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theres a scarey trend lately .. where gaming companies think they can shovel out these sub-par games and make just as much money due to the franchise name or movie name the game is based on, because of the instant and persistant subscribing power of the cult fans .... star wars galaxies ...dungeons and dragons ... the matrix online ... the lord of the rings ( whom people are starting to realize will suck) .. the new star trek is coming out .. and the list goes on and on... i mean come on ... i for one, have had mostly horrible experiences with these franchise games/betas too many fanboys/girls in these games who instantly subscribe, and continue to no matter how much the game sucks ... so they can be as close to their fantasized movie character as they can ...( can anyone say jedi? or hobbit? ) this mechanic of subsciption, where a game can not only survive but be PROFITABLE due to cult fiction following fans, DOESN NOT give the developing companies any real incentive or drive to put sweat and tears into making a REALLY exceptional game .. and game players young and old... or cult fans young and old with higher standards who actually want a good game are just angered or saddened by the current state of affairs ... i plan to boycott any and all franchise-movie or cult fiction games untill a developer comes out and does it RIGHT ...
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5/02/06 10:28:33 AM#2
The problem with franschise gaming is growth.
The games are limited to only what the movie had in there, the developers have no rights to change the storyline of the movie or TV show. Take for example the STO coming out. They were OCD enough to post a screenshot of a portion of the game next to a frame from the TV series saying "Look its just like it." Oh boy! Now the day the game comes out they will get their mailbox stuffed with "This dial is 2 inches away from the correct place. You should move it to make it like the TV series. You gotta have it perfect." So there. Lack of expansion. But they do have a vald market. If you put together all of the Star Trek fans, thats more then EQ2 population. |
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5/02/06 10:47:14 AM#3
Actually, Lord of the rings online seems to have a lot of work put into it. it definitly beats everything in the graphic department. from what I have seen, they have tried to stay as loyal to the books as possible. there really is a LOT of detail from what I have seen so far. the game has been in development for 4 years now, so it doesn't seem like a rushed title to me.
but why am I even trying? it doesn't have pvp, it isn't the new ultima online and its made by turbine. no matter the quality of the game, people here will still hate it. |
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5/02/06 11:19:14 AM#4
the thing I hate about franchise games as you call them, is it pulls in (like you mention) fans of whatever book or movie etc. instantly. they then beat their drums on a large crusade and every one of them has a different opinion on how the development team is destroying whatever lore the game "should" have. another problem is that theres almost always a protaganist in these original stories. matrix has neo, star wars has the jedi.. and you have these hard core fans split where they either dont want them portrayed at all.. or very limited. eventually the crusade of the fans drives the game into the ground and people begin to realize these games do not reflect the movie or the story the way it should i agree with you, these games are better left for single player games where you can be the hero and the story can be translated better. |
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5/02/06 11:27:30 AM#5
Vote with your wallet.
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5/02/06 11:32:08 AM#6
I heard the Seinfeld MMO is almost in beta and they've started pre-production for the Grey's Anatomy MMO. -- I need a nerf -- |
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5/02/06 11:50:31 AM#7
It seems to me that the process would probably work alot better the other way round?
If people can make "Doom" or "Resident Evil" into movies, then surely filming a typical MMO, with a far richer background, should be much easier? World of warcraft the movie. It's only a matter of time... |
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Puoltry
Apprentice Member
Joined: 8/04/04
Leadership in a MMO is nothing more than a popularity contest. |
5/02/06 12:10:50 PM#8
I may have read this if you had used CAPITAL letters to begin sentences.
Really how difficult is it to use the "shift" key? Want to ENJOY an mmo? Dont start a guild and dont be a leader or volunteer to be coleader or captain. Just play the damn game:) |
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5/02/06 12:36:21 PM#9
"Fear not death; for the sooner we die, the longer shall we be immortal." |
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Hersaint
 Novice Member
Joined: 6/11/03
Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value. Albert Einstein(1879 - 1955) |
5/02/06 2:17:22 PM#10
Oh I hope the LOTR MMORPG is better than what that poster just related. That would be aweful. I dont think they would waste all thaat time and money into an EQ clone, but I've been disappointed before. I only read like 6 books in my ecuation years and the LOTR was one of them I actually finished and liked. I hope they dont screw it up like you say.
