Ten Most Misused Words in MMOs
In this week's list, Jon Wood gives us ten phrases that get thrown around to the point where they've almost lost their meaning.
Editorial By Jon Wood on May 26, 2009
Every group of people has its own variant on language. Whether it’s a group of friends with inside jokes, colleagues talking shop, or any other sub-group of society, people will always use “insider language” that anyone who isn’t “in the know” will have a tough time picking up. If you have ever been at a work function with a spouse or significant other, you are probably familiar with the phenomenon, it presents itself right around the time two people start talking about the regional interoffice roundtable, your eyes glaze over and you head for the bar.
The world of MMORPGs is no exception. Developers, players and journalists all share a common vocabulary that includes words and terms like: PvP, RvR, Raid, Guild, Grind, Gank, Exploit, Loot, Farm, Bot… The list is near endless. It isn’t that all of these words are foreign to the rest of the English speaking world, but when you’re talking about MMOs, the word “farming” doesn’t mean tilling fields and milking cows, it means: performing collection actions over and over again in order to increase wealth and / or resources, often for the purpose of Gold Selling.
It isn’t that there is anything inherently wrong with “inside language.” In fact, it helps to strengthen ties to community and gives people a sense of belonging. The problems begin, at least in the world of MMOs, when words begin to be used too often or even inappropriately. When this happens, the meanings of the words become diluted.. Below is a list of ten such words from the vocabulary of the world of MMORPGs:
;)
THIS was innovation.
#10 Innovation
Innovative (or innovation) gets thrown around a lot in MMORPG circles. Generally, this comes in the form of developers expounding the virtues of their latest MMOs and forum posters complaining that nothing new is happening with their favourite genre of games.
The word innovative has been misused by both sides for some time, with the real meaning falling somewhere in the middle. Here are some examples:
“No, they’re not Wood Elves, they’re Fri’renias,” does not qualify. Simply changing the name of a classic fantasy race doesn’t make it innovative.
Similarly:
“There’s nothing innovative in this game, it still has systems that are similar to other MMOs,” likewise falls short. A game doesn’t have to be radically different from its peers in order to be innovative, it just has to take a recognisably different approach to some aspect of its design.
;)
If you want a theme park, go here.
#9 Sandbox / Theme Park
The term sandbox was originally used to describe an “open world” style of MMORPG where players of all advancement levels were encouraged to wander the virtual world in search of their own stories and adventures. The metaphor is pretty self explanatory: put a child in a sandbox and they will use their imaginations to create all manner of fun for themselves. Theme Park games, on the other hand, are MMOs that guide players through the game’s experience. The developers craft the rides and players need only jump on and enjoy. Each is a different approach to MMO development, valid for its own reasons and appealing to its own audiences.
Over time though, the term sandbox has been somehow misused by some to describe a game that is questless, and levelless, devoid of any and all developer meddling. Theme Park, on the other hand, has become a word to describe a gaming experience that provides the players with no choice at all, no variation and no choice.
Sandboxes, for all of their freedom, should probably have a few toys thrown in: a shovel, maybe a few buckets and a Tonka bulldozer. A Theme park, while it does have predictable rides, should offer variation and choice in what you want to ride. Don’t like rollercoasters? Try the Merry-Go-Round or some carnival games.
In the end, neither term was meant to represent the extremes that many people use them to represent.
;)
Only Garriott launches this way.
#8 Launch Date
I think that Mandy Patinkin said it best as Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride: “You keep using that word… I don’t think it means what you think it means.”
Time after time, developers announce a launch date for their game. It doesn’t seem to matter whether they announce that date as a hard and fast date, a quarter and a year, or just a year. It seems completely inevitable these days that if a studio declares that their new and much anticipated MMORPG will go with a launch date of X, that the game won’t see the light of day for at least another few weeks.
Now, to be fair, it is almost impossible to determine an exact launch date, especially before the game hits the beta or even alpha stages. At that point, the only thing that a studio can really offer is a best guess that will almost certainly change at least once before the game sees the light of day. Still, companies need to be careful, especially in the early stages, not to announce a launch date before one has been finalized.
A launch date is firm, an estimated or projected release date isn’t. Companies (and news outlets) should call a spade a spade and acknowledge that announced dates are always fluid and changing.
;)
True vaporware?
#7 Vaporware
It isn’t so much that the term Vaporware has been misinterpreted, as it is that it has become one of the most over-used terms in the MMO lexicon.
In an ideal world, Vaporware is a term that applies to a game that has a lot of build-up and hype, but truly never existed in any form remotely similar to what was hype. Dawn was Vaporware.
The unfortunate truth is that sometimes MMOs just don’t make it. This can happen for any number of reasons: the project runs out of money, the studio gets sold, legal troubles sink the ship, or some other unforeseen circumstance rears its head.
As time has gone on, the term vaporware is thrown around more and more often. Games that get delayed, even for as little as a month or so, are suddenly saddled with the label as thread upon thread asking “is X game vaporware?” pops up on MMO forums everywhere.
There is no real answer to the problem other than to say that, as was touched on in #8, MMO launch dates are fluid things, and jumping to conclusions doesn’t help anything.
;)
Not a screenshot of Auto Assault!
#6 Failure
World of Warcraft raised expectations for players, journalists, investors and developers in terms of the astounding numbers that an MMORPG has the potential to attract. With 11.5 million subscribers worldwide, no other subscription based MMORPG has come close.
While this is great news for Blizzard and even good news for the health of the MMO industry as a whole, it has led to a phenomenon where any game that fails to reach and maintain the million subscriber number is seen by many to be a complete failure.
The truth is, as Cryptic Entertainment’s Bill Roper pointed out in a recent interview, the high water mark for MMO success used to hover around 300,000 active subscribers. Sure, the landscape of the MMO world has changed since the Pre-WoW era, but there is no reason to believe that a game has to maintain a million or more subscribers in order to not be considered to be a failure.
Success or failure of an MMORPG based on subscribers can only really be determined by the studio and the publisher who have looked extensively at the costs involved and know very well the number under which the game can be considered to be a failure.
Take Warhammer Online for example. Many have called it a failure, and it’s failure to retain all those impressive box sales as subscribers is not encouraging, but 300,000 subscribers is not exactly going to leave anyone at Mythic penniless.
Simply put: Failure to kill WoW is not failure.
Sorry to bother you, but the link just takes me back to the mainpage. Problem on my end or what?
Including the link does help. Fixed.
'tis a good list, think I would have had 'NextGen' in there. Every game I've played for the last 5 years has advertised itself as nextgen, but I'm fked if I can see how they're any different from the last.
Finally someone said it... I'm tired of being called a "fanboy", as I'm not any fanboy. According to true meaning, I'd rather be a "hardcore D&D Online" player, as I'm very active yet I see the flaws of DDO where they are for me, and errors of Turbine when they make it (in my opinion).
People who like to complain call everyone who is positive about anything a fanboy, beacause... it's easy and doesn't require even a slightest thought. It's just like an offense or insult now, without any truth to it.
