Originally posted by lornj

how come noone has done an mmo with vampires and such or one based on the forgotten realms series?

Forgotten Realms would be great,  I love the books. 

Bilzzard ruining the Genre?

Yes and no

Yes in the fact that MMOs are not easy, hand holding theme parks with little player choice or skill involved.

No in the fact that they made the MMO industry accessable to all types of players and created a huge market for MMOs.   We are seeing more and more MMOs each year but at a cost.

Mmmmm Horror, I'd love to see a Lovecraft influenced Mmo.  1920-1940's era, could go earlier, Occult based with all your European, Asian, American (south, central and north) Indian Mythology influences.  You might not think it would go at first, but Edgar Allen Poe, sir Arthur Conan Doyle, H. P. Lovecraft, Heinlein, Asimov, and too many other writers from that era are still a huge influence on everything in writing, TV, and Movies still today.

Why not Mmo's?  Everything is laid out from networking, quests, Raiding, the whole Shebang.

Blizzard lucked out with Warcraft.  if any real competition had ever come up it would have died in North america by now.  I loved WoW for years, will still go back to it a few months out of every year I am sure, but they never fail to disapoint me with all the things they could have put into the game, but instead they only put in just enough candy to sate my sweet tooth.

I just hope they can follow thru with something worthwhile this time, and not lead me on to endless level grinding that leads to endless gear grinding, that leads me to boredom waiting for another expansion so I can do it again, lol

Cheers

Originally posted by Zinfacter

Personally, I wish they'd stay out of the MMO market from now on. They're destroying the genre.

Why? If you want to blame someone for all the shitty WoW clones blame the companies for making those games.

The problem with todays MMO market is the game developers don't know how to take the next step in making the next great thing. And considering Blizzards track record and experience in MMOs. They just might be the company to make a game that'll replace WoW.

There are only two other companies I believe might have the potential to make a highly successful MMO. One is Bioware, and the other is Rockstar. Yes! Rockstar, if you look at the GTA series you can already see how it's build to suit the design that goes into MMOs. Plus they manage to make questing in their games interesting and fun reducing the grind factor you see in most games.

Yeah, I'd prefer killing 30 pimps over 30 boars anyday...lol

Anyways, hope to see what Blizzard is cooking up soon...just to know what they have in stored.

Originally posted by JuukBawx

Blizzard lucked out with Warcraft.  if any real competition had ever come up it would have died in North america by now.  I loved WoW for years, will still go back to it a few months out of every year I am sure, but they never fail to disapoint me with all the things they could have put into the game, but instead they only put in just enough candy to sate my sweet tooth.

LOL .. you complain about a GAME that enterained you for years? That is a monumental achievement. Nothing last for ever and i am surprised that WOW last as long as it does. Kudos to Blizzard.

Originally posted by TdogSkal

Originally posted by lornj

how come noone has done an mmo with vampires and such or one based on the forgotten realms series?

 

Forgotten Realms would be great,  I love the books. 

Bilzzard ruining the Genre?

Yes and no

Yes in the fact that MMOs are not easy, hand holding theme parks with little player choice or skill involved.

No in the fact that they made the MMO industry accessable to all types of players and created a huge market for MMOs.   We are seeing more and more MMOs each year but at a cost.

I'd rather see fewer and fewer great MMOs than the current trend of more and more crappy ones.

I hope they pick a genre never seen before in a MMO or which is rarely done like sci-fi. I dearly hope we don't get yet another level grinding, loot grind, raid-tastic fantasy MMO.

When i look at all the stuff Blizzard has done,i have yet to see ONE full complete project utilizing up to date standards.Tehy have ALWAYS been known for using OLD tech and selling it off as new tech ,i expect NOTHING to change now,why would they change,many reguard them as gods.

