by Karen Hertzberg on Mar 10, 2008
Future So Bright...Ya
Gotta Wear Shades
Stagnation is a term often associated with the videogame industry. Like
movies, when a trend is caught onto, it often gets used time and again
until no one ever wants to see another rehash of what started said
trend ever again. It is in this way that art finds new means to express
itself. The same can be said about the MMOG. For all that we love these
games, there's always room for improvement. The number one item on the
list? Combat.
We pull our targets sheepishly away from their
blissfully ignorant
comrades, whittle away at their HP with abilities triggered by the mere
press of button, and then venture onto the next fiendish foe that,
until we enter a certain invisible radius, is blissfully unaware of
us. This is the way of the sword (or blaster) in just about
every MMORPG to date. It works well enough, but some developers and
fans alike see the need to shake things up, and that's just what we are
witnessing with the batch of games on the horizon and a few that have
already broken ground. The tried and true combat mechanics are being
tested, reshaped, and reinvigorated by new takes on the fundamental
interaction players have with a virtual world.