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Putting The RPG Back Into MMORPG
Garthilk writes "In the last two weeks since E3 I've read at least three gushing reviews about an upcoming game by Simutronics, called Hero's Journey. MMORPG.com gave it their E3 best of show award. CorpNews said it blew their pants off. IGN even had a good interview with the CEO of Simutronics. Warcry even goes so far as to say that it will turn gaming world upside down. The question still lingers though, can a company who has focused on text based roleplaying games cut it in the graphical world?" From the MMORPG.com article: "In a year full of big budget, big company titles, Hero's Journey offered graphics on par with all the major players and an extremely exciting look at their game play. E3 2005 marked a show where several high profile games were touting very similar features (state based combat), and in swept Hero's Journey with their innovative group combat, highly cinematic missions, interactive environments and hands down the best character creation ever put into an MMORPG."
If you've been doing text-based games here and now in the 21st century- then it's fairly obvious you're probably focusing ONLY on the core mechanics of what makes a *game* fun. That's unique and a skill in and of itself.
3D engines OTOH, judging by the amount of shovelware on Gamespot these days, seem to be pretty much a dime a dozen.
I would think they'd have an advantage. After all, a text based game can't get by on pretty graphics, it has to actually be a great game.
IANAGame Programmer, but it seems like it would be a lot easier to slap some pretty front end on an existing good game than to create a good game to go with your pretty graphics.
Under capitalism man exploits man. Under communism it's the other way around.
1. Any reward or penalty system has to be administered in a regulated fashion or else a game's fee paying subscribers will call foul. 2. Any regulated reward or penalty system will be analysed, broken down and details posted on every HJ fan site and forum. 3. Role playing goes out the window as in all MMORPGs (dedicated RPG servers apart) as people do whatever it takes to climb the ladder. Be a real geek - get a stack of rule books and a pound of dice if you want to roleplay.
HJ screenshots from '99: http://web.archive.org/web/20010501094458/hjvault. ign.com/screenshots/terrain/
You can put all the thought and effort into writing intricate story, drama, and atmosphere into a world, make it as immersive as you can, fantastic or authentic, put life into your NPC's with detail, background, motivations, and aspirations, and create a world to enchant the player ...
And he will have to share it with thousands of people who use the letter "u" as a pronoun.
I am no longer wasting my time with slashdot
Maybe I'm missing something... what is so revolutionary and innovative about this game? What I've read about it offers almost no details about what makes the game so special. Instead all we get is the same vague promises spewed whenever ANY new MMORPG comes out. Amazing character creation, intriguing quests and adventures, wonderful GM-run NPC events, etc. Haven't we all heard it all before? I want some details before I buy into the usual hype.