The article is from 
Go to any MMORPG forum and you'll see countless threads complaining about the
state of MMORPGs today. Some of these complaints are valid while others are just
whining, but it appears that a majority of MMO gamers think that the MMORPG
scene has grown stale over the last few years. A slew of over hyped and under
performing games in recent years are partially to blame as well as the
industries "lets just copy World
of Warcraft" mentality. Studios are desperately trying to mimic the success
Blizzard has had with WOW and gamers are suffering for it.
Fury, Hellgate,
Vanguard: Saga of
Heroes and Tabula Rasa were all over hyped and in my opinion did not
deliver, some more than others. I looking at you Fury and HellGate. It seems
that the only "good" MMORPG was Lord of the Rings Online. I put it in quotes
because even though I don't consider the game to be good, it did win a few
awards for MMORPG of the Year. How? Well, its not hard to win when you have no
real competion. I was basically a watered down version of WOW set in the Middle
Earth universe.
In 2008 we get to look forward to the next generation of MMORPG. Age of Conan and
Warhammer
Online both arguably the most anticipated MMORPGs of the year promise to
revolutionize the genre with new PvP and combat systems. Will that be enough for
gamers, only time will tell.
So whats the next step for MMORPGs? What I'd like to see is a step away from
the cookie cutter MMOs and an attempt to make a truly unique game. I think the
next big thing in MMOs will be player driven storylines. Waiting for an
expansion or content update will be a thing of the past. MMOs will be driven by
the players themselves, with a website dedicated to the going ons of the game
universe. Players will be the ones giving the quests, making the rules and
creating the storylines. Guilds will start wars with other guilds not because
there bored, but because they want more land and wealth. Your actions will not
only effect your own character but all characters. You might log off one day in
your town only to find out that it has been sacked by a rival guild and your
guild has taken shelter in a cave. Top players will be listed as people of
importance with special items as reward for killing them or perhaps to help
protect them.
The options are endless, however I don't think we'll see a game like this
anywhere in near future, although I am confident that this will be eventually
where MMOs go.
Sponsor
