The YouTuber The Hive Leader tries to explain in a video why so many indie developers of new MMORPGs are looking to the market before the release of World of Warcraft. What idea is behind MMORPGs like Project Gorgon, Legends of Aria, Pantheon, Camelot Unchained, and all those titles?
There are hardly any AAA MMORPGs being announced, which is a trend that can be seen since 2014. According to The Hive Leader, this is partly due to the shift in player interest. Nowadays, more MOBAs, survival games, and online shooters are played than MMORPGs.
Since these new genres represent a lower risk in production, even large developers are shifting to these genres. AAA MMORPGs, especially in the theme park genre, are simply too expensive to produce.
Hope for Indie Developers: Smaller studios that are indie developers have discovered the MMORPG market for themselves in recent years. They want to take care of the future of the genre – by bringing it back to the past.
These are indie MMORPGs that rely on nostalgia: Many indie MMOs are in development that focus on the nostalgia factor:
- Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen, which is inspired by Everquest
- Legends of Aria as a spiritual successor to Ultima Online
- Camelot Unchained follows in the footsteps of Dark Age of Camelot
- Project Gorgon wants to become like Asheron’s Call
- Gran Skrea feels like RuneScape
Is Nostalgia the Right Way?
Hype without a Model: Why is there currently such a trend that new MMORPGs are oriented towards old genre representatives?
There can hardly be economic reasons, says The Hive Leader. After all, hardly any of these games has been released yet. So there is no “successful model” for other games to emulate.
On the contrary: An MMO that went this route and failed is Shroud of the Avatar. This example should show other developers that relying on nostalgia can be a double-edged sword.
The Great MMORPG Crisis 2018
What bothers the Indies about the current MMORPG market? The Hive Leader believes that many developers think that the MMORPG genre has lost its way.
For some, this has already happened with World of Warcraft, while others believe that solo content has become increasingly important and group play has been pushed into the background. Still others feel that the focus has been too heavily placed on the endgame.
Developers believe they are on the right track with nostalgia: If you look at the indie MMORPGs mentioned above, they mostly come from genre veterans who were involved in the early days and helped develop the classics. Behind Pantheon (Vanguard) or Camelot Unchained (Dark Age of Camelot) are veterans of the MMORPG scene.
It seems that these developers now believe that the new generation of MMOs is “wrong” and that we need to return to the glory days of MMORPGs when the genre was still successful and popular.
A kind of reboot is being pursued to see if the genre can be developed in such a way that MMORPGs can once again take an important place in the gaming market.
Wide Audience or Niche?
Modern MMORPGs target too broad an audience: It also seems to be the opinion that modern MMORPGs simply target too many players. Newbies, veterans, solo players, group players, PvP fans, PvE lovers, and so on.
All these players wanted to be united, which led to the dilution of individual aspects. Fewer and fewer players became interested in the small piece of the overall cake because they no longer liked the cake itself.
Indie MMOs target a niche: According to The Hive Leader, indie developers have recognized that it is better to target a small audience and give them exactly what they want. And that is often simply the experience of their favorite MMO from the past with modernized graphics.
Developers only need to focus on delivering what the fans want and not worry about reaching as wide an audience as possible. Moreover, they know exactly who they are targeting with their game.
A problem that arises from this is of course that one cannot expect to achieve the success of World of Warcraft. One cannot expect to reach millions of players with a niche game. Indie developers should be aware of this. Expectations need to be scaled back.
This way, even with a low budget, MMORPGs can be developed that reach a certain player base.
Is the Genre Facing a Rebirth?
The Disadvantages of Indie MMORPGs: Time and again, MMO players hear that these indie titles are cool in terms of gameplay but look graphically outdated. The combat system is also often criticized.
This, according to The Hive Leader, is due to the lack of personnel and money for the games: Project Gorgon is developed by only two people, for example. Often, the combat system and the graphics suffer as a result.
Indie MMORPGs Focus on Gameplay: The Hive Leader believes that we need to view the situation from a different perspective. The games are starting anew. Back to the beginnings of the genre, aiming to show that this genre can develop in a different direction.
Only the next generation will probably focus more on graphics and presentation.
Initially, the developers simply want to prove that they are correct with their ideas on how MMORPGs should develop. And here, gameplay is initially more important than graphics.
MMORPGs powered by Passion
Indie developers just want to make the games they want to play. The great advantage of indie developers is that they are not subject to the dictates of a large publisher.
An indie developer can simply release the game they want to create and play themselves. Whether it generates profit or not. Often, such a project, where players see that the team has poured their heart and soul into it, also gains a certain fan community.
