OnRPG’s Community Predicts 2013

 

Join the discussion as our community regulars show their experience in the industry throwing out predictions on everything from business model changes to games shutting down to major hits and overhyped flops. See it all and contribute your thoughts in OnRPG/MMOHut’s combined forums!

The Failures of 2012 and Reactions in 2013

By Remko Molenaar (Proxzor), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

When I look back at last year, I’m not going to look back and think of something corny like 2012 was yet again a good year for gaming. No, I won’t do the same as I did last year. Last year, we have seen many successes and unfortunately also some failures which frighten me to know what the future might bring. We have had a simple idea, raise forth as what was just a side hobby grow into something unimaginable big. Undoubtedly you already know what I might be talking about unless you have been laying under a rock for the last year. The success that DayZ has had; only a few game developers have achieved this unthinkable golden hit. When I think back at 2012, I will see the passion of a normal ordinary human being that has been working for a relatively unknown studio seeing his dreams come true with only a small side project he liked to work on in his spare time. And because of this success that suddenly rose up out of the unthinkable and hard market for developers, there is also a bitter pill one must swallow when achieving success. Over the last few years, we have seen many big companies battling it out in court because some of the features in games, lyrics in songs, or shapes of devices have all been looking a lot like each other. Obviously both developers don’t want their hard work stolen or used by other.

 

 

It was no surprise that when the success of DayZ got many gamers hooked, and the game was talked about on many websites and even on TV, there would be someone somewhere trying to steal his idea and implement it into his own game. And obviously I am talking here about WarZ. I will not go into full detail because that is a subject for later, but I do want to mention that I surely hope others see the futility of this effort and avoid repeating the same mistake in 2013. Competition is a good thing, but what WarZ has shown us that an incomplete game with false promises will not be tolerated in today’s competitive industry. Besides seeing games being born by only the passion from one man, we have also seen games bearing a huge IP take a huge hit for trying to cash in on such legacies without having the backing to live up to it in the fans’ eyes.

 

 

Obviously I am talking about Star Wars the Old Republic here. I myself, was one of the many people hyping it up for release because the game looked just perfect, and even felt like it could be a true WoW killer at long last. BioWare, a studio so big and known for producing one amazing hit after another, has been fading away from prominence over the last few years and unfortunately SWTOR was not the title to turn this trend around. Now I’m not saying this game was a complete failure, no not at all. I personally found it contained an enjoyable story to follow and the game was a lot of fun, but it simply fell flat overall compared to how hyped I felt for it.

 

 

So my predictions for 2013? This might vary from the other writers but I don’t see any game having great success this year. As far as I have seen and experienced over the last few years, even the new upcoming standalone of DayZ might be a complete failure. What I do predict however is, that we will see a glimpse of a brighter future for buy to play and fully free to play MMO’s. With big titles such as The Secret World and SWTOR changing their financial plans, I suspect that paying monthly for a game will soon be recognized widely as an outdated system. The cash shop is something we have seen for many years, and somehow no one really understood the true potential behind this big fat cow that cannot wait to lose its milk. Last year we even witnessed the most anticipated title of the year, Guild Wars 2, utilize a cash shop straight from launch.

 

 

I for one am truly happy to see the cash shop being discovered in its true potential. When I was a young little gamer, I didn’t have any money. And heck when I even had my weekly pocket money, I’d spent it all on candy and food in the supermarket instead of some silly game when there were cheaper ones out there. By making the game free to play for everyone but giving the option of buying the extra unnecessary but still awesome items, you open up your market for a lot more people.

 

 

Even though these items might cost less than a monthly payment, but because your market is now bigger, you might sell even more. The true enthusiasts will even make up for 10 to 20+ players that don’t spend a dime if you design the shop well enough. When I look at this year besides the many titles that are announced, all I can predict is that 2013 will be the year when the MMORPG genre matures up. I am not talking about the community, because as long as the internet is anonymous, we will stay massive trolls to each other. I am obviously talking about games being free-to-play. Sure many games have had a success in the past with having a monthly income of payers, but the market has changed, gamers have wised up, and there are far too many hands in the industry fighting over the player-base pie.

Sandbox Games – The MMO Industry’s Reality Check and Rise of Freemium

By Jordan Hall (ApocaRUFF), OnRPG Journalist

 

 

To anyone that has been following recent MMO news, it will be obvious that the industry is heading towards a more sandbox-y direction. Freedom and options are quickly cutting a path to the top preferred features in an MMORPG. People want to be able to live virtual lives, rather than get on a virtual themepark ride. I don’t know about you, but I am truly excited about this and it’s about damn time.

