Why? Well because it's my opinion, damn it!
Dungeons and Dragons Forgotten Realms
Why? Well first off because Turbine completely f**ked up their shot at D&D.
Second, if you are going to do a fantasy game, do it right and go with the definitive classic RPG definition of a fantasy setting. There is so much lore and material to draw on for this, it's not even funny.
Traveller
Geez, it boggles the mind that no one has tried to do this. Traveller is the last word in a comprehensive Sci-Fi setting. Over 30 years of background material exist for Traveller.
Really the only thing that could hold it back would be an inept dev team that is only able to write "kill 10 rats" type content. Hear that SOE, stay away!
World War III online
Take a fictional country, add in some armies and set them lose. WWII online was an interesting idea but lets face it, its archaic old and so much more can be done with current technology. Imagine something with the CoD4 engine. WWIIO had some great ideas and scope of play that was awesome but something that would do justice to the genre needs to be made. IMHO, the FPS simulator "ArmA" or the tank simulator "Steelbeast Pro" best exemplify this.
Western online
An untapped wealth of gaming. There is so much you can do with this setting, its not funny. Bounties, tavern fights, wagon trains, building towns, robbing banks, robbing stage coaches, forming posses to run down the bandits, cattle rustling, searching for gold, gun fights....on and on...
edit
Steamboats, gambling....omg, does it end?
Day of the Dead online
We need another fantasy MMO like I need a hole in my head. Zombies and the entire Zombie sub genre are about as different as you can get. The end of the modern world by being eaten by the undead.
I watched an interview with George Romero once and he said that the movies are not about the Zombies at all, they are about how stupid humans react and how we cling to our old ways and selfishness in times of dire crisis. You can replace the zombies with any disaster....that's what his stories are really about.
What better place to demonstrate that then in the ultimate "how people behave simulator" online games? Of course many of the things most MMO's would require would need to be deliberately left out to simulate the isolation and feelings of hopelessness that this genre inspires like...general global chat channels, local only, no towns...undead would need to over run anything that players start to congragate at, no LFG, isolation is the key here. Overwhelming odds at every turn. Very limited resources. Open FFA PvP.
Survival would be its own reward.
Just some thoughts on a Sunday morning....
The MMORPG frontier is still wide open to explore. Lets hope that in the future someone with a tiny bit of imagination takes up some of these challenges.
I totally agree with Traveller. That was an excellent game. And as far as a World War III game, how about taking Twilight 2000 and giving that the MMO treatment?
Sun Aug 31 2008 6:10AMI really want to see a Predator mmo. My idea would be it's more of a guild style game where you can join a guild or Hunting Clan aboard your guild ship travel to different planets do the typical run quests for xp and loot and PvP would be to challenge other guilds on hunts or battle eachother for hunting rights for a planet. Expansions could expand into guilds having the ability to harvest alien eggs and ingestate npcs, to create their ultimate prey.
Everyone likes loot right, just imagine how cool and interesting your gear would be in a Predator mmo. Not to mention a sci-fi mmo that would be rated M.
Sun Aug 31 2008 7:33AMOMG i cant believe you know traveller i played pnp way back ,heck i still have my boxes and books , why add gamma world to the list that was my all time favorite pnp game setting in a post apo world really appeals to me .
great blog btw
Sun Aug 31 2008 8:13AMall I want is The World (.hack) to be made into a real MMO. I'll be set for life.
Sun Aug 31 2008 11:15AMI would like to see a Mortal Kombat MMO where you have to create and power up a character to fight the MK cast. Some good pvp would be there too.
Sun Aug 31 2008 11:21AMok i know ill be flamed for this, but a Naruto-world based mmo would be very kick ass. they key would to NOT have any of the current generation and put the setting in the past. The only characters from the show you'd see would be the kings/ maybe Orichimaru before he went renegade.
i mean picture players haveing to choose what ninja village to start at and then developing thier characters into specialties. (like mind control tech, physical, ninjutsu) and later on in levels, as they graduate to different ranks, they can get a element.
its just one of those settings thats easily made into a game and has enough background to help the developers make it without stepping on lore junkies shoes.
