"THE" Game, the ONE game to rule them all?

vveaver_online

How come everyone seems to be looking for that one big game, that game that everyone will enjoy, the "wow killer"?

"wow killer" = Not everyone even liked wow to begin with, most people i know never liked wow, not vanilla, not now.

 

Why would there ever be one game to rule them all? And does it matter? if a zone only can handle 50-150 players in the same area without LAG/CRASH/Slideshow? Do we need millions of players in the same game? From my experience a small community often makes a better and more personal game environment then a megaserver or crossrealm, whatever clusterfuck.. 

yes/no/maybe?

 

iridescence

Companies are the ones that have been  trying to make the "WoW killer" and appeal to everyone out of greed. I don't think players are asking for a WoW killer they're just asking for a good new MMO to play. Personally I   probably will never again play any blatant WoW  clones because I'm really tired of that formula of game.

 

sunandshadow

It is a nice fantasy to imagine all one's friends playing the same game, instead of scattered over 20 different MMOs.

Bolthar

I hate the idea of a WoW killer as much as I hated WoW. WoW killed the Warcraft experience and notice there hasn't been a peep on Warcraft 4. I know they tried and a lot of people must have drank the Kool-Aid but I didn't get hooked in the slightest. What I really wish is they worked on making a solid MMO that has enough different items within it to appeal to many different play types. The problem I am seeing is when you start to branch out like that you need enough employees with passions IN THOSE FIELDS to make it all coherent. Otherwise things feel like a slapped on afterthought. I also notice a lot of things look at MMORPGS and just try and find what they can do to get more money on the backend. This will generate themselves money but this will also lose players like me that don't care for cash shops and want added content as expansions only. The perfect MMO will NEVER be made. Some players like cash shops others don't, some like raiding others don't, some like to pvp others don't, and so on and so on. I think what most MMOs lose sight of these days is a direction for their content to be taking and they just slap on a patch to add something and hoping it will be praised.

Don't tell me where I have to go in your mmo I want to explore.

Don't tell me I can't do something in the mmo because of something picked at the beginning character creation screen if I want to do it let me.

Don't slap my wrist when I die and take a few gold pieces. Make me work to get back stuff and ensure my items are secure.

Don't make it so everyone has the same city experience add in things like factions and use them to mold my world experience.

Make it so the MMO world is constantly in flux with zones changing and having mutltiple types of enemies of different levels.

The above are the things MMOs should be working to accomplish. A truly dynamic MMO world still has YET to be made and this in itself would draw a LARGE number of masses I am sure.

Gravarg

WoW is THE game.  Proof is that everything is compared to it.  Everyone wants the WoW-Killer.  Just face it, people hate on it, because it's simply the game. 

 

Not saying, there are other games to play, I play several games, but WoW is THE game that all developers want to make.

Albatroes

Companies dont want to make WoW-Killers, they want to make games that profit like wow, that's all. Simple business. That is why most games have the same template as wow. The gaming industry will always be about money first, innovation/player desire second. Also I do applaud FFXIV somewhat since they do listen to their player base a little, but still lack in basic "WoW" mechanics since they do copy the game quite a bit. Anyway, if people want to play together, that's on them. I believe someone said it best that the timing of WoW was just good, not the actual game itself. Competition from 10 years vs now is immense and literally anyone can make an mmo now.

DamonVile

I haven't played any of the big mmos that have launched this year...or last year. So not everyone is looking for that "wow killer"

I would like to find a game I loved as much as wow or at least play one for as long. My tastes have changed since then though and companies still seem to be trying to remake wow, so I think I'll be waiting a while.

Helleri

Warning, Novel Imminent:

 

Abraham Lincoln was once heard to say about being president: "You can please some of the people, some of the time;  All of the people, some of the time; Some of the people, all of the time; But, you can never please all of the people all of the time."

 

This is of course one of his more popular quotes. And, it has often been paraphrased, rephrased, and excerpted. By many people for many reasons. But, I present it here in full as an example of what any reasonable individual in a position of power must come to realize at some point. That being that while perfection is possible. It is also relative to perspective. Change the perspective and you change the limits of perfection. And what was perfect from one vantage point will always show itself to be flawed from another.

