Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
The Secret World: Secretly Hyped
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
In Player Perspectives today, MMORPG.com columnist Isabelle Parsley takes a look at The Secret World currently in development by Funcom. Iz is ready to strap on her "frothing fangirl costume" for this one. Find out why and then let us know if you'll be donning yours too!
Over the years I've been an MMO-fangirl (sometimes for games best forgotten) and I've been a cynic, though in the last few years I've tried to stay somewhere in the more rational middle of that spectrum; if nothing else, it's better for one's blood pressure. Don't misunderstand me: there's nothing wrong with a bit of good old-fashioned enthusiasm – but there's also only so many times you can hear the promise that Game X will utterly reinvent the genre, only to end up with more of what's already out there, before you start watching the hype-machine with a leery and jaundiced eye.
Read more of Isabelle Parsley's Player Perspectives: Secretly Hyped.
)
Comments
Thank you, Isabella, for another well-written article. You're my favorite columnist here. I was a little wary of TSW because it looks so much like a Fallen Earth knockoff, but your enthusiasm is contagious. I'll be keeping my eye on this one.
My work here is done.
Really looking forward to this one and have been for quite a long time. I love non-level based progression. It is a big selling point for me. I'll gladly participate more in PV in a three-faction setup. It balances so much better than having just two. Modern day environment is going to be outstanding. I am going to enjoying running around in cities I ahve been in real life and wreak havoc.
Although I don't care either way about appearance gear vs. functional gear, I believe it will be a big selling point to those people for that kind of thing matters.
Gaming since Avalon Hill was making board games.
Played SWG, EVE, Fallen Earth, LOTRO, Rift, Vanguard, WoW, SWTOR, TSW, Tera
Tried Aoc, Aion, EQII, RoM, Vindictus, Darkfail, DDO, GW, PotBS
Liked the article I just have one comment though. Item decay; I don't like it. I thought I would because it's makes things more realistic but that was one the thousand things about ffxiv that I didn't like and wish I had never asked for in a game. I thinks it's one of those things that sounds cool "Oh yeah item decay = realistic and realism is good in a game" but then when you have to deal with it, it just becomes a pain and a chore. Then you realize the realism it adds isn't worth the nuisance after the 30th time you've had to hunt down a crafter to fix your stuff or the fact that you carry 2 of everything so you aren't worthless 50% of the time.
so many "i" "i" "i" in his article.....sounds like his own personal agenda.
Which FF Character Are You?
Loved the read.
While reading it something you wrote slapped me in the face and i was like what the crap... someone needs to make a game that mixes the genre's up. I'd love to be that person but im not gonna be.
Why isnt there a modern day sci-fi fantasy and whatever else MMO in one?
I cant possibly be the only person that thinks that would be awesome. Elves, Ogres, Robots, Humans, unicorns, cars, space, all that jazz and more of the jazzy jazz.
Oh for some reason i also thought of Parasite Eve while reading this article. It was just one of those games that was in its own league i thought.
Jeremiah 8:21 I weep for the hurt of my people; I stand amazed, silent, dumb with grief.
Join me on Twitch Facebook Twitter
I totally agree on item decay. Remember the old days of Diablo II when you couldn't afford to repair your stuff? Blech. If I want "realism", I walk out my front door and look at my ever degenerating car that needs repairs. I don't want that in my "relaxing" times.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
One should always look at a company's track record with there customers and how they respond to promises made and never kept. Funcom has a dismal record in my opion, There track record says TSW will be no different then AOC and the problems with there first mmo. " Let the Buyer Beware "
MAGA
i plan on waiting at least a year post release to be absolutely sure it's the wow killer i keep hearing it's going to be!
@binary_0011 -- considering it's my opinion column, who else's opinions should I be putting forth? My apologies. Send me the material and next time I'll write all about you!
@the item decay haters -- we'll get to that in a future column. Item decay has very rarely (ever?) been implemented in a way people could live with, but I think the notion that gear can't last forever is a founding element of player-based economies. For loot economies it actually doesn't make much sense, since item progression will inevitably lead to replacement anyway.
Now stop making me write that column before I'm ready!
Two things have dampened my enthusiasm for this title. First, I have strong doubts that Funcom can develop a game for the XBox without shortchanging the PC players. So far, mixing console and PC has proved to be a non-starter, especially for Funcom. The only reason I can think of that would make them stupid enough to try this again is Microsoft $$$.
The second turnoff is all the talk about teams. Groupers, of course, love having game mechanics that force others to play with them, but, as a confirmed soloist, I'm sick of shelling out a monthly subscription to develop content that I'll never see. Most games that focus on grouping wind up trying to draw back solo players when they can't maintain a decent player population.
I'm still watching to see how this all shakes out, but I'm not at all optimistic, as much as I'd like to see a decent game in this genre.
"Soloists and those who prefer small groups should never have to feel like they''re the ones getting the proverbial table scraps, as it were." - Scott Hartsman, Senior Producer, Everquest II
"People love groups. Its a fallacy that people want to play solo all the time." - Scott Hartsman, Executive Producer, Rift
Is AoC the only Funcom game you've ever played? I HAVE looked at their track record - the fact that they're behind TLJ and Dreamfall are enough for me. Nobody has a perfect record.
Ready to play it today.
