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Is the Fantasy MMO Genre Dying?

I did a quick count in the games list on this site and I was somewhat surprised by what I found.  Just thought some of you might find these stats interesting and might want to offer some comments or opinions on what this means for MMO's, if anything.

 

Of the games listed as being in the Beta stage on this site, only 3 out of the 12 games that have a Hype Rating are of the Fantasy genre.   I found it strange that only 25% of theaw developing  beta games that we have hyped the most to be Fantasy, especially since at one time Fantasy genre MMO's were the predominate style... by no slim margin. 

 

And of all games in all phases, also interesting is that only 6 of the top hyped games have been officially released. So this tells me that we are actually more excited about games that have not even been released yet more than the games that have been.  22 of the top 40 hyped games are Fantasy btw. 

 

 

Comments

  • laokokolaokoko Member UncommonPosts: 2,004

    I dont' know where you get your list from.  I copied/paste the list:  Except defience and the reproduction that is Sci fi, the other is fantasy.  It is either fantasy or sci fi, I dont' know what else it could be.

    image

    Elder Scrolls Online

    8.47

     

    #2
    8.45

     

    - ArcheAge

    #3

    #4

    8.38

     

    - Defiance

    #5

    8.33

     

    - WildStar

    #6

    8.28

     

    - The Repopulation

    #7

     
  • PanzerbasePanzerbase Member Posts: 423
    People are just waiting for this round of FTP garbage to pass on by, I'm just plain tired of FTP it's just a nice way of asking for money. I would gladly pay 15-20 a month for an excellent fantasy game if such a thing where to exist. 
  • purewitzpurewitz Member UncommonPosts: 489
    I hope fantasy is kind of dying, not totally. I do like some fantasy, but I'd like to see more sci-fi and super hero games. The market right now is far too overly saturated with fantasy games and has been for far too long. We need more variety than the same old, same old fantasy games. 

    When we get back from where we are going, we will return to where we were. I know people there!

  • strangiato2112strangiato2112 Member CommonPosts: 1,538
    Originally posted by purewitz
    I hope fantasy is kind of dying, not totally. I do like some fantasy, but I'd like to see more sci-fi and super hero games. The market right now is far too overly saturated with fantasy games and has been for far too long. We need more variety than the same old, same old fantasy games. 

    Superhero market has been tapped pretty extensively Id say.

     

    Theres always been a decent amount of sci fi out there.

     

    Probably always been about 2/3 fantasy 1/3 scifi with the occasional 'other' like auto assault (for like 2 days) or TSW and the superhero games

  • KenrichKenrich Member UncommonPosts: 127
    Definetly Need more In the sifi area not enough variety When it comes to internet spaceships. image
    o.O

  • JimmyYOJimmyYO Member UncommonPosts: 519
    It's not the MMO genre's that are dying it's MMO's in general. We are stuck in this vicious cycle where the, by far, most polished well designed  MMO out there is this hand holding crap made for 12 year olds and extremely casual gamers(World of Warcraft). Nothing in 8 years has even begun to compete with the smooth gameplay, despite obscene bugdets.
  • BahamutKaiserBahamutKaiser Member UncommonPosts: 314
    Sci-Fantasy FTW!, I maintain that ChronoTrigger/Cross has probably the best and most flexible IP for an all around everything and all things MMO.

    Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes.
    That way, if they get angry, they'll be a mile away... and barefoot.

  • KareliaKarelia Member Posts: 668

    i have played eq1-wow-war-gw-gw2-aoc-rift-swtor-tera. most of the years eq and wow.

    the only game out of fantasy style i have played and enjoyed (still playing) is eve. and you know what i think? for a quality game like that the 500k subs (most of them are double or triple accounts) are way too low.

    imo if eve was a fantasy game would have many more subs than wow had in its best days. so the problem is not what ppl wants but what ppl gets from mmo studios.

  • NanulakNanulak Member UncommonPosts: 372

    I am sure the fantasy MMO genre is not dead.  Far from it.  I think many people are just waiting for a company who has the gonads to step up and actually make the next generation.  I think DAOC, EQ and EQ2 were a good example of the first generation and then WOW came along and was the second generation representative.  Since then all we have seen is variants who just stick to the tried and true and just put a new spin on it.  Now there has been some great innovations in many of these like the voice work done in SWTOR and class manipulation like RIFT.  They all end up playing it safe and go with the tried and true game mechanics.