What am I talkin about? Here's this quote:
"Over the last few years though, as arguments over released and upcoming games has heated up, the label of Fanboi and Hater has been thrown around so much as to have changed meanings almost entirely. Instead of describing an over-enthusiastic fan who is incapable of recognizing even the smallest flaw in his or her chosen game, the term Fanboi is now being used to label anyone who expresses a positive opinion about a game or company. Similarly, the term that was once reserved only for people who steadfastly refused to see any positive points at all about a given game is now being applied to any person, fan or no, that dares to point out any flaws that might exist in a game."
'Carebear' deserves a place on the list, maybe in slot #12 or something.
Good article though and I agree with most of them. (there really are too many WOW clones IMO though)
Good one!
Definitely cannot get 'em all, but you're right about NexGen!
Yes!! Thank you for this! I so agree with almost all the words you have up trhere and how they actually weave there selfs into thwe world of online line gaming. a Huge problem with the world "WoW Clone" i find is it is more of a trend to say it rather then a smart person analizing the data and coming to a conclution.
If you look around you, yiou can find half-brained morons screaming WoW Clone at anything that had a 3d aspect to it. I have tried to have a conversation with people who say this kind of stuff but you can tell right away they are truly the morons of the webz, so nothing you can do about it.
I'd also include "fast paced" or "innovative combat" ; ). Ah, how many times I've seen it, and they're only variations of WoW, GW or D&D Online combat systems...
+1
WoW clone bugs me the most...indeed ppls who got their MMO baptism from WoW seems to think every MMO that features mobs to kill, quest to do and weapons to craft is a WoW Clone. WoW may have combine the features successfully and in a way where it is difficult to beat, but it doesn't mean they "invented" the feature, but try and put that through a WoW "fanboi"'s head is more difficult that trying to understand Sarah Palin's speech.
I don't agree with this, I use "WoW Clone" to describe these hundreds of mmos that use the same "Click to Attack", and watch the fight style combat. That bores me to tears. WoW was the first one to notably do it, as it followed a lot of other generic systems too. "Generic RPG" systems, I personally like WoW, but I would love to see more real-time combat MMORPG. These Psuedo-turn based games so many companies seem to be making are getting extremely old to me.
That's the point of the entry. WoW was FAR from the first to do it.
Hardcore - "Never Google Image this word."
LMFAO!!!! This article is win just for that.
I know a good candidate for #5 : Blizzard's next MMO.
And for the WoW Clone thing, yeah that is pretty pathetic, used by people who were born after at least 1993.
You sir, are the exact people I am talking about...
Well i am glade you lead by example as to what i was referring to in my previous post.
THANK YOU!
This article needs to be a sticky in every single game forum on this website. Every point in this article describes what happens here, and many other gaming forums, to the letter.
WoW clone was the most accurate... nothing these days can be released without being labeled a "WoW Clone." If that's the case, why isn't WoW an EQ Clone?
In addition, the magic X number of subscriptions needed to be "successful" was very true indeed. I made a post about WAR's 300k subscription base in the WAR forums, and I am still amazed at how many people were calling it a failure. 300k sure seems like a lot to me, but apparently if games don't keep 500k for years after they release, they are all failures...?
Great article and a great read.
That's the point of the entry. WoW was FAR from the first to do it.
Wasn't Everquest first? Hmm, certainly not Ultima. But I have the feeing there was something similar before Everquest and Asheron's Call...
good list next gen should be there. WOW quotes are a waste of time and though blizzard dont get it right all of the time they do know how to make a good game. carebbear is such an insulting term to use.
way to look up hardcore lol certainly not carebear
be good
Sandbox/ themepark.
Excellent!
I'm going to reference that every time I see someone refer to an open ended MMO with no content as being a sanbox because you can use your imagination.
The fanboi (hate that word)/ hater one as well.
Can't really stand either of those words.
Been called a hater for being outspoken over a particular game myself. God forbit anyone calling me a hater actually have taken notice that I have pointed out some good things about a particular game. I've also seen a lot of fans who actually point out flaws in games get called a fanboi; they're just a fan.
Fanatics on the other hand...
" Will be a really good game "
Hmm. I was born in 1984. And I used that term. BUT I always knew it's not very fortunate term. Although I still did it... Why? Because most people usually don't have the slightest idea about MMO game before WoW "revolution". This game propagated MMO genre into mainstream gaming, so it's just most recognizable one.
That's why I used term "WoW clone" for games like WAR and LotRO. But real WoW-clones exist, and they're far from being as popular as these two.
So again, "WoW-clone" is over used and untrue, but works well imho if you only know what you're talking about. I started "mmo" experience in MUDs like Polish "Arcadia" or global "Genesis" Mud, and some other types Multi User Dungeons. They were and still are text precursors of our MMO market. Everyting was about imagination back then. You can try it now too : ).
Then who was the first to do it? Do you really think you have made a good article here? Nothing you've said has had any thought put behind it and it shows you really don't understand the term WoW Clone. So many terrible arguments here I don't know where to start.
This has to be Poke Jost
Nice productive reply, by the way WoW Clone has never once assumed that WoW invented all of the mechanics that they have used so move along
Wasn't Everquest first? Hmm, certainly not Ultima. But I have the feeing there was something similar before Everquest and Asheron's Call...
Technically, you can trace it back forever, no doubt.
Most generally give EverQuest the first title. But that's just DIKU Muds done graphically, but nonetheless, I'm happy to give the badge to the first game to do it in 3D. It is responsible for most of the conventions of MMOs (hotbars, classes, static spawns, quests, radar, etc.).
Your "post" doesn't warrant any "productive" replies, sorry.
All it is going to do is invite ppls to flame you.
BTW...please go look at some of the WoW clone posts before you actually post something as brainless as this.
I laughed pretty hard at this, but it was sadly because it's true. Next up, the top 10 Overused Advertising Slogans for MMO's
"11 Million people play it, and they CAN'T be wrong"
"Intense PvP!"
"Play for FREE!!!"
"Epic Fantasy"
And many many more!
Yes, seems like that. Nothing to add here.
But what really surprised me and surprises me to this day, is that no big developer tried to create an isometric MMO like Ultima Online. I mean - this way of playing may be absolutely great, it gives really strategic view and could be much easier to create than those "in person" 3D worlds (probably). NwN did something like that, but it's not big eneough to be MMO. Concluding, it's funny that there's no real competition in MMO market to a game so old as Ultima Online is... That's really strange.
I remember how I dreamed that D&D MMORPG game would be done in UO way. With all those "traps", climbing on walls, hiding in shadows, vast are of effect spells and "sandbox", D&D-like gameplay. Something modern and done well could be interesting with this isometric view and top notch 3D graphics.
Just call it "Living Greyhawk" and I'm bought already - well, at least for a trial.
Wasn't Everquest first? Hmm, certainly not Ultima. But I have the feeing there was something similar before Everquest and Asheron's Call...
Technically, you can trace it back forever, no doubt.
