Take a look. Game A: you are ranged class who can wield some magic. Yes, you can have a sword. Game B: you are melee class who wields some magic. Yes, you do have a sword.
First game: Lotro Hunter. Second game: SWTOR.
My point: sword and magic is what we have most. Otherwise you take one key element (supernatural) - off. Wild west mmo could be cool...just without anything supernatural? Like...even no curses from that Indian tribe? Maybe the only popular topic are space shooters. Your Mark XXVI Battlecruiser, armed with Pseudotron beams and Miss-Them-All heavy missiles is a bane to those Mark III Corvetes with only light missiles and 1 Flak Gun.
Elven archers or axe-wielding gnomes/dwarves may be too much. What we need is to look at things a bit different. Elves may be drunkards, wielding axes. Dwarves may be superior archers. Humans may become Undead and be inivisible creatures, wielding powerfull melee guns (like Nazgul...). For races, take a look at Istaria - few typical, many untypical.
In short, Sword and Magic will live, it is doomed to stay for almost forever.
While for example Star Wars has Jedi and then maybe something like Bounty Hunter and thats it.
While I think fantasy is the better genre for MMOs your reasoning is off. SWTOR has smugglers, troopers, agents, Jedi, Sith and more.
Yeah, right ...
Jedi = Jedi
Sith = Dark Jedi
Smugglers = less talented Bounty Hunter
Troopers = Bounty Hunter working for the state in heavy armor
Agents = Bounty Hunter working for the state
Thats basically it.
And then you have Jedi focusing on lightsabers, Jedi focusing on the force, and Jedi in between. And then SWTOR introduced the healer even if such a thing (back then) didnt even exist in the movies.
All in all not compareable to fantasy where you typically have, for spellcasters alone, Clerics who follow a deity and might get different spelllists and even abilities (heavy armor or robe? which weapon type(s) ?) depending upon deity, druids who worship nature and might also have different natural totems to follow which change how they work, shamans which are something like druids but with more of a healer and maybe also more of a physical combat focus, wizards which also come in all shapes, most noteworthy the elmentarist who focuses on attack spells, the necromancer who meddles with the undead, and of course the enchanter.
And thats just the pure spellcasters alone.
And thats just Star Wars, which at least is still part fantasy. In pure SF settings where you want to explain everything through technology you get into even harsher limits.
While for example Star Wars has Jedi and then maybe something like Bounty Hunter and thats it.
While I think fantasy is the better genre for MMOs your reasoning is off. SWTOR has smugglers, troopers, agents, Jedi, Sith and more.
Yeah, right ...
Jedi = Jedi
Sith = Dark Jedi
Smugglers = less talented Bounty Hunter
Troopers = Bounty Hunter working for the state in heavy armor
Agents = Bounty Hunter working for the state
Thats basically it.
And then you have Jedi focusing on lightsabers, Jedi focusing on the force, and Jedi in between. And then SWTOR introduced the healer even if such a thing (back then) didnt even exist in the movies.
All in all not compareable to fantasy where you typically have, for spellcasters alone, Clerics who follow a deity and might get different spelllists and even abilities (heavy armor or robe? which weapon type(s) ?) depending upon deity, druids who worship nature and might also have different natural totems to follow which change how they work, shamans which are something like druids but with more of a healer and maybe also more of a physical combat focus, wizards which also come in all shapes, most noteworthy the elmentarist who focuses on attack spells, the necromancer who meddles with the undead, and of course the enchanter.
And thats just the pure spellcasters alone.
And thats just Star Wars, which at least is still part fantasy. In pure SF settings where you want to explain everything through technology you get into even harsher limits.
SF can have a ton of classes, look no further than WH40K, they have not even used all the ones they could. You don't have to explain everything, Star Trek (I think) coined the phrase technobabble, its all you need. You would want more in a hard SF MMO setting but there has never been one, even then players would not expect technical manuals.
You mentioned elemental wizards. So you can't have a psi powers like telekinesis, cryokinesis, pyrokinesis? SF can do all that.
But I still prefer fantasy myself, maybe a great SF MMO could come along and change my mind, but so far nope.
I’m an MMO hopper. I like
all the genres, and wish there was more of an even split between them.
One genre I would like to see more of is modern or near future
(paranormal / sci-fi / military / etc…).
When Secret World was released… what a breath of fresh air for me at the
time.
I’m an MMO hopper. I like
all the genres, and wish there was more of an even split between them.
One genre I would like to see more of is modern or near future
(paranormal / sci-fi / military / etc…).
When Secret World was released… what a breath of fresh air for me at the
time.
I am very against MMO hopping but with you on Secret World. That breath of fresh air blew away the cobwebs that MMO-land has in terms of theme, lore and background. Only thing that I didn't like was the odd combat system, it was alright, just below par for the rest of the offering.