 

This is the problem with making a "Perfect" or "Ultimate" MMORPG. Each persons idea of what that looks like can be (though not always necessarily is) different from the next. When from out different perspectives we can all see certain aspects that should look good from any angle are so. We can agree that an MMORPG is good. But each person will see a flaw in something someone else sees as flawless. With this also comes the complication of communicating these imperfections to the person next to you. one who has only seen it from one angle and cannot know exactly what you are talking about without coming to your vantage point. And so, we can never fully agree to begin with, about what this ultimate MMORPG would look like for every one concerned.

 

And, I would think it to be bad judgement to assume that the people who make and publish our MMORPG's don't already know this all to well. And, it can not reasonably be some recent realization. We've been at this going on nearly 20 years now ("this" being playing and making MMORPG's). And many of the people involved in this seen were involved in its predating scenes as well. So, it stands to reason that not even WoW's creators would view it as being the ultimate or even the very best possible for it's time.

 

No one has'; No one is; And, No one ever will make the ultimate MMORPG. That is not what WoW was (or is) and not something any one who has tried to gain multiple perspectives to get a better big picture believes possible.

 

What was (is) WoW? PewdiePie...in principle any way. It was not entirely unlike things that already existed. But, it was in an ideal position to take advantage of great opportunity, and did so. By the time WoW came along the commercials for games that were every where in the 90's had died down. People were not unfamiliar with this kind of commercial. But, compared to the video game boom (after the 83' bust) there were not nearly as many on air (there were still plenty though just not as much). However, they had proved viable for boosting sales massively in the past. And, EQ had proved this could be done on TV for MMORPG's, as apposed to just one off tittles or serial games (example): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlhlNZixKLk

 

With plenty of money from Warcraft and Starcraft and merchandizing on those. Blizzard was already well advertised and had the cash flow to fund Some commercial spots for it's MMORPG...But, where other gaming commercials were campy at best. And, terribly corny and almost painful to watch at worst. Blizzard aligned itself with all the right people for theirs. And, their commercials feature celebrities, were relevant, clever, entertaining, and a little bit epic at the end. This when Friday night TV and Saturday morning cartoons were still a lot of peoples kick off to the weekend. Wow's creators positioned their game perfectly to get all the attention. And, then dominated...almost as if they were already really good at things that had to do with strategy...hmmm *sarcastic*. They had already been advertising on TV in Asain countries...But, when they brought it to English speaking audiences. The game really blew up. (example): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V1QB89CCz4

 

This is an example of phenomenal marketing. It is what made WoW big (in the same way it made Pewdiepie big). Right place, right time, right decisions. Independent of being great by merit alone (though being very good doesn't hurt). And, it wasn't just TV. Blizzard aligned itself with world stage brands like Coca-Cola. WoW was everywhere you turned. At this point you could have been forgiven for not knowing what EverQuest was. But, you would have been hard pressed to find someone who had not heard of World of Warcraft (and even if they had not played. knew someone who did). Just like even if your not "A Bro" you are probably at least vaguely familiar with Pewdiepie (I am not btw, a bro....he annoys the heck out of me. And, in my opinion, success at that level. With what I view to be no good reason, is only fairly explained by an advertising craze and social/peer pressure).

 

And, there can be no WoW-Killer. Because WoW owes a tremendous amount of its' success to circumstances that are no more. Tv is not watched as much as it used to be. We don't pay attention to product placement on things we buy as much because it is now ever present (there used to be a time where Coca-Cola advertising something on it's cans or bottles was intermittent). And, too many people not only have access to the internet. but the ability to publish themselves and their views. The Ideal circumstances for WoW's epic rise are gone. And, with it the opportunity for it to be topped until its so old and outdated that a mobile game can kill it and the point is mute. Because what you would need to topple a giant like WoW, would be bigger and better exposure. And the footing is too equalized now to ever gain that advantage.

Albatroes

Originally posted by Helleri

Warning, Novel Imminent:

 

Abraham Lincoln was once heard to say about being president: "You can please some of the people, some of the time;  All of the people, some of the time; Some of the people, all of the time; But, you can never please all of the people all of the time."

 

This is of course one of his more popular quotes. And, it has often been paraphrased, rephrased, and excerpted. By many people for many reasons. But, I present it here in full as an example of what any reasonable individual in a position of power must come to realize at some point. That being that while perfection is possible. It is also relative to perspective. Change the perspective and you change the limits of perfection. And what was perfect from one vantage point will always show itself to be flawed from another.

