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Jane nailed what made Everquest, AC, and DAoC so special, so thrilling. It was that edge-of-your-seat feel of adventure, danger, and the unknown. And yes, these days that feeling is hard to find. But it is not lost. In the face of Allakhazam and thottbot, it's become harder to obscure the world, but again, it is not impossible. And why do I think these design elements are still present, why they can still work? EVE.
EVE has, even in this modern age of data mining and simplified MMORPG design, maintained a sense of danger and mystery behind every corner. You never know what you're going to find in a system* and you never know what obstacles you'll face. Sometimes it'll be empty and you'll breathe a sigh of relief as you check out a Deadspace Complex or pick through the asteroid belts. And then you'll hear the telltale sound of your ship being locked onto, perhaps the explosion of a missile hitting your armor. You just don't know.
Now, you can't explore EVE in the traditional sense. You don't really find things that make you gasp in awe or compel you to discover an area. But the fact remains that the danger is still there. And because EVE has been hugely successful financially and critically means that there is still a market for the type of experience that EVE provides. There are still players that want to explore, there are still players that want danger. There are still thrillseekers, there are still explorers, there are still those longing for not knowing what's behind the next corner. There is still a massive untapped market for that type of game.
The issue is fear. Developers are afraid to make a game, especially now when WoW looms over everyone else, that challenges the player and robs them of that safety net of easy mob pathing, that robs them of resources like thottbot, that robs them of the tools to necessarily handle all encounters by themselves. But why? It is apparent, from the hundreds of thousands that still play Everquest, from the many that play FFXI and DAoC, that this type of game is still marketable and potentially successful. Someone just needs to man up and take the reins.
It's not a pipe dream, it's not nostalgia, it's not even that Everquest and AC were those first games that took your breath away. It's a simple truth that this game that you want, that I want, that jane wants, is a game that people are afraid to create. But MMOs have always been a risk. The churn factor is huge, the cost of constant upkeep and content creation is massive.
Which is, again, where EVE has really shined. Because they have created such a sandbox-centric game, players have and do take it upon themselves to create content. Player-created missions, player-created universe infrastructure and attitude, it's all present in EVE. My first corporation was a Minmatar-only group of freedom fighters that only attacked Amarr and ran various operations to buy slaves in Amarr space and shuttle tem to Minmatar space where they would be freed. Did it really happen? No. But that level of interaction and immersion into the world, completely created and invested in by the players, is a testament to the group of players that long for the game we want and wish for.
What I'm saying is this -- don't give up hope. Sooner or later (and I do think it will be sooner), someone will make a game that brings the danger back, that brings the adventure back. Maybe it will be Curt Schilling and his studio, as most of them are longtime D&D and Everquest fans. Maybe it will be some developer that's only now taking off. But it will happen because while not all players demand it, many do, and goldmines never go untapped for long.
*Yes you can scan but that's not constantly updating or all that handy.
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