Sun Aug 31 2008 11:44AMI agree on the Western MMO. It would be the perfect sandbox game, think about it, there were no rules, no laws, just the People (aka the players) making everything up. Horseback fighting, dueling in the city streets. Ahhh it makes my john wayne just perk with amusement.
Sun Aug 31 2008 12:04PMad jade empire for me pls,
i liked the world and the combat would rock if it could be done in mmo
Sun Aug 31 2008 12:13PMGreat post! I also agree that fantasy games have rather glutted the market. While I have not tried the Turbine version, I do think that the Forgotten Realms would prove a much better choice. Or maybe even the Dragonlance setting (my personal favorite). I am also a fan of Wendi Peni’s Elquest series, and think it would make an interesting setting for an MMORPG (if another fantasy game must be made).
The Traveller world would make for a great game as well, and, speaking of Twilight 2000, how about 2300AD, which is a hard science fiction game set 300 years after the war. If I remember correctly from my own PnP days, 2300AD was the result of an actual World War III game played by the creators. France game out ahead, and the game centered on the exploration and colonization of nearby solar systems. Very realistic and gritty.
The western idea is by far one of the most interesting I have heard. I do believe a Firefly MMO is in the works, and, if done right, could combine the best of the sci-fi and western genres. My hope is that it is more a sandbox-style game. If it were done well, I think it has great potential. I think the zombie theme would work very well in a sandbox environment as well. Any sort of apocalyptic, end-of-the-world scenario.
Sun Aug 31 2008 12:15PMWorld of Darkness may offer some fresh air in the genre. I hope WhiteWolf and CCP release some more info on it.
Sun Aug 31 2008 12:35PMdune online would be nice ...
Sun Aug 31 2008 12:47PM"Western Online" and "DotD Online" sound interesting.
WO: What types of classes or skill trees would you implement?
Obviously, gun slinger, rifleman/sniper, but what else?
As I see it, you'd have the American Indian as a playable class as well. Though this may not be politically possible, it would afford more diverse rp options.
Would having bullets as the end-all in weaponry make the game boring?
DotD Online needs some MOB love - besides zombies what would be the antagonists?
Interesting ideas!
Sun Aug 31 2008 1:18PMI deliberate avoided the Native American issue for a few reasons.
First to show that there is so much more to the western genre then that limited stereotypical perception.
Second, of course for social political reasons. I wouldn't want to touch that with a 10 foot pole.
I believe I started a forum topic about a year with a description of a Western MMO if you are interested. Look through my started topics. I had pictures and everything. :)
Sun Aug 31 2008 1:30PMlol worldofwarcraft is the best!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Sun Aug 31 2008 5:13PM1.Dose any1 know what the best no download game is to play that is RPG cus atm i can download anything .
Sun Aug 31 2008 5:16PMthe problem with WW2 online is its so open and simulation(y) that it cant have graphics better than what it currently has. even with those graphics you get the occational lag fest.
i agree there is a wealth of ideas out there but i would much rather see original titles by devs as it offers much more freedom. the DnD one is must for me though, cant have another round of crappy DnD games (thank god for Baldurs Gate and NWN)
Sun Aug 31 2008 5:19PMIt's all find and dandy saying what should and shouldn't happen with games. I'm not trying to discredit your blog, but if you really had an effort to change what was being released, all you simply have to do is write up a 30 page or so MSWord (single spaced/lined) project with ideas, lore, sample pictures, etc. Just stating "oh, let's release this or that" isn't going to get anyone anywhere.
That's my main problem with so many gamers out there, they just leave their thoughts on a forum rather than actually DOING something.
(To the eventual, well they'll never look at that... someone will. It's just like sending out a track for a music artist. It will take some time, but if you truely have that passion, then only you have you limit what you can do.)
Sun Aug 31 2008 9:50PMDeadlands
Sun Aug 31 2008 10:12PMA western mmo would be awsome maybe make it during the civil war north and south PvP or hell make a civil war mmo 8).
The zombie one sound cool too i cant wait for left 4 dead to come out
There are alot of mmos that come out every year and if it's not that good people will leave and go to whats good Just for you devs out there
Sun Aug 31 2008 10:48PMA Shadowrun mmorpg would fit the bill.
Sun Aug 31 2008 10:50PMMMORPG.com writes:
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