| I still say that problem (performance issues and horrible character models aside) was the world itself. So completely lifeless and uninteresting. I mean, sure, you had areas every now and then that you could look at and go "Oh, that looks cool." But, most areas were fairly bland and not particularly engaging. No one area really had a life of its own (think the original Nektulos Forest, Misty Thicket, Oasis) that stuck out and made you remember them.
Starting zones in particular were awful, especially Dark Elf which is what I played the most. Considering how important it is to hook people in those early levels, I think VG really screwed themselves there. The Wood Elf starting area was visually cool, but it had that stupid asian influence with the Jin and Okami, etc. Totally killed immersion for me when I can't figure out if I'm playing high fantasy or some anime MMO. For some reason that really bothered me.
I just hope all the suits don't assume that because VG failed, any game like it will also fail. It's simply not true, there IS a market for a game like that, it just needs to be amazing. Not to sound arrogant here, but I really think if I were put in a position to make the design decisions that I really could create the MMO that would bring back that EQ feeling and really re-captivate the players who enjoy that style of gameplay. It simply requires a blend of old and new in the right places, with a few unique tweaks and twists. Who knows though, maybe someone will try again someday. | 