WoW clones.. facepalm

i00x00i

Can we stop saying WoW clones and just start saying non-innovative MMORPGs or something? Seriously it's getting old. To me it's like saying every rock band copies Pink Floyd because they all use a guitar a bass guitar and some drums. Well every MMORPG uses a guitar a bass guitar and some drums for their band as well. However, their not WoW clones because despite the fact that they all use the MMORPG instruments none of them play the same melody. 

That's how I feel if you have a legit reason to call every modern MMO a WoW clone please throw it my way because this concept still baffles me.

Dril

Actually, it's a good term as far as I'm concerned.

If you were, say, a different band from the same genre (i.e. a different game from the same genre) then theyre'd be obvious differenes. But, on the other hand, if someone copied everything, everry song Pink Floyd did, but maybe added in snazzier sound effects and slightly different vocals in some verses, then you wouldn't be singing the praises of originality.

So, yes, WoW clone works. Once upon a time it didn't. Now..meh. 

FikusOfAhazi

Is Diablo clone better?

Lawlmonster

Every time I see one of the posts, I'm forced to remind everyone that using the term "WoW Clone" is simply a point of reference, and that it's not going away. Sorry, I'm still going to use it to describe what an MMO plays like to another individual, if that MMO plays alot like WoW. Any issue you have with the term is purely internal.

Kyleran

Feeling lazy today so I'll cut and paste a reply I made to Rockgod (where's he been lately?) last October. 

"And you know exactly what people mean when they use the term WOW clone to describe the subgenre of theme park games that did really get started with EQ 1 and has reached its Pinnacle with WOW. (and they don't mean they are exactly like WOW, which you are also well aware of)

Yes, its deragotory, and to use your example of LoTRO, I felt my soul wither when playing it, as I felt like it was just like WOW, and I gave up on it at level 30.  It is a WOW clone, ROM is really a WOW clone, AOC, pretty much a WOW clone (I did like the combat system though).

.........

I'll continue to use the term WOW clone. No, I'm not mis-informed, ill-advised, or unclear about what MMORPG's are all about. I don't suffer from a deficiency in intelligence, nor am I a "child", I just use a term that most everyone clearly understands what it means, but for some reason folks seem to take pleasure in splitting hairs over a totally silly concept."

Go back and read the entire thread if you want to see a lot of examples of why people use the term WOW clone. (though lately I've taken to calling them "standard theme park MMO's" as it seems to prevent throwing threads off topic with discussions about why it shouldn't be called a WOW clone)

http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/295083/page/6

SuperXero89

Originally posted by i00x00i

Can we stop saying WoW clones and just start saying non-innovative MMORPGs or something? Seriously it's getting old. To me it's like saying every rock band copies Pink Floyd because they all use a guitar a bass guitar and some drums. Well every MMORPG uses a guitar a bass guitar and some drums for their band as well. However, their not WoW clones because despite the fact that they all use the MMORPG instruments none of them play the same melody. 

That's how I feel if you have a legit reason to call every modern MMO a WoW clone please throw it my way because this concept still baffles me.

Look at the user-interface of most MMORPGs after WoW.  Is there a reason why they are all almost exacly the same?

Check out death mechanics.  In Rift, you become a ghost after you die just like in WoW

Who do so many MMORPGs after WoW use WoW's drastically inferior player search model when EQ's /who <insert name,guild,zone> was much more accurate?

Why do quest items still take up inventory space? EQ2 had this right initially with invisible quest items, but strangely, Rise of Kunark (touted as the expansion that modeled itself after WoW), changed the system to looting off of NPC  corpses.

Why do so many games give classes abilities that copy WoW?  Must all warriors have a charge ability?  Must all rogues use combo points?

How about questing? 99% of mmorpgs after WoW have offered us the same old, tired kill/collect quests over and over again for 50 levels with little innovation or originality.  

Zandora2018

Originally posted by i00x00i

Can we stop saying WoW clones and just start saying non-innovative MMORPGs or something? Seriously it's getting old. To me it's like saying every rock band copies Pink Floyd because they all use a guitar a bass guitar and some drums. Well every MMORPG uses a guitar a bass guitar and some drums for their band as well. However, their not WoW clones because despite the fact that they all use the MMORPG instruments none of them play the same melody. 

