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Will there ever be a Science Fiction MMO with the popularity of WoW?
sludgebeard
Member RarePosts: 788
Title. It hasn't happened yet. Most commercial Scoence Fiction MMOs have been a disaster.
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In the near future is very unlikely though.
Science fiction is also a rather broad term, Shadowrun and Star wars are pretty far from eachother. Something Shadowrun like with the right game mechanics certainly have the potential to become huge.
Space opera or space exploration game is harder then fantasy Cyberpunk though but still not impossible, particularly with a strong IP.
So who can tell?
But as Loke said, "ever" is a long time. Who knows down the pike what will happen.
Unless of course you consider Star citizen an MMO (I don't really think that's what it's going for but I'm not an expert on the game) in which case that seems to be the largest "science fictiony" game in development that I know of.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
If I would want to pick a popular IP for a sci-fi MMORPG then I would go for Guardians of the Galaxy or Avatar.
My SWTOR referral link for those wanting to give the game a try. (Newbies get a welcome package while returning players get a few account upgrades to help with their preferred status.)
https://www.ashesofcreation.com/ref/Callaron/
The only famous one I can think of right now is the Halo series, they could turn that into an MMO. But it would probably turn out to be a lobby shooter with a small social space set in a different universe altogether. And it would be console only since thats where it originated, and only wih part 2 would they choose to support the PC platform. It would have a maximum of 3 classes and be light on content which would only be added through expensive expansions. Ohhh, wait......
/Cheers,
Lahnmir
Kyleran on yours sincerely
'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'
Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...
'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless.
It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.
It is just huge resource waste....'
Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer
My SWTOR referral link for those wanting to give the game a try. (Newbies get a welcome package while returning players get a few account upgrades to help with their preferred status.)
https://www.ashesofcreation.com/ref/Callaron/
"The Society that separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting by fools."
Currently: Games Audio Engineer, you didn't hear what I heard, you heard what I wanted you to hear.
I'd also note Star Citizen has alien races which I think qualifies it as Sci-Fi. It's popularity could end up anywhere between total flop to next big thing. I think when you consider what they already have playable internally (And how close that is to what I'm already able to to test on my end) that it seriously has potential to become a genre defining title.
Honestly I have more trouble finding good fantasy titles than good sci-fi ones. I mean, afterall, popular doesn't always mean good.
I believe we already have the technology and the design experience to create a game that could match the numbers of WoW. It would be tough, as we'd be fighting against deeply ingrained design paradigms that WoW has taught us, but if anything is going to equal WoWs numbers in the future, it is going to be very different to WoW's features.
I also don't think the market conditions are as important as people make out. I mean, look at what WoW was working with at the time. There are only two important factors in terms of the market: first, the market was expanding rapidly due to the uptake of broadband. Second, the competition was weak.
It's not that different to now. Sure, the market is not expanding rapidly, but it's not as if it's shrunk. It has kept expanding so in fact the total market is much larger now that it was when WoW peaked. Then look at the competition. What have you really got to be worried about?!?! Virtually everything on the market is a themepark following the WoW formula. Most are high fantasy, most are mediocre. There are a few hybrids / sandboxes. Then a load of indies in development.
The competition, quite frankly, is shit.
So, there already exists a massive opportunity and a large enough market to generate a new WoW. The technology also already exists to give us a game that can support being the next WoW. It can happen, and it can happen now. It won't, because it will require a big departure from existing paradigms and investors are unwilling to spend the required money on a risk, but it could happen.
In terms of IP? That's a real tough one for Sci-Fi. You need something relatively gender and age neutral in order to appeal to a wide market, but Sci-Fi is pretty male dominated and still fairly fringe. Star Wars could do it, but is probably a bit past it now and runs the risk of audience fatigue. Star Trek and Star Gate are too male dominated. Firefly, whilst an amazing series with an awesome cult following, never gained the mainstream traction needed. If the Matrix gets a reboot, especially if they have a female lead, that could be a good one to pick. But beyond that? I think sci-fi is probably just too male dominated for now.
/Cheers,
Lahnmir
Kyleran on yours sincerely
'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'
Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...
'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless.
It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.
It is just huge resource waste....'
Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer
I just kinda feel that the majority of popular sci-fi is just concerned with male stuff. Loads of technology. Weird aliens to kill. Cool guns, cars and planes etc. Wars to fight, poor people to stomp in the political arena.
With fantasy, there is more cross-gender appeal. There always seems to be some fancy ball to attend whilst wearing fancy jewellery and gowns, which appeals to people who enjoy period dramas. There are always races concerned with peace and love (bloody elves) which they can more readily identify with. The worlds inhabited in fantasy settings are usually still pretty close to nature, rather than concrete jungles.
I know this probably comes off as extremely sexist for which I apologise. I play a female-dominated sport (roller derby) and I've been involved in MMOs for ages, so I know a lot of female gamers. Whilst a few have been great raiders or pvpers, the overwhelming majority just couldn't seem to give a shit about mechanics. They care about cosmetics. And cute NPCs. And the occasional storyline.
I've literally spent hours in a pub listening to female friends discuss the new outfit they put together for their Khajit in ESO. Or how they spent 4 hours just messing about with the character creator. Or how they spent an hour killing stuff in the shire, just because they like hobbits. This behaviour is then reinforced through the media, so they watch LotR and see Arwen holding back the nazgul, or Eowyn riding into battle. Or they watch GoT and see Cersei dominating the court whilst wearing beautiful gowns.
With Sci-Fi.......we're not there yet. Something like the Hunger Games helps - not only does it have a strong female lead and plenty of female cast members, but the world/time in which it is set isn't so far removed from our own and not dominated by male-interest (tech / wars / vehicles etc).
Unless, of course, you count Destiny 1 & 2 as this site does. (Is Destiny even close to wow in terms of popularity?)
On the Alien Universe, the massive amount of comics on it are very equally male/female divided and play on both their strengths, they also deal with lots of planets and subspecies. There are lots of females in it in strong, leading roles.
/Cheers,
Lahnmir
Kyleran on yours sincerely
'But there are many. You can play them entirely solo, and even offline. Also, you are wrong by default.'
Ikcin in response to yours sincerely debating whether or not single-player offline MMOs exist...
'This does not apply just to ED but SC or any other game. What they will get is Rebirth/X4, likely prettier but equally underwhelming and pointless.
It is incredibly difficult to design some meaningfull leg content that would fit a space ship game - simply because it is not a leg game.
It is just huge resource waste....'
Gdemami absolutely not being an armchair developer
If you look at things like the SuperData reports, they state that the gender gap has shrunk a lot, almost to being equal. However, that includes mobile gamers. When you exclude mobile gamers, the gap widens (about 60:40 in US).
I don't know how you close the gap though. Being white, male, 31, my point of view is pretty limited! But, it is important - the best communities are those that are diverse and inclusive. Community is extremely important for retention, and retention is extremely important if you want to reach WoW numbers.