The Fallacy of MMO Innovations

Triggered by the launch of Age of Conan, the Escapist has an editorial piece on innovation in MMOs – or the lack thereof.

Age of Conan, while it has enjoyed an encouraging launch, has been touted among the more innovative titles to hit the mainstream, though in reality it really brings very little to the table that hasn’t been tried before. The concept of action combat is unique in its particular implementation here, but not in the broader context. Obviously Planetside, which was more shooter than MMOG, offered action driven gameplay far before AoC, and even Tabula Rasa and Dungeons and Dragons Online changed the dynamics of traditional auto-attack in somewhat similar ways to Conan. DDO also shares AoC’s story-driven elements and while Conan revels in the bloodiness of its M rating,scantily clad women offering innuendo and bloody decapitations are not exactly new territory for video games in general, even if the MMOG industry has proved slow to grow up.

This isn’t a criticism of Age of Conan, but an argument that the game, despite appearances, is playing it as safe as any game that’s come before. It’s well respected IP with a familiar interface, predictable pricing models and the level and skill-tree based advancement profiles that have been with us since the birth of the genre. There are a few modifications to the trappings on which the game is built, certainly, but no one who has played Everquest or World of Warcraft wouldn’t feel immediately at home in this game. There were probably bigger visions for what [i Age of Conan