Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Warhammer 40k MMOG

Courtesy of Kotaku: News on Vigil Games' (THQ) Warhammer 40k MMOG.

Essentially, Warhammer 40k's MMOG will have big battles and 'the coolest looking characters of any MMO, ever.'

Says creative director Joe Madeureira:
"All of the races important to Warhammer 40,000 lore (not to mention the fans) will be represented."
"We want each and every race to have weight in the game world... and feel distinct."
Note that he doesn't say, all races will be playable.

This doesn't bode well for Warhammer 40k, and I hope THQ leans hard on Vigil to teach them what they learned from Dawn of War.

Players want to play as their favorite race.

With arguably the largest Science Fiction setting in the world, it's very easy to alienate (no pun intended) half your audience, by only including the easiest races to make. For players like me, it's as simple as this:

Include playable Tyranids, I will give you money.
Don't include playable Tyranids, I will never give you money.

I worry that a half-assed MMOG will do no favors for the 40k universe. It's part of the reason why I haven't pursued a career with THQ in Austin - I couldn't handle watching people who claim to know what they're doing, wreck something I love so much.

In the grim darkness of the far future, there is more than just war.

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