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The Wheel of Time MMORPG
ValaraukoGR
Member Posts: 78
“The Wheel of Time” is a popular fantasy book series. (link)
Would you like to see a MMORPG version of it?
Comments
I'm a big fan but the fact that Robert Jordan died and didn't finish the last book. Might be problems with who owns the rights for the property
WoT would have the same problems as LotR. Too rigid a storyline. I liked the books but I don't see how a MMO could be made out of it where you wouldn't feel "small" knowing that somewhere the real battle is taking place and you couldn't let the players participate in that since the good spots are taken. ^_^Unless of course you placed it in another cycle of the Wheel. <.< Hmmm, difficult.
Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
Final Fantasy 7
Like i said the story isnt finished and who knows how Robert Jordan wanted to finish the books he may very well have wanted to finish it with another turn of the wheel.
I'd be a much bigger fan of an MMO based in the world created in the Sword of Truth series.
I think it would make a very good mmo, and much like what was posted above it would be in the same boat as LOTRO with a set story line. But hey they made a LOTR mmo and its a very good game, I would pay $15 a month for a WoT mmo.
I remmeber this book series i got them 2 years ago as a Birthday gift from my parents who knew i was into such books. As i was off work due to illness i spent most of summer sat in my back garden in the shade reading all 11 books with a glass of cool Coke and a slice of mud pie
Not 100% sure tho this could be turned into aMMO but if it can be it may have to follow a similar pattern to LOTRO due to certain aspects of its storyline.
Another great example of Moore's Law. Give people access to that much space (developers and users alike) and they'll find uses for it that you can never imagine. "640K ought to be enough for anybody" - Bill Gates 1981
Hyperion that could be a cool mmo
Actually they tried to make a Wheel of Time MMO a number of years ago (2000ish).
A company had concept art, forums, a dev team, and were all ready to go. They created a package of all the stuff they had for the game, all their big plans and great ideas, to send to Robert Jordan for his approval and the go-ahead to make the game. They sent their package and waited patiently for Jordan to give them the green light.
Presumably though, Robert Jordan said No to the idea, as a few months later the website, forums, etc were all taken down and nothing else was ever said about the project.
Now that Robert Jordan has died, I don't see a WoT MMO ever being made. Unless his wife (who's finishing the final book, as I understand it) changes the answer, it won't happen. Considering he said no to the idea while he was alive, I would presume that those were his wishes and that stance will be continued.
So yes, it would be cool. Sadly I don't think it'll ever happen.
Great series though.
"Because it's easier to nitpick something than to be constructive." -roach5000
Who knows? The audio transcriptions that Jordan himself was intelligent enough to start recording when he learned of his failing health in case of his unfortunate demise before he finished knows. If you've ever read Jordans blog you already know that he's stated many times that he started the Wheel of Time series at the END and worked his way toward the beginning. His entire family has known the end for years and have said before they arn't telling.
Brandon Sanderson has already been chosen to use those recordings along with his own talent to finish the book exactly how Jordan wanted it to end.
As for a mmo? Please God no. These days it would just wind up being yet another cheap quest grinding, item collecting stat calculator that does the story zero justice.
Another author, plus others are going to help create the last book, Memory of Light or something.
Anyways, I'd all depend on where in the books they'd decide to place the mmo. Like right down to the chapter would be a win/fail outcome.
Also, this is in all sense, the closest to a WoT game yet, http://www.wotmud.org/ It is text based, but its a very good MUD.
?played: Nearly everything.
?waiting: *Darkfall*, Hero''s Journey
There was an old fps-ish WoT pc game.. not an mmo though. I voted no. I just don't think it would work out well. How would you get the weaving in? Not to mention balancing.. it comes up many a time in the books that a channeler can tear people apart without getting a scratch.. just not a good concept for an mmo.
WOT is the best series ever written, and i cant wait for the last book to come out at the end of next year. Though i wish the man himself was writting it.
As for a game, there is not real worry about who has control of the WOT world, it is Harriet his wife.