 

This is the problem with making a "Perfect" or "Ultimate" MMORPG. Each persons idea of what that looks like can be (though not always necessarily is) different from the next. When from out different perspectives we can all see certain aspects that should look good from any angle are so. We can agree that an MMORPG is good. But each person will see a flaw in something someone else sees as flawless. With this also comes the complication of communicating these imperfections to the person next to you. one who has only seen it from one angle and cannot know exactly what you are talking about without coming to your vantage point. And so, we can never fully agree to begin with, about what this ultimate MMORPG would look like for every one concerned.

 

And, I would think it to be bad judgement to assume that the people who make and publish our MMORPG's don't already know this all to well. And, it can not reasonably be some recent realization. We've been at this going on nearly 20 years now ("this" being playing and making MMORPG's). And many of the people involved in this seen were involved in its predating scenes as well. So, it stands to reason that not even WoW's creators would view it as being the ultimate or even the very best possible for it's time.

 

No one has'; No one is; And, No one ever will make the ultimate MMORPG. That is not what WoW was (or is) and not something any one who has tried to gain multiple perspectives to get a better big picture believes possible.

 

What was (is) WoW? PewdiePie...in principle any way. It was not entirely unlike things that already existed. But, it was in an ideal position to take advantage of great opportunity, and did so. By the time WoW came along the commercials for games that were every where in the 90's had died down. People were not unfamiliar with this kind of commercial. But, compared to the video game boom (after the 83' bust) there were not nearly as many on air (there were still plenty though just not as much). However, they had proved viable for boosting sales massively in the past. And, EQ had proved this could be done on TV for MMORPG's, as apposed to just one off tittles or serial games (example): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlhlNZixKLk

 

With plenty of money from Warcraft and Starcraft and merchandizing on those. Blizzard was already well advertised and had the cash flow to fund Some commercial spots for it's MMORPG...But, where other gaming commercials were campy at best. And, terribly corny and almost painful to watch at worst. Blizzard aligned itself with all the right people for theirs. And, their commercials feature celebrities, were relevant, clever, entertaining, and a little bit epic at the end. This when Friday night TV and Saturday morning cartoons were still a lot of peoples kick off to the weekend. Wow's creators positioned their game perfectly to get all the attention. And, then dominated...almost as if they were already really good at things that had to do with strategy...hmmm *sarcastic*. They had already been advertising on TV in Asain countries...But, when they brought it to English speaking audiences. The game really blew up. (example): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V1QB89CCz4

 

This is an example of phenomenal marketing. It is what made WoW big (in the same way it made Pewdiepie big). Right place, right time, right decisions. Independent of being great by merit alone (though being very good doesn't hurt). And, it wasn't just TV. Blizzard aligned itself with world stage brands like Coca-Cola. WoW was everywhere you turned. At this point you could have been forgiven for not knowing what EverQuest was. But, you would have been hard pressed to find someone who had not heard of World of Warcraft (and even if they had not played. knew someone who did). Just like even if your not "A Bro" you are probably at least vaguely familiar with Pewdiepie (I am not btw, a bro....he annoys the heck out of me. And, in my opinion, success at that level. With what I view to be no good reason, is only fairly explained by an advertising craze and social/peer pressure).

 

And, there can be no WoW-Killer. Because WoW owes a tremendous amount of its' success to circumstances that are no more. Tv is not watched as much as it used to be. We don't pay attention to product placement on things we buy as much because it is now ever present (there used to be a time where Coca-Cola advertising something on it's cans or bottles was intermittent). And, too many people not only have access to the internet. but the ability to publish themselves and their views. The Ideal circumstances for WoW's epic rise are gone. And, with it the opportunity for it to be topped until its so old and outdated that a mobile game can kill it and the point is mute. Because what you would need to topple a giant like WoW, would be bigger and better exposure. And the footing is too equalized now to ever gain that advantage.

This was actually a good read, when are you releasing chapter 2?

rojoArcueid

there wont ever be a wow killer. WoW just happen to be holding the crown..... for 10 years straight lol, but yeah, that is a one in a life time thing. MMORPG as a genre will regain its glory again when companies finally stop looking at WoW to make ¨the next hardcore mmo¨.... pffffff.

iixviiiix

"The one rule them all" will be the one able to make them all .

It will be next generation game maker that allow people to craft they own (massively) multiplayer game and enjoy it with friends.

Tired of complaining , want to show them that what you said are right ? Make your own game and enjoy it.

 

Well , it still a dream lol .

