Post by Morreion on May 20, 2010 6:44:47 GMT -5
Justin Webb: The Third Age
MMORPG.com columnist Justin Webb returns to discuss the Third Age of MMOs by talking about what is beginning to take shape around us now.
I do get the impression that we are moving into a new MMO era- whether the new games will be MMOish to the First Age players still around is another question.
MMORPG.com columnist Justin Webb returns to discuss the Third Age of MMOs by talking about what is beginning to take shape around us now.
The good news for MMOs is that one of the defining characteristics of the Third age is the emergence of digital social networking. This should be good news for games that are massive and multiplayer, right? It will be. Third-Age MMOs will make extensive use of social networking, perhaps even using “friends” as resources. More importantly:
MMOs will stop being defined by the platforms they exist on, and begin being defined by the interfaces that they interact with.
However, one of the problems with MMO dinosaurs is that, due to their mass(ivellyness), they have great momentum – they’re really hard to slow down. This may be their undoing, as smaller more-agile game types will be able to change course (and adapt) and ultimately become MMO mammals years before MMO dinosaurs do. As such, the first Ice Age games won’t be MMOs … or at least not MMOs in any currently recognizable form.
I have no idea what Ice-Age mammalian MMOs will look like or play like. What is important is that we (developers and players alike) realize that this new Age is will be centered around “interface” and the convergence of media. What is certain, however, is that the Ice Age is upon us, and we are beginning to see the first mammals emerging from the snow.
MMOs will stop being defined by the platforms they exist on, and begin being defined by the interfaces that they interact with.
However, one of the problems with MMO dinosaurs is that, due to their mass(ivellyness), they have great momentum – they’re really hard to slow down. This may be their undoing, as smaller more-agile game types will be able to change course (and adapt) and ultimately become MMO mammals years before MMO dinosaurs do. As such, the first Ice Age games won’t be MMOs … or at least not MMOs in any currently recognizable form.
I have no idea what Ice-Age mammalian MMOs will look like or play like. What is important is that we (developers and players alike) realize that this new Age is will be centered around “interface” and the convergence of media. What is certain, however, is that the Ice Age is upon us, and we are beginning to see the first mammals emerging from the snow.
I do get the impression that we are moving into a new MMO era- whether the new games will be MMOish to the First Age players still around is another question.