That's how I feel if you have a legit reason to call every modern MMO a WoW clone please throw it my way because this concept still baffles me.

 

 

 Well WoW is a clone of EQ amd FFXI so can we call them EQ or FFXI clones instead ?

SuperXero89

Originally posted by Zandora2018

Originally posted by i00x00i

Can we stop saying WoW clones and just start saying non-innovative MMORPGs or something? Seriously it's getting old. To me it's like saying every rock band copies Pink Floyd because they all use a guitar a bass guitar and some drums. Well every MMORPG uses a guitar a bass guitar and some drums for their band as well. However, their not WoW clones because despite the fact that they all use the MMORPG instruments none of them play the same melody. 

That's how I feel if you have a legit reason to call every modern MMO a WoW clone please throw it my way because this concept still baffles me.

 

 

 Well WoW is a clone of EQ amd FFXI so can we call them EQ or FFXI clones instead ?

 

No it isn't, not in the slightest.  Take your average WoW player, and have him sit down to play EQ for an hour.  You may have to strap him to the chair.

 In EQ it's next to impossible or undesirable for most classes to solo, there are almost no quests, and for the quests that do exist, there's no quest tracker to remind you of what you're doing, the game is almost entirely group centric even at level 12 without much purpose outside of grinding monsters in a single spot for hours on end.  Raids consist of up to 100 players and aren't quite the exercise in platforming skills that WoW's 10 and 25-man raids are and were generally reserved to a very small, dedicated portion of the playerbase.  Combat is slow paced with many classes having little else than an auto attack for several levels, and those that have spells have no real set rotation to coninuously click through. 

In spirit, WoW is the natural evolution of EQ as they both consist of advancing a character and raiding afterwards, yet character advancement took far less time and was largely a solo affair.  Raiding, which had previously been an activity reserved for only the hardcore, was opened to a much wider audience.  In many ways, I think you can say WoW is to EQ as Call of Duty was to Quake.

Riftsoldier

Originally posted by SuperXero89

Originally posted by i00x00i

Can we stop saying WoW clones and just start saying non-innovative MMORPGs or something? Seriously it's getting old. To me it's like saying every rock band copies Pink Floyd because they all use a guitar a bass guitar and some drums. Well every MMORPG uses a guitar a bass guitar and some drums for their band as well. However, their not WoW clones because despite the fact that they all use the MMORPG instruments none of them play the same melody. 

That's how I feel if you have a legit reason to call every modern MMO a WoW clone please throw it my way because this concept still baffles me.

Look at the user-interface of most MMORPGs after WoW.  Is there a reason why they are all almost exacly the same?

It's called innovation. WoW made interface progress from EQ and others. Games after wow continue to innovate but not break the mold that has been touched up for years and years since EQ and UO.

Check out death mechanics.  In Rift, you become a ghost after you die just like in WoW

In Ultima Online you became a ghost when you died. Had to run to healer or find a person to rezz you. Not a WoW first.

Who do so many MMORPGs after WoW use WoW's drastically inferior player search model when EQ's /who was much more accurate?

EQ's search functions were limited originally. Accurate? Only gives the person name and zone they are in. No coordinates.

Why do quest items still take up inventory space? EQ2 had this right initially with invisible quest items, but strangely, Rise of Kunark (touted as the expansion that modeled itself after WoW), changed the system to looting off of NPC  corpses.

Having quest items take up bag space makes them feel more real and brings a bit more immersion. In EQ during some epic quests you would have a large amount of bag space taken up with quest items. It also prompts you to hurry the quest to regain the room for other stuff and to make sales trips less frequent when out and about.

Why do so many games give classes abilities that copy WoW?  Must all warriors have a charge ability?  Must all rogues use combo points?

These were good at the time but could certainly use some tweaking. The problem is that if you bring back the EQ way of doing things then classes become so demanded that there is no substitute for them.