Most generally give EverQuest the first title. But that's just DIKU Muds done graphically, but nonetheless, I'm happy to give the badge to the first game to do it in 3D. It is responsible for most of the conventions of MMOs (hotbars, classes, static spawns, quests, radar, etc.).
Yea... sorry but AC and EQ were released nearly at the same time, I doubt they influenced each other and they both have those "conventions" you are talking about. And yet THEY'RE DIFFERENT GAMES.. one is not the clone of the other because we are not exactly talking about conventions, we're talking about the full game. *You can have the same conventions and end up as a completely different game* As AC and EQ is no doubt proof of.
WoW has used a lot of previous ideas mainly from AC2 in my point of view and knowing all of this I still tag some games as WoW clones... why is that? Because they are blatantly making a copy of WoW and putting their skin on it, it is that simple. Of course the people who started with WoW and call games like AoC or LoTRO WoW Clones are wrong. Pointing to EQ and AC and saying "look at these conventions! They're the same! surely WoWs a clone of EQ!" doesn't help your case, because WoW is not similar outside toolbars and classes - you aren't countering the argument... if you pointed to AC2 maybe you'd get somewhere.
Great article. Seems more like a list of terms used "About mmo's" more than terms used "In mmo's". If you're looking for terms used "In mmo's" look no further than the word "Noob". That is a term that needs to die.
Technically, you can trace it back forever, no doubt.
Most generally give EverQuest the first title. But that's just DIKU Muds done graphically, but nonetheless, I'm happy to give the badge to the first game to do it in 3D. It is responsible for most of the conventions of MMOs (hotbars, classes, static spawns, quests, radar, etc.).
Yea... sorry but AC and EQ were released nearly at the same time, I doubt they influenced each other and they both have those "conventions" you are talking about. And yet THEY'RE DIFFERENT GAMES.. one is not the clone of the other because we are not exactly talking about conventions, we're talking about the full game. *You can have the same conventions and end up as a completely different game* As AC and EQ is no doubt proof of.
WoW has used a lot of previous ideas mainly from AC2 in my point of view and knowing all of this I still tag some games as WoW clones... why is that? Because they are blatantly making a copy of WoW and putting their skin on it, it is that simple. Of course the people who started with WoW and call games like AoC or LoTRO WoW Clones are wrong. Pointing to EQ and AC and saying WoWs a clone of them doesn't help your case, because WoW is NOT a clone of them.. if you pointed to AC2 maybe you'd get somewhere.
I don't recall calling AC an EQ or WoW clone...
And dude, calm'er down and read what the article says. The word is overused by people who call any 3D MMO with hot bars a WoW clone. So, yes, I basically agree. When someone calls LotRO a WoW clone, they're full of it. That was the point of the entry.
We didn't say no one has ever or will ever actually clone WoW.
I agree, very derograty. when does a noob become one of the lads/lasses. I have played many many mmos and hate it more when I get called one for asking decent qs
Technically, you can trace it back forever, no doubt.
Most generally give EverQuest the first title. But that's just DIKU Muds done graphically, but nonetheless, I'm happy to give the badge to the first game to do it in 3D. It is responsible for most of the conventions of MMOs (hotbars, classes, static spawns, quests, radar, etc.).
Yea... sorry but AC and EQ were released nearly at the same time, I doubt they influenced each other and they both have those "conventions" you are talking about. And yet THEY'RE DIFFERENT GAMES.. one is not the clone of the other because we are not exactly talking about conventions, we're talking about the full game. *You can have the same conventions and end up as a completely different game* As AC and EQ is no doubt proof of.
WoW has used a lot of previous ideas mainly from AC2 in my point of view and knowing all of this I still tag some games as WoW clones... why is that? Because they are blatantly making a copy of WoW and putting their skin on it, it is that simple. Of course the people who started with WoW and call games like AoC or LoTRO WoW Clones are wrong. Pointing to EQ and AC and saying WoWs a clone of them doesn't help your case, because WoW is NOT a clone of them.. if you pointed to AC2 maybe you'd get somewhere.
Pretty sure he's talking about the click to attack system which was introduced by EQ (3D version), and he is not calling WoW an EQ clone either, but you cannot deny that WoW took the Click to attack system. Now...take a deep breathe..and read the very first quote...What is the TC trying call WoW Clone as?? Now by that logic, does his claim of WoW Clone make sense? Thank you very much for coming out =)
Secondly, it is not wrong to call a game WoW Clone if the whole game is actually WoW with a different skin, but the term WoW Clone is being toss around on games that resembles a generic MMO and the arugment is always "This is a WOW Clone, WoW did it first!" Just like how zidane person is trying so hard to defend his position.
No need to get all defensive before you read the actual content.
Damn Dana beat me in a typing race =(
Technically, you can trace it back forever, no doubt.
Most generally give EverQuest the first title. But that's just DIKU Muds done graphically, but nonetheless, I'm happy to give the badge to the first game to do it in 3D. It is responsible for most of the conventions of MMOs (hotbars, classes, static spawns, quests, radar, etc.).
Yea... sorry but AC and EQ were released nearly at the same time, I doubt they influenced each other and they both have those "conventions" you are talking about. And yet THEY'RE DIFFERENT GAMES.. one is not the clone of the other because we are not exactly talking about conventions, we're talking about the full game. *You can have the same conventions and end up as a completely different game* As AC and EQ is no doubt proof of.
WoW has used a lot of previous ideas mainly from AC2 in my point of view and knowing all of this I still tag some games as WoW clones... why is that? Because they are blatantly making a copy of WoW and putting their skin on it, it is that simple. Of course the people who started with WoW and call games like AoC or LoTRO WoW Clones are wrong. Pointing to EQ and AC and saying WoWs a clone of them doesn't help your case, because WoW is NOT a clone of them.. if you pointed to AC2 maybe you'd get somewhere.
I don't recall calling AC an EQ or WoW clone...
And dude, calm'er down and read what the article says. The word is overused by people who call any 3D MMO with hot bars a WoW clone. So, yes, I basically agree. When someone calls LotRO a WoW clone, they're full of it. That was the point of the entry.
We didn't say no one has ever or will ever actually clone WoW.
Yea I reread my post and fixed that part as it wasn't what I meant. The main part of my post was to tell you even though it's good to call those people out it is important to explain it the right way. It's easier to point to an older MMO that they haven't played and tell them WoW might as well be a clone of it but it's not the truth
Hey Druz, read my very first post on this thread. Good luck trying to convince those ppls that WoW was not the first ever MMO.
Right, my post about the history stuff was a tangent off this thread.
Generally, two things get credited with "creating something." Whoever does it first and whoever is most popular.
I mean, you can argue that EQ is just a DIKUMud with a single player 3D RPG interface too ;) The point is, clearly EQ won the early war (AC/EQ/UO) and became the dominant "style" of MMO that most others emulated to some degree.
And clearly WoW is in that same school, and most new games do emulate WoW to some degree.
But being in the same school of thought/presentation does not a clone make.
No no no....and NO. The most overused and misused word in MMOs is "potential".....as in "This game has potential".
Hell.....every game.....no, everyTHING in the world has potential. If I keep typing, this post has the potential to be the worlds greatest novel.
