MMORPG.com columnist Justin Webb focuses his sights this week on Wizards of the Coast's Magic IP and why we haven't seen an MMO version of it yet.
The journey to bring the Magic: the Gathering game online has been a bumpy one.
The Microprose “Shandalar” game was a promising start. In this 1997 PC game (and its two sequels), players ventured across a large 2D landscape in search of the planeswalker Azarkon. Monsters were killed by defeating them at Magic. New cards for your deck could be found from NPCs, stores, and as loot from monsters. Players could also fight their way through dungeons, trying to get to the final boss while managing their health between fights (kinda like an instance). There were rudimentary attempts at character progressions, deck building, inventory, gold, towns, etc. Players couldn’t play in the world together, but there was a multiplayer matchmaking option where players could duel online. The best bit was that you could play with all the old power cards. Sounds quite MMO-ish in places, right?
Read Why No Magic: The Gathering MMO?