Blizzard is like a car salesman,we got you a 10k car but hey look it has all the features and is polished :D,so since it has al lthe featuyres and is polished we should be able to pan off this 10k car and market it as a lambourghini :D

Overhead views,low tech graphics,cheap models,instances are the norm not the added content.Combat is copied ,quests are the exact same hum drub,but we have our subscribers fooled ,they all aclaim we are doing everything different :D,and and ya our quests are POLISHED :D

No matter how cheap i feel Blizzard is ,in their productions, i still anticipate ANY new game by any developer in hopes they have grown up and can stand on their own two feet and deliver a product worthy of innovation and effort.Although i have extreme doubt in Blizzard's abilities to deliver innovation or anything unique,i will still withhold judgement until the product is finalized.

One thing i have got my eye on is the TIMING of Blizzards new game.SOE we know is the developer Blizzard likes to follow rather than lead and so happens SOE followed a new strategy in making a [so called  Free Realms game].Perhaps Blizzard is once again following in SOE 's footsteps?just a thought,i am not totally sold they are that lame ..YET.Just ask yourself what other ideas have come about recently and then remember it and see if Blizzard once again copies other developers brilliance[i fully expect it actually].

The idea behind the game HAS to be low tech as they will no doubt re use that ancient cheap gaming engine,because we would have heard of any liscensing deals and there has been none.Blizzard with all their money have yet to develop ANYTHING close to a decent game engine,i mean EPIC has 70 employees and is years ahead of Blizzard ,,sad really.

Simple guess?cartoon graphics,perhaps a free realms type game or they will rehash one of their own games .I know they recently bought some cheap old game ,i can't remeber the name of it ?leisure suit larry or redneck rampage,something like that.There is a VERY good reason a developer buys the rights to a game and it is not to play the game lol,they have plans for it so don't be surprised if it is related to the purchse.

Originally posted by lornj

how come noone has done an mmo with vampires and such or one based on the forgotten realms series?

Yeah, I'd love to see an Underworld MMO, Humans, Vampires, and Lycan factions, that could be fun.. But as with all things, only if it's done right.

Originally posted by Wizardry

When i look at all the stuff Blizzard has done,i have yet to see ONE full complete project utilizing up to date standards.Tehy have ALWAYS been known for using OLD tech and selling it off as new tech ,i expect NOTHING to change now,why would they change,many reguard them as gods.

Blizzard is like a car salesman,we got you a 10k car but hey look it has all the features and is polished :D,so since it has al lthe featuyres and is polished we should be able to pan off this 10k car and market it as a lambourghini :D

Overhead views,low tech graphics,cheap models,instances are the norm not the added content.Combat is copied ,quests are the exact same hum drub,but we have our subscribers fooled ,they all aclaim we are doing everything different :D,and and ya our quests are POLISHED :D

No matter how cheap i feel Blizzard is ,in their productions, i still anticipate ANY new game by any developer in hopes they have grown up and can stand on their own two feet and deliver a product worthy of innovation and effort.Although i have extreme doubt in Blizzard's abilities to deliver innovation or anything unique,i will still withhold judgement until the product is finalized.

One thing i have got my eye on is the TIMING of Blizzards new game.SOE we know is the developer Blizzard likes to follow rather than lead and so happens SOE followed a new strategy in making a [so called  Free Realms game].Perhaps Blizzard is once again following in SOE 's footsteps?just a thought,i am not totally sold they are that lame ..YET.Just ask yourself what other ideas have come about recently and then remember it and see if Blizzard once again copies other developers brilliance[i fully expect it actually].

The idea behind the game HAS to be low tech as they will no doubt re use that ancient cheap gaming engine,because we would have heard of any liscensing deals and there has been none.Blizzard with all their money have yet to develop ANYTHING close to a decent game engine,i mean EPIC has 70 employees and is years ahead of Blizzard ,,sad really.

Simple guess?cartoon graphics,perhaps a free realms type game or they will rehash one of their own games .I know they recently bought some cheap old game ,i can't remeber the name of it ?leisure suit larry or redneck rampage,something like that.There is a VERY good reason a developer buys the rights to a game and it is not to play the game lol,they have plans for it so don't be surprised if it is related to the purchse.

