Slashdot Mirror
On MMORPG Franchise Fundamentals
Thanks to MMORPGDot for its editorial discussing some of the most interesting franchises which are yet to be turned into MMO games. The author mentions: "Personally, I think a franchise game can be just as good as a game with an original world, if not better. It's all a question of what you do with the IP and if you make a fundamentally fun game out of what you've been given", before suggesting MMOs based on Star Trek ("The other great science fiction franchise is easily as deserving as Star Wars of it's own graphical massive game"), James Bond ("More of a realization that I'd like to play in a spy MMOG than anything else, I think a spy MMOG branded as a Bond game would get really good traction"), and Oz ("I think Oz would be an amazing vehicle for a MMOG centered on younger gamers.") Other suggestions?
The authow mentions Shadowrun, too. That's about the only one
I'd be interested in. Star Trek could potentially be as messed up as SWG.
I dunno about a spygame - doesn't Bond work alone most of the time?
Oz as an MMO setting!? I'm not sure I could stomach the prison rape scenes necessary for levelling up... ;)
Franchised MMORPGs are a risky venture. Get it right, and you can draw on an audience for your game which goes beyond the normal MMORPG-playing market, circumventing the argument that there are too many developers competing for too few customers. Get it wrong and you have an expensive mess on your hands which you then have to support for the next few years, while it damages the reputation of your franchise in the meantime.
Success or failure depends on a large number of factors. Obviously, the biggest of these is how good the game mechanics are. A MMORPG lives or dies by these; players spend a lot of time in a MMORPG and a crummy interface, boring combat or a crippled economy will have them leaving in droves. However, the mechanics of a good MMORPG are a discussion for another comments thread. How a franchise can help a MMORPG succeed or fail is what's relevant here.
To a large extent, I think the nature of the franchise is important. In particular, being tied too closely to a specific book or film is dangerous. I'll illustrate this by pointing out two recent franchised MMORPGs and how the franchises have hindered them.
Final Fantasy XI (if you've read my posts elsewhere, you'll already know I love this game) has exactly the right kind of franchise. "Final Fantasy" is difficult to pin down; each of the games has its own characters, worlds, plot and game mechanics. The only commonalities between the games are a few core gameplay concepts, the names of a couple of characters and a few world-elements, such as airships and chocobos. Within those very, very few constraints, the developers were free to create whatever world they wanted. The result was a world which looked and felt like a Final Fantasy world, but which had been carefully balanced to work as a MMORPG. Sure, a lot of newbies wanted to be a summoner, because summons have been one of the cooler things about recent FF games, but there's no fundamental requirement of the game universe that Summoners be uber-characters (in fact, unless the player is willing to put a *lot* of time and effort into developing it, the Summoner's generally felt to be a weak class in most areas). For the most part, people accept this.
By contrast, Star Wars Galaxies had a more unsuitable franchise and used it in a way that added further constraints. By setting the game during the time of the movies, when the Jedi were apparently nearly extinct and forced into hiding, the developers allowed the universe to constrain the game in a lot of ways. Let's face it, most of the players who tried out Galaxies wanted to be a Jedi. In the films, Jedi are uber-warriors, capable of all kinds of neat tricks. This already gave the devs a major problem, in that allowing a class like that, particularly in a game with PvP, is just not feasible in a MMORPG. So, the devs were forced to put Jedi in the world (upsetting those die-hard fans who dislike any deviation from the cannonical universe), make it extremely hard to become a Jedi (which upsets a lot of those who wanted to become a Jedi), and ensuring that the class wasn't actually all that powerful (upsetting those who put the time and effort into unlocking it). The result is pretty much the worst possible scenario. I think it would have been more sensible to set the game in an era more removed from the movies, as they did with KOTOR, to allow for a little more creative control, although it still wouldn't have solved some of the underlying problems.
The Star Wars license also accentuated what was missing from the game when it released. Space combat is such a huge part of the Star Wars universe that it's understandable that people were so upset it wasn't there from release. Had the airships been missing from Final Fantasy XI when it was released, it wouldn't have been anything like such a big deal.
Ultimately, Galaxies hasn't failed miserably and still has a respectable player-base. However, the damage that has been done to the franchise's reputation is not trivial and will be hard to undo.
(Even though it's a D&D setting, a properly done FR MMORPG would be much different from D&D Online.)
The Realms is the most detailed, largest fantasy setting there is. It has an insane variety to it-games ranging from Chondathan caravan runs to Tuigan hunting excursions to searching for Netherese artifacts in Anauroch would all be possible. It lends itself equally to instanced events and random encounters. It would already have a large promised user base. User guilds are encouraged by the setting, and already have many existing parallels. It comes with an established rules system already in place. In short, it has endless possiblities as an MMORPG-if done properly, by a group paying attention to the 2e design philosophy and hopefully with a designer watching them carefully. There is a problem, however:
Due to the layout of Faerun, a team would either have to cover a huge area or create arbitrary barriers to movement.
