MMO: The 2nd coming
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The Wang has mostly been adjusting to the new work habits and some of the more minute details about exploring a new city. Still the Wang is keeping busy with fun stuff like classes at the city college and finding new tabletop gaming groups. (So if u know anyone in SF plz contact the Wang.) But recently the long time MMO of choice, World of Warcraft became a chore and rather mundane. Hardcore Casual comments about how MMOs aren't about selling 500,000 copies rather, selling 100,000 copies and keeping the user for 2-3 yrs. Clearly WoW is successful in this. But it is done so well that WoW seems to have very little spirit or enjoyment in it. Its rather blend in its efficiency to be good. Its like seeing a super hawt model in Beverly Hillz. U know she's great to look at, hangs out well, clearly entertains u and is not crazy, but when u take her home and u two just hang out on Sundays... nothing happens. In the long run there's no real love there, just a whole lot of really good non-badness.
But I mean technically what more can we ask from a almost 3 yr old game? I think the problem lies in the stale-ness of an Epic story. Sure the Wang's guild has not been there to down Illidan in the Black Temple. But even any big bad boss of the Warcraft methos doesn't have a epic conclusion when ur guild finally defeats the content. The first thing isn't, "wow we just killed the big bad of this chapter, of this huge dungeon, we r like Warcraft heroes..." No its usually, "what loot dropped?" I think as much as the Wang complains about not being a person of "instant gratification", the Wang does need some elevation of epic-ness. The problem in WoW is that, u rarely feel that u've contributed to the grand story of the world. The world is clearly detailed and rich in stories. But somehow, no matter who u kill, the players of an MMO never get to feel the true involvement of things. I understand that this is the basic design of an MMO but I would really luv to see an epic event where the Red Dragon Flight gets pissed off and joins u in a epic battle against the badies of AQ40 or something... An epic battle where getting ur ass kicked and having Alexstraza swoop in for some sort of last moment attack at 10% . U know some epic cinematic like battle where u moved to great fields of Silithus and march against waves of bugz like they say in the histories. Sure the zone crashed when 200 pll showed up for the gong, but really, instance it. I'm quite sure WoW can handle 40 man raid and 100 ish mobs. It clearly does in Mt. Hyjal battle... Which the Wang does feel one needs to see. I think the biggest problem is that no matter how big, bad, tough, the final boss is in an MMO, he/she/it is designed to be a repeated battle. Nothing repetitive can be epic.
In other worlds of virtual-ness the Wang has recently been trying out Tabula Rasa and been throwing some time into Lord of the Ring Online. Not to mention finally finishing Knights of the Old Republic and a bit of Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines. Tabula Rasa is fun, gfx-ly impressive. But it doesn't live up to the hype that Richard Gariott has been preaching about. It really doesn't seem to fix the problems of an MMO. He's right about the problems, its just that Tabula Rasa isn't the answer yet. It's a little different... but not the 2nd coming of MMO that we r waiting for. On the other hand, LotRO isn't as well polished as WoW yet. But they do have the advantage of having new chapters released every 2 month plus a lifetime subscription from the Wang, which means I'll try it anyways. But these MMOs just support how well made WoW is.
Mostly all these games are to detour the mind from WoW. Also with the news that next WoW expansion is coming, Wrath of the Lich King, rather than seeing the epic storyline unfold, the Wang feels that Blizzard will just be bring forth more of what they r good at, making time sinks.
Games on the Horizon that the Wang is looking forward to:
WoW: Wrath of the Lich King ( unknown maybe Fall 08')
Neverwinters Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer (Fall 07, like Oct...)
Metroid Prime 3: Corruptions (Aug. 28th)
Mass Effect (Nov. 07)
Bioshock (Aug. 21 07, 2 days ago) here's a great Link post from Achtung Baby on Bioshock.
Warhammer MMO (Feb 08')
Super Smash Brothers Brawl (Dec 7, 07)
Fallout 3 (Fall 08')
Tabula Rasa (supposedly Oct. 2 07)
Rock Band (Nov. 6, 07)
...and that's about it. (and no, I didn't forget Halo 3. I think it will be ok. The Wang enjoys the co-op story plot, the Multiplayer seems to be meh.) But i do give Bungie credit for this Wired article about how they turned making a game into a science. But Bungie's designers aren't just making a game: They're trying to divine the golden mean of fun.
SO finally MMOs are good at one thing, they try their hardest to keep a player around for month even yrs after the game is bought. WoW is very good at this. Without making it feel that ur grinding, it drives soo many time sinks and blend them seemlessly into what one can considered fun. SWG's Ralph Koster wrote and illustrated a book called A Theory of Fun. Even though this book has some great ideas, Ralph's past work in SWG really doesnt support his own theories. let's hope that, that was a SOE problem and that he can proof us wrong with his new company, Areae. But none the less, Ralph's Blog and Terra Nova are some of the best sources online for regarding virtual worlds and MMO development. Who knows maybe Richard Gariott will pull off this epic combat feel that he talks about in Tabula Rasa...
In other worlds of virtual-ness the Wang has recently been trying out Tabula Rasa and been throwing some time into Lord of the Ring Online. Not to mention finally finishing Knights of the Old Republic and a bit of Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines. Tabula Rasa is fun, gfx-ly impressive. But it doesn't live up to the hype that Richard Gariott has been preaching about. It really doesn't seem to fix the problems of an MMO. He's right about the problems, its just that Tabula Rasa isn't the answer yet. It's a little different... but not the 2nd coming of MMO that we r waiting for. On the other hand, LotRO isn't as well polished as WoW yet. But they do have the advantage of having new chapters released every 2 month plus a lifetime subscription from the Wang, which means I'll try it anyways. But these MMOs just support how well made WoW is.
Mostly all these games are to detour the mind from WoW. Also with the news that next WoW expansion is coming, Wrath of the Lich King, rather than seeing the epic storyline unfold, the Wang feels that Blizzard will just be bring forth more of what they r good at, making time sinks.
Games on the Horizon that the Wang is looking forward to:
WoW: Wrath of the Lich King ( unknown maybe Fall 08')
Neverwinters Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer (Fall 07, like Oct...)
Metroid Prime 3: Corruptions (Aug. 28th)
Mass Effect (Nov. 07)
Bioshock (Aug. 21 07, 2 days ago) here's a great Link post from Achtung Baby on Bioshock.
Warhammer MMO (Feb 08')
Super Smash Brothers Brawl (Dec 7, 07)
Fallout 3 (Fall 08')
Tabula Rasa (supposedly Oct. 2 07)
Rock Band (Nov. 6, 07)
...and that's about it. (and no, I didn't forget Halo 3. I think it will be ok. The Wang enjoys the co-op story plot, the Multiplayer seems to be meh.) But i do give Bungie credit for this Wired article about how they turned making a game into a science. But Bungie's designers aren't just making a game: They're trying to divine the golden mean of fun.
SO finally MMOs are good at one thing, they try their hardest to keep a player around for month even yrs after the game is bought. WoW is very good at this. Without making it feel that ur grinding, it drives soo many time sinks and blend them seemlessly into what one can considered fun. SWG's Ralph Koster wrote and illustrated a book called A Theory of Fun. Even though this book has some great ideas, Ralph's past work in SWG really doesnt support his own theories. let's hope that, that was a SOE problem and that he can proof us wrong with his new company, Areae. But none the less, Ralph's Blog and Terra Nova are some of the best sources online for regarding virtual worlds and MMO development. Who knows maybe Richard Gariott will pull off this epic combat feel that he talks about in Tabula Rasa...
By melchoir on August 23, 2007 6:27 PM
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