Gaming Signal: Lord British Applies The Smack Down To MMO Designers

Lord British Applies The Smack Down To MMO Designers

Richard Garriot takes MMO developers to task by stating that MMO design hasn't changed in a decade, and that the games today 'undersell' the potential of MMO games.

One can only wonder how WoW has 'undersold' anything, but he goes on, saying that almost everything about MMOs needs updating: combat, leveling/grinding, quests, and NPC AI. He then goes on to say that Tabula Rasa will be addressing these areas. All I can say on that is: Maybe.

There's also a bit in there on player churn and how NC Soft is attempting to address that by having a whole range of games for players to play in, thus ensuring their gaming dollar stays with NC Soft. He didn't say how Auto Assault fits into this picture. It's still an interesting idea, and I can see how it may work, but Sony Online also has a bunch of games, and their Station Pass allows you to play most of them for one monthly price, something NC Soft does not have.

For me, I'd love to see something new in the MMO space. As it is right now, it's all variations on WoW, which is basically a more refined EQ/UO paradigm. Which is why I'm not really interested in any new MMO on the horizon. With the possible exception of Tabula Rasa, and that more for the setting than for any gameplay features.

I'm pretty sure he means undersell in terms of its selling the genre short, not in terms of limited sales. He's right in many ways - the current crop of fantasy MMOs (EQ, WoW, LOTRO) are all pretty much the same game - blech.

Sony's The Agency might be a different approach but we'll have to see how it ends up.

Posted by scottsh on Friday July 27, 2007 at 12:28 PM