Helleri

@Albatroes

Were there to be a "chapter two" (I was exaggerating with calling it a novel of course, lol, As it is only so respective to a typical expectancy on post length.) it would have to be on the role Dungeons & Dragons Online & Runescape played in the WoW-esque craze that followed (but also, kind of happened alongside this period)...

 

I usually pull posts like this before hitting submit. And, rewrite/amend them to be put up as Blog Posts on here (not that any one reads. But, it makes my opinion available without being in anyones way). And, even most of those I set to unpublished or stick into Microsoft word until I can work on them to a point where I feel they are ready to be published... I just simply didn't this time, lol.

nariusseldon

Originally posted by fardreamer

How come everyone seems to be looking for that one big game, that game that everyone will enjoy, the "wow killer"?

"wow killer" = Not everyone even liked wow to begin with, most people i know never liked wow, not vanilla, not now.

 

Why would there ever be one game to rule them all? And does it matter? if a zone only can handle 50-150 players in the same area without LAG/CRASH/Slideshow? Do we need millions of players in the same game? From my experience a small community often makes a better and more personal game environment then a megaserver or crossrealm, whatever clusterfuck.. 

yes/no/maybe?

 

no .. one game to rule them all is silly. I don't play just one video game.

Zorgo

I agree completely.

People are calling ESO and Wildstar failures because they didn't capture 100% of the mmo market. No one is on an internet campaign to make sure only ONE good movie is released each year; or ONE good TV show or ONE good novel. But any game which releases and doesn't capture the whole world's attention gets belittled and derided in the forums like they are worthy of shame.

But I think because EQ so singularly dominated the market at first, and then WoW eclipsed and dominated the market, people are waiting for that to happen again. 

In the beginning Ford dominated the market with the model T; but as the car industry evolved and now there are hundreds of cars to choose from rather than a handful, and no one is demanding a return to the good ol' days when ONE vehicle met every persons need.

Maybe in 10 more years people will have given up this pipe dream for a Utopian single game and instead support a robust market with a variety of games for a variety of people.

 

madazz

Since when has anyone expected there to be ONE game? No one has expected that. People just expect something to dethrone wow. Even the people who don't play it. I haven't read about anyone wanting a game for EVERYONE. The problem is that is what developers are trying to do. But the community... never heard any of us asking for a game that pleases everyone at once.... It's 100% not possible.

Beelzebobbie

Hate to say it since I really don't like wow but the only game that can be a wow-killer is World of Warcraft 2.

Can't think of anything else or am I wrong?

I personally would never play wow again but if wow 2 was to be released then I would have to give it a try, don't know why more then I have to.

I think we are all druged by blizzard

SEANMCAD

the game that rules them all is called 

Dungeons and Dragons Second Addition.

DocBrody

Star Citizen of course, everyone should know that by now.

 

most ambitious title of the decade.

nariusseldon

Originally posted by SEANMCAD

the game that rules them all is called 

Dungeons and Dragons Second Addition.

If you are referring to the pnp game, i highly doubt there are as many pnp players as even a decent size MMO, or online game.

 

SEANMCAD

Originally posted by nariusseldon

Originally posted by SEANMCAD

the game that rules them all is called 

Dungeons and Dragons Second Addition.

If you are referring to the pnp game, i highly doubt there are as many pnp players as even a decent size MMO, or online game.

 

I am and the reason I call it the king is because the entire MMO fantasy genre most likely would not exist if that game hand not been popular as it was

maji

While some single aspects have been improved, MMORPGs as a whole have become worse over time, so I doubt that there will be THE mmorpg.

Bathnor

Personally I am burnt out on all of these supposed WoW killers. If I wanted to play a game like WoW, I Would simply play WoW. One of my favorite MMOs is Runescape but over the years Jagex has tried to make the game less like Runescape and more like WoW. I won't get into my reasoning, but I don't even care to log in any more. I was a huge fan of Phantasy Star Online and was looking forward to Phantasy Star Online 2 being released here in the states, but at the rate things are developing, I am not holding my breath.

So lately I have been enjoying MMORPG. Minimally Multiplayer Offline Role Playing Games. I have been playing Dungeons and Dragons, 3.5E. I am usualy the DM, but my friend has given me a break and is currently running a game. I have been spending the time when I would normally work on my online games, I work on my next D&D campaign. Tabletop roleplaying games have been around since the 1600s but became more popular in the 1960s. These games led to computer and console versions. Personally I have found my WoW killer and that is gaming with my friends.