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Xpheyel
 Apprentice Member
Joined: 2/28/05
He that breaks a thing to find what it is has left the path of wisdom. |
5/02/06 3:26:55 PM#11
Meh, if a game in a franchise I liked doesn't get good reviews and positive word-of-mouth on gameplay issues, I wouldn't buy it anyway. I'm interested in LOTRO because its Lord of the fricking Rings... It doesn't follow I'm going to shell out $50 + $15/month on it. I was interested in DDO too but it doesn't sound like the implementation I want out of it. Someone had a good point about the heroism thing. As a practical matter I think the worlds are interesting and doable but people want to interact with the protagonists from the films. In the process, they essentially shrink the availible universe. Like having R2-D2, C-3PO, Owen Lars, Jabba, and Tatooine in the Star Wars prequels wasn't really needed. We're talking a frigging galaxy and all these characters happen to run into each other? Submit that to Stupid Coincidence magazine. I think that STO and perhaps SGO could carry that off, not interacting with characters from the series regularly. They could, however, turn up in messrooms or inspection tours as random encounters. That's probably the safest way to have your cake and eat it too, in my opinion. Thats the kind of fun thing you could tack into the game without turning the "lore" inside-out. LOTRO has it even easier, ignore the Fellowship completely and leave the static characters where they were mentioned. I expect Agent Smith to be hanging around Rivendell and Butterbur to be waiting tables in the Prancing Pony. Again, as long as these guys don't give you missions or something silly along those lines, it could pass muster with me. Personally its all fine with me, though. If they want to try to cash in on the franchise then I think they've got the tiger by the tail in any event. On the one hand, you theoretically have a fanbase built in, on the other you risk offending that base and ending up with approximately zilch. The thing I like is that it punches a couple of holes in the D&D-fantasy style. Even games like Pirates of the Carribean should at least have boats as the main dynamic instead of dungeons and orcs. DANGER
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5/02/06 5:20:46 PM#12
its when you try to do it on a grand scale and everyone wants to be the protagonist (hero) is when you run into trouble |
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5/03/06 6:08:17 AM#13
New trend?
Anyone remember the E.T. game for the Atari? You know, one of the games that helped precipitate the game industry crash of '82? Guess not. ----------------------------- |
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Koltrane
 Novice Member
Joined: 6/07/03
I''d rather die on my feet than live on my knees. |
5/03/06 6:31:57 AM#14
I had this dissussion the other day and even posted about it here. My argument was that MMO designers/publishers have decided that the "EverQuest Model" (for lack of a better term) works, and that adding new features or changing the dynamic radically does not do much to bring in new players.
I also think that the pool of players who will subscribe and stick with a MMO is not unlimited, so all the games out there are fighting for ways to lure existing MMO players away from their favorite game and, possibly, bring in new players who have never played a MMO before. So how are they doing this? Well one way is through franchise gaming (as you call it). There are pros and cons to this. The biggest pro is that it brings a lot of players who loved the original property (D&D, LOTR, The Matrix) to the game. The biggest con is that the "rabid fan" is the most likely player to be disappointed because Frodo's cloak is not the exact shade of grey they imagined. I don't think this has been a giant success (other that World of Warcraft). Think about games like MxO and DDO, which are struggling. Think about games based on previously successful MMOs like AC2 and EQ2, one of which is canceled and the other of which is holding its own, but is not the runaway success of its parent game. It will be interesting to see how this trend goes. I don't mind a game with a well-known property attached to it, but I think hoping that license will appease players in a game where gameplay and fun are lacking (DDO, anyone?) is folly. ----- When they make The Elder Scrolls into a MMORPG, what bit of a life I currently have will completely evaporate. |
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Navsterz
 Novice Member
Joined: 4/06/06
Don''t have high expectations for anyone because then they can never let you down. |
5/03/06 7:59:18 AM#15
It's quite a good business strategy, But at the end of the day i think it is ruining the reputation of that well known comic book or franchises name. I mean take Dungeons and Dragons online for a perfect example, That is loved by many people worldwide and the mmo of it is completely ... welll you know... lol
I have spoke to a few DnD fans and they said they tried to hard to like it, but they just cant stand it... so not all the time it works... I don't know, just giving my 2 cents lol Thanks, Navster. -Navsterz
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5/03/06 11:28:27 AM#16
I love the fact that you throw the new STAR TREK in there like you know it's going to suck also.....