I too am a Dragon, did the test three times. I should be a Templar, argh! :P
Most people come out as Dragon from the test, even when they like Illuminati or Templars more. Comes from Dragon being sort of in the middle I think, the faction of balance that sometimes shifts towards the Templars and another time shifts towards Illuminati.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
The problem with that is they've done 4 games. 2 MMOs, 2 non-MMOs.
Both of their MMOs had severe problems upon release, and took months and months to become acceptable.
They come up with good ideas for games (Across all 4), but they just have some weird hangup when it has come to releasing MMOs so far.
MMOs are a totally different beast from single player or smaller multiplayer games. Doing smaller games well is never a guarantee you can transfer it over to MMOs.
I came out as Illuminati. I'm not sure what that says about me.
yea me too,f**k the realism,i want so that when you hit someone with feather then his armor explodes into oblivion.
Generation P
Great article, Isabella. Good to see I'm not the only fangirl that is bat shit crazy about the possibilities of this title and in love with Ragnar Tournquist's storytelling abilities.
President of The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club
Where does it say this game is going to be for XBOX? I must have missed that, as I thought it was PC only. ???????
President of The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club
Warhammer taught me to tone down my hype sensitivity. It showed me thet wonderful Ideas (introduced by enthused producers/writers) along with ass kickin' trailers do not an mmo make.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKOhzfkCdbY try 720p fullscreen
The more I read this site (and others) and see results, the more I am leaning toward one thing that makes an MMO kick ass. That is of all things the character anamations and battle sounds and resulting animations and sounds from what my character does. There have been a whole bunch of MMO's released with great ideas/stories/mechanics.etc. that have had what I call "paper doll" annimation. When chars (avatars) move in 99% of MMO's they have no "weight" ... no "inertia" no real 3d. It is very difficult to become immersed in a paper doll.
i am not saying graphics have to be true to life .. only "lively'.. So far I have only seen this quality of annimation in wow even though cartoonish. I know feet go through the ground sometimes and other solid objects, but all in all when moving or fighting the chars "feel" real. I have tried many MMO's and even those with good ideas and mechanics did not make me feel like I was a part of the world. Hopefuly Funcom will someday get animation right .... we shall see.
Still, you are the best writer on this site. Keep it up.
If Ya Ain't Dyin, Ya Ain't Tryin
The Dragon comments are probably very telling - many of the people I know come out that way even if they didn't think they would. It's possible there's too much weighting in the questions themselves.
That said, I probably AM a Dragon. My Chaotic-Good leanings would indicate as much. I'll follow orders, but only if they seem sensible, and I have no particular yen for world domination.
I'm a little trepidatious at the guild-membership divide, but I can see why it has to be that way. I just don't know how it's going to pan out when you can't guild up with your buddies. On the other hand, with all the other communication tools we have these days (IM, voice, etc. etc.), it may not make that much of a difference and it might just create some interesting tensions.
Funcom is enough to keep me away.I bought AO I bought AoC.I watched funcom sit and lie and treat there customers like crap.I will not buy another game from those thiefs again as someone else said buyer beware but go ahead and buy it at release so the rest of us can say I told you so when they release another half done bug ridden piece of garbage onto the market for a quick payday.Funcom is not like most mmogs Funcom cash grabs on release and doesn't think long term subs they hype a game up a ton get tons to buy it and thats what they depend on.
Isn't it obvious? That you must chose Templars, of course, no doubt about it, the test is just that, a test to see if you can prick through it, not just do what is told but can grab and find your true calling
Meh. Whatever, mate. You know, some people might hold on to their grudge for years after years, feeling forever 'betrayed' because of a SWG NGE or an AoC launch or whatever, most people however just move on, they might be more wary or more skeptic in follow up times, but don't hold lifelong grudges for something as silly as a game.
I had a lot of fun with AoC, also with Dreamfall and The Longest Journey that Tornquist made, the same person who is now TSW's game director. So I'll do what most sane people do, and that is wait and see how news develops and judge a game for what it offers in itself, not judge it by some perceived wrongdoings in the past by the larger overall company.
The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's
The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."
I am not saying this game will certainly be great, but you should not look at just the track record of the past game or two from a company, especially when the lead designer and creative heads were completely different people. Not to mention the thematic content of the game is totally different. Ragnar Tornquist was in charge of The Longest Journey, which I know was a while ago, but was a ridiculously amazing award-winning gem of a game.
Age of Conan was a colossal failure of a game, and I hate almost everything about it, which is s shame, because I love the lore and the stories. But the same people are not making the Secret World. Remember, a company as large as Funcom has different people doing different things. The man doing this made one of the best games I have ever touched. That alone will make me try it. But if the game is still awful, I will be one of the first to fly into a blind, white-hot rage.
Until then, I am planning to wear my frothing fangirl costume.
"Gamers will no longer buy the argument that every MMO requires a subscription fee to offset server and bandwidth costs. It's not true you know it, and they know it." Jeff Strain, co-founder of ArenaNet, 2007
WTF? No subscription fee?
Funcom certanly proved with AoC that they know how to build hype, but I really like the concept of TSW and will probably give it a try unless beta feedback screams RUN!. There is nothing else on the horizon that grabs my interest at the moment, so I'll follow this one for now