In the final part of editor Chris "Pwyff" Tom's series of most anticipated MMORPGs and how they can succeed, Pwyff checks out some of the more innovative frontiers of anticipated MMORPGs.

Welcome back to the third and final part of my "Most Anticipated MMOs and How They Can Succeed" series! If anyone was keeping an eye on BlizzCon last week, I'm sure you're all very disappointed that Blizzard decided not to mention anything about their newest MMORPG. Interestingly enough, Mike Morhaime, President and co-founder of Blizzard, was quoted on IGN.com as saying that "it's [Blizzard's undeclared MMO] still in early development. You won't hear anything for a while," which allows me to speculate that perhaps this new MMO will be set to come out a year or two after all of the big names have already made their debut (Aion, FFXIV, Star Wars: TOR, Guild Wars 2). Of course, the only company that's capable of spending years and years developing a brand new IP would be Blizzard, as most, if not all, other development companies simply cannot afford to sit around developing a game for so long.

Of course, this article isn't going to cover World of Warcraft or anything of the sort; I just wanted to update readers as to how Blizzard is developing their baby MMO. You don't retain millions of users worldwide by simply creating a great game - timing is just as important in keeping those millions of users from straying from your flock. Let's look at some upcoming MMORPGs that threaten to cull some of Blizzard's gaming herd.

Guild Wars 2

I'm being very honest and very embarrassed here when I note that I never really got to play Guild Wars the first. When Guild Wars originally came out in 2005, I was already two years entrenched in the world of Final Fantasy XI, and I wouldn't be coming out for at least another year or two. Either way, even though I missed the opportunity to hop onto the Guild Wars PvP train, the game has done extraordinarily well without me, managing to sell upwards of 6 million copies worldwide. Unfortunately, Guild Wars has never been able to really capitalize upon its massive user base, as any fan will tell you that the game has no subscription fee and it runs purely off of game sales. Of course, it could very well be this 'true' free to play nature of Guild Wars that has attracted its huge following, so NCsoft has confirmed, once more, that Guild Wars 2 will follow its predecessor in being absolutely free to play.

Either way, last week at GamesCom, NCsoft surprised me by releasing the first trailer for Guild Wars 2. In reality, it wasn't surprising that NCsoft was working on a Guild Wars 2; rather, it was just surprising to be reminded of it when I hadn't heard much from this South Korea based MMO company. Looking at the trailer, I was very impressed by the artistic direction of the game and as a guy who definitely appreciated the aesthetics behind Aion, I'm happy to see the influences of Aion in this game. As well, while it's obvious that the team isn't showing off their in-game mechanics just yet, I remain confident that they'll be looking towards focusing even more heavily upon smooth PvP mechanics and maintaining a high skill cap for all players.

What they need to do to succeed: In reality, Guild Wars is one of those very rare MMOs that succeeded after the uber-behemoth, World of Warcraft, came stomping into markets. One of the key selling points for Guild Wars is, and has always been, the fact that the game has no monthly subscription fees and the fact that it advertises itself as a very 'PvP-centric' game with a lot of rewards for skilled players. This will definitely be NCsoft's key selling point for Guild Wars 2. Of course, it's difficult to compete with an 'all around' MMORPG like World of Warcraft in just a few key areas (PvP), but the Guild Wars franchise has never been interested in being the best all around MMORPG in the world, otherwise NCsoft would look to make it their flagship subscription title, alongside Lineage. Instead, Guild Wars was originally launched as being the PvP game, and fans have reciprocated with 6 million copies purchased.

To be honest, there isn't much I can suggest to the team making Guild Wars 2, aside from the demands that they themselves know too well: don't make it too grindy, make combat smooth and intuitive and make sure PvP is the focus of the game! In reality, if the team develops Guild Wars 2 under the same design theories as Guild Wars the original, I have all the confidence in the world that this will be a powerhouse title to look out for.

