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Raising the Dead

By Cody “Micajah” Bye

July 10, 2007 - A few weeks ago, I was stationed in NetDevil’s conference room, seated amid a group of journalists at a long conference table. We had just finished listening to an invigorating and heart-felt opening ceremony when the surprise of the evening was unveiled. As Hermann Petersheck fired up his computer, we witnessed the first public viewing of Jumpgate Evolution, the completely remade version of NetDevil’s first MMOG, Jumpgate. The word “beautiful” was thrown around like a firecracker with a lit fuse, and the gathered press was astonished to learn that this was the original Jumpgate that NetDevil had produced six years ago, albeit in a vey refined form.  

Jumpgate Evolution is a completely redesigned version of NetDevil's first MMOG.

Since that fateful afternoon and evening, I’ve been contemplating how the potential success of Jumpgate Evolution could remake the entire MMOG industry. The original Jumpgate was released in 2001 to a moderate response, finding a very devoted, very hardcore audience of space combat sim junkies and PvP gurus. There world was one inhabited by gamers who wanted to dog-fight and scour the reaches of space looking for enemies. Many of these players are still participating in the original game to this day, but their numbers have slowly dwindled to a scant few.

There was a reason behind the limited measure of success that the original Jumpgate achieved, and it mostly had to do with the level of difficulty involved with playing the game. Players either could not get into the game or eventually they just lost interest after being shot by player killers over and over and over again. Jumpgate was a harsh game, and it didn’t strive to be anything other than that.

Now that NetDevil has ten years of MMOG experience under their belt, they believe they can resurrect Jumpgate from its slow death. Like the Million Dollar Man, they are making Jumpgate Evolution faster, prettier, and putting more emphasis on the new player experience, hoping to draw in sci-fi and space combat sim aficionados that were dissuaded from the first Jumpgate. It’s a complete overhaul of a game that is now six years old. And Jumpgate Evolution looks primed for success.

With the Jumpgate renovation in mind, take a moment to remember your favorite – or first – MMOG. Remember all the wonderful times you had in that game, waiting for monsters to spawn or leading groups of players down into the depths of massive dungeons. Those were some thrilling times, weren’t they? But by now that game has probably seen a good number of years pass by during its watch, and perhaps the graphics are starting to look a bit dated, the AI is lackluster, and there is a significant lack of new players coming into the game world.

Although Everquest has received a number of graphics and gameplay enhancements, nothing has pulled all of the former players back to Norrath.

What would you give to have a team of developers go in and completely refresh the entire game? Perhaps the developers could enhance the graphics and smooth out some of the rough edges that the game is showing. On top of that the team could give the AI a overhaul, making their routines smarter, making them adapt to your maneuvers, and enhancing the way you go about strategizing for the enemy. Sound and music would benefit from the overhaul as well, allowing the game designers to do voice-overs, orchestral scores, and more. When you returned to the game that inspired so much nostalgia within your heart, you would find a world that incorporates the wealth of new features that today’s MMOGs provide, but also remains the same game at heart.

Personally, a remade version of the classic Everquest would be a pillar of light from heaven. While Everquest still calls to my addicted heart, there are numerous flaws and basic problems that I cannot honestly fathom ever going back to Norrath for over a few days. The servers are relatively empty and the game is unsuited for the MMO gamer that has found new pastures in World of Warcraft, Everquest 2, or any of the other second and third generation MMOGs. Features that we’ve grown used to in newer games still don’t exist in EQ.