Please. By the time a game is released....it's either good, or it's not. People that say a released game is "rough around the edges right now", but "has potential", are wrong. I remember reading "potential" in the forums of Dark and Light, Horizons, Irth On-Line.....hehe.....yup.
Potential is a word for beta....not after release.
Right, my post about the history stuff was a tangent off this thread.
Generally, two things get credited with "creating something." Whoever does it first and whoever is most popular.
I mean, you can argue that EQ is just a DIKUMud with a single player 3D RPG interface too ;) The point is, clearly EQ won the early war (AC/EQ/UO) and became the dominant "style" of MMO that most others emulated to some degree.
And clearly WoW is in that same school, and most new games do emulate WoW to some degree.
But being in the same school of thought/presentation does not a clone make.
Exactly, this is the kind of thing that needed to be in the article, though if you did the same to each misused word the article would no doubt be huge.
A game can have potential after release just like a NBA player can have potential after being drafted.
Potential is something the game/player is capable of or should be capable of based on their (for player: bodybuild, size, skill level, court vision) (for game: pvp system, crafting system, anything that is the "core" of the game) Improving on the core system is the job of the dev just as improving on the weaknesses is the job of a professional sports player. The word potential is not mis-used even after release as long as the game actually have a good core system that can be fun. Failure to achieve such potential can be due to crappy devs, lack of funding, etc.
Also..i fail to see the difference between what Dana said up there and the article, aside from using examples, anyone wanna enlighten me?
Excellent article! I agree with basically everything said.
EVE Online would have a thing or two to say about it. By all accounts and developer admission, it was largely crap at release. Now, like that style or not, it is an extraordinarily successful game.
This article was pretty good. I am glad that it didn't include "carebear", since that seems to dying out, at least around here, compared to the way it used to be. I guess all the carebears are fanbois and haters now.
Re: WoW clone: When I first played WoW during a stress test, I told my husband it was going to be huge... but that didn't stop me from summarizing it as "EQ for Dummies" (not saying that you're a dummy if you play it; it's a reference to the "for Dummies" series of books that simplify things for the layman). I'd say that WoW was an EQ clone, and everything since WoW has been a WoW clone. It's as if someone handed out a roadmap to the end of the rainbow, and everyone is looking for the same pot of gold-- the one that Blizzard already has.
Alot of the 'wow clone' features are generally just RPG features. And since much of mmos are mmorpgs, even if they dont' admit it, it seems silly to try to paint it as a wow clone. Just say RPG, and it will be more accurate.
Personally, i think a common misused word is Massive. it originally was meant for any game having 32 or more characters, as that was a trick in of itself with the older video cards. Even now, people want to bump 'massive' to mean 10000 or more pcs per server. i don't think having more than 4000 player characters is notable different than having more than 3000 pcs.
Good article. Like some others have said "potential" should have been number 1 on the list IMO
As for wow clone, it seems there are only two types of people that use the term wow clone:1) the person who has only played wow and 2) the person whos first MMO was wow.
*yawn* Gotta say most of this artile just got me bored and it felt more like You hated on people with lower IQ than you and likes to use popular words or devs that knows that these words work but they at the same time knows the real meaning behind them.
WoW-clone is not misused....at all. Games often take from the best, its simply the fact. Just because its a Bright Wizard instead of a Fire mage doesn't mean y doesn't equal x. It's a WoW clone in that the combat is the same, and people with WoW experience had no trouble with a WAR transition because of it. It's a little more PvP centric version of WoW, still the same theme park garbage.
And just because a word isn't used as originally intended doesn't mean it is wrong. The word "upset" was never used to describe the underdog winning until the horse "upset" won a race against the odds, and ever since it has been correct usage of the word. So this article is horrible.
I just wanted to read the carebear part to see what he will say about it, but no. He didnt make a carebear title. WTF???
Wow Jon, "Epic Fail" with another "non-innovative", far from "polished", "theme park" article! Your no "WoW Killer" by any means Jon! Your a day late and a dollar short coming up with this. When was the "launch date" for this article? I suspect you were in over your head with promises of a article that shouldve been released about 3 years ago! This article delivers nothing but rehashed news, I consider it "vaporware" at this point! You used to be on time with the trendy articles Jon, but its obvious that you're just not "hardcore" anymore Jon! There, I said it! Now Ill probably get "flamed" from all the "fanbois" who ride the preverbial coat tail of success you have swindled so many subscribers out of! I suggest if you do anymore of these, try to make sure you release the articles in the middle of a trendy word spree, and not at the end of its life stage!!!
LOL, Great article Jon, but was a bit "little to late" dont ya think? Who says "fanboi" anymore? We now call `em "teabaggers" Jon. But thats what I love about you, youre attention to detail! lol!
Well written, and the picture for "Failure" was hilarious. Good read.
Negative. None of those things were ever exclusively derived from WoW. Especially not the combat which has survived virtually unchanged from to the birth of RPGs WoW, much like many other MMOs, is simply a standard fantasy MMORPG. The other problem is since the term WoW clone is erroneously applied to nearly every MMO, even ones nothing like WoW, it's lost all meaning.
Don't forget the constant missue of the terms PST MST and EST when people actually mean PDT MDT and EDT. Which can be confusing as 8 months of the year there is a one hour differnence between standard and day light savings time.
Ya, after all, WoW was the first game to include a fire spell casting wizard.....oh wait, it wasnt, so much for that.
Damn, forgot, the other games used time machines to come forward in time and rip Blizzard off, nothing else makes sense.
i still think "twink" is the most misused word in mmo's.
its origin pre dates mmo's by about 40 years as it has its roots in male on male adult pornographic films.
im not going to spell it out for you, thats what google is for. but still every time someone tells me about their "twink" it creeps me out a little.
So using this logic WoW is an EverQuest, Asheron's Call, Anarchy Online, Dark Age of Camelot, Star Wars Galaxies, Final Fantasy XI, City of Heroes, Lineage 2, EverQuest 2 clone because WoW has similar combat as all of these games that came out before it?
Alright... if you say so.
"WoW clone" has always been a bit misleading. If WoW was cloned, there'd be two WoWs, each with 5.5 million subs.
OK this probably isn't true. The second one would be a haven for pvpers trying to make fresh starts but would otherwise be ghostlands. The blood elf "Ghostlands" would be a sort of double ghostland.
"Ripoff" is a better term. Just because developers forever blatantly do this to one another's "I.P." doesn't make the deed less despicable, numb to it as I'm sure we all are. Perhaps if the definition of I.P. tortuously covered things like the layout of the UI, the colour of health and mana (and the name "mana"), we might eventually end up with a game that is original.
Creativity is just the power of association. If you associate with the most recent thing with which everyone is familiar, and bugger all else, you're not likely to offer anything new are ya?
Good article.
I would add "lag" to the list. Over time this term has come to describe any slowing of the game. However, the perceived "lag" can be due to a lot of different reasons including:
I guess it wouldn't really count for the article, but I think one phrase people need to stop saying on forums is:
"Can I have your stuff?"