    The third generation will break all the molds and start fresh.  Some of the elements pre 3rd gen that may have to re-thought are things like quests, static crafting recipes, classes etcetera.  Here are some examples.

    Quests:  Maybe instead of quests, you just talk to local merchants/officials and determine what materials they use in their crafts/operations and then go and see if you can find any and thus have an idea of what to keep.  Upon returning to town you see what you can get for the materials you gathered.   All the materials the merchants/officials told you they use will have a value based on current markets.  So if everyone hunts just rabbits, the market will be saturated and the parts will bring little as far as money.

    Local economy:  All NPC merchants could be tied into the local action houses and subsequently all of the merchandise they sell will fluctuate in prices based in the material cost to them.  So initially in the game all prices for basic items will fall based on material supply.  Three weeks down the road the prices may rise again as less people are gathering those components.  And 3 months down the road when you roll a new alt, you better be prepared to pony up some real money or first flood the market with low level materials J 

    Crafting:  Maybe they could come up with an experiment based crafting system where the results are totally mundane/unknown until you stumble on some breakthrough and then have a discovery that can be sold/traded.  Who knew that rabbit fur and a lollipop made a good sticky trap J  And more importantly the combination of black frog bile and sulfur causes a lab explosion that permanently disfigures the crafter and costs him a fine for the lost lab equipment.

    Classes:  Somehow I think a skill based progression will eventually replace the class system.  That way everyone makes what they want.  And if they use a timed training system combined skill use this would help balance the system for players who only play a limited time verses someone on 24x7.  A system like this could also balance a new account that starts 3 months after release by granting them with starting skills based on the population average.  So a day 1 character may have 10 STR and a new player at 3 months starts with the population min average of 75.

    I can go on and on but you get the idea.. The next big success will have to be something new and innovative and not follow they current cookie cutter fantasy MMO’s.

    Nanulak

  • allendale5allendale5 Member Posts: 124
    Originally posted by laokoko

    I dont' know where you get your list from.  I copied/paste the list:  Except defience and the reproduction that is Sci fi, the other is fantasy.  It is either fantasy or sci fi, I dont' know what else it could be.

    image

    Elder Scrolls Online

    8.47

     

    #2
    8.45

     

    - ArcheAge

    #3

    #4

    8.38

     

    - Defiance

    #5

    8.33

     

    - WildStar

    #6

    8.28

     

    - The Repopulation

    #7

     

    Ya sorry Iaokoko, I probably didn't clarify how I got my numbers.  I was speaking only about the games in the BETA list on this site, and of those, only the ones that had a HYPE rating.  So, sort by beta then by hype.  It's sort of what I would imagine are devoloping games that have any sort of pulse.. and of those, only 25% are Fantasy.  

  • Cephus404Cephus404 Member CommonPosts: 3,675
    While I don't think fantasy will ever die, I hope it undergoes a significant downsizing so that other genres of games can come in.  I'm sick to death of high fantasy nonsense, I want to play something else.

    Played: UO, EQ, WoW, DDO, SWG, AO, CoH, EvE, TR, AoC, GW, GA, Aion, Allods, lots more
    Relatively Recently (Re)Played: HL2 (all), Halo (PC, all), Batman:AA; AC, ME, BS, DA, FO3, DS, Doom (all), LFD1&2, KOTOR, Portal 1&2, Blink, Elder Scrolls (all), lots more
    Now Playing: None
    Hope: None

  • BoneserinoBoneserino Member UncommonPosts: 1,768
    Originally posted by grogstorm

    I am sure the fantasy MMO genre is not dead.  Far from it.  I think many people are just waiting for a company who has the gonads to step up and actually make the next generation.  I think DAOC, EQ and EQ2 were a good example of the first generation and then WOW came along and was the second generation representative.  Since then all we have seen is variants who just stick to the tried and true and just put a new spin on it.  Now there has been some great innovations in many of these like the voice work done in SWTOR and class manipulation like RIFT.  They all end up playing it safe and go with the tried and true game mechanics.