How about questing? 99% of mmorpgs after WoW have offered us the same old, tired kill/collect quests over and over again for 50 levels with little innovation or originality.  

The quest oriented games have done this yes. Before WoW once again...Everquest was the first HUGE game to take the questing grind from lvl1 thru 50 and onward.

 

I think that WoW clone is just lazy and doesn't do justice to a game or it's developers. In music there are a huge amount of songs all played with the same 4 cords. They may change the tempo a little but it's the same 4. No joke. Look up 4 cords on youtube.  So to say a game is a wow clone since it uses a similar few parts is like saying that all songs played those 4 cords are clones of the first song that had those 4 cords. They are obviously not. They are individual songs of many types spanning the years we all enjoy and they just happen to share the same 4 cords.

 

All my comments are in Green

SuperXero89

Originally posted by Riftsoldier

Originally posted by SuperXero89

Originally posted by i00x00i

Can we stop saying WoW clones and just start saying non-innovative MMORPGs or something? Seriously it's getting old. To me it's like saying every rock band copies Pink Floyd because they all use a guitar a bass guitar and some drums. Well every MMORPG uses a guitar a bass guitar and some drums for their band as well. However, their not WoW clones because despite the fact that they all use the MMORPG instruments none of them play the same melody. 

That's how I feel if you have a legit reason to call every modern MMO a WoW clone please throw it my way because this concept still baffles me.

It's called innovation. WoW made interface progress from EQ and others. Games after wow continue to innovate but not break the mold that has been touched up for years and years since EQ and UO.

You have your words mixed up.  To innovate is to come up with a new idea.  To refine is to continuously make improvements to an already existing idea.  We have yet to see a true innovation for the WoW-model of MMORPG gameplay, but we have seen tons of refinement.  

In Ultima Online you became a ghost when you died. Had to run to healer or find a person to rezz you. Not a WoW first.

Yes, you became a ghost, but you also lost all your gear and had to run to a healer or get rezzed before running back to your body, and couldn't someone even come by and loot all your gear before you got there?  In WoW, the athestics are the same but the mechanics are totally different. You just have to run back to your corpse and you respawn with minor equipment wear. It's possible that WoW drew reference from UO for its death penalty (one that had not been replicated in any way since UO) just as WoW drew inspiration for its UI from Asheron's Call 2, but the point is WoW popularized those things.  WoW popularized the interface and WoW popularized the spirit world death penalty.  I feel that if you don't think Trion was influenced by WoW's death mechanics, you'd be a bit dense as they both function almost exactly alike.  The problem is the fact that both games were released so close together that it borders on copying something rather than taking inspiration from something.

Having quest items take up bag space makes them feel more real and brings a bit more immersion. In EQ during some epic quests you would have a large amount of bag space taken up with quest items. It also prompts you to hurry the quest to regain the room for other stuff and to make sales trips less frequent when out and about.

Here we go again with the selective immersion talk.  How you people think having bag space improves your immersion, without being bothered by things such as obtrusive on-screen text flashing (EQ2, Rift, possibly some other games), jumping in platemail, swimming in platemail, or even just the simple fact that in real life, it would be absolutely impossible to carry 5 swords, 3 armor sets 60 bottles of milk, and a horse in a single bag.

These were good at the time but could certainly use some tweaking. The problem is that if you bring back the EQ way of doing things then classes become so demanded that there is no substitute for them.

??

 

The quest oriented games have done this yes. Before WoW once again...Everquest was the first HUGE game to take the questing grind from lvl1 thru 50 and onward.

 EQ was a quest grind? ahaha...

 

Zoulz

Just shows what a profound impact Wow has had on the genre. Almost every thread I read on these boards end up discussing wow in some way or another. As to the term wow clone. Meh, who cares? Why is it so important to point out what a game was influenced by? All ideas are influenced by something. There is nothing magical about that.

Elikal

Originally posted by i00x00i

Can we stop saying WoW clones and just start saying non-innovative MMORPGs or something? Seriously it's getting old. To me it's like saying every rock band copies Pink Floyd because they all use a guitar a bass guitar and some drums. Well every MMORPG uses a guitar a bass guitar and some drums for their band as well. However, their not WoW clones because despite the fact that they all use the MMORPG instruments none of them play the same melody. 