That phrase has lived long long after pretty much all valuable equipment in MMORPGs became bound to the characters. No, you can't have my stuff. Ever hear of BOE?
Yeah, I'm silly...
Great article. 8 / 10.
Oh, stop it. Of course 'WoW clone' is misused, just as 'EQ clone' was. It's inevitable that the biggest hit at any given time will encourage a certain type of design for as long as it maintains this position. But it's no more cloning than all the various MP3 players are clones of the iPod.
Fanboy hater
I think Next gen should have been in there, its tossed around so much in our life (not just in MMO's) that it has lost almost all meaning.
Are you trying to fit the stereotype?
Well, because Warhammer is over 20 years old and the only thing Blizzard changed was some of the names of the classes due to the inability to acquire the Warhammer IP all those years ago (hence the term Warcraft), you might as well just go ahead and begin calling them all WAR clones, including WoW. Nothing in WoW is unique and it's a direct clone of Warhammer as that was what Warcraft was intended to be. Changing the name to Warcraft was all they could do since they were unable to use the Warhammer name in the end. But you'd need to be a bit older to remember the history.
Personally "whatever-clone" annoys me. If Games Workshop doesn't need to fling around such words then Blizzard and their followers definitely have no place to do the same. If you fail to acquire an IP, just going ahead and taking all the elements and using a similar name just doesn't cut it.
blah, all these people with ideas of who is the origin of whatever. Tolken anyone?
Anyways, Dana, great article. Hands down very enjoyable read and felt very true. Thanks for posting up this article, I think many people needed to get a refresh in MMO edicate.
Well the major issue we have is that these days any tom dick or harry is able to get online (retard or not). unfortunatly us being the humans we are, are flawed to one major issue, Ignorance.
I see alot of people blaming kids younger then 18 for being missfits in MMO's (hense why you see alot of 18+ only in MMO's) and setting a bad example as a gamer but when i was just 12 i remember playing in a clan of 6 guys on Half life multiplayer, and thats another thing since when did the term GUILD or CLAN turn into a COMMUNITY? (more then 20+ players).
Let's put it this way:
My mom bakes a great apple pie. Let's say I take that pie and give it a flakier crust and more apples. It becomes really popular among my friends. So popular, in fact, that my neighbor makes his own apple pie with a flaky crust and lots of apples and starts selling it. All my friends start calling it an aurick clone because he copied my pie. But wait a minute... my pie copied most of the elements of my mom's. It's much more accurate to say that both of our pies are mom clones.
Or to use logic vernacular:
If A = B and B = C then A = C
Just because B is the big branding success that everyone recognizes doesn't mean that everything after B can only be a clone of B. B is just as much a clone as C is.
Great article! I really enjoyed it.
I would like to add: IMO "WoW clone" is a term thrown around by fans of the genre who are frustrated with the lack of original game design. Now before you freak on me let me explain. Because of WoW's success I think it's logical to assume that developers will feel comfortable sticking with the same basic MMORPG layout that was in EQ, WoW, etc. etc. Not that these are all "clones" of one another because they're obviously not, they're not the same games how could they be, but they all play predictably the same way. However, for many, especially those one this site, it seems we want the genre to take a somewhat different direction in some significant way, so when games with the same layout come about they are automatically labled as "WoW clones".
To sum things up on a grand scale. I don't think the MMO genre has found its identity yet. There are many games that seem to not have a clear direction as to what the game is. Too many things trying to be achieved with no particular strong, shining elements. I think the day will come for this but the reason it's taken longer than other genre's IMO is the much more difficult and costly production process and upkeep. Not as much room to experiment and much more following of a similar RPG model. Just my opinion so take it or leave it!
the only misused word worth mentioning was the last one
all the others are subjective
lol how true as per the article. I would be even more interested in learning "who the hell thought up some of these terms?"
Great read 9/10
Was dolly the 1st sheep? Still her clone is her clone, and not one of 1st sheep ever. Yes it's features are derived from 1st sheep, and no not all sheep are dolly cones. So it is missused a lot, but it has it uses.
Trust me on that, I've seen a "wow clone". If you've ever seen wow, even once and just on screeenshot you'd recocgnise the similarity with the one I'm talking about, and if you played wow you'd say it is a wow clone, and a poor one to boot. Well it still isn't out and I'm bound to keep silent about that junk till people see it themselves grrr... It's not getting a worldwide release, so consider yourself relatively lucky...
That said, wow itself is a missused word. These days you can't use this word in it's orignal meaning (as in "pleasant surprise") without an mmo gamer poping out of nowhere and misunderstanding you...
I agree with hater and fanboi being missused, but "failing to see a good/bad point" is a missuse of word "fail". We're talking tastes here, "open world pvp" (tm) is a good point for one and bad for another, "active combat", character design, and who knows what else, are all veiwed differently. So many men so many minds. Get it into your thick skull already you fanbois/haters...
And I'd add "active combat" to the list, all of a sudden active combat = strafing around like crazy... go figure...
So, who else here is old enough to recognize this:
Yep, the original click-to-fight combat system: The MUD. Most MMOs since then have, largely, been MUDs with graphical interfaces. Meanwhile, single-player RPGs have moved on by strides and bounds since then - but MMO players seem content with the same old recipe.
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Awesome awesome article. You know, MMO's did exist before wow, so the term "wow clone" is just utter idiocy, as well as "Failure" and "Wow killer". Wow is very very succesfull mmo, but it doesnt need to be compared to every other MMO anymore, give it a rest.
I really wouldn't have had Wow clone in there. Wow Clone isn't overused. While WoW's mechanics aren't original, they are replicated in a way throughout so many games that it is a clear-cut WoW clone.
Nextgen should have been #1. Very few MMOs have anything remarkedly "next-gen".
"While World of Warcraft does indeed make use of all of the above mentioned elements and more, the fact of the matter is that they were not the first, and they will not be the last."
I think what you guys are missing is that people realize that. They use the term WOW-clone because it makes sense to use a subject that your audience is familiar with when making a comparison or drawing an analogy. If someone wrote/said "DikuMUD clone" far fewer readers/listeners would know what the person was talking about. Heck, with the influx of millions of new gamers with WOW, even "EQ clone" is too obscure or unclear a reference in some circles.
That's exactly it. As another poster mentioned, Dolly was not the original sheep. Nor was WoW the original MMOG. So cloning Dolly means cloning a sheep, but the clone is still a clone of Dolly, not a clone of Protobaa The First Sheep. Likewise, a game that comes out with most of the features that WoW has and precious little actual innovation (uh oh, did I use that word right? ;) ) is a WoW clone. When forumgoers worry it'll be 'just another WoW clone', they worry that it won't really bring anything new to the table, that it's yet another attempt at playing it safe - which incidentally seems to me to have a high failure rate. Is that misusing the word? I don't think it is.
The most misused and abused word in MMOG history is "lag." Nothing else even comes close.
Good and funny article. I especially found the images hilarious.
Off topic: Someone should do a similar piece on the community. This weeks misused fashion word: "Shill".