 

 

As well as sandbox mechanics becoming the norm, Freemium is on the rise as well. Freemium is when a game offers a free account type that is usually limited in some way, as well as a non-limited pay to play option. Freemium games often have non-pay-to-win cash shops that offer cosmetic and time-saving items, but nothing that gives you a game breaking advantage over other players. This is also something I like as it provides free gameplay with quality development, without a pay-to-win cash shop that ruins the game.

 

 

As they always do, Indie games have paved the way with their risky innovation, and the large companies are following in their path. In 2006, Rolf Jansson introduced Wurm Online. This is a game that I often consider the grandfather of modern sandbox games. In reality, it is still growing up itself. Rolf took a chance by creating a game where hard work and dedication are required to accomplish goals and achieve greatness. No hand-holding, no direction, and no restrictions are what he offered. It’s safe to say he delivered, too.

 

 

Six years of trial and error later and Wurm Online is finally ready to raise its head out of the depths of the internet. On 12/12/12 Wurm officially released with version 1.0 which greatly improved the game. Adding multistory buildings, better models and animations for everything, and a bunch of other improvements. With the goal of release-ready state reached, Rolf decided to begin advertising the game. Not that this was needed, as the games population had been rising steadily with word-of-mouth alone. I’ve been playing off-and-on for years and I’ve been amazed at how much the population has grown in the past year or so alone. I will also mention that Wurm has been using the Freemium system since the beginning.

 

 

Speaking of 12/12/12, Darkfall: Unholy Wars was released on this date and it is the next sandbox game worth mentioning. After months upon months of nearly no support for Darkfall 1, Aventurine finally let the cat out of the bag and let the gaming community know just what it was doing all this time – developing a whole new game! With Darkfall 1 they took a chance. It’s hard to judge whether that chance was a success or not, however. Why? Because while it can be agreed that Darkfall 1 was great, it was closed down. But then there is the fact that a new game with the same setting, using an updated version of the same engine, and same overall concept was released. And it’s too early to see whether or not Darkfall: Unholy Wars is a success or not.

 

 

 

Mortal Online launched in 2010 and has been going ever since. It started with a lot of hype, but in recent times it has been on the brink of dying. The population was low, the game was broken – things looked very bleak. But then Awakening was released. Awakening fixed a lot of problems, improved the game’s AI (making the PvE aspects an actual draw for new players rather than a burden), and completely replaced the user interface with a much smoother and better working one. But even all this could not keep the players, and eventually the population dwindled again.

 

 

Then Star Vault made an announcement that no one expected: Mortal Online F2P. Along with a majority of the niche fans of the game, I was completely floored by this announcement. I admit I always thought that Mortal might have to go free to play to survive, but I did not except it to happen so soon. There was literally no warning for this announcement. No hype, no hints, just one day we all logged on to the forum and BAM it was there.

 

 

As with all games that go free to play, or at least offer a free to play option, the population in Mortal skyrocketed. Tindrem, the biggest city in the game, was completely packed with new and old players alike. It was a sight to behold and one I will never forget. The amount of people that jumped at the chance to play the game is proof that innovative sandbox features are what the players want. They want the freedom that until now only indie developers have been offering.

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I said, “until now” because one of the biggest names in Western MMO publishing has completely switched its stance. In the past, SOE was synonymous with themepark. Recently, however, that has changed completely. Just about every game in SOE’s library has sandbox features now. Everquest 2 and vanguard have extensive housing systems that allow for a lot of creativity. Wizardry Online throws permanent death in to the mix, something that has always been avoided by any developer who wanted to keep their players. To my knowledge, all SOE games now offer a Freemium system, too. Innovation seems to be oozing out of SOE’s current line-up by the gallons.

 

 

And to top it off, SOE has announced two up-and-coming Sandbox games it will be releasing: Dragon’s Prophet and EverquestNext. Both games promise unmatched sandbox features that will change the face of the MMORPG industry. I am personally praying that they are right. If they keep this up, they will almost make up for the horrible tragedy that Star Wars Galaxies became. Almost.

 

 

Of course, EVE Online also deserves a mention. Personally, I have never gotten into the game. It’s just too hardcore for even me. I have an incredible amount of respect for anyone who can play EVE for longer than a couple of months; it takes extreme dedication. EVE was released in 2003, and while it had a rocky start, it has been growing and growing since. Now it is definitely one of the most successful MMORPGs out there. The innovation that EVE has brought to the industry is something I am truly grateful for. They proved that a hard sci-fi space simulator on a large scale can be successful, and I have seen many games adopt features that CCP pioneered with EVE. One thing I wish more game developers would adopt that CCP has done already is the Council of Stellar Management. I have seen games try, and fail, to copy CCP’s concept and I eagerly await the next game to successfully implement a similar council.