That's how I feel if you have a legit reason to call every modern MMO a WoW clone please throw it my way because this concept still baffles me.

/signed

It is intellectual lazyness and disqualifies the person's argument. I don't read people's postings who only can jap "wow clone wow clone".

arcanist

Heres my opinion on "wow clone"

Do you understand what it means?

Yes, the majority understands that it means copying core features from wow [which in turn copied them from other games and simplifying them.].

Is it politically correct.

The phrase makes no mention of gender, race, culture, age, etc. Seems fine to me.

On the intelectual part. It seems ridiculous using it as an argument. If used correctly it would act as a point of reference and not the argument itself.

For example, rift is a wow clone BECAUSE it copies features such as basic quests, crafting, etc. from wow.

Or.

rift is not innovative becuase itt copies stuff from wow.

Which is more inntelectual. The one that gives examples; Or the one that doesnt. Its not the phrase thats bad. Its the way you use it.

Elikal

Originally posted by arcanist

Heres my opinion on "wow clone"

Do you understand what it means?

Yes, the majority understands that it means copying core features from wow [which in turn copied them from other games and simplifying them.].

Is it politically correct.

The phrase makes no mention of gender, race, culture, age, etc. Seems fine to me.

On the intelectual part. It seems ridiculous using it as an argument. If used correctly it would act as a point of reference and not the argument itself.

For example, rift is a wow clone BECAUSE it copies features such as basic quests, crafting, etc. from wow.

Or.

rift is not innovative becuase itt copies stuff from wow.

Which is more inntelectual. The one that gives examples; Or the one that doesnt. Its not the phrase thats bad. Its the way you use it.

A) A clone is by definition a copy, an identical reprocution. Which, in case of MMOs, never is true. No game is a WOW clone, because the only WOW clone would be... WOW itself. So it is misleading and absurd.

So it is "similar in some aspects" to WOW. But into what pit of vagueness are we plunged here? How much similar makes "similar"? Just when it has radar? When the radar is round not square? How many aspects does it need to qualify a WOW-similar? What aspects are important and which are arbitrary? WHO defines which are important and which are neglectable?? - No, it just opens such a box of pandora: EVERYONE will understand something entirely different, and in the end the information given by the term is close to zero.

C) In most cases it is simply overstreched. It's like saying Claudia Schiffer is a clone of Madleine Albright, because both have boobs and some other "similar features".

D) It is replacing one term by another. That method per se is no explanation at all. It's as if I explain someone who doesn't know the word "metaphor" by saying "it's like a simile".

E) Be precise. Critizise actual features. Saying "I hate/love MMO X because it's a WOW clone" is something that says nothing, because it will mean something completely different to everyone. You CAN say: "I dislike MMO x which has the same stupid battlegrounds like WOW. I hated WOW because of it." But then the information that is was in WOW already is inessential; only the part that you don't like battlegrounds is the real info we need to hear.

 

People using this phrase are either lazy or purposefully want to stir some emotions. I haven't seen a single serious and meanigful debate coming out of the usage of the term.

nolf

Originally posted by Lawlmonster

Every time I see one of the posts, I'm forced to remind everyone that using the term "WoW Clone" is simply a point of reference, and that it's not going away. Sorry, I'm still going to use it to describe what an MMO plays like to another individual, if that MMO plays alot like WoW. Any issue you have with the term is purely internal.

This.  It's a damn good point of reference because MILLIONS of people have at least tried it, and a very high percentage of the MMO crowd has at least tried it.

 

It isn't so much about WoW, but about the common ground that comes with so many people sharing the experience.

SuperXero89

Originally posted by Elikal

Originally posted by arcanist

Heres my opinion on "wow clone"

Do you understand what it means?

Yes, the majority understands that it means copying core features from wow [which in turn copied them from other games and simplifying them.].

Is it politically correct.

The phrase makes no mention of gender, race, culture, age, etc. Seems fine to me.

