Social Media games have introduced an entirely new solution to an age-old social gaming problem, and it’s as insidious as it is genius. It’s also only a matter of time before you see it in your favorite MMO. Read on after the break to hear what I’m talking about.
So if you ever do any blogging, the end of the year always presents an interesting challenge. That challenge is.. do I do a “year in review” post, or a “predictions for the upcoming year” post. If you’re especially prolific, which I’m not, you do both. The “year in review” posts can be fun because it’s always interesting to look back, see what was launched, which trends took hold that we didn’t expect, and to see how things panned out. But they also require work, as you actually have to spend time going back through articles, checking dates, cross-referencing performance numbers against your claims (it’s all well and good to say that Champions Online tanked, but did it really? I’d have to check my numbers. Honestly I don’t think it did. It just felt like it did), and in general do research. Prediction posts, on the other hand, are much easier, We get to simply talk out of our butts about whatever we think is going to happen, and there’s almost no work involved at all, save putting our prophetic statements to paper. Lazy blogger that I am.. you can guess which kind of post this is.
So as some of you know (and if you don’t, then why don’t you!) I’ve embarked upon the journey of creating a company, which in turn is creating a world. And hopefully, you can see in the first five seconds of looking at Windstorm Studios’ site, that the world we’re creating is not going to be in your typical high fantasy setting. And we’re in good company. Right now there are more MMO’s coming out in a non-typical fantasy setting than ever before. With games like Jumpgate Evolution, Champions Online, The Agency, and overly wordy Star Wars: The Old Republic looming on the horizon, players will soon have more selections than ever when deciding on the type of world they want to visit. But why has it taken this long? And why do we still see games being released every year set in that traditional fantasy setting? Well, it’s mostly because fantasy gives you so much for free, from a design standpoint, and doesn’t present nearly as much of a challenge as designing your game in a contemporary or futuristic setting does.
