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Microsoft Announces Vanguard MMORPG
Thanks to GameSpot for its news story covering the announcement of Microsoft's new massively multiplayer PC game, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, in development by "renowned designer and cocreator of EverQuest Brad McQuaid" and his company Sigil. The official Vanguard site is now publicly viewable, stating Vanguard's aim to "become the premier third generation massively multiplayer RPG", and an interview with Brad McQuaid over at GameSpot goes into more detail, noting the game's style is "generally what someone would label as high fantasy", although not discussing whether Vanguard's development is one of the reasons for Microsoft's cancelling of their internally-developed MMO Mythica.
Man, the market was just begging for another fantasy mmorpg! *sarcasm*
Ahh
On a side note, check out the bestiary. Six whole monsters! I guess three generations were worth the wait.
Well, best to hold onto your horses for a little while yet. Quite alot of MMORPGs these days (and for the past 3 years or so) have a really great level of communication with the community in the developmental stages of the game. It's utopian stage of the MMORPG, where the each member of the community respects one another and the designers can do no wrong.
The real test of communication will come within the 3 months before release when the designers and coders are all working 18 hour days, and how the communication is maintained post-release when people are complaining about server crashes, login problems, and game imbalances, when all the designers and coders want to do is run away and sleep.
But I'm looking at the current mold of MMORPGs. I really do hope these guys can break that mold.