    The third generation will break all the molds and start fresh.  Some of the elements pre 3rd gen that may have to re-thought are things like quests, static crafting recipes, classes etcetera.  Here are some examples.

    Quests:  Maybe instead of quests, you just talk to local merchants/officials and determine what materials they use in their crafts/operations and then go and see if you can find any and thus have an idea of what to keep.  Upon returning to town you see what you can get for the materials you gathered.   All the materials the merchants/officials told you they use will have a value based on current markets.  So if everyone hunts just rabbits, the market will be saturated and the parts will bring little as far as money.

    Local economy:  All NPC merchants could be tied into the local action houses and subsequently all of the merchandise they sell will fluctuate in prices based in the material cost to them.  So initially in the game all prices for basic items will fall based on material supply.  Three weeks down the road the prices may rise again as less people are gathering those components.  And 3 months down the road when you roll a new alt, you better be prepared to pony up some real money or first flood the market with low level materials J 

    Crafting:  Maybe they could come up with an experiment based crafting system where the results are totally mundane/unknown until you stumble on some breakthrough and then have a discovery that can be sold/traded.  Who knew that rabbit fur and a lollipop made a good sticky trap J  And more importantly the combination of black frog bile and sulfur causes a lab explosion that permanently disfigures the crafter and costs him a fine for the lost lab equipment.

    Classes:  Somehow I think a skill based progression will eventually replace the class system.  That way everyone makes what they want.  And if they use a timed training system combined skill use this would help balance the system for players who only play a limited time verses someone on 24x7.  A system like this could also balance a new account that starts 3 months after release by granting them with starting skills based on the population average.  So a day 1 character may have 10 STR and a new player at 3 months starts with the population min average of 75.

    I can go on and on but you get the idea.. The next big success will have to be something new and innovative and not follow they current cookie cutter fantasy MMO’s.

    I'm playing Fallen Earth and it has half the stuff you mention already.    And, it had it 4 years ago!    And yet it was ignored and is still being ignored.  

    Good luck waiting for the game you want.

    FFA Nonconsentual Full Loot PvP ...You know you want it!!

  • Loke666Loke666 Member EpicPosts: 21,441

    Not dying but the MMO genre seems to finally discover that there are more possibilities than fantasy and a few sci-fi games.

    And that is just good, the possibly settings are almost limitless so the fact that 95% of all MMOs have used bad copies of Forgotten realms is rather sad. Not that I dont like FR or anything but I would love a few historical MMOs (without pirates, and no, everything doesnt actually gets better with pirates) as well.

    Now, if they just could try out more new mechanics as well I would be a happy camper. :)

  • SagasaintSagasaint Member UncommonPosts: 466
    paraphrasing the Dead Kennedys "Fantasy MMO genre is not dead, it just deserves to die"
  • GroovyFlowerGroovyFlower Member Posts: 1,245

    Now i want a good western cowboys and indian mmo including robbing trains and stagecoach wells fargo.

     

    Building a settlement fighting of indians or idians fighting settlers.

     

    A sandbox suited in 1850 era. Billy the kid or jesse james.

    Or play a indian chief

    Or old chicago 1920s gangster mmo

    A true Lycan's vs Vampiers with whole transformation cycle would also be nice mmo material.

    Or kind of terraforming hostile alien planet ala AVATAR would also be nice mmo.

  • dave6660dave6660 Member UncommonPosts: 2,699
    Originally posted by Cephus404
    While I don't think fantasy will ever die, I hope it undergoes a significant downsizing so that other genres of games can come in.  I'm sick to death of high fantasy nonsense, I want to play something else.

    I'm tired of fantasy too.  Mostly because of it's current incarnation though.  It's gone so far over the top that it's become a caricature of it's former self.

    “There are certain queer times and occasions in this strange mixed affair we call life when a man takes this whole universe for a vast practical joke, though the wit thereof he but dimly discerns, and more than suspects that the joke is at nobody's expense but his own.”
    -- Herman Melville

  • YaevinduskYaevindusk Member RarePosts: 2,094

     

    I'd enjoy a good Star Ocean (the PS2 one I'm thinking of) like MMO where you have a High Tech Earth, Space with a Galactic Federation of Sorts with interplanet laws and regulations.  Then have multiple planets, each with different themes.  Like a Fantasy Planet with Kingdoms and Knights who do not know anything of technology, and galatic laws in place that prevents people of high level technological planets from bringing technology there if they ever make contact.