But i dont think WOT would make a very good MMO. You pretty much have normal people and Aes Sedai/Ashaman. Not alot of diversity for classes, though i guess you could go skill game but it would be limited.
You want to heal- Aes Sedai/Ashaman
You want to blast someone- Aes Sedai/Ashaman. But if you are Aes Sedai you can only blast creatures of the Dark or if you are personnally threatened.
Everyone else is pretty much just a guy with a weapon.
I doubt you could be a Wolf Brother, or that you can be a guy with all the knowledge from battle for the last 2000 years.
Perhaps a game could be made but as a true fan i think it would not live up to what i would want.
Having access to a particular IP does not nake a game good or bad, look at SWG.
How good such a game would be would be completely dependant upon implementation and it's target audience (for example I prefer pve to pvp so would be reluctant to even try if it had a pvp focus.)
My personal favorite would be to have a Forgotten Realms game with an EQ / EQ2 / Vanguard style of implementation.
Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.
Benjamin Franklin
Music to my ears!!!!!
Well here is the deal. The biggest problem with SWG was the period of time the game takes place. It was very restrictive in what could be done. I think for WoT to be a successful MMO you would have to pick a period of time where...
Aes Sedai werent bound by the oath rod
--Keep in mind not all Aes Sedai appear to be bound by the oath rod.
There was a time when men could weild the power safely.
I think if you pick this period of time, Say just before the breaking of the world, WoT would indeed make
a fairly compelling MMO.
Music to my ears!!!!!
The basic style of implementation for all three games is the same, each with its own set of good points and bad points. This would be as opposed to, say WoW, which uses a build tree, games that are skill point based vs class / level based, or games that are fps based.I like the class structure from EQ the best but think EQ2 does a very nice job with ranked spells and character customization. Vanguard, while never truely completed, has the diplomecy system, a very nice secondary target system, and the totem paths for shaman is interesting (and would be more so if it extended to clerics and diety selectio.)
Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do.
Benjamin Franklin
I like the idea about The Wheel of Time or The Sword of Truth , but i think some books should remain as Books. Or at least remain books until a developer brings a whole new gaming concept to play. These are massive worlds, developed over years of hard work. Can all that be summed into a MMO? I'm not saying MMO's do not take years of hard work either, but it just seems the pressure from the gaming commmunity is driving these games to come out half developed or not even close to what gamers want.
A PERSONAL example is LotRO. I love Lord of the Rings, and all of Tolkien's work for that matter (The Hobbit ,The Silmarillion and his Short Stories). I thought Peter Jackson's and New Line's movies did well for what they had to bring to life. I was pretty dissappointed with Turbine's MMO. I just could not take a virtual Tolkien world, with the same old leveling concepts. I am glad to see LotRO has a great fanbase (who will likely flame me) and i am glad the game is successful. Maybe i am just to picky...
This is just a personal opinion of the game (LotRO) and i hold nothing against anyone that does enjoy this game (LotRO).
I have a hard time wondering if a developer (at this period of gaming) could take a 12 book series and bring all of it's content into a MMO. What new ideas would they use for a WoT or SoT? I'm a avid fantasy genre fan for MMO's but i do tire a little of quest grinding, raiding for gear, zone clearing and harvasting mushrooms and deerskin to make magic bows.
I'm with you on playing Wheel of Time in a MMO. Basically what i am saying in this pointless rant, if someone could design a new leveling concept, a new gaming concept for that matter, and utilize the WoT, SoT or even LotR's setting would i play it? Hell ya.
The game could easily be set before Rand'Al'Thor's quest...
And we would have mucho work to do, without having to resort to a "follow the book" storyline like LOTRO.
Build the WORLD, and Robert Jordan fans will come!
Wow !! Now your talkin.... that would be soooooooooooooo awesome !
