Starcraft II can be called a major success. Not only did it bring back the action-packed strategy that kept Starcraft fresh for years, but it gave us a whole new engine to play with when making our own maps and mods for the game.
Seeing that Blizzard spent so much time and money developing an entirely new engine for Starcraft II, you would think that they did so not only to keep their customers entertained with map making, but to invest in something for the long haul.
Have no idea what I'm talking about? Take a look at this:
This stunning engine can be applied to future titles. Considering that Blizzard is in the process of making their new MMO, I would be willing to wager that this MMO is based in the Starcraft universe, despite previous announcements by Blizzard that the title was outside all of their current universes.
It is likely that Blizzard will follow the same model that World of Warcraft followed:
- Release a successful RTS
- Follow it up with an MMO based off of that successful RTS
It is even more likely now that we see that they've spent over one hundred million dollars on the engine for Starcraft II alone. Blizzard's release of the engine map creator to the public is a way to test the waters and the potential of the system.
Let's face it, Blizzard is a corporation. They create things because it generates revenue. If you just take a look at some of the RPG and MMO maps that players have been creating with the Starcraft II engine, you can see that adapting the engine to an MMO would be nearly effortless.
Blizzard is gauging their players' interest in the Starcraft universe. They released a public poll on Battle.net that asks their customers which Starcraft world they'd like to live on if they could.
Why a sci-fi MMO? Well, Blizzard is going to be competing with the new Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO. If the 40K MMO isn't just more fan-base niche dead weight on THQ's back, then it will also be in great competition with TOR and Blizzard's new MMO (Which is undeniably Starcraft). Blizzard is going to have to get innovative here.
So what is the formula for market success in the brave new world of next gen MMOs? Researchers say that it is a feeling of immersion and "change". Moving beyond the static world of last gen MMOs to follow a formula similar to Bioware's games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, where the player's actions influence the entire continuity of the universe. Perhaps Blizzard's new "Starcraft" MMO won't focus on world-changing decisions, but I'm willing to bet they're going to use the engine for a whole lot of customization. Perhaps let players build and upgrade their own ships and vehicles, or even create towns and structures.
This is beyond speculation, folks. You heard it here first. If I lose this bet, I'll buy you a drink.
7 kommentarer:
Sounds like an excellent idea, except that Blizzard have already announced that they are working on another MMO that is neither Warcraft/Starcraft/Diablo related.
Wow, no way man now that is just WAY too cool.
Lou
www.web-privacy.es.tc
Why does everyone, when talking about SC2, bring up the hundred million dollar thing?
http://kotaku.com/5594862/starcraft-ii-did-not-cost-100-million-to-make
WoW cost that much to make, SC2 did NOT.
I don't know how you can say their next MMO is "Undeniably Starcraft" you have nothing to base that off of. At all. Not to mention they said it wasn't related to any current products. Sure that could be a lie or misdirect but why bother?
Now, as for your comment that:
"If you just take a look at some of the RPG and MMO maps that players have been creating with the Starcraft II engine, you can see that adapting the engine to an MMO would be nearly effortless."
What makes you think that? Because people can create cool maps? Yes this map is amazing and does a great job showing off what the editor can do. Yes, there are a lot of really talented map makers out there.
That has NOTHING to do with making an MMO. Maybe some sort of 3rd person shooter a-la TF2, Counter Strike or even Alien Swarm. An MMO has so much that goes on for network architecture, world building, world/zone loading, load balancing and any number of things that aren't even remotely related to MMOs.
Why the hell is this article on digg? And why is it even in existence to begin with?
Lets get excited over a map modification, something Blizzard told us we could do MONTHS before SC2 was released, and then speculate that the next MMO by Blizzard is SC2?
If that's not the wild form of speculation, I don't know what is.
Ya sorry...but no.
Good effort.
1) Why would Blizzard lie? They have never been known to before.
2) As Dennis says...this is an RTS game engine...and that is nothing like the engine they would need for a MMO. Now sure they can take bits of it and apply them...but nah..
3) Blizzard needs to expand it's franchises. Why use an existing one when they can just make a brand new one and then have 4 gazillion dollar franchises.
4) Not sure is the mechanics of an MMO would work in SC....then again people doubted WoW too so this is probably wrong.
A lot of people would give a Starcraft MMO a try. The "dungeons and dragon" types usually seem to do the best, though.
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