A few weeks ago, I logged into Lord of the Rings Online for the first time in what I think is a few years. IÂ was fussing with my inventory and all the weapons and bushels of produce and all the stuff that had built up over the years, and because it had been so long, my brain was processing everything as new instead of as memory. The game kept reminding me of other things instead of itself, instead of just Being LOTRO. And I was musing aloud to my husband that the inventory system reminded me so much of shuffling stuff like food and spears in Asheron’s Call, down to the shape and orientation of the icons and the little boxes.
And then I kind of facepalmed because of course it did. It’s Turbine. I had just never connected it that way before.
To be clear, the differences are superficial and maybe even insignificant to most people, so I am not even remotely saying Turbine copycatted itself. But it did start me thinking about legit copycats. I’m sure you guys have all had similar experiences when you’ve played a game and realized it was a nod to another one if not a complete copycat, whether it’s Generic Fantasy MMO #76784133909321 or WoW Clone In Space.
So that’s on tap for today’s Daily Grind:Â What’s the most notable copycat MMORPG of all time?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