On the intelectual part. It seems ridiculous using it as an argument. If used correctly it would act as a point of reference and not the argument itself.

For example, rift is a wow clone BECAUSE it copies features such as basic quests, crafting, etc. from wow.

Or.

rift is not innovative becuase itt copies stuff from wow.

Which is more inntelectual. The one that gives examples; Or the one that doesnt. Its not the phrase thats bad. Its the way you use it.

A) A clone is by definition a copy, an identical reprocution. Which, in case of MMOs, never is true. No game is a WOW clone, because the only WOW clone would be... WOW itself. So it is misleading and absurd.

So it is "similar in some aspects" to WOW. But into what pit of vagueness are we plunged here? How much similar makes "similar"? Just when it has radar? When the radar is round not square? How many aspects does it need to qualify a WOW-similar? What aspects are important and which are arbitrary? WHO defines which are important and which are neglectable?? - No, it just opens such a box of pandora: EVERYONE will understand something entirely different, and in the end the information given by the term is close to zero.

C) In most cases it is simply overstreched. It's like saying Claudia Schiffer is a clone of Madleine Albright, because both have boobs and some other "similar features".

D) It is replacing one term by another. That method per se is no explanation at all. It's as if I explain someone who doesn't know the word "metaphor" by saying "it's like a simile".

E) Be precise. Critizise actual features. Saying "I hate/love MMO X because it's a WOW clone" is something that says nothing, because it will mean something completely different to everyone. You CAN say: "I dislike MMO x which has the same stupid battlegrounds like WOW. I hated WOW because of it." But then the information that is was in WOW already is inessential; only the part that you don't like battlegrounds is the real info we need to hear.

 

People using this phrase are either lazy or purposefully want to stir some emotions. I haven't seen a single serious and meanigful debate coming out of the usage of the term.

Do you have me on ignore?

Kyleran

Originally posted by engrishGold

Originally posted by Elikal

Originally posted by arcanist

Heres my opinion on "wow clone"

Do you understand what it means?

Yes, the majority understands that it means copying core features from wow [which in turn copied them from other games and simplifying them.].

Is it politically correct.

The phrase makes no mention of gender, race, culture, age, etc. Seems fine to me.

On the intelectual part. It seems ridiculous using it as an argument. If used correctly it would act as a point of reference and not the argument itself.

For example, rift is a wow clone BECAUSE it copies features such as basic quests, crafting, etc. from wow.

Or.

rift is not innovative becuase itt copies stuff from wow.

Which is more inntelectual. The one that gives examples; Or the one that doesnt. Its not the phrase thats bad. Its the way you use it.

A) A clone is by definition a copy, an identical reprocution. Which, in case of MMOs, never is true. No game is a WOW clone, because the only WOW clone would be... WOW itself. So it is misleading and absurd.

So it is "similar in some aspects" to WOW. But into what pit of vagueness are we plunged here? How much similar makes "similar"? Just when it has radar? It when radar is round not squared? How many aspects does it need to qualify a WOW-similar? What aspects are important and which are arbitrary? Sorry, it just opens such a box of pandora: EVERYONE will understand something entirely different, and in the end the information given by the term is close to zero.

C) In most cases it is simply overstreched. It's like saying Claudia Schiffer is a clone of Madleine Albright, because both have boobs and some other similar features.

D) It is replacing one term by another. That method per se is no explanation at all. It's as if I explain someone who doesn't know the word "metaphor" by saying "it's like a simile".

E) Be precise. Critizise actualy features. Saying "I hate/love MMO X because it's a WOW clone" is something that says nothing, because it will say something completely different to everyone.

 

People using this phrase are either lazy or purposefully want to stir some emotions. I haven't seen a single serious and meanigful debate coming out of the usage of the term.

 

A)Need a hug,dude?

 

B)It's a wow clone when the game is extremely linear,has no sandbox features whatsoever,it's a quest grinder,the combat is the same old tab targeting 123 snorefest. The talent trees are a carbon copy of wow,and the endgame consist of grinding raids in instanced dungeons for your next epic lootz or instanced BG'S for lame instanced pvp.

