Games That Look Exacly the Same as World of Warcraft

What's up with character designs that are very similar to WoW? I mean, World of Warcraft isn't even that great when it comes to graphics, why would people even imitate that? Check out this video. It really looks strange. That horned guy remind me of Illidan.

Actually, the game looks pretty nice, it's not half bad at all except for the WoW-ish feel to it.

Generally speaking I don't really mind if something is not too unique, innovative or original. Bottom line: it has to be fun and really free with no cash shop items needed to play.

2013 in the MMO Game Industry

So yeah, yesterday I was watching videos on Youtube and came across some news about Skyrim. Apparently there is an upcoming Skyrim MMO that will be launched next year.

Well, count me in!

The upcoming Elder Scrolls Online MMORPG sounds great. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it is free-to-play. Even p2p is okay so long as it doesn't cost an arm and a leg like SWTOR.

Speaking of Star Wars: The Old Republic, it seems that everyone is now so over that. The online gaming forums like mmorpg.com are full of people saying the subscriber base is shrinking at an extremely fast rate and the only reason why there are people online is due to the free months of members the developers are giving away to everyone.

Will 2013 be the year of f2p SWTOR? If so, will you be playing it? Some good stuff about 2013 MMOs here.

Anyway, here is a nice vid about the upcoming games. I laughed at the bunny girl. Lol I figure a lot of male players would love to play a bunny girl character. That's from the Wildstar MMO. Check it out, it really is wild, hahaha.

ArcheAge, of course, has been getting  a lot of buzz and hype but I'm trying not get my hopes up too high. It doesn't really seem like it is my kind of game. I'm more of a cute bunny girl player...



Best MMOs 2013 - Upcoming Games Trailers and Gameplay Video

Best, New and Upcoming Free to Play MMORPG Games List Updated for 2012

MMO Worlds, the leading free to play MMO gaming portal, has updated and improved its Best Free MMORPG 2012 – New and Upcoming Games List for a better website visitor experience.

"The original list was written in 2011. At the time it was quite short and was just about which MMORPGs we looked forward to playing in 2012. Now the list has become way too long and unwieldy so we split it into three different posts which are the 'best,' 'new' and 'upcoming' games lists," said Regina Reid MMO games journalist.

Extensive testing showed that visitors preferred to read short or medium-length posts so the original long list has been split into three shorter ones. The result is that all in all the MMO Worlds blog now has more fresh information and featured games than ever before. Here is a summary of what has been improved:

Best Free MMORPG Games 2012 List - http://mmo-worlds.info/best-free-mmorpg-2012-upcoming-games-list/

The original URL now has the top list of the current best free MMORPG games that the player can play right away. These are established MMO games that have a good track record for fun and great gameplay.

New MMORPG Releases and Expansions 2012 - http://mmo-worlds.info/new-mmorpg-releases-and-expansions-2012/

The "new" part of the list now has its own page. This is the list of new MMORPG games that have been recently launched online as well as the latest news about expansions and updates. Website visitors who are looking for new MMOs can find links and news about the freshest releases here. Like the first list, these are all titles that are already available for all users to play. They include games that are in open beta, preparatory to a full launch. Closed beta titles are not included.

Upcoming MMORPG Games 2012 - http://mmo-worlds.info/upcoming-mmorpg-games-2012/

This is the list of upcoming MMORPGs. These titles are still under development and are thus mostly not yet available for players to try out. They are due to be released some time in 2012. Links go to official teaser pre-release websites where gamers may already be able to sign up as beta testers.

Sprites vs Realistic Avatars

Alright, I have to admit I like both but I have a particular fondness for unrealistic sprite-type MMORPG avatars over photorealistic 3D avatars. Those tiny cartoony computer people make me smile because they are cute and because they remind me of old school classic games like Super Mario.

The problem with super realistic 3D computer generated human avatars is the uncanny valley. What do I mean by uncanny valley? Here is a good video that explains it.



So basically sprites are unrealistic but are given human characteristics which makes them endearing and fun. Almost human realistic avatars, on the other hand, creep me out.

What are your thoughts on this?

Rift vs World of Warcraft

So okay, I believe I mentioned once before that I have been playing World of Warcraft. Basically, every MMORPG player is bound to have tried this game out at least once.

Now, WoW is a topnotch pay to play game which can be rather expensive seeing as you have to buy the game, the expansions and then get billed every month that you play. Hmmm so yeah the first barrier is when new players want to try it out but the trial period is too short.

WoW remedied that some time ago by making WoW free to play for the first 20 levels of the game. Not bad at all! No time limit but players cannot join or create a party.

Rift has recently joined followed suit by releasing the new Rift Lite. It is now also free to play up to level 20.

Let the free WoW vs free Rift wars begin!

Making a game free to play (with limits) just makes more sense nowadays, especially during this recession. It's not like all people have piles of money they want to spend on online games. MMORPGs also take up so much time that players who are currently playing one are reluctant to make the switch to a new one, mush less spend over $100 on p2p MMO games.

So, in short, I think this is a good move and Rift will probably attract more new players.

“In the past ten months, Rift has evolved at a breakneck pace, through seven massive updates that set new expectations for live MMOs, in features, in content, and in service,” said Scott Hartsman, Executive Producer of Rift and Trion’s CCO. “We think a Lite edition with no time limit is the best way for players to see what an amazing experience Rift continues to be.” from here

Why Players Love WoW

I have been playing World of Warcraft lately and it struck me that I have not been writing about WoW recently. So here are some of my random thoughts as to why players love WoW:

• the graphics are realistic 3D but not so high quality that the download is extremely huge
• you can play it on mid-range computers/ no need to buy a new PC to play it
• each race has its own starting area, back history and "feel" so that it has great replay value
• good dialogue even though I know most players just click or scroll through the text without reading it :)
• the community isn't mean to new players

There are more reasons why players love WoW but those are the ones that have stuck in my mind.



Best Free WoW Clone

MMORPG Beginnings

Over a decade ago the Realm and Meridian 59 started the trend of a graphical web based MUD we don't see a particular mainstream, alternative MMO setting amongst the top five. Although free web games like Club Penguin but better might have millions of players, the top developers are still going for monthly subscriptions.

You just have to love Club Penguin. It has it all: colorful graphics, quirky and fun games, lots of players, no download needed (you can play it on your browser) and, best of all, it’s free to play.

It's not at all that such games aren't releasing but it's rare to see a big expense plan or big name studio do such a release. The big money almost always goes to what works dependant on risk/return.

It seems like as soon as they ventured into some other unique settings including Auto Assault and even Tabula Rasa they got burned. That leaves mainly independent developers to generate something truly unique but the problem is that they likely will face the down side of not having enough resources. That doesn't mean a wonderful game is impossible though.