I hope this does not offend anybody, but i have been surfing and browsing various amateur and even professional mmorpg dev/ release sites and the recurring theme is Clans, party, swords, magic, rare drops and epic bosses. does anybody else feel that the market is becoming rather saturated? isnt it all a little bit boring? i know im fed up with it. Please take this as an introduction as i have a couple of questions i wish to put forward.

1.which is preferabble, a game with 2D graphics and sprites done very well or
a 3D graphics engine done very badly?

2.when did it suddenly become innate and super easy for a kid sitting at home to create their own massively multiplayer rpg?, i think they like the IDEA of having their own game but not necessairly the work they have to put into it, what are your thoughts on this? (i only ask because this is starting to annoy me particularly when they have no original thought)

My name is Mars Grathe and I am currently residing in England as both a diploma student and freelance designer, i hope to get well acquainted on this forum and really hope i havent caused (much) offense.

Sincerely,

M.Grathe

Mars Grathe Wrote:1.which is preferabble, a game with 2D graphics and sprites done very well or
a 3D graphics engine done very badly?

Different people would give you different answers. Personally I prefer 2D over 3D but the next person will say different no doubt.

Quote:2.when did it suddenly become innate and super easy for a kid sitting at home to create their own massively multiplayer rpg?, i think they like the IDEA of having their own game but not necessairly the work they have to put into it, what are your thoughts on this? (i only ask because this is starting to annoy me particularly when they have no original thought)

Is it possible to do this? We get so many people coming along here and asking how to do it so it must still be far from super easy.

Quote:really hope i havent caused (much) offense

That is very unlikely seeing as most people on this site are into making all types of games except for the MMORPG you mention. In fact some may be offended that you this site is for MMORPG development

Mars Grathe Wrote:1.which is preferabble, a game with 2D graphics and sprites done very well or
a 3D graphics engine done very badly?

Of course a game is about the whole experience and then the 2D one wins imo. Also a 2D-world like Ultima Online feels very tight community vise, as it's easier to see what different people are saying to each other.

But, since the technology is there from the consumers view (nice, good 3D graphics with physics etc. etc.), why not have it all in a game? As a consumer, I want it all!

well made 2D is good, but it's not really the graphics that make so much of a difference to me. I've quite playing MMO's because the designers are just so stupid in their decisions. All of the MMO's I've played and liked were smaller ones, and as soon as the game started getting larger, the power went to the creater's heads and they completely messed it up. I've seen it happen more times than I'd like to count.

That being said, it is getting easier to make a 2D MMO (with the advent of several poorly crafted MMO design programs), but it's still quite difficult to make a 3D one, I would think.

Mars Grathe Wrote:I hope this does not offend anybody, but i have been surfing and browsing various amateur and even professional mmorpg dev/ release sites and the recurring theme is Clans, party, swords, magic, rare drops and epic bosses.

What else were you expecting from an MMORPG? Of course all games in the same genre are going to have the same game mechanics.

Take away the clan and party system, and that'd completely break the point of the game.
Take away the rare drops and you're just missing out on a golden opportunity.
Take away the epic bosses and there'd be no reason for clans and it wouldn't be exciting enough to get any market penetration.
Take away the weapons, and there'd be nothing to do.

Basically you're just complaining that the kids who have no clue what they're doing aren't top-notch game designers. That's not going to change anytime soon.

Quote:1.which is preferabble, a game with 2D graphics and sprites done very well or
a 3D graphics engine done very badly?

Hmmm, is this a trick question?

Quote:When did it suddenly become innate and super easy for a kid sitting at home to create their own massively multiplayer rpg?

And I didn't even know. I kept reading on idevgames.com that mmorpgs were something you shouldn't even think of thinking about trying, and it turns out now they're super easy. Damn these kids.

On the topic of 2D vs 3D, it depends on the game. For me, a game like Odin Sphere looks better than most 3D games.

as far as 2D vs 3D RTS's go, I prefer the old 2D-ish starcraft to most of the newer 3D RTS's. The 2D approach to this allowed you to view your units simply, which meant you could concentrate more on tactics and what needed to get done instead of being distracted by the prettiness of the graphics.
-wyrmmage

Mars Grathe Wrote:1.which is preferabble, a game with 2D graphics and sprites done very well or a 3D graphics engine done very badly?

Some 3D games have charmingly bad graphics, and when coupled with good gameplay it can make for a great game. Gravitass and Black Shades come to mind. But in most cases, good 2D is preferable to crappy 3D.

Mars Grathe Wrote:professional mmorpg dev/ release sites and the recurring theme is Clans, party, swords, magic, rare drops and epic bosses. does anybody else feel that the market is becoming rather saturated?

Some pockets of uniqueness still exist... I'm currently fascinated by Pirates of the Burning Sea.

imikedaman Wrote:What else were you expecting from an MMORPG? Of course all games in the same genre are going to have the same game mechanics.

Take away the clan and party system, and that'd completely break the point of the game.
Take away the rare drops and you're just missing out on a golden opportunity.
Take away the epic bosses and there'd be no reason for clans and it wouldn't be exciting enough to get any market penetration.
Take away the weapons, and there'd be nothing to do.

Basically you're just complaining that the kids who have no clue what they're doing aren't top-notch game designers. That's not going to change anytime soon.

apparently you have never player Armageddon. While it is technically a MUD, it certainly goes against the general rules of everything most MMORPGs are currently striving for.

I think the main problem is that all of these "HUEG" MMORPGs (and just most commercial games in general) are very obviously designed by committee for the largest group of people. Hollywood suffers from the same problems, trying to tailor a movie or game to be palatable to the largest audience possible often leads to a bland movie that nobody really wants to see. Anyone ever see Catwoman? It took over 13 people to write that script. 13 people!!

Najdorf Wrote:Hmmm, is this a trick question?

I just can't help but think this is like comparing Apples and Rotten Oranges.