Star Trek Online and other space-based MMORPGs (Black Prophecy, Jumpgate Evolution, Stargate Worlds, etc)

Star Trek Online is probably the most famous of the 'space-based' MMORPGs, but it's EVE Online that's currently the only space MMO on the market. I realize that there's a massive fan following for the sci-fi themed MMORPG, but every time I hear about a new one entering the sphere, I become concerned that this might just be too many sci-fi MMOs launching into an unexplored space-sorry, puns need to be there. The only MMO that doesn't look like it will suffer from sharing the market with EVE Online, however, will probably be Cryptic's Star Trek Online - a game that will fuse ship to ship combat with the ability for players to 'beam' down to planets and engage in some intense phaser combat. Players will start the game as Captains of their ships, where they will take command of a crew of AI-lead minions who add tactical bonuses to both the ship and the group, and they stick with you throughout the game. As players 'level up' in Star Trek Online, they'll also gain access to more bonuses, better ships and more customization for their ships. Cryptic is a team that's become almost synonymous with extreme levels of customization, so it's difficult not to see them taking advantage of all of the unique opportunities that Star Trek Online offers in terms of customization.

All in all, Star Trek Online does appear to be leading the pack for our next generation of sci-fi MMORPGs, but that title could very well be retained by current industry leader EVE Online if STO doesn't manage to deliver. The sci-fi MMO industry is a barely tested one at best. Could EVE Online's 500,000 subscriber base be a much smaller version of the World of Warcraft phenomenon? Industry leaders around the world constantly point to World of Warcraft's 11.5 million subscribers as being an anomaly of the MMO system, and that any MMORPG with a subscriber base over 500,000 could be considered a success. If it turns out that EVE Online's 500,000 subscribers is the best that the space themed MMO industry will get, you can definitely expect competing sci-fi MMORPGs to start dropping out of this particular space race.

What they need to do to succeed: Honestly speaking, after taking a peek at IGN's preview of STO, while I'm fairly excited to see how cool the ship to ship combat will be, I'm also worried that this game will be more of a single player space experience played with hundreds of thousands of people. With Cryptic noting that much of the combat will take place either on a ship with an AI-lead crew, or on a planet with an AI-lead party, I'm not entirely sure how much opportunity will be given for that massively multiplayer experience. There might be the offering of a huge, unexplored area that's 'designated' for group warfare and multiplayer engagements, but it's definitely a concern if Cryptic doesn't manage to implement the massively aspect of their MMO.

For both Star Trek Online and any other space themed MMORPG set to come out, the second problem facing them is the difficulty of not becoming a copy of EVE Online. While fantasy themed MMOs can be as varied as snowflakes in winter, it's obvious that many systems can, and will, overlap. With space themed MMORPGs, however, there is a greater risk of overlapping too much with each other, as these MMOs will all be trying to combine ship to ship combat with a massively multiplayer universe. On the other hand, there are some design choices in EVE Online that just feel like an absolute necessity with any space themed MMORPG - like absolutely unrestricted open markets and massive consequences for player decisions.

I'd only be really interested in sci-fi MMOs if they make sure to immerse the player in the role as a captain of a ship and the leader of a crew. Decisions need to be weighed with responsibility, and the sign of a truly good game is one that immerses you in the game and allows role playing to come naturally - rather than requiring players to stay in character or risk shattering the bubble. Perhaps I'm being delusional when I say that I believe high learning curves and huge consequences for player decisions should be inherently tied up with the space / sci-fi MMORPG, but I hope that at least one of these MMOs will deliver. A Captain of a ship taking responsibility for those aboard; I think that that premise alone is a Petri dish ripe with millions of brilliant design choices.

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And that's all for my series on my "Most Anticipated MMORPGs and How They Can Succeed!" Let's all keep our eyes and ears open for the coming years, and, if you're perceptive enough, I'm sure most of you can see the wheels and cogs of the MMO industry turning as we look to this new wave of massively multiplayer goodness.

Part I of the series can be found here.
Part II of the series can be found here.

Christopher "Pwyff" Tom
Editor
ZAM.com