A linked list.

[Evangolis]

A little programmer humor in the title.  I know, it's a lot like programmer art.  Sorry.

A list of upcoming MMOs from MSNBC

I didn't recognize a couple, but I've been out of touch.  Nothing there greatly excites me, but I've given up on pre-launch excitement long since.

Which of the list do you expect to crash and burn fastest and hardest?  I've long been dubious of Gods and Heros, and Archlord just makes me doubt, somehow, but Project Wiki sounds the shakiest to me.  If you are designing  a game to "attract the female and pre-teen audience", and are near launch and just now discussing "adding safety features to help protect against online predators", you have already lost your safety battle.

[schild]

Which one did you not recognize? Wiki has Webzen behind it and looks like Windwaker. It won't crash. Archlord is nothing. It getting recognition by anybody is shocking. I'd go as far to say that's it's not even a game but rather a localized abortion. But if Lineage 2 didn't crash, Archlord won't.

Gods and Heroes will do just fine. Stieg Hedlund is awesome. Long live diablo.

[stray]

Test Drive Unlimited

Ooh, so there's an idea that hasn't been given a good chance yet (Yes, I remember MCO, but that didn't last long).

On a sidenote: They mispelled Hawaii on their website. A omen perhaps?  Hopefully not..


[edit]

Then again, something about this screams "Uru" to me. It may not be a good fit for the genre.....Though if it follows a Guild Wars type pricing scheme, with other explorable Regions as expansion packs, and most importantly, plays like any other racing game, then it could be a hit.

[schild]

Koboshi has played it. He said he's buying it. Apparently it's good.

[Broughden]

Which of the list do you expect to crash and burn fastest and hardest? 

Well to crash the "hardest" that would inherentl mean it had high expectations prior to launch, so no name/ no press games like Wiki or Archlord dont really count do they?
My #1 vote is LOTRO for "hardest" crash and burn.

AoC is my #1 vote for "next big thing since sliced white bread." Its the only one I am going to bother spending actual money on.

[CadetUmfer]

No mention of PotBS?  I've already ordered my Undercover Pirate shirt and stocked up on Captain...

[Numtini]

I'm far from your average woman, but bundling us with the pre-teen market is not exactly the way to get me interested in your game. Also isn't COPPA going to force them to disable or monitor communication or limit it to players who are 13 or older?

I think the big crash and burn will obviously be LOTR. That's based on Turbine's reputation and my own feeling that using an established IP like that is a mistake.

[Broughden]

Also isn't COPPA going to force them to disable or monitor communication or limit it to players who are 13 or older?

I think the big crash and burn will obviously be LOTR. That's based on Turbine's reputation and my own feeling that using an established IP like that is a mistake.

As far as I know COPPA only limits what personal information a website operator under US jurisdiction can collect. I imagine all personal information will be billing info, which will be in the parent's name since they have the credit card. http://www.coppa.org/comply.htm

[HaemishM]

None will crash, because as we all know, it's hard as fuck to KILL an MMOG.

But flop? That's another story. I think Vanguard will be the biggest flop, if only because some people still think it garners any interest from the mainstream.

[Soukyan]

Test Drive Unlimited

Ooh, so there's an idea that hasn't been given a good chance yet (Yes, I remember MCO, but that didn't last long).

On a sidenote: They mispelled Hawaii on their website. A omen perhaps?  Hopefully not..


[edit]

Then again, something about this screams "Uru" to me. It may not be a good fit for the genre.....Though if it follows a Guild Wars type pricing scheme, with other explorable Regions as expansion packs, and most importantly, plays like any other racing game, then it could be a hit.

Speaking of Uru, it will be live again soon. I misplaced the link, but when Haemish says it's hard to kill an MMOG, he isn't kidding. Is this the first ever MMOG resurrection?

[HaemishM]

Test Drive Unlimited

Ooh, so there's an idea that hasn't been given a good chance yet (Yes, I remember MCO, but that didn't last long).

On a sidenote: They mispelled Hawaii on their website. A omen perhaps?  Hopefully not..


