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John Romero Developing a MMOG
bmarklein writes "According to computerandvideogames.com, John Romero is to developing an MMO. He doesn't divulge any details, but does say that it's 'the most money I've ever spent on a game' and that it's 'very different from any other MMO for some special reasons.' Will this live up to the hype, or is history repeating itself?"
Man, I just hope it's as good as Daikatana was!
John Romero is to developing an MMO.
What's a Massive Multiplayer Online? Is that a game where Romero goes around with magical powers, turning all the players into a female dog? Sounds about as much fun as his last big game...
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
Yeah the whole John Romero rockstar developer thing was lame. And the John Romero will make you his bitch ad was really lame. But that is enough kicking now let the guy up. He's just a dude we all do stupid things we should't have to hear about them forever.
"John Romero is to developing an MMO"? An MMO what?
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/1999/11/22Funny All by Itself.
MMO's are the future of PC gaming.
Consoles will dominate everything else. The amount of fewer hours spent on development, testing, debugging, and support for a console where all hardware is static is dramatically less than a PC that could have a near unlimited combination of pieces.
MMO's, which often require keyboards for constant communication and 3rd-party communication programs, are the perfect fit for PC's.
2005 set a record for console game sales while also being one of the worst years ever for PC's for a reason. World of Warcraft has 5.5 million subscribers for a reason.
I was wondering why Romero has been relatively silent on the MMOG gaming spectrum. The MMOG world is a little too crowded, but there is so much room for more growth outside of what we consider the standard MMOG platform.
I have an intense high speed connection on my cell phone (the Samsung t809 -- 150kbps EDGE download speeds, Java capability, great screen. MMOG occupy a lot of home-office time of my friends who are addicted, to the point that they might blow off good live concerts or events to play. If someone finds a way to get the MMOG world onto the high speed cell phones out there, I think Allstate will have higher premiums for drivers after paying out all the accidents caused by using the cell phone for more than talking.
And what about developing more cross platform mini-MMOGs? I'm not just talking about getting it working between the X-Box, the PS3 and the PC, I also mean older platforms and even PDAs, laptops, cell phones, who knows what else? Java is pretty standardized, and I think it should be able to handle the performance if the server-side does a good job of filtering out more update information than the bandwidth can handle. I don't see why these games need to be tied to a high speed high power computer at home.
Other things I'd like to see are MMOGs that set some time limits to equalize the time allotments for older players. I know I can't compete as well as the 15 year old can, so I don't play. I don't have that kind of time. A 1 hour a day time limit might be interesting, though, especially if the game works on any of my many platforms I use daily.
While MMOGs seem to have hit a plateau of sorts, there is still room to grow once they find the new markets. I know MMOGs will be mainstream when we have a reality TV show dedicated entirely to the lives on digital people. Can you imagine the market of geeks who would watch it? Yeesh.
Who remembers this?
.plan back around 1995. Then we actually saw Quake a year later, and it was just a bigger version of Doom that wanted way more CPU to work properly.
"ok, imagine this. you have a health thing and you don't need it.
you meet someone in the game who has a nice weapon but is really
low on health. you guys decide to exchange items. you don't really
trust this guy so you bring along a friend and tell him to hide out
somewhere with a bead on the other guy's head. you meet somewhere
in the middle of a field and face off. you drop your health, he drops
his weapon and you both strafe over the object of your desire. you
start to back away (not turning your back on him) and suddenly decide
you're going to whack this guy before he gets a chance to use that
health. you move towards him and draw back with your hammer. he notices
this and starts to duck, but it's too late. you smash him in the head
and watch him fly down to the ground, landing on his side. you smash
his still body a few more times and cause him to explode! now you and
your friend pick up all of the items your dead friend left on the
ground. as you are walking off you pick up his severed head and put
it in a bag. that will come in useful later... when you need something
to sacrifice to a demon."
That's what you used to get if you read his
I wonder what makes it different than most other MMOGs? Maybe he means he won't be using any of the advancements made in the genre in the last ten years? Or maybe it will make your progress dependent on suicidal AIs whose inevitable deaths costs you dearly won progress?
Or maybe he just means he'll sink incredible amounts of cash into a project that ends up being years late and when finally loosed upon the world is so beneath expectations that it vanishes quietly within months, only to be heard of in derisive jokes?
No, wait, that would be just like most MMOGs.
The enemies of Democracy are
Of course, one of the character classes will be "John Romero's Bitch"
"Will this live up to the hype, or is history repeating itself?"
:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Romero
Please check out
Yeah, so basically John started Ion Storm and made a couple turds. The problem wasn't the creative portion, it was the project and technical management.
What use to make id so great was the combination of John C. and John R. C had the technical know how and ability to push a project ahead with realistic technical goals. R had the creative vision to bring together original and fun game play / storyline.
Personally I feel that id has landed just as many turds since Romero left. The reason it seemed to go unnoticed is because of the big stiffy game mags / teens have for OMGR33TGRFX!