Uncommon sense,
great article!
Only person in this thread who really understands what defines a WOW clone, it has nothing to do with its point and click combat system, interfaces or even whether or not it has orcs and elves in it.
Its about the trend to ever easier gameplay. And yes, LoTRO and AOC are WOW clones of a sort. They take even try to out do WOW by making it easier and easier for players to find quest objectives (their linear, quest driven gameplay is a clone of WOW).
You would have had to play games like DAOC, Lineage 1/2, Shadowbane and even EQ to see that while they had similariities, they all felt like very different games. That is not true with most of the games released since WOW, and as we know, some games actually changed in mid-stream to become easier (SWG, EQ2) a la WOW.
Doesn't make them identical to WOW, but they definitely tried to emulate the WOW forumula for success.
Maybe the term is overused these days, but it is appropriate in many ways.
Great article! I just wish we could force everyone to read it now
That's exactly it. As another poster mentioned, Dolly was not the original sheep. Nor was WoW the original MMOG. So cloning Dolly means cloning a sheep, but the clone is still a clone of Dolly, not a clone of Protobaa The First Sheep. Likewise, a game that comes out with most of the features that WoW has and precious little actual innovation (uh oh, did I use that word right? ;) ) is a WoW clone. When forumgoers worry it'll be 'just another WoW clone', they worry that it won't really bring anything new to the table, that it's yet another attempt at playing it safe - which incidentally seems to me to have a high failure rate. Is that misusing the word? I don't think it is.
But thats not whats going on. Someone else breeds a sheep (not from Dolly), and everyone STILL walks around saying its DOLLY clone. Its not, its a sheep. Of which Dolly just happens to be a famous example of.
All the features that people tend to point out as being WoW clone material are just generic elements of the RPG genre. If someone is worried that some other developer is going to make a RPG game, well heck, they better get a life. RPGs have been around for quite a while, they are here to stay. Other people will make RPGs. And the ignorant people of the crowd will still mislabel it as a WoW clone. Its not a wow clone, its an RPG.
We could do this in reverse. Label any FPS game as a Quake Clone. All the L4D or Unreal or Half Lifes are all Quake Clones, no innovation, they all stay with the formulaic action, guns, and work with a first person view. Don't bother mentioning they are all FPS, just say Quake Clone, its so much easier.
Generic elements of the RPG genre, huh? I've played singleplayer RPGs aplenty - precious few of them featured the constant slew of wall-of-meaningless-filler-text missions, moving aimlessly from place to place, extremely easy but tedious gameplay, etc. that make up WoW, and damn near all other MMORPGs around. So they're not simply 'features of an RPG', they're specifically features of an MMORPG in the vein of World of Warcraft. A term for which 'WoW clone' is shorthand.
Really? Ever played any of the Final Fantasy games? What about Zelda?
**** Overall a very good article. The only term I really had an issue with was "Polish". Though I think the author got it right on, in saying that companies overuse the term and since WoW, MMOs have been released with proportionally less polish inversly to their use of the word.
Polish, quite simply, is when you take something that is 'finished' and tweak it to make it better, hiding the seams if you will. I just found it interested that the definition wasn't mentioned for this.
Generic elements of the RPG genre, huh? I've played singleplayer RPGs aplenty - precious few of them featured the constant slew of wall-of-meaningless-filler-text missions, moving aimlessly from place to place, extremely easy but tedious gameplay, etc. that make up WoW, and damn near all other MMORPGs around. So they're not simply 'features of an RPG', they're specifically features of an MMORPG in the vein of World of Warcraft. A term for which 'WoW clone' is shorthand.
No the quests ware always there. Hell they had them in he D&D paper game. They just haven't always been that easy unless you turned the difficulty down. Baldur's Gate for example was full of them. The first quests in EQ were kill ten whatevers and they were easy. The real problem with calling everything, and I do mean everything, I've heard EVE called a WoW clone which is ludicrous, is that it breeds sloppy thinking. MMOs can only be distinguished by their differences not their similarities because they all have many similarities. They always will.
Not sure if anyone between pages 4 and this one mentioned this:
Another pair that is missing is MMO/MMORPG.
They are fundamentally different and many games nowadays that are considered MMORPG are actually MMOs. The fact that you have lvls and classes does not yet constitute a RPG, since those are not necessary ingredients to play a role (as in Role Playing). A multitude of alternative ways to play, however, are in favor or MMORPGs. In this context AoC and WAR are rather MMOs than MMORPGs.
Good read, I agree with the list :)
One things for sure , if you want to see all these misused words in action , Mmorpg.com is the best place too look ....
Yea, I was looking forward to seeing "Next-gen" in there as well, definitely worthy of a top 10 at least.
Good list though.
I couldn't agree more with #1. I am soooo sick of hearing the term "WoW Clone".
The same people probably stand in the cookie aisle of the supermarket and call every other cookie an "Oreo Clone".
WoW brought in so many new people to the genre (which is for the most part a good thing!), that they ignorantly assume there were no other MMOs before WoW.
It's comparable to saying that every sneaker is just a "Nike clone" because Nikes are popular and are recognized more or less globally as a premier sneaker; other shoes are "clones" because they have the same features, laces, soles, tongues, etc etc.
I once heard someone call the original Everquest "just a bad WoW clone".
Good article, thanks!
(PS. To the comment about "walls of meaningless filler text"; WoW most certainly did not "invent" that concept and that "meaningless" text is the story of the game/mission/quest that you are doing, it is designed to immerse you into the game world and give you a reason for doing the action they are requesting of you. Don't assume that the way you play the game is the way everyone does! Some people actually enjoy the RPG part of the MMORPG.)
Very well written article. Languages evolve over time and meanings do change. So one must be circumspect at times being critical on how meanings change, but I think the author pretty much nailed it in his article.
I think the one that irks me the most on this board is those the fling the "hater" and "fanboi" terms around at anyone who disagrees with them. Pretty much clues you in that their arguments are highly colored with a built in bias. If you want to get your point across, avoiding these terms can go a long way to doing that.
so, after reading every comment, as well as the entire article, the ones missing are (in no particular order)
carebear
innovative
next-gen
Massive World
lag
defidently should have made it "top 15"
Pretty good post.... the sandbox part I think you nailed right. There have to be some toys in a sandbox otherwise its just a big box of sand lol. You cant even make a sandcastle without a bucket and plenty of water hehe.
As far as launch dates go... well I think you may have been a bit too forgiving. As a programmer myself we have deadlines that must be met and it is the project manager's job to make sure that those dates are set realistically and that they are met. If the dev team is unable to make their deadlines they need to be replaced with people far more competent. Either that or a real project manager that knows what the hell he/she is doing.
This was a breath of fresh air to read. My husband and I were having this exact conversation last week and how much it bothered us that these terms were so absurdly tossed around. Thank you for writing this, I hope some people will think before they label :) I know, dream the impossible dream.
There has really only been 1 "WoWClone" ever made if you want to be technical. That would be "Runes of Magic".
It is the only game that pops into my head you can directly compare all facets of it's game play to World of Warcraft.