 

C)Not true,the wow clone term fits perfectly for games like AoC,WAR,Lotro,Rift,SWKOTOR.

 

E) No,saying "i hate rift because it's a wow clone" is perfect,because it makes sense,i hate wow,and i also hate rift because it's a wow clone.

/signed.  Don't fall for the trolls who know exactly what the term WOW clone means to about 99% of the readers of these forums but for some reason feel the need to split hairs over its "definition".

MMO.Maverick

Shrug. I think it's like saying 'n*gger' or 'white trash', sure, people know what you mean when you use it, but it doesn't mean that there isn't a negative aura attached to it, and prone to evoke heated debates.

 

Is there a term that can be used that roughly means the same?

Sure. Themepark MMO.

By definition it describes better, since 'clone' implies 'perfect copy' while in 95% of the cases there are a lot of differences. It'd be like saying 'Christina Aguilera is a clone of Britney Spears,' because they're both blond, have good tits and body and both sing. Or 'Vampire Diaries is a clone of Buffy the Vampire Slayer', because both shows have vampires as main occurring theme and they're directed to a teen audience.

 

So yes, themepark MMO is a better, more truthful term to use. It fits better for MMO's that fall into that subgenre and is more neutral.

Then again, just like 'n*gger' or 'ch*nk' or 'fag' is sometimes used instead of more neutral names, the same applies with 'WoW clone': it doesn't just describe things but also expresses scorn and disgust, and therefore 'WoW clone' is a more powerful term to use than 'themepark MMO', a term that suits people better who want to express their dislikes.

 

SuperXero89

Originally posted by MMO.Maverick

Shrug. I think it's like saying 'n*gger' or 'white trash', sure, people know what you mean when you use it, but it doesn't mean that there isn't a negative aura attached to it, and prone to evoke heated debates.

 

Is there a term that can be used that roughly means the same?

Sure. Themepark MMO.

By definition it describes better, since 'clone' implies 'perfect copy' while in 95% of the cases there are a lot of differences. It'd be like saying 'Christina Aguilera is a clone of Britney Spears,' because they're both blond, have good tits and body and both sing. Or 'Vampire Diaries is a clone of Buffy the Vampire Slayer', because both shows have vampires as main occurring theme and they're directed to a teen audience.

 

So yes, themepark MMO is a better, more truthful term to use. It fits better for MMO's that fall into that subgenre and is more neutral.

Then again, just like 'n*gger' or 'ch*nk' or 'fag' is sometimes used instead of more neutral names, the same applies with 'WoW clone': it doesn't just describe things but also expresses scorn and disgust, and therefore 'WoW clone' is a more powerful term to use than 'themepark MMO', a term that suits people better who want to express their dislikes.

 

wrong

Because we're all nerds, living in our parents basement splitting hairs over the definition of a word, lets be precise here, and instead of saying something is a wow-clone, lets just say it "plagiarizes WoW."

There, we can still criticize the game for being overly similar even if it doesn't happen to reuse the same textures or audio files.

MMO.Maverick

Originally posted by SuperXero89

wrong

Because we're all nerds, living in our parents basement splitting hairs over the definition of a word, lets be precise here, and instead of saying something is a wow-clone, lets just say it "plagiarizes WoW."

There, we can still criticize the game for being overly similar even if it doesn't happen to reuse the same textures or audio files.

Wrong.

Everyone who is truly objective can see that any MMO that falls in a subgenre, besides similarities, also has differences in a lot of game aspects. People don't go around calling every fantasy book that has magic or elves or dragons a 'Tolkien clone', even if it's safe to say that a lot of later fantasy books fall into the genre that Tolkien started or caused to thrive.

 

So, true, themepark MMO is a better, more neutral and less emotional description for what's meant: every 'WoW clone' MMO falls in the category of 'themepark MMO', and all themepark MMO's especially after WoW have been namecalled 'WoW clone' to a higher or lesser degree.

So the choice is simple: want to talk about a themepark MMO in a neutral way? Use the term 'Themepark MMO'.