60% market share in an overdone genre is remarkable whether you like it or not negative nancy. As for the rest fo their games I don't care what technology they use as long as graphics start out up to date and the game play is as amazing as it always is in Blizzard games. Other games might go deeper in some areas of play but they alwasy suck at the basics and thus fail. When other developers stop sucking you can talk about how bad blizzard is.

Partnership MMO with Disney. The Little Mermaid Online, the first ever underwater MMO. You heard it here first folks!

Will this be a "WoW-Killer"? Haha.

Post-apocalyptic.

My bet is it's going to be sci-fi.

Originally posted by SaintViktor

 

 

 

Source: www.massively.com/2009/05/19/the-digital-continuum-blizzards-mysterious-mmo/#continued

 

 

 

 

We've got a good reason to believe that Blizzard's next MMO is in actuality a new IP, which means it's the perfect time to discuss the potential of this newly crafted world. Assuming that Games Workshop isn't the inspiring factor for yet another Blizzard game, I'll lay out five settings that I hope will catch a few of you off guard.

Here's the thing about Blizzard, they rarely stick to vanilla settings. Diablo is the only real exception, but even it had the addition of the Japanese inspired Assassin class and Celtic inspired Druid class. StarCraft's races range over a several influences and Warcraft pulls stuff from all over the place, chief among them being some steampunk.

Will it be the same for this new IP?

 

Steampunk

Currently a popular choice with several of the MMO dedicated, largely because the niche hasn't been properly filled as of yet, steampunk offers a wide swath of varying settings. Although I've got a personal preference.

Warmachine is tabletop game that's a blend of both steampunk and dark fantasy. It's a world with large mechanized machines controlled by powerful mages, and yet it also has plenty of sci-fi influence too. One of the world's factions -- the Cygnar -- actually fuel a few of their most powerful Warmachines with slightly erratic electrical engines instead of furnaces. Mostly though, it's a very steampunk kind of setting where guys with swords, guns and magic constantly tear each other apart. I highly recommend it to anyone with a thing for the setting.

Blizzard has never been shy with their inspirational sources, and in the case of steampunk and Warmachine, I really wouldn't mind seeing them change their tune. The unfortunate truth is that Warmachine has always been a fascinating world unable to break free from its tabletop origins, which may be intentional on its creator's part. Even so, a Blizzard take on something like the Iron Kingdoms would be an instant hit whether people realize they want it or not.

 

Cyberpunk

Near dystopian futures never seem to go out of style, whether it's Neuromancer, Snow Crash, Blade Runner, The Matrix or Shadowrun. Of course, all these settings take their own paths in weaving a world of technology gone wrong. Some are more post apocalyptic than others, too. Most of my experience with them has been incredibly enthralling.

In the case of cyberpunk, I can see it being sparsely used or twisted into Blizzard's own take on what kind of dark future the world holds for humanity. Admittedly, it would be very interesting to see a cyberpunk MMO from the company who brought us such a game changing title in their first attempt. Still, assuming Blizzard did a cyberpunk MMO, I imagine it wouldn't be too much like anything we're used to up until now.

 

Wuxia

I really loved the world of Jade Empire, and film epics set in the magical far east always seem to capture my imagination. Something about the mysterious "Far East" in movies and videogames is just so very entrancing. Of course, much like the cyberpunk setting I expect that Blizzard is more likely to cherry pick anything they may use from Wuxia. Then again, they did create the Pandarens -- even if it was a little bit of a joke.

If they were looking to stand out in the crowded MMO market, a martial arts epic with a touch of steampunk or maybe even cyberpunk would definitely make everyone take a lot of notice. Something both modern and fantastical, with identifiable fantasy trappings alongside strange and less common locales of the far east.

A guy can hope, right? I admit, this one is a bit of a reach. But if anything, maybe one of the races in their upcoming MMO will be heavily influenced by wuxia. Maybe we'll see Pandarens redux for all I know.

