Perfect Ten: My highlights from pre-launch MMO hype

Maybe the hype and anticipation of an upcoming MMORPG leaves you feeling burned out and turned off these days. Considering that some titles can be in development for up to a half a decade, it’s crazy to think that a high level of personal excitement can be sustained. I’ve always loved the build-up to MMOs, although I go through cycles of paying attention and getting really jazzed, followed by taking some time off while the title cooks more in the oven.

There’s just something special to me about the pre-launch hype. Communities are forming, devs are talking constantly, and fans are contemplating their future adventures. For me, the only thing similar is the advent season and counting down to Christmas morning.

Yes, many times the hype wasn’t justified by the gameplay delivered, but I usually enjoy both all the same. I was casting my mind back lately over memories from pre-launch hype eras of MMOs, thinking about those certain moments that got me incredibly eager to dive in and play the game in the making. It’s happened many times over the years, so here are 10 of those highlights to share with you!

1. World of Warcraft

I only started to be aware of World of Warcraft’s development in the early months of 2003, back when the official website was a thin shell of information. What really gripped my attention was a certain article showing off the game’s quest system (and remember, questing hadn’t been done quite like this prior to 2004). The piece talked about finding a head or something on a Forsaken character when you looted it which unlocked a follow-up quest. The whole aesthetic and concept of this charmed me enough that I started ravenously devouring any news about the game.

If only I had known that I was in for almost two years of waiting at that point. It felt like forever.

2. City of Heroes

Maybe this doesn’t quite count, but the day that CoH released, I happened to be at a Media Play and thought it looked cool. I picked it up on my way to work and devoured the manual during lunchtime. I spent the full hour pouring over the powerset lists, mind swimming with possibilities for hero combinations. My first character? A weather/illusion controller named (wait for it) Weather Girl.

3. Lord of the Rings Online

I was never the biggest Tolkien nut, but an article in a games magazine caught my eye back in early 2008. The key selling point for me was in how the devs described the game as “low magic,” a turn away from the high fantasy particle effects demonstrations of the MMO mainstream. I liked that down-to-earth approach enough that it convinced me to get the game for the pre-launch period — and the rest is history (nine years of it!).

4. Star Wars Galaxies

OK, I’ll admit that I was definitely skittish about getting into MMORPGs in the early 2000s. They seemed very grindy and obtuse, and I heard horror stories from friends about how they got so addicted they started neglecting their personal lives. So even though I was a big Star Wars fan, I wasn’t there on day one in SWG. I put most of the blame for this on the Prima Guide.

See, I bought this around launch while I was visiting a friend up in Vancouver. During the trip, I read the guide (probably one of the last Prima guides I ever purchased) and was puzzled over how little this sounded like the Star Wars films. The skills and HAM bars in particular had me backpedaling away from the game.

5. EverQuest II

My pre-launch hype story with EQII mostly has to do with World of Warcraft. As you well know, both games launched in the same month, although EverQuest II had the jump on World of Warcraft by a few weeks. Even though I was dying to play WoW, the waiting had gotten to me, and I had more than a few moments of weakness where I almost broke down and dove into Norrath. Looking back, it wouldn’t have been the worst thing, but EQII at launch wasn’t that great, with the released product no where near as great as SOE had been making it sound.

6. Guild Wars

I recall that Guild Wars launched at a good time for me. World of Warcraft hadn’t lost its luster, but its first expansion was a long time coming and I found myself drawn to the previews of Guild Wars during that time. The artwork and skill collection system were mind-blowing at the time (and are both still pretty amazing for this industry), but it was the buy-to-play model that convinced me that I could make room for it in my gaming repertoire.

7. Warhammer Online

If it wasn’t for Warhammer Online, I wouldn’t be writing here today.

I had been interested in getting into blogging for a while, but with all of the WoW blogs that were gobbing up the internet, I thought I wouldn’t have much of a chance to make a name for myself. Then Warhammer Online was announced and I decided to get my foot in the door. I started up my first gaming blog, WAAAGH!, and I got sucked into following this developing MMO, interacting with the community, and writing about it several times a day. So many terrific bloggers started up around then, and my blog eventually led to a job offer at Massively in 2010. WAR was a great ride while it lasted and I don’t have regrets in following or playing it.

8. Star Wars: The Old Republic

I might have gone way overboard in riding the hype train for SWTOR. I loved, loved Knights of the Old Republic, and the thought of an MMO that integrated personal choice, companions, and the Star Wars universe was absolutely heavenly to my ears. It’s when I caught myself reading an art book (!) about the upcoming title while my family slept that I realized I had a problem. But I didn’t mind in the least!

Also, when the game came up, somehow I ended up as one of the very first people on my server by about 20-25 minutes. I still don’t know how I got in that early, but it was surreal to be alone at the start and then see the players flood in shortly thereafter.

9. Champions Online

While I imagine that outside of die-hard fans most players don’t give Champions much thought these days, there was a time when a lot of us were following its development very carefully. City of Heroes and Cryptic had a lot of goodwill for creating a terrific superhero MMO, and expectations were high that Champions Online would improve on the formula. While I liked the graphics better, the combat and mish-mash of powers didn’t quite gel the way that I had hoped. I think if it had moved to a (better) free-to-play model earlier it would have fared a lot better, but oh well.

10. Hellgate London

Here’s my cautionary tale for the day. Considering how popular Diablo was, I had good reason to follow and get psyched for Hellgate London, especially since it was being made by some of the same creators. I read every piece that I could find, and what really tormented me was the offer of a lifetime subscription.

Hellgate didn’t need a sub to play, but one would boost your access to content and other goodies, so it was appealing. And then the team announced a $200 lifetime sub, and I was in agony over whether or not to buy it. I wanted to. But man, that was a lot of money.

I didn’t buy it. Best thing I never bought in my life, considering how quick Hellgate tanked. Parallel Universe Justin is still regretting his purchase, however.