Go to any MMORPG forum and you’ll see countless threads complaining about the state of MMORPGs today. Some of these complaints are valid while others are just whining, but it appears that a majority of MMO gamers think that the MMORPG scene has grown stale over the last few years. A slew of over hyped and under performing games in recent years are partially to blame as well as the industries “lets just copy World of Warcraft” mentality. Studios are desperately trying to mimic the success Blizzard has had with WOW and gamers are suffering for it.

Fury, Hellgate, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes and Tabula Rasa were all over hyped and in my opinion did not deliver, some more than others. I looking at you Fury and HellGate. It seems that the only “good” MMORPG was Lord of the Rings Online. I put it in quotes because even though I don’t consider the game to be good, it did win a few awards for MMORPG of the Year. How? Well, its not hard to win when you have no real competion. I was basically a watered down version of WOW set in the Middle Earth universe.

In 2008 we get to look forward to the next generation of MMORPG.  Age of Conan and Warhammer Online both arguably the most anticipated MMORPGs of the year promise to revolutionize the genre with new PvP and combat systems. Will that be enough for gamers, only time will tell.

So whats the next step for MMORPGs? What I’d like to see is a step away from the cookie cutter MMOs and an attempt to make a truly unique game. I think the next big thing in MMOs will be player driven storylines. Waiting for an expansion or content update will be a thing of the past. MMOs will be driven by the players themselves, with a website dedicated to the going ons of the game universe. Players will be the ones giving the quests, making the rules and creating the storylines. Guilds will start wars with other guilds not because there bored, but because they want more land and wealth. Your actions will not only effect your own character but all characters. You might log off one day in your town only to find out that it has been sacked by a rival guild and your guild has taken shelter in a cave. Top players will be listed as people of importance with special items as reward for killing them or perhaps to help protect them.

The options are endless, however I don’t think we’ll see a game like this anywhere in near future, although I am confident that this will be eventually where MMOs go.

Did you know that there are other MMO gamers out there who play MMOs that are not called World of Warcraft? Shocking, I know! In fact, I am one of them! *gasp* Yes, despite Blizzard constantly reminding us all how much they rule our lives with their 9 million + subscribers there are other MMORPGs out there sporting healthy, boastful communities. So, determined to find out what other gamers thought of the megaton behemoth, I headed on over to various EVE Online, Tabula Rasa, and Everquest 2 forums to find out the skinny on what they think of the game. Check it out:

Tabula Rasa Players - Forum LINK

Lomez said: “It’s a decent game I guess. It seems to be doing alright, based on how often these three letters seem to crop up anywhere and anytime in discussions about… anything. I really like the genre, but I’ve never really been interested in this particular little game. I often get the feeling that I’m the only one who has never played it.”

Puh said: “It’s too simple. All there is to do is to run between quests all the time. When I finally level up I get x amount of attribute points, hp, mana etc, and that’s it. When choosing armor, there’s only one type to go, or I’d gimp myself. The weapon choices are very limited, [and] even “twinking” is just to get the best weapon, armor and enchants, and that’s it. [Also] it puts to high of demands on the player. So many times have I entered a clans website, and to be recruited I need to have some basic stats, like resist fire or whatever. What I [do] like about WoW, is the battlegrounds. I can go there when I want and leave when I want, I’m not too fond of open world pvp.”

Harlz said: “WoW is a very solid game as would be expected of a skilled company that could spend a large amount of money and time on fleshing out a consistent design vision. It doesn’t really add that much new to the genre but it polishes the mechanics that do exist. The strengths it has are that the leveling is varied, relatively easy and done through entertaining quests. . . Sadly it does tend to “block the light” for most other MMORPG’s, including TR.

Everquest 2 Players - Forum LINK

Vendetta said: “The cartoon graphics were not appealing to me from the get-go, but I suffered through them for the sake of the promised ‘excellent gameplay’. Admittedly the playability was good [it was] extremely easy to learn, use and very intuitive. The first couple of weeks of play I was having a blast, but, of course, as you progress you see more of the game, explore more of the world and meet more people. This was pretty much the turning point for me. . . For me it is the community that accounts for about 50% of how fun an MMO can be. The maturity level and lack of commitment from pretty much everyone I ever played [WoW] with left much to be desired.”\

Absentmindedmage said: “I have never understood the World of Warcraft hating people put out.  I guess it just seems cool to hate a game that everyone else loves and is so popular.  Perhaps, it makes them feel like they are not a conformist. Anyways, I have played both WoW and EQ2.  I have my level 70 characters in EQ2, so I have put in time and effort in understanding the game.   My feeling is that WoW is a better polished game than EQ2.  It is true that EQ2 has a level of complexity that WoW doesnt with regard to spells and combat arts but other than that it really has little over WoW.”

EVE Online Players - Forum LINK

Jenny Spitfire said: “Well, they are targetting children and above though as their customers. Also, it will be difficult to maintain two different game systems i.e. Normal, RP and PvP servers to have a system like EvE. One reason they put up [the] Honour system and Battlegrounds [in WoW]. They dont fit the game very well because I dont think they ever thought about a PvP system in the game when they designed it.”

wierchas said: ”In my honest opinion, WoW sucks. Boring game!”

Interesting stuff! As you can see each person has a varied opinion of World of Warcraft. Also, please note, that, for whatever reason, I had a harder time getting opinions from people of some games than others, notably Everquest 2. I don’t know why. I’d have assumed that EQ2 players would be most hostile towards WoW as it seems almost like a direct competitor to the game (both being fantasy MMOs released within the same timeframe), but really it appears that EVE Online players had the least and harshest things to say about the game.

Feel free to contribute your own opinions, if you have any.