Witty saying to amuse you goes here. |
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Cryomatrix
Novice Member
Joined: 8/19/05
Currently Playing: Entropia Universe (on hiatus) Played: RoM, WoW, L2, EVE, SWG |
5/03/06 11:53:37 AM#17
This franchising happens all the time. I mean look at movies that are released, there are tons of movies that are some lukewarm drama that hold a number of popular actors/actresses and then they shoot the film. The film probably cost them 20 million in which most of the money went to the high profile actors/actresses and it didn't include any special effects or anything that costs money and they know it's a safe bet to get 30-40 million.
Meaning they throw out crappy low-cost movies with popular actors/actresses and make a quick few million in profit. It kind of makes sense if you think about it, why spend 100 million on a movie that may suck (Final Fantasy anyone) and you lose millions or make a low cost movie that is guaranteed to make a few million regardless of how much it sucks. This happens all the time in many things. It's called capitalism. Also, of course WoW the movie is coming out, film makers would be stupid not to make a movie like that. Anyone who plays MMO's or video games would see it. It's essentially free money, all they need to do is get Peter Jackson to make it and it should make hundreds of millions. I also wish I am a billionaire because I would just produce the movie myself, actually, I'd create my own MMORPG, and then make a movie about it as well at the same time. I'd make sure to get good actors and Peter Jackson to make it. Cryomatrix |
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5/03/06 11:56:56 AM#18
I absolutely refuse to judge a game before I've actually played it. However, games based on media franchises (not just MMOs) have a history of being garbage. I can only think of one good Simpsons game, the only really good Star Wars game I ever played involved Legos, and I don't think I'll ever play a Gundam game that lives up to the series. Why should this trend be any different just because it's an MMO? I'll go one further and claim that making a franchise into an MMORPG automatically sets a game up to be terrible. The conventions of the MMORPG genre enforce play mechanics that simply don't fit into any story, let alone the storyline of a successful media franchise. When did you ever see Neo camp a spawn point? How many times did Luke Skywalker level up? How often did Frodo loot the corpses of dead orcs for a +20 weapon of pwnage? It didn't happen. It's one thing when you design play mechanics to a particular story, the new Samurai Champloo game on the PS2 comes immediately to mind, it's quite another thing when you duc tape a story onto pre-exsisting play mechanics. As long as the devs are stapling a setting to the MMORPG formula rather than making play mechanics around the setting, franchised MMORPGs are going to suck. Maybe in 20 years or so this will begin to change, as it is right now in other genres, but I wouldn't hold my breath. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2if5GYXOGyo |
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5/03/06 12:07:50 PM#19
True, I am worried about this trend too, but I think it is inevitable. What I believe in though, is the intellince of people. I don't think Pubblishing a franchise game is always the best idea for the developers. For some extent I think that actually the developers need to try harder to make the game appealing to the fans, otherwise their idea could backfire badly. Take DDO for example. This game doesn't feel like D&D at all. Of course fans of D&D at the beginning are attracted to it (me included), but then when they play the game and it doesn't meet their expectation, people just turn their back on it. Publishing a game franchise can be very tricky, it can be either really good or really bad.
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5/03/06 1:04:13 PM#20
Honestly it would all depend upon several factors when turning a franchise name into a MMO. Some of the thing that would fall into the scope would be how true to the story the game needs to be, timeline (big must), as well as how player characters fall into individual roles within the game. Also, as franchised MMO's mature they must insure that their focus is clear and stay true to the constraints of the title as well. Of the listed examples:
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