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Idea for a Sci-Fi mmo. (Hyperion)
f1seb
Member UncommonPosts: 194
Here I think this would be a great setting for a mmo that could either be executed very well and become of "epic" proportions, or be totally destroyed and never remembered. The world of Hyperion and more broadly "The Web" is a place and time in a Science Fiction collection of 4 books written by Dan Simmons. This is the order the books follow, if you haven't read them yet I strongly recommend that you do and also be careful of any spoilers I will be listing below this list of books:
1. Hyperion
2. End of Hyperion
3. Endymion
4. The Rise of Endymion.
(Possible Story Spoilers)
I believe that this would be an awesome setting. I mean if anybody here is a fan or read the books would surely agree with me. We have the Hegemony, Ousters and The TechnoCore. We have different religious groups with different purposes,(The Shrike Church, Templars.....and more.) We can have different races as we have in other mmo's such as Martians, Lusans, we have Cybrids, and even AI.
For classes we could have politicians, military personnel, religious groups, monarchists, and hackers. Actually there just might be too much here. The more I think about it and the more I type I get the feeling that it might not be such a good idea for an mmo. Anyways if you've read that books tell me what you think. Good idea or bad? List reasons as well if you don't mind.
1. Hyperion
2. End of Hyperion
3. Endymion
4. The Rise of Endymion.
(Possible Story Spoilers)
I believe that this would be an awesome setting. I mean if anybody here is a fan or read the books would surely agree with me. We have the Hegemony, Ousters and The TechnoCore. We have different religious groups with different purposes,(The Shrike Church, Templars.....and more.) We can have different races as we have in other mmo's such as Martians, Lusans, we have Cybrids, and even AI.
For classes we could have politicians, military personnel, religious groups, monarchists, and hackers. Actually there just might be too much here. The more I think about it and the more I type I get the feeling that it might not be such a good idea for an mmo. Anyways if you've read that books tell me what you think. Good idea or bad? List reasons as well if you don't mind.
Comments
It will be very intresting to see how well STO does. STO will litterally decide the future of sci-fi mmorpgs.
BTW, Hyperion the mmorpg has already been done. It's a mix of MxO (the scene where the Shrike slows down time sooo much that the middle eastern looking general guy has a chance to write words on the side of the missile while the missile is traveling along... comes to mind), a mix of EvE and AO (read the scene where the starship guy has a romance with the little girl each time he stops at her planet. He ages a few years, while she ages decades. Same effect happens between two twins if one stays planetside, while the other becomes an astronaut and comes back every 19 years.) EvE has plenty of starship wars though players cannot invade each others ships. (the scene where the middle eastern looking general guy survives the attack by the differently evolved humans who have super-long arms and legs).
What NEW things would Hyperion the mmorpg bring to the mmorpg market that has not already been done? This would decide if it would make it as a nitch mmorpg. Since the name is not well known as other yet to be made into mmorpg sci-fi names.
Man I hope not. Star Trek does NOT have a history of translating well into computer games. (And all the hype of this one makes me worry it's going to tank.) Come to think of it NO sci-fi TV/Movie series has translated well into computer games. Battletech did, but that was already a tabletop game.
How many computer games based off an established sci-fi movie/TV series was really successful?
Man I hope not. Star Trek does NOT have a history of translating well into computer games. (And all the hype of this one makes me worry it's going to tank.) Come to think of it NO sci-fi TV/Movie series has translated well into computer games. Battletech did, but that was already a tabletop game.
How many computer games based off an established sci-fi movie/TV series was really successful?
As far as I know, only one mmorpg has ever been made based on established sci-fi movie/TV series. That was Star Wars Galaxies. During its first year out, it set new records for fastest growth for a mmorpg, peaking at roughly 330k accounts. It did an excellent job translating well into a computer game/into a mmorpg. It easily re-couped its investment money, and started turning a true profit by the end of its first year out.
SWG of old, of its first year out, is now commonly known as cSWG ... Classic Star Wars Galaxies.
As for Star Trek games, what do you think about Star Trek Armada?
Man I hope not. Star Trek does NOT have a history of translating well into computer games. (And all the hype of this one makes me worry it's going to tank.) Come to think of it NO sci-fi TV/Movie series has translated well into computer games. Battletech did, but that was already a tabletop game.
How many computer games based off an established sci-fi movie/TV series was really successful?
No, Star Trek is not going to "literally deside" anything for Sci-fi based MMO's.
Sci-Fi is still untapped in MMO's. The only thing STO is going to prove is making MMO's based on IP's with fanatical fanbases who use terms like "star trek purest" is a bad idea. Its already having backlash because of the design decissions being made and its not even in beta yet.
The successful Sci-Fi MMO will not be based on an IP where there are fan expectations to overcome, it will be original where people will judge it on what it is NOT what it should be or what its not like. That was SWG undoing.
OK I admit I forgot about Star Wars. I only played the old X-wing and Dark Forces game from over a decade ago. Those were good. I haven't played any recent SW games, but some have gotten good reviews.
I was thinking about the crummy games based on Lawnmower Man, Gundam, Matrix, and Star Trek. I tried Armada and didn't like it.
A good sci-fi game needs two things. A good story and good gameplay. The problem is that licenced games tend to rely too much on the former and skimp on the latter. There are exceptions, rare exceptions. Fantasy has an easier time of it since there are fewer fantasy TV shows and movies so they have different expectations.
I do not like to play a game based off of another previously existing book or story. The video game can never compare with the world that my imagination has already created.
I wish the trend of using books or liscencing some IP would stop.
Of course there is no reason that a Hyperion based world can't be brought into gaming with an adventure/rpg offering.
Then if that takes off...who knows? It might become a cult hit and eventually come to the mmorpg market. Of course I wouldn't hold my breath.
As for original property...I think that a well reviewed, accomplished author may have a greater grasp of creating a world than many game designers. While creating a completely new world brings about an initial sense of discovery and freshness, the staying power of a well constructed story (regardless of its origins) is powerful. It can come from almost anywhere.
I do understand that much of the time they are simply sticking the world name/author on the game box however. There are some horrible titles given the Star Wars name for example.
Not to mention there is an 18 book series to base the game on....
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