Camelot Unchained
A Mark Jacobs appears! I have plenty of mixed emotions. He’s been a role model for me for reasons I’d rather keep to myself. He also got me and every other blogger riled up for an MMO that ended up not really working in the end. There are a lot of other reasons I want him to make more waves in the MMO business and just as many reasons to see him go away. My hope is that he is now humbled and right-minded…. And hungry to make a damn good MMO.
I want this Chipotle MMO. This mirror world Dark Age of Camelot. With Darkfall floundering around, there is plenty of room for a strong, fantasy-based RvR game to make its mark. Yet that room is beginning to fill. The biggest competitors are going to be Guild Wars 2, which is currently having some WvW growing pains, Pathfinder Online, which seems more EVE corp. v. corp. and could vaporize at any time, and The Elder Scrolls Online, which has another Dark Age of Camelot dev at the helm. In 1-2 years, who is to say what will happen?
I do want a successful MMO to have tiered subscription options. I do want crafting to be a huge fuel for PvP. And, I want one crown jewel to rule. ‘Everything owes allegiance to RvR’ is exactly the right way to make this game. That’s how Camelot Unchained is going to differentiate itself from the pack.
Pathfinder Online kickstarted the process with nearly 110% funding, and I hope Camelot Unchained can turn memories of Dark Age of Camelot in to cash for its own Kickstarter coming next month. Theoretically, many Dark Age fans have grown up and make some decent money now. Of course that also means less time for MMOs, or they are still applying salve to the Warhammer Online burn.
WildStar’d
Carbine Studios tells people they are ready to rumble in 2013. Syp is excited too. I get the feeling that WildStar is MMO soda-pop in the best possible way. Since my thoughts are unchained here too, I think it will be lots of fun in a light way. Oh, don’t get me wrong, there are deep, deep things… like a competitive 40-man raid that evolves or player housing with PvP. Just the feeling I get is that this is going to be a great game for jumping in, experiencing something fun, and jumping out.
Its primetime competitor, The Elder Scrolls Online, seems more-of-the-same in conventional MMO ways. WildStar feels fresher. Their information release so far feels like Star Wars The Old Republic vs. Guild Wars 2 all over again. Star Wars was cinematics and pretty scenes. Guild Wars 2 was gameplay, gameplay, gameplay. It’s the same thing here. The Elder Scrolls Online is talking about lore and history, and WildStar is showing off paths, telegraphing, and UI. Maybe it’s a small thing, but I feel like I know more about how WildStar is going to play than The Elder Scrolls Online, even though both have been in development at least 5 years…. And both want to be the MMO of 2013.
And, Kill Ten Rats will know more. Zubon and I are heading for Arkship 2013! We’re going to have a lot to tell you, and unfortunately some things that will be bound by NDA. Either way I’m sure between the two of us, you, valiant reader, will get a well-rounded opinion on WildStar. If you have questions you’d like us to ask, feel free to put them below. Either Zubon or I will likely do another question gathering post after all the dust has settled from press demo and interviews have come about this week (and early next?).
–Ravious