The way they blended themes of sci-fi, horror, secret societies and paranormal had to be seen to be believed. When I first heard about the scope of the background I thought "this could turn into a mish mash of themes that gets lost in a grey blob". But they pulled it all together into a coherent whole, if any modern MMO shows you how to do SF themes its that one.
Sword and sorcery games will outlast science fiction games.
Look at anime, I know that's not gaming truly or mmo related, but with anime fantasy animes are more popular for example, Fairy Tail, a fantasy sword and sorcery anime is far more popular than Edens Zero, a science fiction anime by the same Mangaka, Hiro Mashima. There's a powerful example of why fantasy will outlive science fiction as an genre interest in the future.
Sword and sorcery games will outlast science fiction games.
Look at anime, I know that's not gaming truly or mmo related, but with anime fantasy animes are more popular for example, Fairy Tail, a fantasy sword and sorcery anime is far more popular than Edens Zero, a science fiction anime by the same Mangaka, Hiro Mashima. There's a powerful example of why fantasy will outlive science fiction as an genre interest in the future.
But words do not have to change right? For example, the word perpetual has always meant... unending or never changing. Sure people COULD start to use that word to mean something different, but that would just cause confusion and thus, I would hope that other people would correct them
This is something that I have often wondered about. It is not as though we have a finite number of words that can be created. Why take a word that exists, and ascribe a new meaning to it? Why not just make a new word?
You'd have to ask someone who actually has studied what I guess is called "semantic change."
You rang?
what you are actually talking about is dynamic languages versus static languages. Dynamic languages create new words and see semantic shifts in existing words based on changes in society, science, culture etc. Static languages do not adapt and will all, inevitably, die out.
Focussing on semantic shifts alone, they are not overtly dramatic but perhaps a few examples will help people understand better:
- Back in the Middle Ages an ‘old person’ described someone roughly 40 years old. Today an ‘old person’ is used for someone roughly 80 years old.
- Being gay was mostly used to describe a happy person and although both meanings for the word still exist the focus has shifted completely to describe someone’s sexuality.
But also terms like ‘many’ ‘huge’ and ‘massively’ etc. are all relative. Wing Commander 2 was a huge game back in the day, an amazing 20 megabytes, today it is called tiny. A horse used to be fast, now it is slow and I could go on and on, these things change as perspectives change.
What doesn’t change are absolutes, things like ‘all’ or ‘none’ will never change, the same goes for ‘perpetual.’
Languages are awesome, I could go on for hours.
/Cheers, Lahnmir
'the only way he could nail it any better is if he used a cross.'
Kyleran on yours sincerely
'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'
Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...
'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless.
It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.
It is just huge resource waste....'
Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer
I agree with everything in this article, except for calling it "Sword and Sorcery Fantasy Games". Sword and Sorcery is a distinct genre which overlaps with fantasy, but not necessarily every basic fantasy Tolkienesque rip-off is Sword and Sorcery. Most, in fact, aren't, since the genre is partly characterized by a certain story (often personal, small-scale, violent and magical).
That said, we indeed do have waaaay to many generic fantasy (MMO)RPGs!
Too many things are selling themselves as MMORPGs these days that aren't, and many of the old ones have lost their way and gone the forced story forced path forced result design so they are more 'visit to disneyworld with Tolkein elements' than actual interesting settings, be they fantasy or sf or their variants (and really Sword & sorcery is one flavor of fantasy, as is High Fantasy). Too many dystopian worlds in SF, really, we don't need more of that any more than we need re-worked Tolkein.
Sorry for the one who wrote article but Fantasy Setting are and it seems will always be preferred. Nice try though. Those games that somehow had survived time it's only because their IPs are very solid outside of an MMO like DC Comics, Star Wars etc. If they were a random IP that no one knows about it, then it most likely epic fail.
But also terms like ‘many’ ‘huge’ and ‘massively’ etc. are all relative. Wing Commander 2 was a huge game back in the day, an amazing 20 megabytes, today it is called tiny. A horse used to be fast, now it is slow and I could go on and on, these things change as perspectives change.
/Cheers, Lahnmir
Think about this for a bit. Most of the examples you gave were do to progress right? "Old" meaning 40 vs 80..
Now we have "Massively" which used to mean thousands and now means.. a few... It should go the other way in my mind. 100 becomes 1000 becomes 100000 etc...
Doesn't make much sense to me personally.
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
But also terms like ‘many’ ‘huge’ and ‘massively’ etc. are all relative. Wing Commander 2 was a huge game back in the day, an amazing 20 megabytes, today it is called tiny. A horse used to be fast, now it is slow and I could go on and on, these things change as perspectives change.