The role of the writer is not to say what we can all say, but what we are unable to say. -Anais Nin
Unless it's American McGee or Todd McFarlane's versions.
The role of the writer is not to say what we can all say, but what we are unable to say. -Anais Nin
Disney have entered the mmorpg market with their cartoony game aimed at children, its a pretty simple game
http://www.toontown.com/
(doesnt support other browsers than IE)
*resistance is futile, or fuzzy, i dunno*
Even in the Oz they're refering to, The Wizard of Oz, according to a friend who read Frank Baum's books the Wicked Witch is green because her mother was raped by a munchkin.
By and large the franchised single-player game stinks. And always has done, going back to ET on the Atari 2600 and the numerous 1980s 8-bit attempts from Ocean and the like.
Franchises are worse news still for MMORPG.
When we see a film or read a book, by and large we want to read about exceptional people who are (in scifi & fantasy anyway) usually heroic. A world of heroes just doesn't work. We can't ALL be off killing Darth Vader. We can't ALL be "the one" spoken of in prophesy. The scifi/fantasy genres don't lend themselves to being about the average man in the street (and lets face it, thats who we play every hour of every day in real life anyway).
Some argue that existing in the universe of X is fun enough. But if we look at SWG as a testcase, many said they were happy to be a humble citizen (say, a crafter or small time hunter, what have you) but it hasn't worked out that way ultimately. Every other person (before I left) was a level-grinding Jedi wannabe. And from what I've seen since, every other person just about is now actually a Jedi. Good intentions came to nought as SOE pushed the Jedi class in order to ramp up interested in putative subscribers (never mind alienating their existing player base, but thats another rant).
In the end the best MMORPGs will not be based on franchises. In a genre supposely all about imagination and open horizons we don't need or want a roadmap.
Plays violent online games as: Nerfherder76
Pong MMORPG. Be the ball. Be the paddle. Be the line in the middle of the screen!
stuff
I think Xanth would make a great "magic MMORPG". Everyone could choose to have a unique magical talent that would be weak to begin with, but unlike the books, with experience you could "level up", and make your talent stronger or different. The game software could keep track of assigned talents and make sure no two are exactly the same (one of the base assumptions of Xanth). :-)
Imagine- fighting the Gap Dragon or dueling with another player who can create holes under your feet. Way cool
I learn from all my mistakes, I intend to be a genius at the end of my life.
Deliver pizza, be a Kourier, practice your sword fighting, stake your claim in the Metaverse, buy your own Rat-thing, live in Mr Lee's Greater Hong Kong, work for the Feds, tool up with goo guns, ride your bike, design an avatar, be a rock star.
Or declare yourself a nuclear state and hi-jack a submarine.
I was actually thinking about this the other day, and realized that Stargate would make a very interesting MMORPG. Lots of different worlds and races, and a lot of conflict to induce fights. The biggest disadvantage is that there aren't a lot of classes (fighter, medic, scientist, anything else?) and no real magic system (though varying levels of technology could be considered magic).
"Save the whales, feed the hungry, free the mallocs" -- author unknown
I can already hear it now, "damnit, my level 15 cowboy neal was slain by a level 13 Commander Taco, now I gotta get enough karma to revive him!"
Personally, I think Babylon 5 would make for a far more compelling MMOG than Star Trek would. Star Trek's sense of conflict was always generated by large-scale disagreements which disturbed a utopian balance - in essence, there were a few major characters (Federation, Romulans, Cardassians...) duking it out. But B5 brought that sense of conflict down to a personal level, where individuals had conflict with one another because they lived in an imperfect society - one wrapped up in a spinning tin can, to boot.
You could *have* space combat, if you wanted. But you wouldn't *need* space combat in B5 - there's enough potential for plot material right there on the station. Star Trek would be hard-pressed to do the same, since generally everybody on board any ship or space station was already on the same side.
I love the way some people demonstrate that a lack of the brainpower to recognize a joke should be a capital offense.
No, seriously.
No, no, seriously.
In any event, the other OZ would make a good MMORPG. I can't wait to get into all the Good Fairy costuming options.
No. Wait. The Wicked Fairy costuming options. The garters, the fishnets, omg, it'll rule!
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
You know, when I first read this one, I didn't think much of it. Then, when I started thinking about it, it got better and better.
I mean, you pretty much have the entire world to explore! Start off a new character and use Hogwarts as a base to learn basic spells and skills, as well as a healing location. Have a room with limited storage for you character and hundreds of low level quests based around the castle.
You can integrate the sorting hat into character creation, specalize in whatever class you want at the school, etc..
When you graduate, the entire world opens up. Solve magical quests, play professional quidditch, run a magic shop. Raise a family, interact with Muggles, etc. Heck, be a professor at the college and teach newbies.
If you want to be evil, start in Slytherin so you aren't persecuted for being compleatly evil, but when you get a couple levels, you can leave the school and be an evil witch/wizard with a good foundation of spells and skills.
