MeinMMO author Cedric Holmeier showed his girlfriend the world of MMORPGs. Now she is angry because there are no good games anymore.
Except for Sims, my girlfriend had nothing to do with video games for a long time. Like many women, she didn’t see herself as a gamer, but at least there was a basic interest. Occasionally, there was a fascinated look at my monitor, followed by a “That looks cool.”.
In 2021, visits from friends were as limited as the remaining range of series that still interested my girlfriend. Also, the umpteenth banana bread had been baked, and all TikTok trends were already known.
In short: My girlfriend was bored. I, on the other hand, was filled with anticipation in June 2021 for a new China MMORPG: Swords of Legends Online. I have always been fascinated by Chinese culture, and a theme park MMORPG with beautiful graphics was just the thing to forget the everyday worries of the pandemic.
I probably drowned my girlfriend in words, I must be honest. The hype was great, probably as great as her boredom. Because one day, during the test just before the release, she asked me: “Can I play too?”
Here you can see the trailer for Swords of Legends Online. The game is now offline.
First solo, now MMORPGs
I let her play my bard during the leveling phase. She listened to the story and hammered on the keys of my keyboard as if that would increase the damage to the enemies. She enjoyed diving into the world and later discussing the game with our friends.
Since the release of Swords of Legends Online, she has been completely addicted to the MMORPG. Following the story, collecting companions and mounts, and exploring the landscape, all of that appealed to her. Eventually, the first raid was on the horizon, and even though I had to push her a bit to her happiness, she quickly recognizedhow cool it is to tackle demanding challenges together with others.
Our guild members partly consisted of friends from real life, but also a large part from random acquaintances from the internet. We only met these a few months after the game launched, and friendships developed.
Although Swords of Legends Online was really beautiful as a theme park MMORPG, many players quickly left the game. Even though we had truly hung in there for a long time, the acute player shortage and boring content eventually became reasons for us to leave the game as well.
Despite cool trailers, Tarisland could not fill the gap:
The gap after SOLO
Like many other players, an MMORPG always leaves a gap for me, which I initially fill with other activities before eventually starting an online adventure again. But now we faced a problem: Who can fill the theme park gap?
The big heavyweights WoW, Final Fantasy XIV and Guild Wars 2 did not appeal to my girlfriend. Too old, too poor graphics, or no action unless you logged in just for raiding. In the meantime, I have shown her every conceivable theme park MMORPG that is currently still being actively played, but nothing appeals to her.
I got my girlfriend to play MMORPGs. Now she is angry with me because she has nothing left to play.
She discovered the world of MMORPGs at a time when virtual worlds are becoming increasingly irrelevant, and everything is divided into 20-minute bites so that players have to commit to something with as little time as possible.
This annoys my better half, and thus me, who has to endure the monthly Google research on MMORPGs and the ensuing disappointment. There are currently no modern theme park MMORPGs that offer content for those who do not want to fight in dungeons or PvP all day long.
This gap is now being filled for many players by cozy games, and my girlfriend has also temporarily switched to Disney Dreamlight Valley. However, the part that defines an MMORPG is clearly missing: the community.
Finally, a new theme park MMORPG was released this year with Tarisland. The hype was huge, and the MMORPG convinced despite much criticism at the start.
However, like a drop in the bucket, Tarisland evaporated in the second month after release. Despite the interesting foundation, it simply provided too little content and especially for my girlfriend, too few “park” attractions.
To get my girlfriend to even try Tarisland, I needed a lot of persuasion. The game was not exactly beautiful, the graphics outdated, and the art style not to her taste. But since it was the first new theme park MMORPG after some time, she pulled herself together but quickly lost interest again.
What does the future bring?
Theme park MMORPGs are a niche in the MMORPG niche that is already well occupied by the 3 major MMORPG titles. There is a lack of a new competitor who can renew the niche by 10 years, complete with beautiful graphics and a good story. My girlfriend has particularly set her sights on one game for the future: World of Jade Dynasty.
The China MMORPG with “Unreal Engine 5” graphics clearly resembles Swords of Legends Online and at least brings a pretty and diverse world with it. It could be exactly the competitor who complements the niche with modern and vibrant graphics. Whether the game’s content is good is still unclear. The only important thing is that the “park” is good enough; otherwise, even the best “theme” won’t help.
However, whether the game will ever see a release in the West or will remain reserved for players in China forever is unknown. The development of the MMORPG seems to be almost complete by now. The release date in China is December 18, 2024. You can find more information about the game here: New MMORPG gets subscription model, battle pass, and in-game shop, but at least fans can determine the price