Want to express your disgust or dislike of a themepark MMO, and f*ck any neutrality ()? Use the term 'WoW clone'.

 

Seems evident enough to me

nomss

Originally posted by SuperXero89

Originally posted by MMO.Maverick

Shrug. I think it's like saying 'n*gger' or 'white trash', sure, people know what you mean when you use it, but it doesn't mean that there isn't a negative aura attached to it, and prone to evoke heated debates.

 

Is there a term that can be used that roughly means the same?

Sure. Themepark MMO.

By definition it describes better, since 'clone' implies 'perfect copy' while in 95% of the cases there are a lot of differences. It'd be like saying 'Christina Aguilera is a clone of Britney Spears,' because they're both blond, have good tits and body and both sing. Or 'Vampire Diaries is a clone of Buffy the Vampire Slayer', because both shows have vampires as main occurring theme and they're directed to a teen audience.

 

So yes, themepark MMO is a better, more truthful term to use. It fits better for MMO's that fall into that subgenre and is more neutral.

Then again, just like 'n*gger' or 'ch*nk' or 'fag' is sometimes used instead of more neutral names, the same applies with 'WoW clone': it doesn't just describe things but also expresses scorn and disgust, and therefore 'WoW clone' is a more powerful term to use than 'themepark MMO', a term that suits people better who want to express their dislikes.

 

wrong

Because we're all nerds, living in our parents basement splitting hairs over the definition of a word, lets be precise here, and instead of saying something is a wow-clone, lets just say it "plagiarizes WoW."

There, we can still criticize the game for being overly similar even if it doesn't happen to reuse the same textures or audio files.

LOL

That's a good one.

Ataaka

WoW is it's own completed game. It is one of the few games in which everything works as it was intended. WoW, like EQ, stole shamelessly from other common game mechanics which might go far and beyond the popular game called Zelda. Since we are going down that path, or at least I will go there, DND or RPG based games came from a collection of other games including a non-board game called hopscotch... yep, read it and weep...

Originality vs mastering functionality comes to mind with WoW. Like most successful businesses, you must be diverse and willing to change.. WoW has done that since beta. WoW will continue it's success for more years than they are willing to guess because WoW appeals to a very broad scale of intellect. A five year old can pick up the game, graduate high school and have it on the to-do list mid-way through college... WoW has it!!!

A recent release, RIFT, finds it's success in using all the working and necessary tools players are accustomed to seeing in every other MMO. They splashed some nextgen thinking around in the warfronts via loot drops on player corpses (nice touch) and of course via rifts. Everything else seems to work clearly and nearly as the time-tested features and mechanics of WoW.

To say WoW is the standard that MMOs should reach before delving it out to the world is an understatement. The standard set by WoW has little to do with anything about the flavor of WoW... it has everything to do with the attention to detail that Blizzard has utilized in tweaking how gamers game.

RIFT made a grave change IMO with macroing. It is so poor that it should not be listed as a feature. WoW didn't set the standard for macroing, players did. So if players capitolized on a 'hidden gem' why would RIFT think that not having it is a cool idea? I have no clue, but something tells me they will change that over a few patches or upgrades.

WoW Cloning, the phrase itself will eventually die. Who cares? I don't...I care about gaming, it's what I do and could not care less about terms that people create or have created to simplify a bigger meaning.

Thanks for reading my rant... I managed to slip in some hate mail for RIFT in the process, so I'm happy!!!

aslan132

Unfortunately every time someone mentions WoW its because WoW is popularized, it has absolutely nothing to do with the game. There isnt one single innovative idea or feature in WoW. Everything wow has came from another game first.

 

WoW is popular, theres no denying it. Its simple enough that your kids and your parents can all play it (as evidenced by the proliferation of 12 yr olds). The shear numbers of people that play it are what draw more people to play it. And because it is so well known, every other game will either be a WoW-clone or a WoW-killer. Has nothing to do with either game, its a lazy way to address absolutely nothing.

