Post by Morreion on Feb 25, 2015 12:21:06 GMT -5
The Soapbox: Facing an industry of change (Massively OP)
Right now I believe that we are on a threshold of change in the MMO industry, and it feels a little uncertain and a lot scary.
While there are MMOs being made and developed as you read this, it seems as though there are less of the traditional big-budget titles with highly recognizable IPs and more indie projects that are operating outside of the normal paradigm. We have games that are funded entirely through fan support. We have spiritual successors instead of sequels. We have MMOs that are also single-player titles. We have devs over here jumping on the Minecraft wagon, devs over there trying to get a piece of the League of Legends phenomenon, and devs designing for a specific audience rather than a general one.
The tech and development process is in flux as well. Oculus Rift? Will that be the next wave of how we interface with MMOs or a passing fad? What about early access, with its trend of allowing players to come in and play while the game is being built around them? We’re in an era where beta is launch, alpha is beta, and pre-alpha is the new normal.
It’s enough to boggle the mind.
I’m enough of a traditionalist that I do wish that we could go back to how the system used to be — only without the post-World of Warcraft stagnation. But I’m enough of a realist too to recognize that change is and has always been a key part of our industry...
Right now I believe that we are on a threshold of change in the MMO industry, and it feels a little uncertain and a lot scary.
While there are MMOs being made and developed as you read this, it seems as though there are less of the traditional big-budget titles with highly recognizable IPs and more indie projects that are operating outside of the normal paradigm. We have games that are funded entirely through fan support. We have spiritual successors instead of sequels. We have MMOs that are also single-player titles. We have devs over here jumping on the Minecraft wagon, devs over there trying to get a piece of the League of Legends phenomenon, and devs designing for a specific audience rather than a general one.
The tech and development process is in flux as well. Oculus Rift? Will that be the next wave of how we interface with MMOs or a passing fad? What about early access, with its trend of allowing players to come in and play while the game is being built around them? We’re in an era where beta is launch, alpha is beta, and pre-alpha is the new normal.
It’s enough to boggle the mind.
I’m enough of a traditionalist that I do wish that we could go back to how the system used to be — only without the post-World of Warcraft stagnation. But I’m enough of a realist too to recognize that change is and has always been a key part of our industry...
