Green Monster Games (Curt Schilling)

[redjunkopera]

Imho shackling yourself to someone elses IP isn't worth it.

Take the general premise and copy it with your own names and plot twists... that way you have the freedom to change things around if you want, and you don't have purists bitching from launch.

[Bongk]

Originally Posted by Scaffa

Well, WoW was sold pretty much on being by Blizzard alone thanks to rapid fanboyism. There are plenty of Salvatore / Todd McFarlane fanboys.

I never played warcraft or starcraft. The only game from blizz i had ever played was D2 and that had no influence whatsoever on my buying WoW. UO was what brought me into MMOG's as i was a rabid Ultima series fan.

[Witoubo]

Regarding growth of the MMO market.

I think everyone in this thread has vastly underestimated how EQ grew the market. I haven't seen any numbers but I had some talks with SoE guys about how their turnover was pretty bad. Sure their active subscriptions peaked at around 500k but over their many year run, how many total accounts were created? How many people gave an MMO a shot because of EQ? They might not have continued to play for long periods of time but they were introduced to a persistent online world.

Smed! It couldn't hurt to release those numbers right? How many unique Everquest accounts were created over the life of the game?

I'd be willing to be that a large number of these folks picked up WoW when it came out and found whatever EQ lacked.

[Erronius]

Originally Posted by Witoubo

I'd be willing to be that a large number of these folks picked up WoW when it came out and found whatever EQ lacked.

More than likely. I can remember a ton of "Goodbye, cruel EQ" posts, and those peeps left for good. In WOW, its more "Screw you guys, I'm going to another server/faction to reroll".

I agree with your whole post actually, and I'm not sure many would argue against it in a major way. I think a lot of people lost interest or got fed up with the earlier King of the Mountain/content bottleneck, or any of the usual EQ gripes.

Of course I have no way to actually prove/disprove any of it, especially when it comes right down to retention %'s. While I suspect WoW is retaining very well, at the 2 year mark, I do have to concede the possibility that in the vast sea that is 8 million+, it might be harder to notice, say, 20k cancellations in WOW than it was in EQ, with the lower number of current subs at any given time that EQ had. It might just not be as noticeable overall...I'm sure you get my point though. Though I would be suprised if that were the case, just acknowledging the possibility.

Damnit I'm missing the Bush address, not that I could stand listening to more than 5 minutes of it anyways...

[KharzaWHA?]

Dear god D&D is a horrible structure for an MMO. Many of the scaling and design issues that WoW has had for characters come from D&D. GMG, who I consider to be one of the few upcoming MMO's who could be a "WoW killer" would be greatly depressing to me if it built a D&D based game.

[Arukk]

Originally Posted by KharzaWHA?

Dear god D&D is a horrible structure for an MMO. Many of the scaling and design issues that WoW has had for characters come from D&D. GMG, who I consider to be one of the few upcoming MMO's who could be a "WoW killer" would be greatly depressing to me if it built a D&D based game.

But the LORE could be really great imo. Just buy the lore.

My god, they have R.A. Salvatore!

Who wouldnt want to beat down Drizzt or Elminster?

-Arukk

[The Bog]

Originally Posted by Arukk

But the LORE could be really great imo. Just buy the lore.

My god, they have R.A. Salvatore!

Who wouldnt want to beat down Drizzt or Elminster?

-Arukk

Me.

[Arukk]

Originally Posted by The Bog

Me.

Too much of a challenge?

-Arukk

[The Bog]

Because I've always thought D&D was a bunch of wank.

[Arukk]

Originally Posted by The Bog

Because I've always thought D&D was a bunch of wank.

Fair enough, but for the record, you’re missing out on some great lore.

/shrug

-Arukk

[Cadrid]

Windows Vista has been released to a rather small degree of accolade, and a far greater amount of dissent (hi2u DRM!). While the OS doesn't offer a whole lot in terms of gaming, the exclusivity of DX10 may end up playing a large role in the future of PC gaming. Assuming, of course, an open source OS (OSOS? OSx2?) or Apple's OS don't take the forefront, but I digress.

Is GMG currently or planning on developing their game as a Vista-exclusive title, or will it also be available to the Apple/Linux crowd?

Also, any Senior Gameplay Designers may want to send GMG their resume.

And there's an interview with Moorgard and Blackguard on WarCry from 3 days ago.

[Big W Powah!]

Originally Posted by Erronius

More than likely. I can remember a ton of "Goodbye, cruel EQ" posts, and those peeps left for good. In WOW, its more "Screw you guys, I'm going to another server/faction to reroll".

I agree with your whole post actually, and I'm not sure many would argue against it in a major way. I think a lot of people lost interest or got fed up with the earlier King of the Mountain/content bottleneck, or any of the usual EQ gripes.

Of course I have no way to actually prove/disprove any of it, especially when it comes right down to retention %'s. While I suspect WoW is retaining very well, at the 2 year mark, I do have to concede the possibility that in the vast sea that is 8 million+, it might be harder to notice, say, 20k cancellations in WOW than it was in EQ, with the lower number of current subs at any given time that EQ had. It might just not be as noticeable overall...I'm sure you get my point though. Though I would be suprised if that were the case, just acknowledging the possibility.

Damnit I'm missing the Bush address, not that I could stand listening to more than 5 minutes of it anyways...

Well, WoW's numbers are undoubtedly somewhat because of its own success. People begin playing because so many others do. If 9-10 of your good friends play WoW, and it looks kinda maybe interesting..Chances are you'll try it. If you like it, you'll continue playing. Its like that with any activity, which doesn't bring about a moral issue.

However, there is a major point in EQ creating a lot more MMO players. I'd wager a good 20% of WoW's playerbase played EQ at some point in time.

[Ngruk]

Hey folks! Been awhile I know but it's been hectic when you combine getting ready for the upcoming day job with this gaming thing we got going on!
Anyway, I still check in to see who's ripping who, read about the boards thoughts on the other stuff that's out there and get a pulse on the largest group of mad people in the game space!
Stay tuned over the next few weeks for some cool things from us in the way of announcements and other stuff.
It may not be earth shattering just yet but it should be some pretty good insight to what's happening around here.
I can let you in on a little company stuff.
You can always tell when a design meeting is about to begin because I look across the table at Danuser and he generates his "Not today Schilling, not on my watch" look....
It's gettin' real interesting around here

[Lenardo]

how's the japanese learning going? you are using rosetta stone software right?

looking forward to seeing what the sox come up with for a rotation this year...you, beckett, dice-k, papelbon, wakefield, ya'll have what- potentially- 7 starting pitchers on hand if the lefty (tip of the tongue cannot think of his name) comes back from his chemotherapy/rehab in good shape. (i'd rather papelbon be in the pen as a closer, buuuuut -due to that shoulder- if he can perform just as good as a starter without said arm issue..)

[Cadrid]

Curt had an interview with GameDaily.com that was released today. While most of the interview is stuff we've heard before, the bolded part below was new to me.

[Interviewer] So, this isn't a fun little side project for you?

[Curt Schilling] [lowers voice] Our flagship product has a 55- to 60 million dollar budget. I've got people who are committing their lives and their families to moving to Boston to be part of this company. So, no, this is not a hobby. I'll tell you this: I don't have any different aspirations in this industry than I did in baseball. I want to be the best in the world.

This is about the same budget WoW had. I don't mean to draw unfounded parallels, but it does mean the financial backing for something incredible is in place. I'm excited.