Personally, i dont play WoW. but at the same time I cant deny the fact that millions of people do. If i have a friend who has never played an MMO, i always tell them to try WoW first. Its a great introduction into the world of MMOs, it has a very low learning curve, its simplicity begs to be an MMO trainer. Then if they are interested in the genre, but want either more challenge or a more mature community i can direct them to an MMO that better suits thier playstyle. The thing that makes it so great is also its biggest turn-off. If it didnt corner the market 7 years ago, it probably would have gone the way of AoC, Vanguard, WAR, Aion and hundreds of others that peaked in 3-6 months before closing servers and consolidating the small populations.

The fact that WoW has so many players says nothing about its ability as a game to entertain or bring enjoyment to the players. It merely says its popular. People are drawn to where other people are, regardless of gameplay factors. And many are pushed right back out because the large population means dealing with a large variety of age groups and maturity levels (and of course botters and gold farmers).

The terms Wow-killer and WoW-clone arent going anywhere. They have become part of the community of MMOers. The best advice i can give is to ignore any such nonsense and try new games for yourself. Either you will like it or you wont.

warmaster670

Originally posted by SuperXero89

Originally posted by MMO.Maverick

Shrug. I think it's like saying 'n*gger' or 'white trash', sure, people know what you mean when you use it, but it doesn't mean that there isn't a negative aura attached to it, and prone to evoke heated debates.

 

Is there a term that can be used that roughly means the same?

Sure. Themepark MMO.

By definition it describes better, since 'clone' implies 'perfect copy' while in 95% of the cases there are a lot of differences. It'd be like saying 'Christina Aguilera is a clone of Britney Spears,' because they're both blond, have good tits and body and both sing. Or 'Vampire Diaries is a clone of Buffy the Vampire Slayer', because both shows have vampires as main occurring theme and they're directed to a teen audience.

 

So yes, themepark MMO is a better, more truthful term to use. It fits better for MMO's that fall into that subgenre and is more neutral.

Then again, just like 'n*gger' or 'ch*nk' or 'fag' is sometimes used instead of more neutral names, the same applies with 'WoW clone': it doesn't just describe things but also expresses scorn and disgust, and therefore 'WoW clone' is a more powerful term to use than 'themepark MMO', a term that suits people better who want to express their dislikes.

 

wrong

Because we're all nerds, living in our parents basement splitting hairs over the definition of a word, lets be precise here, and instead of saying something is a wow-clone, lets just say it "plagiarizes WoW."

 

Rofl, apparently you need to learn what plagiarism is.

Kyleran

Originally posted by MMO.Maverick

Shrug. I think it's like saying 'n*gger' or 'white trash', sure, people know what you mean when you use it, but it doesn't mean that there isn't a negative aura attached to it, and prone to evoke heated debates.

 

Is there a term that can be used that roughly means the same?

Sure. Themepark MMO.

By definition it describes better, since 'clone' implies 'perfect copy' while in 95% of the cases there are a lot of differences. It'd be like saying 'Christina Aguilera is a clone of Britney Spears,' because they're both blond, have good tits and body and both sing. Or 'Vampire Diaries is a clone of Buffy the Vampire Slayer', because both shows have vampires as main occurring theme and they're directed to a teen audience.

 

So yes, themepark MMO is a better, more truthful term to use. It fits better for MMO's that fall into that subgenre and is more neutral.

Then again, just like 'n*gger' or 'ch*nk' or 'fag' is sometimes used instead of more neutral names, the same applies with 'WoW clone': it doesn't just describe things but also expresses scorn and disgust, and therefore 'WoW clone' is a more powerful term to use than 'themepark MMO', a term that suits people better who want to express their dislikes.

 

Er yeah, that's what I said about 10 posts back on the first page, though I put the word "standard" in front of theme park MMO these days just for clairty.

Jinx

MMO.Maverick

Originally posted by Kyleran

Er yeah, that's what I said about 10 posts back on the first page, though I put the word "standard" in front of theme park MMO these days just for clairty.

Jinx

Lol.

Take comfort, I wasn't replying to you or even paying attention to your posts, I replied to the OP and the thread/topic in general. Your post just happened to have popped up right before mine when I'd finished my post