                                                                                              Part 2

 

Dark Fantasy

Diablo fits into this category, but so do many other games and settings. Everything from BioWare's upcoming Dragon Age -- which leans a little more towards classic fantasy with elves and dwarfs -- to the aforementioned Warhamchine, which while heavily steampunk also carries many dark fantasy connotations.

It's hard to guess what's going to be popular in a couple years, let alone the several it takes to develop an MMO. Still, one thing you can count on is for people to be interested in a dark world with a mysterious backstory. That's why I'm fairly certain that whether it's science fiction, fantasy, steampunk or whatever, it'll probably be darker than World of Warcraft.

 

Science Fantasy

It's not a term you hear too often, but Science Fantasy is something everyone probably quite familiar with: Star Wars. This is basically a world where, while science fiction is seemingly the source setting, fantasy is always lurking somewhere in the background. Star Wars being the very obvious example with the Force, evil emperors and Jedi, but there are other settings as well.

A more recent franchise would be Mass Effect, which leans more towards sci-fi, but still carries some classic fantasy trappings like the game's reliance on dark energy to explain why people can perform the equivalence force push and create gravity wells. Still, Mass Effect is largely a sci-fi game first -- but the example holds.

Obviously this would be double edged choice with Star Wars: The Old Republic coming along in a few years. Could Blizzard out-Star Wars, Star Wars? That's a pretty tall order and something I don't even really know how to answer. Part of me just wants to see them try it, to be honest.

Conclusion

Whatever it is that Blizzard is cooking up you can bet that it'll be their take on an established genre. Will it be a mixture of one or more of the above? Possibly, especially since I did cover a decent spread.

 

 

 

There's always the chance that we'll all be pleasantly surprised by something completely unexpected. I would say that with two major fantasy heavy titles and only one sci-fi title under their belt, chance favors this new IP to be sci-fi focused. On the other hand, Blizzard can kind of do whatever they want, It's really up to the men and women in charge. Something tells me that whatever they do, it'll be worth playing regardless.
 

igda chicago had a meeting that i attended with some of the head dev's working on this mmo. while the discussion was mainly set about how to get started in the mmo business. they did release some information. i do know thier office is in chicago, and that its not a new IP. its something that blizzard has done before, just making an mmo out of. they were surprised when blizzard approached them with it. they also reffer to blizzard as actizard now. 

now this might have been diablo3 ( i consider diablo to be a mini mmo) they were working on, or it might be something else. all i know is that blizzard is coming out with something. then again who knows whats up blizzards sleeve.

Originally posted by maniacfox

I think you missed out one of the biggest genres that is missing at the moment, HORROR. I don't mean weird alien-esque crap like Hellgate London was, I mean the real thing Vampires, Zombies, Werewolves, proper horror!!

I sure hope blizz don't make a game like that.   But if they do im sure WoD will be better anyways.

Originally posted by maniacfox

I think you missed out one of the biggest genres that is missing at the moment, HORROR. I don't mean weird alien-esque crap like Hellgate London was, I mean the real thing Vampires, Zombies, Werewolves, proper horror!!

CCP bought Whitewolf, the mega-huge RPG publisher, creators and owners of The World of Darkness (vampire the masquerade, hunter, etc.). Why would they do this? Well they now own a huge publishing company, so that's always good to have. More importantly they own World of Darkness and have started working on creating basically World of Darkness Online. I believe they have made some statements that they are in the planning stages or have started work, could be wrong though heh.

If it's true then I think we'll be in for the ultimate Zombie/Vamp/Werewolf/whatever game. Just have to wait for some info to be released on it.

Oh and Blizz isn't the only bunch keeping things hush hush on a new mmo. Squaresoft has something new in the works too, same secrecy as Blizz's project.

They need a game  combo of Diablo mob killing, AoC siege(asumeing it works) and WoW PvE with Ultima Online PvP.

Originally posted by Lord_Ixigan

Originally posted by maniacfox

I think you missed out one of the biggest genres that is missing at the moment, HORROR. I don't mean weird alien-esque crap like Hellgate London was, I mean the real thing Vampires, Zombies, Werewolves, proper horror!!

 

CCP bought Whitewolf, the mega-huge RPG publisher, creators and owners of The World of Darkness (vampire the masquerade, hunter, etc.). Why would they do this? Well they now own a huge publishing company, so that's always good to have. More importantly they own World of Darkness and have started working on creating basically World of Darkness Online. I believe they have made some statements that they are in the planning stages or have started work, could be wrong though heh.

If it's true then I think we'll be in for the ultimate Zombie/Vamp/Werewolf/whatever game. Just have to wait for some info to be released on it.

Oh and Blizz isn't the only bunch keeping things hush hush on a new mmo. Squaresoft has something new in the works too, same secrecy as Blizz's project.

Yes, it's true that CCP has been working on a WoD MMO.  This has been in the works for quite some time now.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/world-of-darkness-mmo-in-4-5-years

As for the new Blizz mmo, I'm curious as to what they come up with.  I can't deny that I played WoW for years.  Regardless of what others say about the game, I loved the pre BC WoW experience and many others are still enjoying their time in the game.

Originally posted by Wizardry

When i look at all the stuff Blizzard has done,i have yet to see ONE full complete project utilizing up to date standards.Tehy have ALWAYS been known for using OLD tech and selling it off as new tech ,i expect NOTHING to change now,why would they change,many reguard them as gods.

Blizzard is like a car salesman,we got you a 10k car but hey look it has all the features and is polished :D,so since it has al lthe featuyres and is polished we should be able to pan off this 10k car and market it as a lambourghini :D

Overhead views,low tech graphics,cheap models,instances are the norm not the added content.Combat is copied ,quests are the exact same hum drub,but we have our subscribers fooled ,they all aclaim we are doing everything different :D,and and ya our quests are POLISHED :D

No matter how cheap i feel Blizzard is ,in their productions, i still anticipate ANY new game by any developer in hopes they have grown up and can stand on their own two feet and deliver a product worthy of innovation and effort.Although i have extreme doubt in Blizzard's abilities to deliver innovation or anything unique,i will still withhold judgement until the product is finalized.

One thing i have got my eye on is the TIMING of Blizzards new game.SOE we know is the developer Blizzard likes to follow rather than lead and so happens SOE followed a new strategy in making a [so called  Free Realms game].Perhaps Blizzard is once again following in SOE 's footsteps?just a thought,i am not totally sold they are that lame ..YET.Just ask yourself what other ideas have come about recently and then remember it and see if Blizzard once again copies other developers brilliance[i fully expect it actually].

The idea behind the game HAS to be low tech as they will no doubt re use that ancient cheap gaming engine,because we would have heard of any liscensing deals and there has been none.Blizzard with all their money have yet to develop ANYTHING close to a decent game engine,i mean EPIC has 70 employees and is years ahead of Blizzard ,,sad really.

Simple guess?cartoon graphics,perhaps a free realms type game or they will rehash one of their own games .I know they recently bought some cheap old game ,i can't remeber the name of it ?leisure suit larry or redneck rampage,something like that.There is a VERY good reason a developer buys the rights to a game and it is not to play the game lol,they have plans for it so don't be surprised if it is related to the purchse.

I always thought Blizzard was smart for making their games have low system requirements. Believe it or not, lots of people have crappy gaming PCs or macs but despite this handicap still wish to casually play games. Blizzard, unlike many of their competitors, makes a product this demigraphic can actually use. I'm not advocating everyone should do the same, personally I love playing a game like Fallout3 at max settings and being blown away by visuals.

Also, Requiem - for the horror MMO discussion.

Originally posted by SaintViktor

 

 

 

 

We've got a good reason to believe that Blizzard's next MMO is in actuality a new IP

what would be that reason?

im 100% positive that Blizzard said that for every game they released. We'r talking about a company that considers changing the art concepts 15% and renaming the races a new IP.

Inb4 "Transformables", "Pirates of the burning WoW" or "Age of Cohen"