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The Game Archaeologist answers Asheron's Call 2: The highlights
MMO sequels are funny animals. Sequels (along with prequels and "reimaginings") are ingrained into the entertainment industry so deep that it makes sense that MMO studios would follow suit. And yet these types of games -- with their ever-growing nature and heavy involvement with loyal playerbases -- are not always conducive to such projects. More often than not, a sequel to an online game becomes its ancestor's main competition, which is not a desirable outcome for the studio. Perhaps back in the early 2000s, studios simply didn't know better. There's good evidence that the typical "hit video games need a sequel" mindset ran rampant across the industry, from the multiple attempts at Ultima Online 2 to the release of the don't-call-it-a-sequel sequel of EverQuest II. Perhaps developers didn't realize that MMO players didn't necessarily want to be uprooted and moved to a new game every few years. While sequels, spin-offs and remakes are still present, the genre learned a hard lesson with Asheron's Call 2 in the first half of the decade. Asheron's Call was a success on Microsoft and Turbine's behalf, and a sequel -- with vastly improved graphics and deeper gameplay -- seemed like a logical next step. Unfortunately, it was a Greek tragedy in the making, destined for a short but memorable life in our world. This month we're going to look at the brief shining star of Asheron's Call 2 and get all sorts of misty-eyed romantic over it!
The Game Archaeologist and the What Ifs: Ultima X: Odyssey
Last week on The Game Archaeologist: Murder most foul! A promising sequel to a hit MMO cut down in its prime, left to die on the front steps of EA's headquarters while its team was banished into exile! With special guest star, Richard Garriott's hair braid. And now, for the exciting conclusion! As disappointed that some MMO fans were over Ultima Worlds Online: Origin's cancellation, the truth is that the industry still was young, these MMOs still had their "new car smell," and hey, there was always Ultima Online to play. It was probably the right call at the time to not create your own competition, but if that was the case, EA should've never begun it to begin with. So did the company have a major case of cancellation remorse? Or did it look at other industry sequels like Asheron's Call 2 and EverQuest II and feel as though it was being upstaged? Whatever the reason, EA decided that it had been too hasty, and it greenlit development on yet another Ultima Online sequel, this one titled Ultima X: Odyssey. It would go deeper and further into development, gather more acclaim, and generate more hype than UWO:O, and in fact would get within spitting distance of launching.
Austin Game Developers Conference previews the evolving face of MMOs
Worlds in Motion has continued to announce some of the highlights of the upcoming Austin Game Developer's Conference. We've previously talked about featured speakers like Nexon's Min Kim, and interesting events showcasing the collaboration between casual gaming and MMOs. These newest events continue to explore some topics we've returned to several times before here at Massively. The business side of massive gaming, for example, will be explored in a panel entitled Evolving Business for MMOs. Speakers will include Turbine Business Development VP Robert Ferrari, CCP CEO Himlar Veigar Pertursson, Funcom Business Development VP Nicolay Nickelsen, Nexon America director Min Kim, and ImaginVenture SA COO Jessica Mulligan.Other talks will include tips for the changing face of MMO business models, focusing on free-to-play and RMT models. Another will discuss some of the challenges of running a Beta test, with hands-on knowledge from Keneva's Jonathan Hanna. Check out the full listing of MMO-related talks and panels over at the official AGDC website today.
