Part 7 - 2004 And Beyond of the weekly article series Massively Multiplayer Online Games - The Past, The Present, and The Future has been posted.
Quote:World of Warcraft
Developer: Blizzard
Publisher: Blizzard
The Basics: When World of Warcraft debuts -- and given Blizzard's track record with release dates, who knows when this will be? -- it will offer gamers a chance to experience a very popular franchise in a new way. One of the most intriguing things about World of Warcraft is the way it effectively captures the look and feel of the Warcraft RTS games. Many of the classes and their skills are directly drawn from Warcraft III: the paladin, the druid, and the mage are all readily identifiable with their RTS versions. Furthermore, World of Warcraft is built around an online version of Azeroth, complete with goblin zeppelins and griffons for transportation, summonable infernals and voidwalkers, and a bevy of familiar locations and characters.
The races they've announced so far are the expected Orcs, Humans, Night Elves, and Dwarves. There are also Gnomes, bull-like Taurens, and Undead. The classes, each with unique skill sets, include invisible rogues, beast taming hunters, warlocks who can summon monsters, a warrior with specialized combat moves, and a buffing lighting flinging shaman. Blizzard plans Diablo-style skill sets that will let people dramatically differentiate characters from the same class. Spawning dungeons will avoid congestion and selectable quest rewards will make it easier to tailor your inventory. Arena-based matches limited by level should make PvP an option even for new characters. And leveling pets should give it a bit of Diablo II's hireling vibe.
The Pros: If anyone can manage a smooth MMO launch, it should be Blizzard. It knows how to polish games to near-perfection before releasing them, taking all the time it needs to refine gameplay balance and interface issues. And after years of perfecting battle.net, it knows how to manage thousands of people crowding into its servers.
The Cons: Blizzard has never been known for innovation. Will this ultimately come across as just another MMO?
"Man only plays when in the full meaning of the word he is a man, and he is only completely a man when he plays." -- Friedrich von Schiller