I have to agree with you on Star Trek. When I think of Star Trek, I think about exploring the universe. You know: "Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations — to boldly go where no man has gone before."
I think they should make an mmo that starts in the beginning and through exploring, research, discovering new things, etc.. the game advances from there.
I have to agree with you on Star Trek. When I think of Star Trek, I think about exploring the universe. You know: "Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations — to boldly go where no man has gone before."
I think they should make an mmo that starts in the beginning and through exploring, research, discovering new things, etc.. the game advances from there.
See - the thing is - does Cryptic have an exclusive license for a Trek MMO? Is it even possible for another Trek MMO to be released while the abombination known as STO is alive?
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
And regarding mystery, I wonder if it wouldn't be better to turn to Hanna Barbera and assemble a team of caroon favorites like Scooby Doo. I loved the Hardy Boys growing up, but they're just not as well known as Scooby and Shaggy. Any mystery game would be highly linear, though, and require a lot of writers. Once a mystery is solved, onto a cheat website it goes.
While I would like to see a mystery mmo I kind of had the same thought as above. I was never a big Hardy Boys fans vs some of the others that were out at the same time (something about a garbage dump secret hideout clubhouse) and would say a Scooby Doo mmo would bring in those that recognize the name and allow some supernatural elements (even if in the end it wasn't).
Having said that I'd rather see a mystery mmo based off of Adam-12 or Dragnet. Using the term mystery to mean finding out who did the crime. You pick an NPC partner that specializes in X skill (underworld contacts, finance etc...), pick a crime and go investigate.
I know we're trying to stay away from combat, but using one of the old cop shows as a template (more thinking, less shooting back then) you could have a low chance (1%?) that you might be invoived in PVE. I think that alone would help to bring new and experienced gamers to the plate.
Id like to see a Mechwarrior MMO, and I am fine with the audience we have now, I see no way in hell that little girls are going to play Nancy fracking Drew in an MMO format.
What we need is a generation of men with balls who can HTFU and be disciplined enough to succeed in mmos like EVE (we need more hardcore like that, not little girl detectives)
MechWarrior would be magnificent since the universe is deep and would allow for alliance, clan and individual PvP (PvE is for weak people). Through in some licensing with Thrustmaster for MechWarrior specific sticks and you have Gamer heaven.
While I think MMOs and episodic games are the future of PC Gaming (i made this prediction before WoW and Half-life 2) I hope to see more DEEP and HARDCORE mmos, not light fare as this article seems to suggest.
Harry Potter could be interesting if it is not made PG-13, the books are very adult in many themes and removing these would be a mistake.
The biggest omission in PC Gaming history is the fact that there is no Doctor Who MMO, WTF?! This would be so perfect and there is DECADES of material for it.
Think of the possibilities, WORKING your way up to being a companion (if you are lucky) and if you become one of the games top players you get transformed into a Time Lord. more games need to focus on accomplishment, and things that take months or even years to do.
I would love to see an MMO based upon H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos (his and others' writings). Might be tough to get the full experience (which almost always ends in death or insanity), but tracking down clues, exploring lost ruins in Central and Southern America, Africa, the Orient, etc... where you find odd clues to lost civilizations that might not have been human, or so lost sounds like a lot of fun to me.
That and/or 1920-40's Pulp or even one Based on Film Noir from the that time for the mystery end. Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew would seem to skew a little young for my taste. Hard-boiled Private Eyes, police detectives, armature sleuths, and spies etc... Quests could be to find missing items (Maltese Falcon), missing people (The Thin Man), root out a nest of Axis spies (13 Steps), or solve a murder (Most every Agatha Christie story or Alfred Hitchcock mystery). Minimal combat, maximum find and put the clues together.
I think there could of been quite a number of good top 5 games you could of put up.
I think, with some others - Pokemon should of been within the top 5.
For Pokemon, sure there is combat with levels and so forth, but due to all the new content and addtions that the series have put into place is that its not just combat anymore but a lifestyle of breeding, training, fashion, play and other things. Personally for myself i love MMOs and i have played at least all of them at one stage in my life even if it has been for a couple days to check it out - im a curious MMO gamer who likes trying everything lol.
But as i was 12 at the time when Pokemon was in its prime, i still think Pokemon still has a good amount of momentum to justify a MMO to not only bring in the fans of the series still, but to bring in the gamers who have been looking for a game like Pokemon but have not admit to wanting to playing it single player on gameboy. The Asian market is much higher in terms of Pokemon (according to a new news artical for Pokemon Heart/Soul) - I dont know how the western market is going with in terms of popularity.
