Grimmy’s MMO Wishlist – Part 4, Setting

So now we’ve come to the fourth and final article in my series of “wishlist items” in MMO gaming.  This one is going to be fairly short and sweet.  First, a reference back to the original article to set the mood…

Lord deliver me from yet another…

• High Fantasy Epic with Dragons, Dwarfs, Elves, and Magic.
• Futuristic Sci-Fi games that replace Magic, Archery, and Armor with “The Force”, Blaster Rifles, and Nano…armor. 

Same game, different aesthetic.

There are tons of genres out there that would be well portrayed in an MMO.  One that leaps immediately to mind…

Imagine a world where smugglers and mercenaries travel through space to a variety of different worlds.  Some of which are so technologically advanced that it boggles the mind, others of which are so primitive that they evoke images of the American Old West.  Imagine humans with psychic powers and physical combat training that put them light years ahead of their fellow man coexisting with old fashioned smugglers armed with not much more than a long leather coat and a six-shooter.

Yeah, of course I’m talking about Firefly.  The fact that this universe hasn’t been made into an MMO yet is borderline criminal.  On the other hand, given some of the other “hot property” MMOs out there, I should consider myself fortunate that it hasn’t happened yet.

You say you like your MMO’s with a little more fantasy? 

Here’s another idea for you.  Imagine a game set in a modern-day big city like Chicago.  Now imagine that world where every day people like policemen, doctors, and mafia dons routinely deal with supernatural threats like werewolves, vampires, evil fairies, fallen angels, and demons.  Imagine a world where wizards advertise their services in the yellow pages and that nice family that lives up the street from you happens to fight and kill dragons in their spare time.  If you haven’t read Jim Butcher’s “The Dresden Files” series yet, you really should.  It would make a fantastic MMO.

Let’s go a little more old school, shall we?

How about Frank Herbert’s “Dune” universe?  Maybe “Blade Runner” would make a good setting for an MMO?  There are a lot of settings out there, some old, some new, that aren’t straight out of the J.R.R. Tolkien/Gary Gygax playbook.  I think, at the end of the day, that is why I am so disappointed with Star Wars: The Old Republic.  They took a game that could have been so much more and made it into yet another WoW clone.  WoW has, essentially, perfected games designed on the old school fantasy model.  I really wish that someone out there would take these ideas, from combat, to game world, to setting and make something truly different and unique.

Merry Christmas, everyone.  I’ll see you all after the new year.