Should "Intellectual Properties" Be Made into MMORPGs Debate at MMORPG.com

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MMORPG.com features a debate between two staff members on whether major settings, such as the Lord of the Rings or Star Trek, should be made into MMORPGs. Here's what one of them says in the beginning:

Jon Wood: There are a number of flaws in the concept of companies developing MMORPGs based on major pre-existing franchises. I can clearly see why it is done. It creates a pre-made customer base and almost guarantees a strong launch. Unfortunately, from a gamer point of view, these games are doomed to fall short. All you have to do is look at game like “Star Wars: Galaxies”, which has been on the receiving end of a never-ending barrage of criticism because the game doesn’t live up to the epic expectations of either Star Wars fans, or MMORPG fans.

What another example? How about the criticism that Turbine has received for their new game, Dungeons and Dragons Online: Stormreach? Players have been waiting for a long time to get their hands on an MMORPG version of their favorite pen and paper game. Now that one is in production, the complaints are coming in about everything from the choice of gaming world (Eberron, which is the newest and least established of the gaming worlds from Wizards of the Coast), to the use of the 3.5 edition rule set. In short, many players are turning away from these games because they do not, and in my opinion, can not, live up to the enormous expectations put upon them by the strength of their individual franchises.

Personally, I just hate how great literary and/or film settings are referred to as "Intellectual Properties." It just sucks. Are we going to start referring to books as "products" now? And I wish someone did Dune, speaking of MMORPGs and literary settings, anyway. Well, say what you think.

Read the rest at MMORPG.com.

[ January 29, 2006, 01:18: Message edited by: chevalier ]

 

Sucks. I can kinda see the D&D one working, I absolutely can't see a Star Wars one working. D&D because it's set up in a way that's at least a little bit like what D&D is made for (ie: you can group up with people and kill stuff - though it doesn't fit perfectly). Star Wars ... well, Star Wars is about the epic adventures of a few heroes to me - making MMORPG impossible. An original IP needs to be designed so that there's a reason that there are thousands of people running around doing pointless quests and killing random stuff...

But MMORPGs suck anyway...

 

In Star Wars, perhaps you could establish the rule that players can't play members of the famous Force Sensitive families or ruling families or anyone with such connections. Then it would work, especially if we set it ages before the films (like KotOR) or maybe in the New Republic times (like the other games). If you were to make a game in the Episode IV-VI setting, you would need to find a way to help players get over their actions being unable to influence history. Either that or alternative history. Besides, everyone would want to be a Jedi and that would be flawed.

As for D&D, I'm not so sure. Players will always find a way around the system. They will always use exploits and develop lame tactics rather than play the normal way. And you won't ever be able to make them roleplay their alignments properly or to make min-maxers roleplay their handicaps. There will always be the problem of a 160 IQ person playing a 6 INT barbarian and being a smart tactician and the know-it-all of the party behind the stages. Plus, player charisma will replace character charisma between players. So the same 6 INT barbarian could as well have 6 CHA to couple with it and still make friends easily, lead people, pick up girls/guys and all.

 

Star Wars Galaxies actually wasn't bad when it was first released. But then the owners decided to completely redo the character development. Pre-screwup, to become a Jedi you had to spend months training your character to do some special jedi quest, but now jedi is just another class, presumably because the owners thought that letting people be jedi from the beginning would attract star wars fanboys. PC Gamer (UK version) thoughtt it warranted a re-review. 27%.

 

Yeah - sure, maybe you could do a Star Wars MMORPG like that - but IMO it would miss the important elements of Star Wars.

As for the D&D thing - yeah, but I wasn't even thinking along the lines of RP, but more the kind of D&D where you just run around and kill thing to take their stuff. Sure, it would be missing a good half of the concept of D&D - but meh...