[edit]

Then again, something about this screams "Uru" to me. It may not be a good fit for the genre.....Though if it follows a Guild Wars type pricing scheme, with other explorable Regions as expansion packs, and most importantly, plays like any other racing game, then it could be a hit.

Speaking of Uru, it will be live again soon. I misplaced the link, but when Haemish says it's hard to kill an MMOG, he isn't kidding. Is this the first ever MMOG resurrection?

No, that would be Meridian 59.

[Lantyssa]

I'm far from your average woman, but bundling us with the pre-teen market is not exactly the way to get me interested in your game.

I have to agree.

[Venkman]

Whoa. Numtini's a woman?! I am the worst at gender!

Anywho, Joystiq's list was more inclusive, but I think it's interesting MSNBC reported it at all. Next we'll see the NY Times do so. Then the world will stop.

But I fear the true arrival of the mass media. Maybe they'll just concentrate on the "mass friendly" games (probably anythig over 600k subs). I can hope...

Which of the list do you expect to crash and burn fastest and hardest?

I'm with schild. I think the biggest "flop" will be Vanguard. Mostly because it was originally an XBox 360 debut and it's being followed by vocal folks with long histories. Now it's just yet-another-EQ-fantasy-clone in PC space they've all seen.

Crash? Depends on how high the expectation is. I drop a lot of the lists off because they'd be below a threshold where them crashing would be noticed. For example, would anyone even know Atriarch went away? Or Bots?

Conversely, I think the biggest surprise is likely to be something not on those lists. No idea what that'll be though. That's what makes it a surprise ;) If I had to guess on features though, it'd be some browser based affair with a number of different pricing models. I doubt it'll be Club Penguin or RuneScape, but both of those being in the top 10 of one of the most popular online portals for tweens and young teens is auspicious. That generation is bigger than mine, and currently coming into their own as gamers.

The times are a changin, and I think the novelty of MMOGs has as well. While there's still a lot of innovation left to be tried (or re-tried by someone new), dissecting every individual game is no longer a singular task. The genre already has adherants to sub-categories within it. What does the changes within an EQ clone have to do with the price of Zydrine? Drawing a common tie between all MMORPG players is almost impossible. It sorta has been forever, but it's more pronounced now that there are so many games. Even those games with the least amount of subscribers are part of what keeps all of us from being categorized as a single target player.

Soon there'll be as many games that don't have a flat monthly fee as those that do. And those with RMT vs not. And those played in a browser vs not. "Soon" is different for each comparison, but the innovation that needs to happen isn't just about the core mechanic either.

[pxib]

Speaking of Uru, it will be live again soon. I misplaced the link, but when Haemish says it's hard to kill an MMOG, he isn't kidding. Is this the first ever MMOG resurrection?

A link.

...and no, probably not. It would have to have properly lived to be reborn.

[Falconeer]

 (Yes, I remember MCO, but that didn't last long).

Sigh. Best game ever (after M.U.L.E.). :(
I am still in mourn. Darn EA!

[Xanthippe]

 (Yes, I remember MCO, but that didn't last long).

Sigh. Best game ever (after M.U.L.E.). :(
I am still in mourn. Darn EA!

I never played M.U.L.E. but from all that I've heard about it, I wish I had.  I'm surprised there's no M.U.L.E.-like clone out there, given all the original fans.

[Falconeer]

There is an "official" M.U.L.E. clone, and it's called Space Horse.
Plus, this page points to lots of clones.
Sadly, Space Horse maintains the basic gameplay but the magic is _not_ present.

Here are some random hints to the magic:

- World of M.U.L.E.

- Smithore.com aka Extreme MULEing

- Wikipedia M.U.L.E. entry

and I could go on forever, with the Danielle Bunten memorial shrine, or the tons (CGW 1996) of People that claims it's the best game ever, or just the "Big Bang of multiplayer".
Why no one clones it for real? It wouldn't be M.U.L.E.

[pxib]

Well that little sidetrack was worth it just to get this quote from D. Bunten, MULE's author:

"No one ever said on their deathbed, 'Gee, I wish I had spent more time alone with my computer."