Other than Pokemon, i think a good Mech game, properly done like i guess Mech Warrior? It would more than likely be combat orientated but incorporate more trading/crafting and possibly politics more aswell. But in terms of bringing new demograpgic audiance to the genre of MMO, i think it would do the trick. Alot of possiblity - if done right.
With any MMO IP - It being Harry Potter, Star Trek, Pokemon, Mech Warrior - anything - It as to be done right...what surprisingly is very hard to alot of developers...some get it totally wrong, others get half way there while some are close to it but just out of reach.
I personally can't wait for lets say a 5-10 year range and see what type of MMO's will be created and released. Im hoping by that time technology and the minds of the developers have rised to a new level that would finally bring a new experience that everyone can enjoy - will be calling it the next-gen mmo i guess.
But we shall see - time will tell . Till then all we can do is wish and hope something good comes out of all these articals and discussions on the forums that maybe the devs will intake all the info from the customers that something good will come out in the next few years.
I'm a girl and I wouldn't play a single MMO on this list. Whenever they design games for us they always make horrendous stereotypical boring games.
MMO's are for girls anyway. You get a virtual doll and get to dress it up in a ton of pretty clothes. In most you can get married, form relationships and yes there is combat, girls like the combat to.
Designing things purely for one demographic isolates a entire demographic. Just blend the best of both worlds into one game and everyone will be happy.
I'm a girl and I wouldn't play a single MMO on this list. Whenever they design games for us they always make horrendous stereotypical boring games. MMO's are for girls anyway. You get a virtual doll and get to dress it up in a ton of pretty clothes. In most you can get married, form relationships and yes there is combat, girls like the combat to. Designing things purely for one demographic isolates a entire demographic. Just blend the best of both worlds into one game and everyone will be happy.
Granted I am not a girl, but just from what I have seen games made for girls are always pretty poorly done. I think the devs that are mostly made up of men would think lets make it cute and add lots of pink, the girls will love it.
As far as mmos go I think the biggest drawback is the comunities themselves. Hard to do form relationships and get married in a game like you said when everyone is just in the mentality of getting better gear, and being very competitive. So really in order to bring more people into these games, we need a way to foster and get a nice mature cominuty where everyone is welcome, and people can play how they want to play.
Thank God you put Harry Potter at the top of this list. It's about time this idea caught on. I've been trying to get people interested in an MMO niche for Harry Potter and I think you putting it at the top of this list will help. I can't thank you enough.
There's a weekly top five ist (if I'm right) and I highly doubt this is going to do anything to help get an mmo developed for the game maybe it's my desire to preserve my hobby for myself but I'm not looking forward to the day when my daughter is playing a HP mmo while telling me that TOR is lame....
but yeah, to call this game Fantastic is like calling Twilight the Godfather of vampire movies....
I always thought if you must have a sci-fi, space opera combat game, Star Trek would be the last on my list. Sure, DS-9 had combats but it simply paled in comparison to another series from the same time: Babylon 5.
Now that would be a killer IP to have as an MMO. Real combat, races that looked and where radically different (instead of the just having a wierd set of ears or nose). And the feeling of unpredictability dread and hope at the same time that no other space opera has ever had.
I don't think a Harry Potter MMO will ever happen. The most this IP will ever see is cheesy console games based off the *movies*. It's a shame really and I hope I'm wrong.
Id like to see a Mechwarrior MMO, and I am fine with the audience we have now, I see no way in hell that little girls are going to play Nancy fracking Drew in an MMO format. What we need is a generation of men with balls who can HTFU and be disciplined enough to succeed in mmos like EVE (we need more hardcore like that, not little girl detectives) MechWarrior would be magnificent since the universe is deep and would allow for alliance, clan and individual PvP (PvE is for weak people). Through in some licensing with Thrustmaster for MechWarrior specific sticks and you have Gamer heaven. While I think MMOs and episodic games are the future of PC Gaming (i made this prediction before WoW and Half-life 2) I hope to see more DEEP and HARDCORE mmos, not light fare as this article seems to suggest. Harry Potter could be interesting if it is not made PG-13, the books are very adult in many themes and removing these would be a mistake. The biggest omission in PC Gaming history is the fact that there is no Doctor Who MMO, WTF?! This would be so perfect and there is DECADES of material for it. Think of the possibilities, WORKING your way up to being a companion (if you are lucky) and if you become one of the games top players you get transformed into a Time Lord. more games need to focus on accomplishment, and things that take months or even years to do. I'll go back to EVE now, enjoy, lol.
Yours in Hardcore Grognard Plasma, Star*Dagger
Well the people who play the Mechwarrior games also play MMOs. Especially now, since there hasn't been a new Mech title in almost a decade.
I'm an example of that. I played MW4 online for about 3 years and after burn out set in I moved straight to the MMO genre and have been here ever since. The article here is talking about pulling in ppl who are fans of IPs that don't even know what a MMO is or probably haven't played a video game since the late 80's (nancy drew fans for example.)
I agreed with all but three of your choices. I there should be a Star Trek MMORPG as you described and not the combat oriented one. Second the Harry Potter IP MMORPG if done should be done by Blizzard. Nobody else could do it justice. ^_^
I love the anonymity of forums so I can say this without fear of my coworkers finding out...Gimme a Harry Potter MMO and I'll never leave the house...oh wait...
Although I think an exploration/diplomacy-oriented Star Trek Online game would be awesome, I doubt it's feasible. I'd rather see that being made into a deep single player game.
HP Lovecraft would make a beastly MMO if done right, it's too bad it's not on this list since it wouldn't really be about fighting.
As for the Potter universe, I'd love to see a game (once again I think single player or Neverwinter Nights-type of multiplayer) where you start as a first year student at a magic school and live your way through the years until graduation. Definitely not something easy to create as an MMO but I think it would offer the most interesting setting. Expansions could expand the world after graduation offering different jobs, etc.
For these three IPs, I think they can all be made into very interesting games with little emphasis on combat. Force people to use their heads for a change, mysteries and social interaction for the win!
there are many types of players that can be described as being mostly one type more than others
WARMONGER: Thes guys are out for the action be it hack and slash or race cars
ROLEPLAYER: this type loces delving into their alternate persona and getting immersed in this alternate life and all that surounds it
SOCIALIZER: this type of player loves grouping and chating with other people sometimes doing nothing else in game except maby crafting or farming or other semi focused endever.
PUZZLER: this type loves mysteries and puzzles possibly agility chalanges and the like
BUILDER: this type of player tends to love crafting and changing the world be it a house or road or bridge or tower
ACHIEVER: this person likes leveling getting awards and achieveing goals especially the recognition badges medals reputation.
EXPLORER: this type of player likes to explore the world and discover all there is to discover usually including the systems of the game
HELPER: this type of person wants to get into a position skill or level wise to be able to assist other players
LEADER: this type of player wants to be in a position of authority organizing or comanding other players many are kin leaders sinse thare are usually no king or bishop or mage master positions available in that MMOs like to think of their worlds.
the TRUMP this type is out to own everything houses castles ships have 30 million in gold in the bank have a private army luxury is an understatement.
sadly most games focus almost entirly on the combat, even the economy is based on weapons and armor and all important crafts are combat based.. actually many real crafts are life based usually the processing of foodstuff and storage such as pottery and basket weaving
just think of crossing a derert in most MMOs when water is trivial so is the trip accross a desert and there missing out on so much possible intrinsic game content hell the trip is half the quest! its like,, do you try to carry enough supplies? do you detour to oasis or wells along the way? do you hire someone that can find or summon water? jorses? or camels? or on foot? just to name a few
warmongers say that this stuff gets in the way of their killin and is boring (and true a bad developer can make this a living hell) but just like a good GM great content can make the walls melt away.
FOOD is allways one of the prime things I look for in an MMO,, how important is it? is it practical and fit in the genra? is it more than just a buff
weather and climate ive yet to see seasons in a game let alone that effect the charactors and what they wear.
MMOs tend to be rather small and their scope is narrow few if any have working siege engines or boats/ships I cant think of any where the ENDGAME is anything more than infine raid grind or PVP
and ALL MMOs are boringly STATIC no mater how many mobs you kill or bosses you banish the world is allways the same there isnt even any fake changes or shifts
also MMOS have a total lack of DRAMA. just look at any decent movie, tv show or novel and you will see gobs of drama
players rarly bond with a game because there isnt anything for them to bond with, burn down their home town and they could care less they either just get out of the way or they kill "for the EXP" (boy talk about derailing the roleplay train) ask a local cop why he killed that robber and I doubt he will say for the expirence and the phat loot!
make a world, not a game, we dont want another game.
I always thought if you must have a sci-fi, space opera combat game, Star Trek would be the last on my list. Sure, DS-9 had combats but it simply paled in comparison to another series from the same time: Babylon 5. Now that would be a killer IP to have as an MMO. Real combat, races that looked and where radically different (instead of the just having a wierd set of ears or nose). And the feeling of unpredictability dread and hope at the same time that no other space opera has ever had. And I would love to fly a Vorlon ship...
look up a failed game called SEED
great idea.. absolutly terrible development
the theme was more of a teraforming fronteer colinization type of thing..
you wake up (kind of a clone or tube baby) and your in a huge crashed colony/teraforming ship distruction everywhere things need repair and maintence supplies need to be discovered and organized and so forth this game ultimatly progresses to move outside and or underground,, players know nearly nothing about the planet they are on or its star system it could be earth like or totally alien even which way is north (if there is a north) isnt known or the weather,, what you can eat,, if there is intelligent life
make a world, not a game, we dont want another game.
Comments
They already have one.. google Red Light Center lol.
I have to agree with you on Star Trek. When I think of Star Trek, I think about exploring the universe. You know: "Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations — to boldly go where no man has gone before."
I think they should make an mmo that starts in the beginning and through exploring, research, discovering new things, etc.. the game advances from there.
See - the thing is - does Cryptic have an exclusive license for a Trek MMO? Is it even possible for another Trek MMO to be released while the abombination known as STO is alive?
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
While I would like to see a mystery mmo I kind of had the same thought as above. I was never a big Hardy Boys fans vs some of the others that were out at the same time (something about a garbage dump secret hideout clubhouse) and would say a Scooby Doo mmo would bring in those that recognize the name and allow some supernatural elements (even if in the end it wasn't).
Having said that I'd rather see a mystery mmo based off of Adam-12 or Dragnet. Using the term mystery to mean finding out who did the crime. You pick an NPC partner that specializes in X skill (underworld contacts, finance etc...), pick a crime and go investigate.
I know we're trying to stay away from combat, but using one of the old cop shows as a template (more thinking, less shooting back then) you could have a low chance (1%?) that you might be invoived in PVE. I think that alone would help to bring new and experienced gamers to the plate.
SWG (pre-cu) - AoC (pre-f2p) - PotBS (pre-boarder) - DDO - LotRO (pre-f2p) - STO (pre-f2p) - GnH (beta tester) - SWTOR - Neverwinter
Was out of the ordinary and quite enjoyful, i hope you guys write similar articles like this in the future!
Id like to see a Mechwarrior MMO, and I am fine with the audience we have now, I see no way in hell that little girls are going to play Nancy fracking Drew in an MMO format.
What we need is a generation of men with balls who can HTFU and be disciplined enough to succeed in mmos like EVE (we need more hardcore like that, not little girl detectives)
MechWarrior would be magnificent since the universe is deep and would allow for alliance, clan and individual PvP (PvE is for weak people). Through in some licensing with Thrustmaster for MechWarrior specific sticks and you have Gamer heaven.
While I think MMOs and episodic games are the future of PC Gaming (i made this prediction before WoW and Half-life 2) I hope to see more DEEP and HARDCORE mmos, not light fare as this article seems to suggest.
Harry Potter could be interesting if it is not made PG-13, the books are very adult in many themes and removing these would be a mistake.
The biggest omission in PC Gaming history is the fact that there is no Doctor Who MMO, WTF?! This would be so perfect and there is DECADES of material for it.
Think of the possibilities, WORKING your way up to being a companion (if you are lucky) and if you become one of the games top players you get transformed into a Time Lord. more games need to focus on accomplishment, and things that take months or even years to do.
I'll go back to EVE now, enjoy, lol.
Yours in Hardcore Grognard Plasma,
Star*Dagger
I would love to see an MMO based upon H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos (his and others' writings). Might be tough to get the full experience (which almost always ends in death or insanity), but tracking down clues, exploring lost ruins in Central and Southern America, Africa, the Orient, etc... where you find odd clues to lost civilizations that might not have been human, or so lost sounds like a lot of fun to me.
That and/or 1920-40's Pulp or even one Based on Film Noir from the that time for the mystery end. Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew would seem to skew a little young for my taste. Hard-boiled Private Eyes, police detectives, armature sleuths, and spies etc... Quests could be to find missing items (Maltese Falcon), missing people (The Thin Man), root out a nest of Axis spies (13 Steps), or solve a murder (Most every Agatha Christie story or Alfred Hitchcock mystery). Minimal combat, maximum find and put the clues together.
<link>http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8204/8245379178_45a58cec29.jpg</link>;
Great list
.