    Will be interesting to get Sci-fi and Fantasy fixes in the same game, depending on what you want to do and what sector you're in.  Maybe even able to make characters on different planets and follow the rulesets of those planets, if you have no inclinations to travel space, or go through some type of character development before learning about space and such.

    Due to frequent travel in my youth, English isn't something I consider my primary language (and thus I obtained quirky ways of writing).  German and French were always easier for me despite my family being U.S. citizens for over a century.  Spanish I learned as a requirement in school, Japanese and Korean I acquired for my youthful desire of anime and gaming (and also work now).  I only debate in English to help me work with it (and limit things).  In addition, I'm not smart enough to remain fluent in everything and typically need exposure to get in the groove of things again if I haven't heard it in a while.  If you understand Mandarin, I know a little, but it has actually been a challenge and could use some help.

    Also, I thoroughly enjoy debates and have accounts on over a dozen sites for this.  If you wish to engage in such, please put effort in a post and provide sources -- I will then do the same with what I already wrote (if I didn't) as well as with my responses to your own.  Expanding my information on a subject makes my stance either change or strengthen the next time I speak of it or write a thesis.  Allow me to thank you sincerely for your time.
  • IcewhiteIcewhite Member Posts: 6,403

    We thought so in the early 2000s...that sword and board was just about played out, that there wasn't really anything fresh remaining in the species, after a couple of decades of continuous RPG repetition.

    :poke: Nope, still twitching.

    Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.

  • Cephus404Cephus404 Member CommonPosts: 3,675
    Originally posted by dave6660
    Originally posted by Cephus404
    While I don't think fantasy will ever die, I hope it undergoes a significant downsizing so that other genres of games can come in.  I'm sick to death of high fantasy nonsense, I want to play something else.

    I'm tired of fantasy too.  Mostly because of it's current incarnation though.  It's gone so far over the top that it's become a caricature of it's former self.

    Not only that, but it's become so easy to do that everyone does it.  I'd like to see a totally non-fantasy, hard sci-fi MMO that has nothing even remotely looking like magic.  Most sci-fi MMOs are just fantasy worlds with a thin veneer of science over the top, many of them let you cast spells, they just call them different things, etc.  I want something that's truly innovative, where there is no high fantasy elements, it's just hard science.

    I'm not holding my breath though.

    Played: UO, EQ, WoW, DDO, SWG, AO, CoH, EvE, TR, AoC, GW, GA, Aion, Allods, lots more
    Relatively Recently (Re)Played: HL2 (all), Halo (PC, all), Batman:AA; AC, ME, BS, DA, FO3, DS, Doom (all), LFD1&2, KOTOR, Portal 1&2, Blink, Elder Scrolls (all), lots more
    Now Playing: None
    Hope: None

  • Cephus404Cephus404 Member CommonPosts: 3,675
    Originally posted by Icewhite

    We thought so in the early 2000s...that sword and board was just about played out, that there wasn't really anything fresh remaining in the species, after a couple of decades of continuous RPG repetition.

    :poke: Nope, still twitching.

    Just because it's still around doesn't mean it isn't played out, it's just simple to do so everyone does it.  Path of least resistance and all that.

    Played: UO, EQ, WoW, DDO, SWG, AO, CoH, EvE, TR, AoC, GW, GA, Aion, Allods, lots more
    Relatively Recently (Re)Played: HL2 (all), Halo (PC, all), Batman:AA; AC, ME, BS, DA, FO3, DS, Doom (all), LFD1&2, KOTOR, Portal 1&2, Blink, Elder Scrolls (all), lots more
    Now Playing: None
    Hope: None

  • WizardryWizardry Member LegendaryPosts: 19,332

    This will be one of my shortest posts ever.

    NO it is the reluctance of effort by developers to do anything above the bare minimum.In other words if they know they can release a 5/10 and still sell it,they will.This has nothing to do with fanbois rating games up,then we all lol when they leave that  game a month later.

    Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.

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