Anyhow, back to my point. John Romero has been involved in MANY very good, and successful games in the past (before Ion Storm). I don't see why he can't bring us more terrific games, if he manages to surround himself with the right kind team. Not sure if that's the case this time around, but either way I'm willing to bet this new MMO will actually be an original take on the genre.
John Romero? Awesome! It must have zombies in it, then!
This sig, aah-ah, is comin' like a ghost-sig...
So he's going to develop a game... but the real question is he going to release a playable one?
That seems to be where all the rest of the refugees from the dying pc game market seem to be ending up like his former workmate and current has-been Carmack.
http://www.devmaster.net/articles/mmo-scalable-ser ver/e r_in_erlang.html
http://www.erlang-consulting.com/thesis/mmog_serv
MORTAR COMBAT!
-5 (Letdown)
I first read this as "John **Carmack** developing new MMOG?"
-Styopa
John Romero is to developing an MMO... ...like Microsoft is to writing secure software? ...like the RIAA is to sharing music? ...like Slashdot editors are to using proper grammar?
ClutterMe.com - easiest site creation on the Net. Just click and type.
1000 people walking into walls since it's incredibly unplayable!
Can someone post a link or two that might help explain who John is and what he has done?
I thought that the tag line said that George Romero was creating a new MMOG. Now THAT would be cool! Especially if they could get Burton to help design the sets, and maybe Geiger to design some monsters.
I can just see it now. Aliens came and conquored mankind, destroyed all of civilization, and then died of bird flu. The corpses of the dead roam the world, animated as killing machines to help clean up the remaining humans. Even though the aliens are wiped out, the planet is still heavily infested with their deadly flora and fauna. Only a few small enclaves of man remain in existence, subsiding off of scavanged materials and parts gotten from dangerous trips into the nearby critter infested cities.
Oooo, I like it! Now all I need is a few million and some good developers.
Wake up - the future is arriving faster than you think.
Isn't John Carmack making an MMO also? I specifically remember from the book Masters of Doom, that both of them have always been into the MMO idea. I thought Carmack was actually more into it, talking about how he wanted to 'make the metaverse' one day.
Really, it would be cool if they were both working on it, because neither seems to make games as well without the other.
Will it make me his bitch?
A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government. -edward abbey
I am interested because I am sure Romero will approach the genre with a different perspective than what we keep seeing now. Almost all of his projects, except for Gauntlet, were pretty original or tried something new.
...used to bang? I mean that shit was WWF style! "OMG!!! THE GODLY DEVELOPER OF DOOM WAS BEATEN BY A GIRL AT DEATHMATCH... OMG NOW THEY'RE GOING OUT AND LIVING TOGETHER AND HAVING SEX!!
Oh I just read the wikipedia article and they split up, too bad, they made a nice idiot couple. Stevie Case for the uninitiated
Could this secret company be KingIsle Entertainment ( http://www.kingsisle.com/ ) ?
Tom Hall moved to that company to create an MMOG.
Everyone makes mistakes. Let's at least wait until the demo comes out before we pass judgement.
[o]_O
To the critics:
Have *YOU* made a game that let you buy a Hummer?
Have you ever worked in a glass and steel tower where the elevators took you straight up to the top, where the cubie farm was not designed for mere mortals but even had a skylight?
Have you had your name become almost a household word?
Have you had a girl that looked so fine?
Didn't think so. (In fact, if I were in his shoes, while sipping my coffee, I'd think, man, breakup or what-not, Life is good.)
and Immediately got excited thinking how awesome a zombie apocalypse survival horror MMORPG would be. Then I remembered the name and realized it was the pretty-girl man thing who was important once.
"I am a kernel in the linux army"
http://rome.ro/
John Romero Developing a MMOG
Is is cureable and is he getting treatment?
Did he get a second opinion from another doctor?
What is it any way? I sure hope it isn't some nasty stuff like the avian flu or cancer.
Carbon based humanoid in training.
and it was just a bigger version of Doom that wanted way more CPU to work properly.
AKA every Id game ever made since Doom.
Daikatana 2: Dai Harder.
... a MMOG.
"There is no teacher but the enemy."-Mazer Rackham
Interesting... I used to be in the game industry, and a few days ago I got an email from an independent headhunter looking for senior developers to work on a project at "John Romero's new company". At least one of my ex-coworkers from the game days also got the email.
The email was very short on particulars, but the company appears to be in the Bay area. Honestly, if it weren't for having to pull chocks and move cross-country, I'd seriously have thought about it... yes, Daikatana sucked, and yes, Romeros started breathing a little too much of his own exhaust during the late id days, but I still think he knows what he's talking about.
OMG. I think I actually DO remember something like that ;p It was like leading up to one of the Quake's. I remember reading the plan, it was exciting for the time ;p
This is some history right here ^^