by Jeff Woleslagle on Aug 19, 2009
Loading... is the premier daily MMORPG news and commentary newsletter, only from Ten Ton Hammer.
Two major MMO announcements have come out of GamesCom in Cologne, Germany this week. Funcom announced the Age of Conan expansion Rise of the Godslayer, but perhaps the most surprising reveal was CCP's newly revealed project: DUST 514. Details will be sparse on DUST 514, which features "first-person shooter and RTS-style gameplay" and "will interact directly with EVE Online" until EVE FanFest in October, but we can certainly speculate. Join us for a discussion of how to make a tie-in between two separate MMOs work in today's Loading... Sequel, Expansion, or Tie-In?
You vote with what you view at Ten Ton Hammer, and the result is the Ten Ton Pulse (What is The Pulse?).
Here's today's top 5 Pulse results:
World of Warcraft Aion (UP 1) Champions Online (down 1) EverQuest 2 Age of ConanBiggest Movers today :
The Agency (UP 45 to #17) Darkfall (UP 18 to #13) City of Heroes (down 5 to #19) Recent MMO Releases 7/13 - Darkfall NA launch 7/21- FFXI "Moogle Kupo d'Etat" Addon (release date) 8/4 - World of Warcraft Update 3.2 (content patch)Important Dates
8/19 - 8/23 - Gamescom Cologne 8/21 - 8/22 - BlizzCon '09 9/4 - 9/6 - Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) 9/15 - 9/18 - GDC Austin Upcoming Releases 8/25 - CrimeCraft (release date) 9/1 - Champions Online (release date) 9/9 - Dungeons & Dragons Online Unlimited (release date) 9/9 - Fallen Earth (release date) 9/22 - Aion (release date) 10/9 - Cities XL (release date) Early 2010 - APBThe last year has seen the formation of more new trends in Massively Multiplayer online gaming than in perhaps the last five years put together. We've seen several new superhero-themed MMOs rise into the realm of possibility along with the announcement of a major new expansion for the genre's bellwether MMO, City of Heroes. While Age of Conan wasn't the first MMO to introduce "active combat" - the more twitchy little brother of yesterday's auto-attack MMOs - DDO Unlimited will take the idea to a new audience, and it's rare for an MMO to be announced without an overtly skill-based "twitch" component. A number of space-based or space story-based MMOs are making their way onto the scene - Jumpgate Evolution, Star Trek Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and a number more which may or may not make it onto the big scene. Likewise, "persistent world shooters" like Huxley, Global Agenda, CrimeCraft are starting to make their mark as well.
One underreported yet emergent trend is MMO tie-ins. Not necessarily tie-ins in the "crappy single-player game based on a movie" sense, but concepts supporting or adding to the lengthy dynasties of successful MMORPG games. Square Enix has proclaimed some level of integration for Final Fantasy XIV and Final Fantasy XI, we know that Guild Wars 2 will celebrate the achievements of the original Guild Wars players in some overt way, and now CCP has announced that DUST 514 will answer players' calls for an up-close and personal side to EVE Online combat.
It's significant to note that, unlike Guild Wars 2 and Final Fantasy XIV, DUST 514 (pronounced "five fourteen" instead of "five-one-four" according to CCP - go win a geek argument somewhere!) isn't a sequel to EVE Online and, as such, doesn't risk alienating players that weren't quite finished with the original concept or that lengthy, painful "sequel death" that so many games and movies undergo. If you talk to any of the CCP devs long enough, you'll hear that CCP has plans for EVE Online long into the future. I remember Torfi Olafsson talking about the game in terms of "30 years from now..." It's an incredibly refreshing break from the throwaway smash-and-grab MMOs that fill my inbox with pain every day.
In DUST 514, one can imagine FPS clans recruited as offshoots of EVE Online corporations, perhaps in a mercenary capacity, to help accomplish corporate goals. There's no dearth of imaginative ideas for DUST 514 - maybe the FPS side of the game will support boarding actions for capital ships and player-owned stations while perhaps the RTS side will cover combat over planetary sovereignty and combat - but one thing is for sure - the EVE Online Universe, already huge, is about to get much bigger.
Sequels, expansions, or tie-ins - what's the right way to grow a successful MMO over the long haul? Feel free to stop by the Loading... forum or email me with your insights and dirty pictures.
Shayalyn's Epic Thread of6 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 60 in August! 920 in 2009!
New MMOG Articles At Ten Ton Hammer Today [Thanks Phil Comeau for links and Real World News]
The Consequences of True Choice – A Look at Decisions in Dragon Age: OriginsGiveaways:
Runes of Magic Item GiveawayHottest Content:
Guild Wars - Rediscovering Tyria Star Trek Online Closed Beta to Begin in October? Champions Online: Exclusive Interview on Sidekicks, Super Groups, and Supervillains World of Warcraft - New Expansion = New Tamable Pets? World of Warcraft - Vanity Pet Collecting Checklist Age of Conan - A Year Later, Part 2 The Hollywood Cycle: Comparing the MMO Industry with the Silver Screen Flight or Fight: A Look at Advanced Flight and Combat in Aion The Co-Op PvE side of Global Agenda: A Q&A with Exec. Producer Todd Harris An Advanced Guide to Crafting in AionReal World News:
School introduces grade worse than FThanks for visiting the Ten Ton Hammer network!
-Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle and the Ten Ton Hammer team