You have an established but open mythology and a HUGE fanbase. It would be a pretty good game.
(My girlfriend just told me "That would be an onling game I'd actually play", so it passes that test.)
Calmiche
who thought "gee, prison rape doesn't sound like a good MMORPG to me" before I remembered the Wizard and the Flying Monkey thing. Of course, I also thought Australia before I thought L. Frank Baum, so that shows you how long it's been since I read the books.
...
Australia would make kind of a cool MMORPG for those of us who haven't been there. Being a 10th level croc-botherer ("OY! I'm gonna move this here croc from this bit'o mud to that bit'o mud") or a barbie-wrangler ("Ay! Lemme go get some shrimps, mate!") has it's attractions when you're only half-awake. Plus there's that bit about gravity reversal since they're on the bottom of the world.
Man, I really need to start drinking coffee instead of gin when I wake up
To celebrate the occasion of my 1000th post, I will post no more forever on Slashdot. Goodbye.
...it's the players. Or rather, the general vacuum of etiquette, intelligence and propriety.
That's the problem with pay-to-play... anyone who can pay, can play, regardless of their social deficiencies. For a game genre whose major component is social this is a quite an oversight... but the alternative - turning away money - is worse than having a festering, rotten community to every MMO publisher.
I'm sick of the "Bob's Dance Club" MMOGs, regardless of what license-of-the-month they're bearing. Where are the "Studio 54" MMOGs who'll separate the wheat from the chaff to cultivate atmosphere at the possible expense of income?
Hell, I wouldn't mind seeing a Rifts game period.
I always thought the world and story to Rifts was cool. However, although I tried playing in a few different campaigns of it, I ultimately decided I couldn't stand it -- the game mechanics in general and the combat in specific just bogged down WAY too slow for me. It wasn't unusual for a decent sized combat to suck up an entire night by itself.
A computer, on the other hand, could crunch those numbers and make all of those parry/dodge/roll/etc. rolls instantly, taking out the part of the game that I hated and leaving most of what I thought was cool.
Harry Potter's got to be the most obvious one, overlooked by EA in their lust for shitty game design.
;)), learn magical powers, etc. Carving one's own story is always more interesting than rehashing an oft-retold one.
:)
Seriously, with the books and movies being so good, why would you want to rehash the action again in a game? Wouldn't it be more fun to make your own character's story in the HP universe? I'd love to see a virtual hogwarts, filled with thousands of other subscribers who are enjoying making their own way in the magical world. They could have their own groups and alliances, explore different sections of the grounds (perhaps using something like instancing so that more people can go in the same areas without choking them
Whenever a book comes out, EA wouldn't have to wai for the movie to come out, too. They could just add the characters and areas as a small expansion. There's plenty of source material already, and I know a lot of people (such as people who also frequent HOL) would love to be involved in that kind of fun game.
I hope someone ballsy enough to do this gets the licence at some point. It's so great an idea for an MMO
--
Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
Harry Potter Online has been worked on by EA for years. The first one was cancelled at the same time they cancelled UO2 (OWO:O) and Privateer Online. I've heard the second attempt was cancelled, too. The current version under development is called "Hogwarts Online" which gives you an idea of where they are headed with it. Battletech 3025 was also developed previously by EA, and cancelled. The Matrix Online is coming out this fall. There are several other IP franchises that are worth considering: Traveller, Stargate, Battlestar Galactica, Mad Max, Terminator, etc. Bruce
I think the best mmorpg would be based on real life.
No weird ass magic, no weird ass weapons.
set in some realistic looking city.
just you, weapons that really exist and your wits, and societies lack of morals,
Wanna be a crime boss. go for it.
Wanna fight crime. go for it.
Wanna be a corporate bigwig go for it.
there would be lots more.
psycho killer, grifter, medical, shop keeper, maufacture of needed items.
Real Life was released ages ago.
Check out GameSpot's review of the RealLife(TM) MMORPG.
Live simply, that others may simply live. -Gandhi
Think about it. What current, wildly popular game series has a huge young fanbase, and is based on the idea of striking out on your own to seek fame, fortune, and power?
Pokemon. You know... "I want to be the very best, like no one ever was"?
Actually, the Pokemon series is fairly deep, and was fairly innovative the first time around. Given that the gameplay already revolves around PvM (fighting and capturing wild Pokemon) and the occasional PvP (fighting other trainers), it'd be way too easy. Plus... I for one would actually play a 3D Pokemon MMORPG.
This is my sig. There are many others like it, but this one is mine.
"massively multiplayer version of Car Wars/AutoDuel, in which the scenario is the same, but the gameplay focuses on your vehicle" You may want to check this out: http://www.autoassault.com/ It's still in development phase but it looks promising.
Remember Battletech 2035? I played the beta for a few weeks, and it was a lot of fun. Not quite an MMORPG in the traditional sense, but it was an MMO game nonetheless.
Pity it was canceled.