Sevenstar61

There can be no one game to rule them all, unless it has all components that all players like.

For me it would be interesting story, voice over, cutscenes, lots of quests, old fashion tab combat, no PvP or at least possiblity to be excluded from PvP.

For others it has to be action combat, no cutscenes etc.

For others it would be sandbox, with no quests, no levels.

For others it has to be F2P or B2P or P2P.

Some like fantasy, some modern, some sci-fi.

Some hate fantasy or modern or Sci-fi.

Some like space combat simulation, some hate it.

Etc... etc... etc

It's good that there are many games that might fit players preferences.  I cannot imagine one game which would combine all possible options and met it in one. Seems totally unpractical.

Loke666

Originally posted by fardreamer

How come everyone seems to be looking for that one big game, that game that everyone will enjoy, the "wow killer"?

"wow killer" = Not everyone even liked wow to begin with, most people i know never liked wow, not vanilla, not now.

Why would there ever be one game to rule them all? And does it matter? if a zone only can handle 50-150 players in the same area without LAG/CRASH/Slideshow? Do we need millions of players in the same game? From my experience a small community often makes a better and more personal game environment then a megaserver or crossrealm, whatever clusterfuck.. 

yes/no/maybe?

It is more to do about human psychology, people divide themselves into groups depending on what they like and compare themselves with other. People like to belong to a group and often distrust other groups, it an evolutionary rest.

In music pop is the most popular (which is of course why it is called "popular music" and pop fans consider it the best kind since it sells more records. People who enjoy things that doesn't sell so well (classical music fans, death metal, Goths and so on) often think pop as controversial crap and say they instead enjoy the art of making music... And so on.

It is the same with many gamers, they define themselves with the game they like.

Personally do I care more about finding and playing fun game then what happens to the rest or for that matter the salesnumber of the ones I like (as long as they are good enough to keep the dev company running with full staff so the game doesn't close down and I get new content). Then again do I nod when I pass other metal fans and say hi to people with T-shirts with band I like so I guess I got some mental conditioning as well.

Azaron_Nightblade

"The Big One" will always be the one that appeals to the widest audience, and even that one will have millions that don't like it, for many of the reasons Seven mentioned. (Unless they magically manage to make different servers that have different combinations of those features. Hence being different games entirely when it comes to gameplay)

Knowing what the majority of players want is also a good thing. WoW managed this by "borrowing" a lot of the most popular gameplay features from other MMO's.

And while other MMO developers still thought all their customers were incredibly hardcore gamers, that never left the basement and needed forced social interactions in a virtual world, Blizzard went "LOL, you guys, you're only tapping a tiny segment of your potential market. Here, let us show you how it's done." 

Unless some other MMO finds something that'll make their game appeal to an even wider audience, or gains some other huge advantage the rest doesn't have yet all we're going to see are a variety of niche games that appeal to their own groups of players. Whether it's action combat, story focused,  PvP centered, sandbox or themepark, etc...

Azaron_Nightblade

Originally posted by Loke666

Originally posted by fardreamer

How come everyone seems to be looking for that one big game, that game that everyone will enjoy, the "wow killer"?

"wow killer" = Not everyone even liked wow to begin with, most people i know never liked wow, not vanilla, not now.

Why would there ever be one game to rule them all? And does it matter? if a zone only can handle 50-150 players in the same area without LAG/CRASH/Slideshow? Do we need millions of players in the same game? From my experience a small community often makes a better and more personal game environment then a megaserver or crossrealm, whatever clusterfuck.. 

yes/no/maybe?

It is more to do about human psychology, people divide themselves into groups depending on what they like and compare themselves with other. People like to belong to a group and often distrust other groups, it an evolutionary rest.

In music pop is the most popular (which is of course why it is called "popular music" and pop fans consider it the best kind since it sells more records. People who enjoy things that doesn't sell so well (classical music fans, death metal, Goths and so on) often think pop as controversial crap and say they instead enjoy the art of making music... And so on.

It is the same with many gamers, they define themselves with the game they like.

Personally do I care more about finding and playing fun game then what happens to the rest or for that matter the salesnumber of the ones I like (as long as they are good enough to keep the dev company running with full staff so the game doesn't close down and I get new content). Then again do I nod when I pass other metal fans and say hi to people with T-shirts with band I like so I guess I got some mental conditioning as well.

"Birds of a feather" as the saying goes.