Over the years I have seen many people say many different things.
EQ2 is a WoW Clone.... EQ2 is nothing more than an upgraded attempt of EQ1 to capture the attention of the present EQ1 players to try and keep them playing for the same company by offering better graphics and smoother gameplay.
If anything EQ2 "borrowed" its UI setup from DAoC, which is what it more closely resembles to me.
There have been strides in gameplay that many people ignore or refuse to see, due to thier blind hatred for Blizard.
We could almost make a timeline for these and list innovations.
Ultima - Noone needs to list Ultima's innovations. If you do not know them by now, you are just to young to remember it.
EQ1 - First mainstream 3D mmo that I can recall. The list of EQ1'ss innovations are phone book in length as it pretty much did everything we have come to consider a standard today.
DAoC - Before DAoC people had no idea that player vs player could be so profitable. It mainstreamed pvp combat on a scale that as far as I can tell has not been matched since.
Anarchy Online - First true sci-fi action MMO. It brought a new way of thinking into the genre in regards to things like equipment through enhancements. When I first played Anarchy Online, I could remember thinking to myself, this is pretty innovative design.
Planetside - This MMO took the concept of such games as counterstrike, unreal, and quake then put it on a scale that couldn't be matched at the time in FPS format. It may not have invented the FPS genre, but it improved on the model and took it another direction.
EvE Online - First true sci-fi inspired sandbox MMO. EvE built it's gaming model from the ground up. There hasn't been a game to date to emulate it's style. Everything about EvE is innovation, and although I really dislike the game, what it has done for the genre commands respect.
Guild Wars - Guild Wars was the first MMO to perfectly merge single player console design and MMORPG design. I think it is innovative enough just in this respect. It was also the first game to perfect arena based PvP combat and take teamwork to a new extreme height.
Horizons (Istaria) - Was the first game to show you that you could play the entire game as an animal or in this case a "Mythic Creature". you can argue that EQ shaman had bear form or whatever you want, however these were merely spells. Horizons let you play as a friggin DRAGON! for gods sake. It was innovation for that time.
You know every game tries to make strides, some fall short and some pull it off.
WoW is a clone, of everything before it, and every game after it has some of it's elements, just remember where wow got those elements.
Only person in this thread who really understands what defines a WOW clone, it has nothing to do with its point and click combat system, interfaces or even whether or not it has orcs and elves in it.
Its about the trend to ever easier gameplay. And yes, LoTRO and AOC are WOW clones of a sort. They take even try to out do WOW by making it easier and easier for players to find quest objectives (their linear, quest driven gameplay is a clone of WOW).
You would have had to play games like DAOC, Lineage 1/2, Shadowbane and even EQ to see that while they had similariities, they all felt like very different games. That is not true with most of the games released since WOW, and as we know, some games actually changed in mid-stream to become easier (SWG, EQ2) a la WOW.
Doesn't make them identical to WOW, but they definitely tried to emulate the WOW forumula for success.
Maybe the term is overused these days, but it is appropriate in many ways.
Here's the thing about the quest system emulated by others after WoW:
Remember how quests worked in EQ?
In theory, you would hail an npc and receive text, you'd then have to think about how to best respond to elicit a continuation. There was precious little direction if any at all. The rationale was the result of this would be an active, talkative community; constantly needing to share the 'clues' they picked up about a particular quest.
In reality, people created write-ups and posted them, shooting allakhazam's to stardom. I met very few people who did not use these write ups, as it was nearly impossible to figure out where to go next based on the quest text alone. If you asked for advice in chat (guild included) the answer was more likely than not to be "allakhazam.com".
Blizzard realized while developing WoW, that quest research had simply become a time sink rather than a community builder. Did they make mmorpg's easier with this addition? Yes. But not by 'dumbing' it down, by removing a time sink.
And perhaps you should take a look at some WotLK questlines. If anyone can get exalted faction with the Sons of Hodir and still say the quest lines are 'the same ol' same ol'" I want some of what they are smoking. Simply put, WoW is gently moving away from their standard quest system, and absolutely no other mmo is creating quest arcs that are as varied as what Blizzard has done most recently.
I have a pet theory. Some who quit WoW and/or may have never played WotLK too deeply or at all will soon find what you are looking for. A game will be released with amazingly complex and varied quest arcs that will blow you away. It will become the rage on the forums, meanwhile, some who knew better will be saying "you see they did want a WoW clone all along, they just had no idea what had been happening in WoW".
But hey, if you want a return to the time where you'd ask for quest help and people would tell you to look it up, if you long for the days of scratching your head for months waiting for someone to figure the quest out and do a write up, if you are still yearning for the days when you'd pour through volumes of posts trying to sort out why each one is saying you have to do something different....if you think any of that crap was fun, be ready for a long wait, because I doubt any company will take that direction ever again.
But then again, one man's challenge is another man's time sink...
You 'feel' that WoW is less of a challenge; I 'feel' they eliminated a time sink - these are both opinions, not facts. I understand your perception, I just don't agree with it. But I do ask you this, if you were to ask a blizzard developer if their intent was to make the game 'easier' in the sense of challenge or 'easier in the sense of time sink eliminations" which do you think they would choose as their objective?
And lastly......
While I agree that games such as LoTRO and AoC have a quest system more similar to WoW's than EQ's; you cannot convince me that the challenge was diminished in any way shape or form. Killing 10 boars, then collecting 10 hides, then killing a minor boss mob is absolutely NO less challenging then sitting in the Overthere for 4 solid hours killing 10000 cockatrices. And if it is, explain how. And in addition I find Halls of Lightning about 10X more fun then camping the magus in lower guk in 1 room for multiple hours. And good god, do you remember the 3 hour prep for raid, the 7 hour raid, and god help you if you wipe or it'd be a 10 to 12 hour raid? I don't remember any of these things to be a challenge, other than to my sense of composure.
Sure, Tallon and Vallon Zek were both challenging targets. But no more challenging than completing Ulduar, and I defy you to go on a namer by namer basis and show how each was more of a challenge than boss mobs in WoW.
So are AoC and LoTRO WoW clone's? By your definition yes. But should that be a negative? In my opinion, I am thankful that modern mmo's have eliminated the useless time sinks that kept me from killing monsters with my friends. I never have once played an mmo because of how much I like using allakhazam.com and hopefully I will never have to again.
You simply will not convince me games prior to WoW had more challenging gameplay. You can only convince me they had more time sinks. And if that's what you consider the 'fun' and 'challenge' of an mmorpg; I have to respectfully disagree with your opinion.
This has been one of this sites best articles yet and one of the reasons I just have to come back and post on this site though often times the venom us players spew at each other makes me wish I didn't. The only thing I would probably adjust myself is the fact that hardcore can just as easily be included in the sandbox/theme park category specifically how "hardcore" has become what is listed as inthe article and truly is "sandbox" or atleast lack there of. People will quickly call faulty games with absolutely no content "hardcore" by most peoples definition of hardcore I can consider myself a hardcore reader if I read the entire dicitonary sure it's thousands of pages long and full of words but there is no story involved if you get my meaning.
