I want something where developers actually risk something to achieve a experience never done before.

 

[monstersquad]

I am rejoicing in the streets, now that WoW isn't even half as prevalent as it was a few years ago. Now I can actually get a game of D&D together in the first place, and when they actually show up, they dont spend the whole night not roleplaying and talking about their fucking hack-and-slash video game.

 

[loc978]

I still say EverQuest was a better game than WoW. I'd say the biggest problems MMORPGs face is the entitlement complexes of their players.

On that note, what ever happened to MMO Racing games? Motor City Online was a gem...

 

[Aeonknight]

WoW is hardly the only good MMO out there. Most popular isn't necessarily the best. It's a matter of personal preference.

 

[rsvp42]

Um.. look up Star Wars TOR, Best hope probably for a quality MMORPG. No real interest in it because I only like single player games though.

Yes yes i know about Star Wars TOR but to me it looks like nothing more than a hootkey MMO with no depth in it what so ever. I want something where developers actually risk something to achieve a experience never done before.

Those damn owls and their hoot-keys.

jk, but actually TOR has no less depth than other MMOs out there. It's traditional in its combat, but how it delivers the story is new for MMOs.

 

[Bags159]

Guild Wars 2 looks interesting. Here's to hoping it's released sometime soonish. This is from an ex-WoW player too.

 

[rsvp42]

Guild Wars 2 looks interesting. Here's to hoping it's released sometime soonish. This is from an ex-WoW player too.

I think the latest news is that GW2 is coming in 2012, but the beta is expected sometime later this year.

 

[Muggizz]

Guild Wars 2 looks interesting. Here's to hoping it's released sometime soonish. This is from an ex-WoW player too.

I like them taking their time on it. Always a good sign

 

[Muggizz]

I still say EverQuest was a better game than WoW. I'd say the biggest problems MMORPGs face is the entitlement complexes of their players.

On that note, what ever happened to MMO Racing games? Motor City Online was a gem...

Agree! Latest releases of those have been shitty too. But you can always go back to some good old fun trackmania!

 

[Savagezion]

Well, first of all I use the term "mmorpg" very loosely. Second, it feels like blizzard are the only ones who actually developed a decent rpg. At least after their extreme shock of World of Warcraft who gained over a million subscribers in under a year developers started seeing interest in the business, but other than that nothing good have really been produced.

To me it feels like developers for games have just shat out games with shitty engines and no real end game content in attempts to do just as good as WoW did.

While the game have gotten really shitty today it still dominates the market with 12 million subscribers. And even though WoW is fun from time to times I would like to see a company that really took thier time, effort and thought into a mmorpg and actually put something decent out there that explores the possibilities of a mmorpg.

I still got my hopes up for Vindictus and Guildwars 2, but I still don't see any good titles coming out in a near futre.

So what have happend to the MMORPGS?

Back before WoW, games used that system often. You know the one. The one everyone says is copying off of WoW today. Dungeons with epic gear. Raids that held the best gear. Endgame content is dry and they use expansions to cycle people around in a large never ending circular gameplay for vetrans and a new way to grab more people. The problem was that not much advertising reached many people and it was more of a niche audience, including Everquest - the most popular one of the time that used a 3D engine. (Ultima was 2D isometric) Everquest set most of the things in common MMOs today in place. The system however was beginning to evolve and try to introduce more intuitive mechanics. Around WoW's release, games were coming out all the time that were trying new combat models, interface designs, and all kinds of other mechanics. Most only succeeded in grabbing a niche audience like all of their predecessors. However, some were getting pretty big followings by improving on the old system with new ideas. City of Heroes was highly praised for new innovative designs as was Guild Wars. These two played very different from the normal way MMOs liked to punish players. Both have mechanics reminiscent of the old system but are clearly stepping out of the box. Both were large risks.

WoW came out about the same time as these games, it was just polishing the old system we all already knew. When it got famous due largely to great advertising, it made other developers think that the money isn't in innovation but in the old system with more polish. This is why so many people then stopped dead in their tracks and began doing what WoW did, polish the old system instead of figure out how they could make a better one. Wow's popularity actually stunted the growth of MMO innovation. This is why it leaves a sour taste in the mouth of many MMO fans. (Although not all) WoW fans think people are just trying to be hip for hating it because it is popular but many times that is not the reason behind it. MMO fans that want the genre to evolve have had to wait for over 5 years for the evolution to get rolling again as all the developers realize they need to do what they were doing before WoW came out. They were on the right track before, and are only just now getting back to where we were. All WoW proved was people like polished games, which Blizzard already knew. However, most MMO devs pre-WoW didn't have the money to invest in the game because the draw wasn't there. WoW brought nothing new to the table really for the genre but enough money to jumpstart a larger following due to Blizzard's already established name.

 

[Zantos]

The Secret World looks quite good, and considerably different from the WoW style.

 

[Muggizz]

WoW is hardly the only good MMO out there. Most popular isn't necessarily the best. It's a matter of personal preference.

Oh dear god I'm not at all trying to say that WoW is the best most absolutely perfect MMO on the market. It's nearly as good as it used to be, but it seams as WoW were the only game actually trying to bring something new to the table.

 

[Jasper Jeffs]

Final Fantasy 14 is quite different from the normal MMO, lots of customisation and freedom.

Keep an eye on TERA as well.

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It looks interesting, you need to actively aim and time your attacks and dodge your enemies, it's not down to a stat. It's not like other MMO's where you click a target, click a button and hit him. When you click a button on TERA, you'll just do a certain move in the direction you're facing.

I agree somewhat, MMO's are quite stagnant, but there's enough variety out there to keep things interesting. It's no different than the FPS genre.

 

[boag]

Well, first of all I use the term "mmorpg" very loosely. Second, it feels like blizzard are the only ones who actually developed a decent rpg. At least after their extreme shock of World of Warcraft who gained over a million subscribers in under a year developers started seeing interest in the business, but other than that nothing good have really been produced.

To me it feels like developers for games have just shat out games with shitty engines and no real end game content in attempts to do just as good as WoW did.

While the game have gotten really shitty today it still dominates the market with 12 million subscribers. And even though WoW is fun from time to times I would like to see a company that really took thier time, effort and thought into a mmorpg and actually put something decent out there that explores the possibilities of a mmorpg.

I still got my hopes up for Vindictus and Guildwars 2, but I still don't see any good titles coming out in a near futre.

So what have happend to the MMORPGS?

nothings happened to them, they are still there, most of the time people just follow the fad.

The reason WOW keeps so many players online is because people have become accustomed to spending time there, they have developed friendships and have a sense of community.

There are still lots of old MMOs out there.

Hell earlier in 2010 i got an Itch to replay Ragnarok online, found a nice little server with low population called heavenly maiden, been having fun since then.

 

[Jdb]

Phantasy Star Online is coming back. The sequel is alpha testing in Japan.

 

[zehydra]

MMORPGs as a genre in general have never been that great.

MMOs can be fantastic, I just don't think RPG lends itself very well to massive online play. At least FUN online play anyway.