2007 was an incredible year for MMOs, with tons of updates to existing games and a benign rash of new titles as well. I'm not much for predictions, but I'll tell you what I'm hoping for in 2008, since you all asked so nicely:Blizzard to out-Diablo Mythos with their new MMO -- Let's face it, playing Mythos is ten kinds of fun, and most of that fun revolves around the type of gameplay that the original Diablo invented, and Diablo II refined. Mythos currently fills the gaping void left behind by Blizzard's continuing not to update the Diablo universe with a new game, but wouldn't you like to see it done up properly?
Google to provide some real competition for Linden Lab -- Right now, Second Life is the only cat of its breed, and it's snoozing in the sun. The ability for users to create their own content is arguably SL's biggest draw, and it's fueled many careers, but the interface issues, rolling restarts, updates that fix things only to break other things, and age verification problems leave me wanting someone to learn from these mistakes and bring us something better. We know Google's working on something ... here's hoping it's a Third Life.
A new genre -- So far, we've had Fantasy MMOs rule the day, with Science Fiction a close second, and a hodgepodge of other titles kind of experimenting with concepts a little bit. And pirates. But I'm looking for something new. Something that combines my love of cryptography with Cthulhu, perhaps. Or something that lets me relive my days playing cops and robbers. Whatever it is, this is the year to strike!
Resolutions? Hmm. I guess I resolve to keep playing those smaller MMOs and telling you what I think of them, and trying not to be too dismissive of those I find lacking. Ooh, that's gonna be difficult -- I'm quite fond of the snark, I am. What are your New Year's MMO hopes and wishes?
