Practicum 4- Alex Girard MMORPGS

Note: Night Before Presentation Post

Question: In developing the user interface and gameplay mechanics of Rift in the style of genre-dominating World of Warcraft's systems, is Trion (developer) simply contributing to the glut of "me too" MMOs since World of Warcraft's release in 2004, or is it contributing to the natural evolution of the genre?

At its release, World of Warcraft was essentially a more refined version of pre-existing MMORPGs (Notably Sony's Everquest, Turbine's Asheron's Call, and perhaps most strongly Mythic's Dark Age of Camelot). The Warcraft franchise was a well-established and popular at the time, but World of Warcraft really blasted it, and Blizzard, into the stratosphere.

Again, though, at its core, it was simply a combination and refinement of MMORPG games that had already existed. Since World of Warcraft launched, it seems that most MMORPGs tried to capitalize on running a similar formula with other well-established franchises (Lord of the Rings Online and Warhammer Online, notably). Dungeons and Draagons Online took a different approach, instead trying to cut down on the "Massive" side of "Massively Multiplayer" and capture something closer to the original tabletop game. Champions Online went away from the traditional Fantasy setting (As City of Heroes had before it) and likewise offered gameplay that felt different from competitors.

Regardless of their approach to the genre, each of these games failed in some capacity at using the same retail box/subscription model as World of Warcraft. Lord of the Rings Online, Dungeons and Dragons Online and Champions Online have moved to free-to-play services with "micropayment" options, where the developer can make money by selling premium items and services to interested players. Warhammer still maintains a pay-to-play structure, though they've allowed for an admittedly restricted "endless free trial." I believe this is because, in terms of gameplay and aesthetics, Warhammer was the closest of these games to World of Warcraft.

At least until Rift was released a couple months ago. Rift effectively plays as an incredibly extensive mod of World of Warcraft. The main addition to the game was the titular Rifts, which in practice act as a more randomized version of Warhammer's Public Quest system. Similar to how World of Warcraft combined and refined the mechanics of previous popular titles, Rift has taken elements of the MMO giant's formula, adding enough twist to separate it from being a complete clone while still keeping it familiar (and thereby attractive to MMO players). The game has been released to largely positive reviews (with ubiquitous but warranted comparisons to World of Warcraft) and was noted for it's extremely stable launch. It's far too early to say whether Rift will outclass World of Warcraft in subscribers, but in creating an environment that's new but somehow familiar, Trion has created a networked game that has the best shot yet.