 

 

This change of direction isn’t just happening in the West, either. Games like ArcheAge and Age of Wushu, which is being released in the West soon after the time that I am writing this article, show that freedom and choice are extremely valued by gamers in other parts of the world as well. Both of these games offer innovation that a majority of Western MMO’s haven’t even begun to touch yet. I used to dread when another WoW-clone Asian fantasy game came to the West; now I am excited to see what is next.

 

 

I believe I’ve provided enough evidence to prove my point. The industry is being taken in a new direction. Sandbox and Freemium games are on the rise. And the games I mentioned are only a portion of the games that offer sandbox elements. There are games like Guild Wars 2 or the Elder Scrolls Online. The future of the MMO industry looks bright for the players. Finally we are beginning to be released from the strangle-hold that has been the WoW-Clone. No longer are the ‘good games’ restricted to those with the money to pay monthly subscription fees. I feel that we will be entering a Golden Age of MMO gaming in the near future. For once, people will be asking, “Which of these great games should I play?” rather than, “Are there ANY good games out there? Please?”

MMO Predictions for 2013

By MerryQuiteContrary, OnRPG Journalist

 

 

So, it is that time of the year again. It is the time of year when predictions are running rampant- anywhere from your sad, sorry love life to the gaming world. And this is where I come in; however, I don’t know anything about your love life. You will probably be miserable again this year. Since you are going to have all this free time on your hands (because you are alone and dejected) why not play an MMO. I’m here to kick off the first of a series of OnRPG writers laying out their predictions so let’s get started with the game that started my position at OnRPG so many months ago.

 

 

WORLD OF WARCRAFT

In the hopes of keeping current Blizzard will continue to push out content patches of recycled material. Another raid instance full of trolls? Why, yes please! Said no one. Ever. Aside from the numerous content patches that will shoved down our throats Blizzard will, late in the year, announce the next expansion. It will likely include more dailies.

 

 

As for this expansion, Garrosh Hellscream will turn into the Sha of insert emotion of your choice and Lady Sylvanas Windrunner will take her rightful place as the leader of the Horde. But what of Vol’jin you ask? Always a bridesmaid never the bride. Thrall, once the proud leader of the horde is now skipping through butterfly filled meadows like the dirty hippie he has become. Slyvanas will begin her tenure by systemically annihilating all player characters with a bastardisation of the name Arthas. She will rule from her Undercity throne room where she will finally get a chair.

 

 

 

GUILD WARS 2

Guild Wars 2 has been out since September of 2012 and has already won numerous game of the year awards. 2013 will see everyone take those awards back and the game will fade into mediocrity. Guild Wars 2 will continue to give us a monthly event until autumn of 2013 when the first expansion will be announced.  It will contain the largest, dullest jumping puzzle ever. 2013 will also be the year we still don’t get a Looking For Group tool.

 

 

RIFT

Nothing will happen in Rift. It will just carry on as it has been. Trion will rest on its laurels throughout most of 2013.  It probably won’t go F2P this year but it is possible for 2014, especially with some potentially great games coming out.  And I will have a max level of every class archetype. So there is that.

 

 

EVERQUEST 2/NEXT

There will be another expansion for EverQuest 2 though it will be a haphazard affair as SOE is concentrating on EverQuest Next. EverQuest Next will go into closed beta in 2013. I predict I will get an invite. Or I won’t. There is a lot of talk from the powers that be that EverQuest Next will revolutionise the MMO genre. I don’t see this happening but if anyone could revolutionise the MMO genre it would be Sony. 

 

 

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ELDER SCROLLS ONLINE

Elder Scrolls Online will be released mid-year 2013. It will suffer from a bad launch as the game won’t be ready. Once the name calling and finger pointing dies down from the gaming community it will settle into a respectable place somewhere in the middle of the pack after it goes F2P.

 

 

WILDSTAR

The sleeper hit of 2013. This game will be released under the radar of most but will ultimately do quite well. This is the game I am most looking forward to this year. It has housing. ’nuff said. If you haven’t checked it yet-go do it!

 

 

Apparently I’m of similar mind-set to the editors as they seem to have the same thoughts for both Elder Scrolls and Wildstar in 2013.