Evolution as it does and doesn't apply to MMOs

Oh sure, all you liberal elitists at Massively want to talk about the "evolution" of these games. But what about all the intelligent design happening as well??? Way to completely ignore the other side of the debate!

Typical.

World of Warcraft was a "freak" game for the MMO industry. I would be very surprised if a game with anywhere near that many subscriptions came along anytime soon in the west.

For this reason i cannot see that any kind of evolution will happen in the next couple of years, as i think possible customers do not even know what they want as much as devs are not sure what to make for them.

Honestly, the only merit WoW has is owed to a bunch of very creative folks and having access to a shitload of money for the development of the game.

Between 50 and 70 millions were invested in the development of the original game, something most devs and/or publishers can only dream of doing; money isn't everything, Blizzard was very smart about it because they have a vision, but it nonetheless gives a lot of options for creating something from scratch.

Trouble is, it creates a precedent for lazy managers; "I could do something better if I had more funds" isn't and shouldn't be an acceptable way of doing things, money doesn't cure laziness or the lack of vision.

Do you consider First-Person/FPS an evolution or a mutation?

I feel like twitch is the future, regardless of how it gets here.

Mutation is odd because it implies foreign influence. We have a global market and there are literally dozens of hybrid types of mmos. Racing mmos, spaceship mmos, etc. So it becomes difficult to call the influence of external sources mutation when it is so predictable and natural, and a process over extended time.

so what would mutation be to the MMO? How about MMO on a new medium? Mafia wars is doing that, right? millions of people playing through facebook.

how about an MMO on tv? on cellphone? on xbox360?

What else? how can you keep the parameters of a video game and still deliver it in a new way?

we are probably 5-10 (10 is if devs are super lazy) years away from motion control MMO. imagine the Natal, but for an MMO. I don't necessary want to see it, but i feel like that is another big step and is inevitable. sure, it might be hard as hell to manage your inventory :x

there is a lot that seems predictable and the idea of a mutation is probably going to have to surprise us. i envision it happening the way gta3 changed the single player model. something is going to have to revolutionize the concept and redefine the genre. until it is revolutionary, every new idea will be cast out as niche and lost to the gaping maws of the mmo tourist demographic.

Five letters for you if you want innovation.

FFXIV.

Don't EVE and Fallen Earth qualify as serious mutations in the basic code of MMORPGs?

It's odd to me that sometimes people talk and write as if WoW and its clones represent the entire MMORPG market. WoW is big, but there's a lot of different things happening out there. And Fallen Earth is quite recent and quite indie; there seems to be plenty of room for innovation in the market for people that are motivated to make it happen.

If only Everquest 2 change there models and interface clear out some junk out of the game so you do not need a guide to understand it. And add a lfg tool like Warcraft where you can find people fast to injoy the group part of the game. And we got a winner!

After all these years I am amazed at this genres infatuation with WoW. Its basic EQ. The leveling was easier, the quest were easier, the mechanics were easier, the target audience was not even the MMORPG player market...it was targeted at bnet & more casual PC / console gamers.

And yet ever since devs have been flat copying WoW and targeting MMO players, a group that more or less flat out rejects WoW.

We don't need "evolution" or "mutation"

We someone to say 'Wait WTF are we doing?" and get back on track pre-2004 and start making some virtual worlds.

BTW...STO - not it. Next big failure with MMO players. Why? Because as a virtual world it sucks my left nut. It's "Pirates of the Burning Seas" with a Star Trek skin and we all know how that story ended.