redefine-mmos
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The Soapbox: BioWare, meet ZeniMax; ZeniMax, this is BioWare
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. Once upon a time, a group of decision-makers at a big AAA studio set out to brave the wilds of the MMORPG. This studio had several hugely successful single-player RPGs under its belt, and it also had quite a bit of consumer goodwill in the bank thanks to its pre-MMORPG efforts. The studio spent a ton, and I do mean a ton, of money recreating an MMO that already existed in dozens of different games. It also spent a ton of money trying to convince gamers and gaming press that it wasn't making a retread and was instead adding another pillar of awesome to the standard MMO formula. This studio was, of course, BioWare. Unfortunately for Elder Scrolls fans, it's also ZeniMax.
The Daily Grind: Does redefining the term MMORPG help or hurt the genre?
Yesterday's Daily Grind spawned some interesting comments, not the least of which was a theory that expanding the definition of the term MMORPG is good for the genre. I disagreed, as I feel that lobby-based shooters and preset character-driven games like Vindictus and Marvel Heroes dilute the original meaning of the term MMORPG and make it less likely for feature-rich MMOs to see the light of day. That's not to say that I dislike the Vindictuses (Vindictii?) of the world on their own terms, but I do wish they would keep their grubby paws off my acronyms and initialisms. What about you, morning crew? Are you OK with any sort of game appropriating the MMORPG label and attempting to expand (or in some cases, contract) it, or do you think this hurts the genre? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