WoT is a fascinating story for sure. But, a (successful) pre-existing story can only contribute
in creating a good solid background, a video game with a “three dimensional” history. Ofc, that’s
not a minor issue, it’s a really important one and very (maybe too) hard to achieve. All the other
things, like combat system, quests, even the story in which the gamer will play have to bee made
from scratch.
I believe that WoT is an idea scenario for the background story of a MMO, but the story of that video
game itself should be something new, unique and fresh. It would be great if Jordan’s “heir” could
right a new separate story for the video game.
PS. Please post any other extra info about any WoT video game. Great job so far!
Alright, I've thought about this for awhile, and I think you could make a WoT MMORPG workable. The first thing would be to tone down the weaving aspect to make it on par with melee and ranged characters. Although this breaks with the book, its definitely a prerequisite for a balanced game. Other then that, weaving could make a unique magic system. Say you have every player who can weave select a major and minor strength (from earth, wind, fire, water, and spirit.) Their choice affects what spells they can cast and those that they can't. For example, someone who selects spirit and water/air would make a good healer, while someone who selects fire/air would make a nice ranged attacker, a fire/earth combo would be nice for PBAoE attacks, etc.
I think the other important thing for a WoT MMORPG would be open ended content. this would mean allowing players to choose between good and evil, as well as selecting a nation to join. As you did quests for that nation, your standing with them would rise, giving you access to unique benefits. For example, joining Tear could eventually allow you to become a Guardian of the Stone, gaining access to elite level quests and a nice new mount (your standing in the army lets you select out of the finest Tairien horsestock.) Dynamic borders between certian nations, such as between Illian and Tear, would make for interesting pvp. You could even have a big dynamic border in the Blight, where pvp could occur between good and evil forces.
i am a collosal fan of the wheel of time series it is in my opinion one of the most innovative and well written series of books around.
i am however sceptical of a wheel of time MMORPG, mainly because, as previously mentioned, balancing would be a massive problem the most likely outcomes of which would be all Aes Sedai/Ashaman are insanely weak compared to how they are presented in the book or, more likely, you cannot play as either Aes Sedai or Ashaman, you would be limited to non-channeling classes. now whilst there is still alot of diversity in the Wheel of Time world without channeling characters (all the different Aiel warrior clans, stone dogs, maidens of the spear etc. as well as seanchan, shienaran, tairen etc all having different fighting styles presented in the books) it seems much like a cop out not to mention that you would be entirely loosing a "magic wielding" class that has become very much a staple to any successful fantasy styled MMORPG.
The other concern raised was the rigidity of the story line and the way you would feel overshadowed by playing a Joe Bloggs following behind the main party of the books like you do in LoTRO or other ways of working it. A Thought does occur to me however, what if, instead of being set during the time of the story it is set at a different point in time. now this has already been mentioned with the focus very much on how it might work if set before the breaking etc. but i have noticed no mention of what it would be like if it where set after the events of the books. obviously the last book has not been released and we cannot say what the world will be like after the events of the books have taken place but.. i mean... its a story so Shai'tan isnt gonna win... the world isnt gonna be covered by darkness so u gotta presume at very worst, theres another breaking or something but some people manage to survive, as they did the first time round. or more likely since the male half of the true source was cleansed theres a nice big climactic battle at the end and the world goes through a revolution with male aes sedia returning, etc etc etc. in any event it is highly probable that the world will be recognisably still the world of the wheel of time. so you could start off as a character who was to young to take part in the events of the story but who must live through the aftermath. that could leave you with a totally open ended free envrionment with the possibility of the appearance of some memorable characters throughout quests etc. perhaps theres some quests from the royal guards of Andor that have you doing something or another and towards the end of the quest line you meet Elayne. ETC.
i voted yes because i am a huge fan of both WoT and MMORPG's and i think it is always better to aim for greatness and fail than to not even bother trying. and especially with the foundations of greatness from the books i beleive if balancing could be worked, it would be a fantastic game concept.
Terrible books, nothing for me.
People don't ask questions to get answers - they ask questions to show how smart they are. - Dogbert