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Is 2014 the end of AAA Themepark MMO's for awhile
Lazzaro
Member UncommonPosts: 548
It seems that a lot of the bigger MMO's announced and being released in the next few years are straying away from the 'WOW clone' and pushing more towards the 'sandboxish' type game play that we use to have before WOW took off.
I think everything is cyclical and after years of sandbox mmo's will see themepark mmo's come back, just like it's doing now.
Thought?
Comments
no most sandbox have FFA PvP that keeps most people away. not a steep learning curve.
Philosophy of MMO Game Design
after about 10 years of garbage we can only hope.
most of the bigger mmo's i see are still following the WoW model. ESO, WildStar, etc.
Be the Ultimate Ninja! Play Billy Vs. SNAKEMAN today!
and thats why 2014 is just another terrible year for MMOs so far.
It would be nice if ArcheAge could finally be the game to bridge the gap and allow both camps to have fun and have an impact on the game world.
Not true at all, many older sandbox games had limited or no pvp at all such as the tale of the desert.
Sandbox does not mean open world ffa pvp, its a misconception. A sandbox would do well with very limited pvp or choice pvp, not forced like so many think. Just like many think sandbox games dont have missions or story. All misconceptions.
So very true, I'm afraid. If games like ArcheAge are sandboxes then Vanguard is (soon was) as well.
Once upon a time ...
Yup and they don't really even have to be a sandbox, they just have to say they have sandbox elements and people will call it the holy grail of future mmos that can do no wrong even though they're playing wow part 56 again.
I can only say, dont fool yourself... i dont think many people could adjust to playing full Sandbox featured games... Not even EQ next will be a sandbox game, sure people can help develop part of the world... But its still going to be very much quest and lore based.
But with game like EQ next we will see Themeparks getting some of the flair seen in sandboxers, less ahndholding, more freedom...
But in the end, a full AAA sandbox is like a dead baby, it will never come alive
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
Warning! Warning! Dead baby zombies ahead!!!!
Lol but in all seriousness you might be wrong about this.
An Indie studio will have to launch one first and make millions and then the AAA studios will follow suit rather quickly.
I'm involved in this http://lifeisfeudal.com/ and it is set to explode by indicators over at steam(http://steamcommunity.com). At around a 20 to 30 dollar price point buy to play "with the proper systems in place" to insure fair and quality sandbox gameplay.
The game is stunningly beautiful with a "huge" world built with the torque 3D engine this game for one will be an eye opener. Don't let the video fool you either because that is an ancient build compared to what we are testing today.
Life IS Feudal
Saxx0n, let's hope so. Many of us are ready for some innovation.
But Lord.Bachus has a good point, not everyone shares these preferences.
Games like these will be tough sells to the current mass market population.
Some people like a static status quo, they don't really need the hassle of having to adjust to a changing world. They won't give up convenience (which current setups do have) for innovation they didn't ask for in the first place.
Imagine the outcry if they have to manually run to a dungeon and find people there to form a group with.. oh my
To us... that would be part of the fun, especially if running over is a dangerous journey. But I understand that for others it wouldn't.
A matter of taste really, one preference isn't "better" than the other. Just different.
So I doubt everyone will hop on the bandwagon. But we can try to get it rolling. And we should.
Keep in mind that is what was said about DayZ too and it has sold several million copies @ 30.00 with full open world pvp and "permadeath" and will have sandbox features such as repair/building vehicles, farming agriculture and base building. It is still in the top 5 in Steam sales and was released over 3 months ago granted not a full fledged mmo but a huge, huge money maker and that is the reality that the AAA studios and their publishers and stockholders seek out.
I will remain highly optimistic and I believe there is a paradigm shift going on with gamers trending towards these type of options for gaming in the future.
Life IS Feudal
You are confused between "not liking innovation" to "not liking old sandbox". Sandbox ideas are tried and old, and not innovative.
And sure, few (including myself) want to find people to form a group. That is just not fun.
So Destiny has a great solution ... shared world shooter .. you are seamlessly matched. No one old ideas of requiring players to chat and group. Not as "un-immersive" as clicking a button on a lobby, but you still get to play with someone.
I don't know if i am going to like it (since forcing to play with a stranger may not be fun, there better be a quit button) but hey, that is innovation. At least they are trying something new instead of going back to the old idea of open world this and open world that .. that clearly many do not prefer.
You might want to read my reply above covering facts about DayZ. You are referring to a console shooter we are referring to mmos.
Co-op shooter ideas are old too using your logic. I'm willing to bet they had co-op shooters before you were born.
Life IS Feudal
Looks like there is a big market for open world, sandbox style, PvP centric games that are not MMORPGs. Rust is doing very well too.
I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.
Nah, sandbox or not is irrelevant. He was posting about a game, and I responded on that basis and used it as my example. (if I personally would like such a game, is also irrelevant.)
The game type doesn't really matter. Could be sandbox, could be space-alien-invasion, sit-on-an-egg-until-it-hatches-simulator (oh god I hope a dev picks that idea up), whatever. Irrelevant, really.
Main point was just that many people don't really seem to want change. They are happy with the static nature of things, convenience over substance/innovation/call-it-whatever.
Any new type of game, that doesn't have the same convenience built in, would be a tough sell to them.
I should have worded the first post better, sorry.
Any mmo worth its salt should be like a good prostitute when it comes to its game world- One hell of a faker, and a damn good shaker!
Technically neither of these titles are mmos they are shooters which have always been popular. I don't see the relevance of even bringing these up in this discussion.
Life IS Feudal
That is not true at all. Look at SWG. That was a great sandbox game and it did not have FFA PvP. You might want to reconsider your misinformed opinion....
James T. Kirk: All she's got isn't good enough! What else ya got?
They both play by mmo rules, they are mmos. If you choose not to believe they are that's fine. MMORPG even had an article on Destiny a while back calling it an mmo- despite Bungie calling it something else.
Destiny has everything an mmo has
Even a magic class.....
Any mmo worth its salt should be like a good prostitute when it comes to its game world- One hell of a faker, and a damn good shaker!