I LOVE this game! The story, characters, rydia, celes on and on and on. But the reason I loved them was the time I spent with them. Climbing the tower, getting the chain saw for edgar etc... If you think your target market is only EQ players I think you are under selling yourself short. The old RPG/mmo school is alive and well just waiting for a LIFE 2
Agreed. Look at the kickstarter CRPG resurgence from a few years ago. Divinity: Original Sin, Wasteland 2 and Pillars of Eternity wouldn't have happened in 2010. Similarly, on topic with Final Fantasy VI, Tokyo RPG Factory's two games as well as Bravely Default and Second, Dragon Quest VII and VIII for 3DS and DQXI being localized also wouldn't have happened.
In general gaming, especially RPGs, people are tired of the streamlining.
I never tried EQ before I got super hyped for Pantheon, at least.
When I think of an MMO, I don't think of FF4 or FF6 (favorite two of the FF era). If you mean RPG's in general, I may see a point with this post. Pantheon is following an MMORPG style much like EQ1, Vanguard, WoW and FF14, with less emphasis towards the latter. It makes sense they would cater to the combat and mechanic stylings that people loved who played EQ and on. EQ alone is a 3.1 million person player base in it's history, factor in Vanguard, and even segments of WoW and FF14 players with respective overlap and they have an appropriate position with regard to their direction.
The target demographic is on point, only that interest is never strong during any pre-pre-alpha or pre-alpha period.
There is a big difference between a MMO and a single player CRPG.
Elder Scrolls On-line is a classic example. They took a widely popular CRPG series and did a truly poor job of making it work as a MMO. Really poor interface and controls. I am referring to release - and even the developers acknowledge that release was a flop - thus the almost instant flip from "subscription only - free play won't work for this game" to "free play, lest we perish".
SWTOR is another example. They took a widely popular CRPG series and did a mediocre job at making it work as a MMO. Best single-player MMO I have ever seen but crafting was very weak - put in just so they could say the game had crafting - very very linear (always the same planets in the same way in the same order for any new character in the same faction) - and perhaps worst of all very limited things to do at maximum level. Do raid. Do same raid at higher difficulty. Do same raid again at higher difficulty. Blessed little else to do.
Wizardry On-line ...well a poor example since almost no one played it for more than 30 minutes to know what I am talking about. I myself who considered Wizardry the best CRPG series of all time (factoring in limits on the state of the art when the games came out) and who bought every Wizardry game almost immediately upon release couldn't take it.
dorotea said:There is a big difference between a MMO and a single player CRPG.
Elder Scrolls On-line is a classic example. They took a widely popular CRPG series and did a truly poor job of making it work as a MMO. Really poor interface and controls. I am referring to release - and even the developers acknowledge that release was a flop - thus the almost instant flip from "subscription only - free play won't work for this game" to "free play, lest we perish".
SWTOR is another example. They took a widely popular CRPG series and did a mediocre job at making it work as a MMO. Best single-player MMO I have ever seen but crafting was very weak - put in just so they could say the game had crafting - very very linear (always the same planets in the same way in the same order for any new character in the same faction) - and perhaps worst of all very limited things to do at maximum level. Do raid. Do same raid at higher difficulty. Do same raid again at higher difficulty. Blessed little else to do.
Wizardry On-line ...well a poor example since almost no one played it for more than 30 minutes to know what I am talking about. I myself who considered Wizardry the best CRPG series of all time (factoring in limits on the state of the art when the games came out) and who bought every Wizardry game almost immediately upon release couldn't take it.
Agreeing on some points, diverging on others (Swtor was a great storytelling experience, and the gameplay was great (and greater in successive semi-failed expansions, at least they got it right.) The game overall had weaknesses including their engine that was laggy), but the same problem raised remain :
Storytelling isn't working on the field of MMO's, it's extremely costly and doesn't keep players entertained for what it costs in writing, voice acting and "virtual choices". You play a game where you're supposed to share an experience, but you have "personal choices" in storytelling that should make the game experience differ as in a soloRPG, and they end up having no value because they can't lock you out of content, quests or rewards due to the fact it's an MMO and not a SOLO rpg. If you kill an NPC, he won't be removed of the game, even not of yours, thus storytelling meets up hard limits on how it can be interesting.
Plus, OP spoke of "discovering characters", which works when you lead a party including thoses "VIP characters", but an MMO is focused over controlling your own toon, so...
Hey Viper check out my profile pic lol. FF6 is one of my favorite RPGs of all time! Square never did surpass that masterpiece. FF6 each character had a unique feel thanks to their special abilities (tools, steal, dance, throw, etc.) yet could still be heavily customized using Magicite/Espers on top of equipment (lots of gear slots too unlike later titles). I also prefer the traditional 4 man party or even the 5 man team that FF4 had. Although I did like how FF10 let you swap out party members mid fight, that was sweet. The target market for Pantheon is anyone who prefers the old school traditional MMORPG style not just EQ fanatics. I'm sure there are plenty of people who played FFXI, DaoC, or even WoW who are interested in this title.
Ziegfried said:I'm sure there are plenty of people who played FFXI, DaoC, or even WoW who are interested in this title.
I can vouch for that, classic wow was my first MMO.
Also, a bit off topic and maybe slightly controversial, while I do love FFVI, FFXII is my favourite Final Fantasy. I'm... uh... well FFVI is my second but yea :P