. Till then all we can do is wish and hope something good comes out of all these articals and discussions on the forums that maybe the devs will intake all the info from the customers that something good will come out in the next few years.
I think there could of been quite a number of good top 5 games you could of put up.
I think, with some others - Pokemon should of been within the top 5.
For Pokemon, sure there is combat with levels and so forth, but due to all the new content and addtions that the series have put into place is that its not just combat anymore but a lifestyle of breeding, training, fashion, play and other things. Personally for myself i love MMOs and i have played at least all of them at one stage in my life even if it has been for a couple days to check it out - im a curious MMO gamer who likes trying everything lol.
But as i was 12 at the time when Pokemon was in its prime, i still think Pokemon still has a good amount of momentum to justify a MMO to not only bring in the fans of the series still, but to bring in the gamers who have been looking for a game like Pokemon but have not admit to wanting to playing it single player on gameboy. The Asian market is much higher in terms of Pokemon (according to a new news artical for Pokemon Heart/Soul) - I dont know how the western market is going with in terms of popularity.
Other than Pokemon, i think a good Mech game, properly done like i guess Mech Warrior? It would more than likely be combat orientated but incorporate more trading/crafting and possibly politics more aswell. But in terms of bringing new demograpgic audiance to the genre of MMO, i think it would do the trick. Alot of possiblity - if done right.
With any MMO IP - It being Harry Potter, Star Trek, Pokemon, Mech Warrior - anything - It as to be done right...what surprisingly is very hard to alot of developers...some get it totally wrong, others get half way there while some are close to it but just out of reach.
I personally can't wait for lets say a 5-10 year range and see what type of MMO's will be created and released. Im hoping by that time technology and the minds of the developers have rised to a new level that would finally bring a new experience that everyone can enjoy - will be calling it the next-gen mmo i guess.
But we shall see - time will tell
I'm a girl and I wouldn't play a single MMO on this list. Whenever they design games for us they always make horrendous stereotypical boring games.
MMO's are for girls anyway. You get a virtual doll and get to dress it up in a ton of pretty clothes. In most you can get married, form relationships and yes there is combat, girls like the combat to.
Designing things purely for one demographic isolates a entire demographic. Just blend the best of both worlds into one game and everyone will be happy.
A lego mmo has been in development for the last 3 years. http://universe.lego.com
Granted I am not a girl, but just from what I have seen games made for girls are always pretty poorly done. I think the devs that are mostly made up of men would think lets make it cute and add lots of pink, the girls will love it.
As far as mmos go I think the biggest drawback is the comunities themselves. Hard to do form relationships and get married in a game like you said when everyone is just in the mentality of getting better gear, and being very competitive. So really in order to bring more people into these games, we need a way to foster and get a nice mature cominuty where everyone is welcome, and people can play how they want to play.
There's a weekly top five ist (if I'm right) and I highly doubt this is going to do anything to help get an mmo developed for the game maybe it's my desire to preserve my hobby for myself but I'm not looking forward to the day when my daughter is playing a HP mmo while telling me that TOR is lame....
but yeah, to call this game Fantastic is like calling Twilight the Godfather of vampire movies....
You might not have to wait all that long for the second part of that to happen.
"" Voice acting isn't an RPG element....it's just a production value." - grumpymel2
Harry Potter = Wizard101
Forum signatures are stupid and annoying. I've turned mine off.
I get a Raging Clue just thinking about a Hardy Boys MMO.
I always thought if you must have a sci-fi, space opera combat game, Star Trek would be the last on my list. Sure, DS-9 had combats but it simply paled in comparison to another series from the same time: Babylon 5.
Now that would be a killer IP to have as an MMO. Real combat, races that looked and where radically different (instead of the just having a wierd set of ears or nose). And the feeling of unpredictability dread and hope at the same time that no other space opera has ever had.
And I would love to fly a Vorlon ship...
I don't think a Harry Potter MMO will ever happen. The most this IP will ever see is cheesy console games based off the *movies*. It's a shame really and I hope I'm wrong.
One can only hope though.
Well the people who play the Mechwarrior games also play MMOs. Especially now, since there hasn't been a new Mech title in almost a decade.
I'm an example of that. I played MW4 online for about 3 years and after burn out set in I moved straight to the MMO genre and have been here ever since. The article here is talking about pulling in ppl who are fans of IPs that don't even know what a MMO is or probably haven't played a video game since the late 80's (nancy drew fans for example.)
The only comment I have for this is combine the ideas of the Hardy Boys/ Nancy Drew concept with Harry Potter and you would have a winner.
