Mythic VP On New MMO's In The Midst Of WoW Monopoly
Creating a massively multiplayer online role playing game is even more difficult than writing out the full name of the genre. Many games fail right out of the gate, while others gain a small following but are ultimately defeated by low revenue and high costs of maintaining these worlds. Oh, and lest we forget about a certain giant whose shadow looms over all new MMO's. Nobody has found the formula to dethrone World of Warcraft, but Warhammer Online designer Mark Jacobs has hope for his new game.
In the second part of his interview with MTV's Multiplayer Blog, Jacobs discusses some of the challenges other MMO's have faced and why World of Warcraft continues to thrive while others are failing.
Jacobs has this theory about the failure of Hellgate: London:
"I know for a fact that sometimes just having talent is not enough," Jacobs said after a long sigh. "You need leadership and you need patience. And what's most important -- something that so many developers forget -- is you also need to deflate the ego a little bit. You really have to remember that as good as you were then -- 'Diablo' was a great game -- you're not always going to be right... I think for 'Hellgate,' that was part of the problem."
What makes a good MMO then? Does anyone know what WoW is doing that no other game can replicate? Jacobs doesn't offer much in the way of a secret plan to win the MMO battle but makes a point about the need for another successful entry into the genre:
"If we don't succeed with EA behind us, the 'Warhammer' IP behind us, with one of the most experienced teams in the industry, that's not going to be good for the industry. We need to show the world that it's not just Blizzard who can make a great game, and that the audience is absolutely willing to try new things and to play a game other than 'WoW.'"
I will admit that I am in the camp of people who aren't trying new MMO's. I float back and forth between WoW and Final Fantasy XI, but usually grow bored with both of them and return back to my familiar console gaming world. Does Warhammer stand a chance? Once Wrath of the Lich King is released, I doubt anyone will even be mentioning another MMO.
Mythic VP Explains What Went Wrong With 'Hellgate,' Why He Wanted 'Age of Conan' To Succeed [MTV Multiplayer Blog]
TheDoctor
Posted to Video Games on 2 September 2008
· Comments (2)
Other stuff like this: hellgate london, mmos, warhammer online, world of warcraft
He forgot to mention that like Age of Conon, Hellgate: London was riddled with game-killing bugs.
I'll be playing both Warhammer and WoW. Warhammer seems like it's got enough distinctive innovations to hold my interest. Lets just hope they can pull off a reasonably smooth launch.
The secret behind WoW is that it has a viable sole PvE experience without sacrificing PvP for it.
Really, even WoW wouldn't have the millions of subscriptions it has if it were just another grouping only PvP fest.
MMORPG developers need to realise that many people with varying desires drift to these games. Some want a great story (WC3 and its epic tale really helped WoW get going), some want to be able to play the game without having to rely on others. And yet others like to battle other players.
The problem is almost every other game out there doesn't bother with any of that and just caters to raiders and PvPers.
I'm currently playing Age of Conan which is fun, but in no way a competition for WoW. I also hear (I've not gotten near end game yet) that it messes up the other way around and doesn't have viable PvP or raid content.
I'll try Warhammer on release, but I also heared that it is just another PvP-oriented MMORPG (which frankly makes it a dime a dozen). Not my cup of tea, but I enjoyed a bit of PvP in WoW. Especially large bouts like Alterac Valley, so if it's like that it might keep my interest.
Eventually though I will indeed go back to WoW, because for all their faults they're still the best MMORPG out there.