/Cheers, Lahnmir
Think about this for a bit. Most of the examples you gave were do to progress right? "Old" meaning 40 vs 80..
Now we have "Massively" which used to mean thousands and now means.. a few... It should go the other way in my mind. 100 becomes 1000 becomes 100000 etc...
Doesn't make much sense to me personally.
Agreed, as computer processing power went up I always thought the number of players in virtual worlds would as well but appears physics keeps getting in the way of proper communication between clients and servers.
Someone really, really needs to invent the ansible, and quickly else I'm never going to see such large scale world's ever occur.
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
There aren't that many "sword and sorcery" MMORPGs around, but fantasy in general is dominant by far and that isn't likely going to change any time soon. Even most of those with an ostensibly science-fiction setting are largely fantasy masquerading in a technological costume.
Comments
long answer : noooooooooooooo
Game A: you are ranged class who can wield some magic. Yes, you can have a sword.
Game B: you are melee class who wields some magic. Yes, you do have a sword.
First game: Lotro Hunter. Second game: SWTOR.
My point: sword and magic is what we have most. Otherwise you take one key element (supernatural) - off. Wild west mmo could be cool...just without anything supernatural? Like...even no curses from that Indian tribe?
Maybe the only popular topic are space shooters. Your Mark XXVI Battlecruiser, armed with Pseudotron beams and Miss-Them-All heavy missiles is a bane to those Mark III Corvetes with only light missiles and 1 Flak Gun.
Elven archers or axe-wielding gnomes/dwarves may be too much. What we need is to look at things a bit different. Elves may be drunkards, wielding axes. Dwarves may be superior archers. Humans may become Undead and be inivisible creatures, wielding powerfull melee guns (like Nazgul...). For races, take a look at Istaria - few typical, many untypical.
In short, Sword and Magic will live, it is doomed to stay for almost forever.
http://www.mmoblogg.wordpress.com
https://biturl.top/rU7bY3
Beyond the shadows there's always light
You mentioned elemental wizards. So you can't have a psi powers like telekinesis, cryokinesis, pyrokinesis? SF can do all that.
But I still prefer fantasy myself, maybe a great SF MMO could come along and change my mind, but so far nope.
No, it’s not time to say good-bye.
I’m an MMO hopper. I like all the genres, and wish there was more of an even split between them.
One genre I would like to see more of is modern or near future (paranormal / sci-fi / military / etc…). When Secret World was released… what a breath of fresh air for me at the time.
The way they blended themes of sci-fi, horror, secret societies and paranormal had to be seen to be believed. When I first heard about the scope of the background I thought "this could turn into a mish mash of themes that gets lost in a grey blob". But they pulled it all together into a coherent whole, if any modern MMO shows you how to do SF themes its that one.
I am ready for
Stars of Starcraft though
Look at anime, I know that's not gaming truly or mmo related, but with anime fantasy animes are more popular for example, Fairy Tail, a fantasy sword and sorcery anime is far more popular than Edens Zero, a science fiction anime by the same Mangaka, Hiro Mashima. There's a powerful example of why fantasy will outlive science fiction as an genre interest in the future.
Focussing on semantic shifts alone, they are not overtly dramatic but perhaps a few examples will help people understand better:
- Back in the Middle Ages an ‘old person’ described someone roughly 40 years old. Today an ‘old person’ is used for someone roughly 80 years old.
- Being gay was mostly used to describe a happy person and although both meanings for the word still exist the focus has shifted completely to describe someone’s sexuality.
But also terms like ‘many’ ‘huge’ and ‘massively’ etc. are all relative. Wing Commander 2 was a huge game back in the day, an amazing 20 megabytes, today it is called tiny. A horse used to be fast, now it is slow and I could go on and on, these things change as perspectives change.
Languages are awesome, I could go on for hours.
/Cheers,
Lahnmir
Kyleran on yours sincerely
'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'
Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...
'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless.
It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.
It is just huge resource waste....'
Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer
That said, we indeed do have waaaay to many generic fantasy (MMO)RPGs!
Now we have "Massively" which used to mean thousands and now means.. a few... It should go the other way in my mind. 100 becomes 1000 becomes 100000 etc...
Doesn't make much sense to me personally.
All time classic MY NEW FAVORITE POST! (Keep laying those bricks)
"I should point out that no other company has shipped out a beta on a disc before this." - Official Mortal Online Lead Community Moderator
Proudly wearing the Harbinger badge since Dec 23, 2017.
Coined the phrase "Role-Playing a Development Team" January 2018
"Oddly Slap is the main reason I stay in these forums." - Mystichaze April 9th 2018
Someone really, really needs to invent the ansible, and quickly else I'm never going to see such large scale world's ever occur.
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon