a friend of mine made up a DnD campaign based on Oregon Trail.

it was AWESOME! Amish was a race and classes were Banker, Snake Oil Peddler etc... Farmers were the tanks, and the skill Farmer's Tan allowed them to absorb some damage.

there wasn't any magic. altho i see an appeal in mixing fantasy elements and magic with the wild west, i think the current market is ready to distance themselves from that. (anyone remember Wild ARMS 3?)

Oregon was an entire continent, ready to be explo(red)(ited)(ded).

anyway, THIS article is really focused on the whole outlaw thing and i would want to see the scope widened. i dont want to be limited to either robbing trains or, uh... killing people trying to rob trains...

alot of folks would be content to pan for gold or fur trap, slap their goods on a burro, and build a trade empire... ya know, eventually build and own a railroad or two?

i was reading up on SoE's new title The Agency and its free play business model

http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/setView/news/gameID/292/showArticle/8562

SoE considers the micro-transaction model to be the future of MMO gaming (that is, paying real money to gain access to areas, levels, and items... instead of a monthly fee)

what worries me is the thought that this could get pricey!

say you currently spend $15.00 a month for a subscription fee... if in this new business model weapons and armor etc are each $0.99 (think iTunes songs) that means your monthly budget would be 15 new items a month which i find really low considering how much i can usually achieve in a month of play normally... and what if the items are consumable like health potions? how much is winning a PvP fight worth?

the argument FOR this model is a good one: people only pay for what they want.

the argument i see AGAINST is encouragement of twitchy buying:

"hmm i already spent $20 this month... but if i buy 1000 gold i can afford this [Axe of Slaughteringness]!!!"

what do you think? am i being stingy? does everyone already buy from eBay...?

The game itself is based in a world several hundred years after the events of Dragon Ball. This allows for both well-known characters and all-new characters to be introduced to gamers. Players can freely customize their hair, clothing and other facets of their character, group with other players and defeat powerful enemies and quests. Players can also challenge one another in combat."

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2007-03-20/dragon-ball-online-mmo-to-be-released-in-2008