We gave out a lot of awards this month for things games did in 2015, and we talked about what we think will happen in 2016. But what about what we wish would happen next year? Do you have hopes and dreams about our genre’s upcoming year? If you could make one single wish about the coming year of MMOs, what would it be?
I posed these questions to the Massively OP team for this week’s Massively Overthinking, and we’d love for you to join in.
Brendan Drain (@nyphur): My predictions for 2016 were pretty specific and based on observations of existing trends, but I’d really like to be surprised in the coming year. Obviously I want to see EVE Online’s player activity increasing as it’s been on a bit of a slump recently, but I’d also like to see some new games announced in 2016 as there’s not much that I’m really looking forward to. In terms of technology, I’d love to see VR take off in a huge way and for Microsoft’s AR Hololens to approach something resembling the faked demos and videos they’ve been producing with perfect rendered overlays and no field of view limitations. Unfortunately, I think VR headsets are always going to be niche products and the limited FOV on the Hololens is reportedly here to stay, but I really want to be proven wrong on both counts.
I hope Star Citizen continues to release modules and lives up to expectations, and that crowdfunding remains a viable way for independent studios to fund their games. In a similar vein, I’d like to see the industry and people in general reach a greater understanding of what exactly Early Access should be and what to expect in an alpha or beta version of a game. There are plenty of developers out there with games perpetually in Early Access with no roadmap to release, and 2015 saw a number of them just cease development or seriously lose momentum after essentially going viral. I hope this doesn’t become a trend that poisons the well for those who rely on confidence in Early Access and crowdfunding for such lavish luxuries as living in a house and eating food.
Brianna Royce (@nbrianna, blog): I am impatient: I want to see the pendulum swing back toward MMORPGs again, serious MMORPGs, not pump-and-dump themeparks and lobby shooters. I know it’ll happen eventually, but I don’t want to wait! I want to see big studios figuring out ways to make more intense MMO experiences profitable again. Failing that, could we just get Camelot Unchained, and could EverQuest Next maybe not suck?
Justin Olivetti (@Sypster, blog): I think my biggest gaming hope for the new year is that 2016 will be generally excellent for MMOs as a whole. I wish that the new games coming out and being developed would prove to be worthy of fan interest and that few (if any) titles would be sunsetted. More expansions. More new games that don’t waffle on the MMO label. A few specifics? Sure. I hope that WildStar would prove to be profitable and start to grow again, hopefully in the direction of a genuine expansion. Let’s have a couple of the smaller indies prove to be sleeper hits. I want Funcom to stabilize and pump out some great stories for The Secret World. And would it be too much to ask for one really, really good mobile MMO?
MJ Guthrie (@MJ_Guthrie, blog): As much as I would almost make a wish upon a falling star for the return of SWG, my actual wish is to see the progress of and then herald in the launch of EverQuest Next! And not just a game with that title, but the one with all the bells and whistles that have been thus far revealed. I want the features of the emergent AI, the myriad of classes to find, the rallying calls and the voxel world. As a part of that, I want to see the storyteller system make it into Landmark so I can finally begin making adventures. That is my hope and desire. Come on Daybreak, make my dreams come true!
Patreon Donor Archebius: My single wish would be that no games fail to deliver. That they’d be made, and be whole. I’m not going to wish that they’re all “good,” because that’s subjective – but I wish that they would all release, and meet their promises, and take root in the players that have helped give them life. May no hope be betrayed, this year. Merry Christmas.
Your turn!
