Turbine, I think, has gone in the same direction as other big name developers. They decided that producing a game based of an already popular IP will sell and produce the most profit.

Games like AC that are based off of a completely original story and world that are unique to that game only are a rare breed indeed these days. No one wants to hire professional fantasy authors and have them construct a completely new and radical form of fantasy and then base a game off of it. With so much money tied in to these games failure is NOT an option, thus you see the current batch of MMORPGs coming out all based off of popular IPs or based off of tried and true old fantasy concepts (orcs, dragons, elves, ect.)

No one wants to dream up a race of proud and fierce giants trying to carve out a home in the mountains of Dereoth(ms?) or a breed of 3 legged pack hunting lizard beasts that skulk in the marshes and swamps to ambush unwary travelers.

There is only one entity out there at the moment who I believe has the power to being to light an MMORPG that could shake the industry to it's core and set a new standard for them all...

http://greenmonstergames.net/

...stay tuned.

IPs get a lot of attention, but original storylines keep their subscribers from what I've seen.

Who wouldn't want to be a Jedi? Practically no one, and that’s the problem with IPs. There are certain personas, classes, or races that people MUST be.

How many people are going to make an Elf in LoTR online and specialize in Bow? Probably most of the people who saw the move and thought "Man, Legolas is sooo cool!"

Or all the people that are going to make an Axe wielding dwarf because "Nobody tosses a DWARF!"

Of course their will be a lot of people who will try to make something new and original out of it. They will try to that Tolkien's story to a new level and experience something new inside the world he created.

And why will both mind sets fail? Here’s why:

The first will fail because the story won't "do it" for him/her. With so many others running around with similar characters, they won't be able to recreate the movie/story with their characters or forge one similar. That sense of awe they experienced when they first read the books or saw the movie will begin to dim because they are not getting what they hoped for...which was everything! The developers will begin to inevitably change the storyline from its original path and try to add new things to the game that will either not mesh well with the game at all or destroy the feel of the game to the point where most people who enjoyed the IP won't feel any connection with the game at all.

And the other mind set will have some better success, but some will eventually realize that their goals in the game will be impossible to accomplish because of the restricting nature and predictability of the IP. They will try to influence the changes that will run off the first type and then decide to quit because they could only change so much about the game's concepts from the IP.

I really hope more developers start to hire fantasy authors with visions of completely new and radical Fantasy/Sci-Fi worlds to play in and explore. Both mind sets need to be put in a world where they must choose a path they have never really traveled before and find what they gravitate to naturally as far as characters and play style go. Then they need to explore a world where they have no expectations and find a way to create their own story and be apart of a much larger one all at the same time.

Say no to Dragons, Jedi, Paladins, Ewoks, Halflings, Elves and Orcs!

Lets make something no one has ever seen before!

(Btw, I didn't mean to single out LoTR online, they just happened to be a good example)

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Originally posted by mbblade
well you can start a new server with all the OLD content, so it would be like startig over at day one

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Now that is a good idea! The very second I hear that is going to happened I'm going to be sprinting to the nearest computer to give Turbine my card number!

Seriously, EQ did it, it worked.

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Originally posted by martinj63

I don't see this as a bad thing considering most of their IPs utterly failed under his watch.  I hate to see him going to Capcom...Codemasters would be a better fit for him I think.

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P.S. If your so committed to these ideals how do you feel about this site running ads for services that caters to these kinds of people and mindsets (Powerleveling, gold farming, etc.)?

Actually, the sarcasm was laid on too thick. To the point of being REALLY irritating. I don't mind the use of sarcasm to present a point from an extreme perspective, but dang...I just wanted to hit something after I read that.

But, personal writing craft opinion aside, point taken. And a good point at that. MMORPGs are made "online" so lots of "people" can play "together" and form "friendships" in the game. Grinding as quickly as possible to be the first person in the game to hit max level just to finish the game in a MMO is like buying a box full of beaded necklaces for Marti Gra, handing them out as quick as possible so as to miss every "show" for each necklace, going back to your buddies and saying...

 "Look, I handed out all these beads!"

"Wow, you must have seen a TON of boobies!"

"What?...no, actually I just handed them out as quick as possible so every girl got enough to go home happy! Thats the point of it, right?"

"...WHAT!?"

Mad props on the Monty Python quote, I thought I was the only person in the Western hemisphere with a copy of Spamalot!

But as far as the topic goes, I hate corporate consolidation. No competition generally leads to low quality product and price gouging. Mom and Pop stores are just ants to be crushed by the flip-flop sandal of the fat bully that is corporate America! And you know who is the worse, Starbucks! These guys just-

*sniper fire from a Starbuck's hired assassin*

*thud*

"Always look on the bright side of death..."

"Just before you draw your terminal breath..."

"Life’s a piece of $#!^, when you look at it..."

"Life’s a laugh and deaths the joke its true..."

Just so you know, my earlier post was more of a lukewarm complement. By next gen, I mean current batch of MMOs in development, not a new benchmark or anything to go by really.

And just to prove that I don't have pink fluff in front of me I'll look around for it...

*takes a minute to look around*

Well, I don't see anything ye-...OMG, THERE IT IS! PINK FLUFF! AGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

*runs out of the room screaming*

nooooooo...it's following meeeee...

Warning: Personal Rant

Not to be the prophet of doom, but it seems like every day I go and check out Age of Conan, I get this sinking feeling this game is never going to see the light of day.

Any MMORPG I've followed with this kind of anticipation has either been canceled in development or become a gigantic flop. To give you some examples of games I've followed: Wish, Dragon Empires, Dark and Light, Asheron's Call 2(way back in the day when I used to play the first AC). The only game I followed that was kinda of successful was Ryzom, but my computer had trouble handling that one for some reason.

When they were developing World of Warcraft and Everquest II, I never even gave them a look because I was following these other games, and now their both huge hits.

Honestly, I'm getting so superstrious about this that I'm thinking about just going cold turkey and not following any MMOs while their being made so I don't some how jinks them some how.

And in response to the author of the article, yes, you are starving us conent wise. Yes, you need to throw us a bone, like a fansite kit or something to hold us over. It's getting close to the holidays and a lot of other games are going to be coming out so if you don't want the entire community going A.D.D. on you, you better put out...some content. 

I guess the old bird(DAoC) needed some new make-up(new expansion).

Although I'm sure they thought up the idea for the minoTAUR "all on their own", I can't help but think..."WoW, it sounds really familiar."

I wonder if their just going to recycle the character models of minotaurs in ToA for this new player race.

Sounds cost EAffective, I guess.

Well, you made your bed (with EA in it) now you get to sleep in it. Seriously, it's your guys company so you can do what ever you want with it. If this turns out to be a bad move on your part, then being under EA's leash will be punishment enough. Good luck, I REALLY hope you know what your doing.

DON'T LEAVE EA AND WARHAMMER IN THE SAME ROOM TOGETHER ALONE!