Basically Harry Potter was less about combat andmore about mysteries that needed solving.
Say hello, To the things you've left behind. They are more a part of your life now that you can't touch them.
I still want a real DDO. Make a tabletop gaming MMO.
I agreed with all but three of your choices. I there should be a Star Trek MMORPG as you described and not the combat oriented one. Second the Harry Potter IP MMORPG if done should be done by Blizzard. Nobody else could do it justice. ^_^
I love the anonymity of forums so I can say this without fear of my coworkers finding out...Gimme a Harry Potter MMO and I'll never leave the house...oh wait...
Although I think an exploration/diplomacy-oriented Star Trek Online game would be awesome, I doubt it's feasible. I'd rather see that being made into a deep single player game.
HP Lovecraft would make a beastly MMO if done right, it's too bad it's not on this list since it wouldn't really be about fighting.
As for the Potter universe, I'd love to see a game (once again I think single player or Neverwinter Nights-type of multiplayer) where you start as a first year student at a magic school and live your way through the years until graduation. Definitely not something easy to create as an MMO but I think it would offer the most interesting setting. Expansions could expand the world after graduation offering different jobs, etc.
For these three IPs, I think they can all be made into very interesting games with little emphasis on combat. Force people to use their heads for a change, mysteries and social interaction for the win!
there are many types of players that can be described as being mostly one type more than others
WARMONGER: Thes guys are out for the action be it hack and slash or race cars
ROLEPLAYER: this type loces delving into their alternate persona and getting immersed in this alternate life and all that surounds it
SOCIALIZER: this type of player loves grouping and chating with other people sometimes doing nothing else in game except maby crafting or farming or other semi focused endever.
PUZZLER: this type loves mysteries and puzzles possibly agility chalanges and the like
BUILDER: this type of player tends to love crafting and changing the world be it a house or road or bridge or tower
ACHIEVER: this person likes leveling getting awards and achieveing goals especially the recognition badges medals reputation.
EXPLORER: this type of player likes to explore the world and discover all there is to discover usually including the systems of the game
HELPER: this type of person wants to get into a position skill or level wise to be able to assist other players
LEADER: this type of player wants to be in a position of authority organizing or comanding other players many are kin leaders sinse thare are usually no king or bishop or mage master positions available in that MMOs like to think of their worlds.
the TRUMP this type is out to own everything houses castles ships have 30 million in gold in the bank have a private army luxury is an understatement.
sadly most games focus almost entirly on the combat, even the economy is based on weapons and armor and all important crafts are combat based.. actually many real crafts are life based usually the processing of foodstuff and storage such as pottery and basket weaving
just think of crossing a derert in most MMOs when water is trivial so is the trip accross a desert and there missing out on so much possible intrinsic game content hell the trip is half the quest! its like,, do you try to carry enough supplies? do you detour to oasis or wells along the way? do you hire someone that can find or summon water? jorses? or camels? or on foot? just to name a few
warmongers say that this stuff gets in the way of their killin and is boring (and true a bad developer can make this a living hell) but just like a good GM great content can make the walls melt away.
FOOD is allways one of the prime things I look for in an MMO,, how important is it? is it practical and fit in the genra? is it more than just a buff
weather and climate ive yet to see seasons in a game let alone that effect the charactors and what they wear.
MMOs tend to be rather small and their scope is narrow few if any have working siege engines or boats/ships I cant think of any where the ENDGAME is anything more than infine raid grind or PVP
and ALL MMOs are boringly STATIC no mater how many mobs you kill or bosses you banish the world is allways the same there isnt even any fake changes or shifts
also MMOS have a total lack of DRAMA. just look at any decent movie, tv show or novel and you will see gobs of drama
players rarly bond with a game because there isnt anything for them to bond with, burn down their home town and they could care less they either just get out of the way or they kill "for the EXP" (boy talk about derailing the roleplay train) ask a local cop why he killed that robber and I doubt he will say for the expirence and the phat loot!
make a world, not a game, we dont want another game.
look up a failed game called SEED
great idea.. absolutly terrible development
the theme was more of a teraforming fronteer colinization type of thing..
you wake up (kind of a clone or tube baby) and your in a huge crashed colony/teraforming ship distruction everywhere things need repair and maintence supplies need to be discovered and organized and so forth this game ultimatly progresses to move outside and or underground,, players know nearly nothing about the planet they are on or its star system it could be earth like or totally alien even which way is north (if there is a north) isnt known or the weather,, what you can eat,, if there is intelligent life
make a world, not a game, we dont want another game.