Another word that is sorely missing and should have probably been number one is "trolling" now it seems anyone who disagrees is a troll no matter that they may be spot on about everything they say the first insult thrown out when some game we enjoy is trashed is to call someone a troll or accuse them of trolling for simply stating their opinion.
It's so much easier to type "WoW clone" than it is to type "quest-based level-grinder with generic fantasy classes and races." And since most MMO players are familiar with WoW, there's little chance of me being misunderstood.
I may call someone a "bitch," but i don't literally mean she's a female dog.
How did "gank" not make this list at all? I don't think ten people could even agree on it's actual meaning now it's been so misused for so long.
That one is easy. When you kill me it's a gank, When I kill you it's skill. Or vice versa depending on who's point of view we're using.
/snicker
Let's put it this way:
My mom bakes a great apple pie. Let's say I take that pie and give it a flakier crust and more apples. It becomes really popular among my friends. So popular, in fact, that my neighbor makes his own apple pie with a flaky crust and lots of apples and starts selling it. All my friends start calling it an aurick clone because he copied my pie. But wait a minute... my pie copied most of the elements of my mom's. It's much more accurate to say that both of our pies are mom clones.
Or to use logic vernacular:
If A = B and B = C then A = C
Just because B is the big branding success that everyone recognizes doesn't mean that everything after B can only be a clone of B. B is just as much a clone as C is.
But if A=B and B=C, then it goes without saying that C=B. C may be an "A clone," but it is also a "B clone."
In other words, if your neighbor copies your pie, whose pie did he copy?
One of the terms misused worse than any is when players add racist, sexist, or descriminating remarks towards other players in-game. Using terms such as "lore-nazi", "name-nazi", etc. is completely disrespectful and insensitive considering what jewish civilians went through at the hands of the nazi's and NO ONE has any right to compare anyone else to a nazi of any kind. It just goes to show how some people let themselves be desensitized and only add fuel to the fire for law-makers trying to give video games a bad rep.
But if you say RPG game, its even shorter to type, you will be just as accurate and understood by even more people.
Another top 10 term you left out that has lost its meaning:
Massively multiplayer
well said Jon ... well said
I agree with everything :D
WoW Clone is always going to be that term that the popular crowd uses when describing competition to the current status quo.
In the journalism world we have two terms to describe people, 'elitests' and 'populists'. Elitests are the hardcore people described in the article, the meta gamers if you will. Populists, are the sheep; people who follow along with anything accepted by the masses because the masses find nothing wrong with the current system. The majority of the WoW community, if you will.
Now I have only read about half the threads and some people still don't get how these things work. Yes, the term is in itself a bastardization with no inherent substance to back it up, but the thing is people who put value in the word give it substance that drives it forward. Given time the people who use the word will diminish and thus the value of the term itself will lose steam and eventually fade.
To argue about the term WoW clone is self defeating. Let the populists have their term. As with any fad, the populists move on to the next big thing, and the rest is left for history to sort out.
But if you say RPG game, its even shorter to type, you will be just as accurate and understood by even more people.
"RPG game" can include anything from single-player console RPGs to MMORPGs that don't include the standard feature set as popularized by WoW. "WoW clone" gets the point across perfectly. It may be technically inaccurate, but I'm not anal enough to care.
And on these forums, some pedant is guaranteed to whine about it, which is a bonus.
Got more time this time around, so here's an addition:
The article states that "community talk" works for the comununity, and that is big misunderstanding. You can't be possibly thinking that words "fanboi", "hater", "noob", "pwn", "epic fail" and the like were originally meant for a nice conversaiton? or for a productive discussion? For crying out loud - those are insults. They harm the community, and were never meant for anything else.
How can they not be missused? Aside from the fact that an insult never gets a point across (other than the obvious "I hate you" point), how many insults do you know that are always thrown at valid target? Do you think everyone who was even once called a fool is actually a fool?
Is there even a point in fighting for a correct use of an insult?
Innovative? Next gen? - those are just advertising words. Can you immagine a banner "Try our obsolete and boring game! With nothing new to the genre, and no good content at all!"? Those were born to be missused.
If community want's to be community and not a pack of wolves biting at eachother's throats and howling at full moon (Read: hyping-up new wow-killer) it should avoid simplified and popularised terms, those never get a point across (aside from generalisation, where the do work, although generalisation itself is often missused).
If that's a war of words we seek and not an exchange of oppinions, then all hail the "net talk", for we are at our destination, enjoy if you can, suffer if you must.
You sir, are the exact people I am talking about...
Well first, before you and that other guy go insulting me, I never said WoW was the first. It's simply a slang term to refer to that gamestyle when I use it, I never said it was correct.
Actually the single player games also tend to include the feature set that people tend to complain about (heck, just read this thread), which is why its better to use RPG game. The use of WoW clone really confuses the issue. It leads to funny misperceptions about why the mechanics exist and why they aren't changing.
Its as if i called all FPS games Quake Clones, and how come someone can't make a FPS but without cloning quake, with all the guns, aiming, reaction time based, first person view. And then maybe i go on to argue that people are only cloning quake because Quake was popular when it came out, and that the game makers should innovate and not stick to the same ole first person view/real time reaction formula.
WoW Clone- I don't agree. Some games ARE WoW clones. They have 99% the same gameplay, just slightly different classes and graphics.
Not all games that are labeled WoW clones are, but many are.
I really enjoyed this article and agree with much of it. However, I do not agree with your definition of "hardcore":
My definition of hardcore is players who are exceptionally dedicated to playing a game, not in terms of hours spent, but in terms of content and/or attitude.
Me, I play a lot, but I do not consider myself "hardcore." My sister plans her playing time around guild raid schedules -- *that's* hardcore, imo. People who are critical of other players' character builds, gear, or playing style are also hardcore (in that I think they are taking a game very seriously). I don't think of "hardcore" as a pejorative description, just that it refers to someone who is really much more dedicated to a particular game than the average player, the "hardcore" percentage of any MMO is probably only about 5 to 15% of an MMO's player base.
I guess I just generally use the word "hardcore" in the sense of evident player attitude toward the game in question, something that may -- or may not -- be reflected by the time spent playing.
Because Final Fantasy was totally a quest grinder. Man, those action bars were great with the NES mouse.
Great article! A lot of truth in it.
Never played WoW, but WoW-Clone is missused in some ways.
What would be WoW-Clone in my view:
1) Standard Human, Orc, Elves etc. fantasy world
2) Same combat/interaction/quest/etc. system
3) No real innovation
maybe 4) Graphichs.
You can get pass with two of those kinda. Still it would one more fantasy mmo, as Sci-Fi WoW-Clone could be something new ;D
Clone is something which totaly lacks any innovation, it's just trying to take everything in WoW and make carbon copy of it. Something which just try to be as profitable as possible and will fail in it.
So, I wouldn't call AoC for example a WoW-clone, it has different combat system, it's graphics aren't cartoony and world isn't high-fantasy. Quest system might be simirial, but it's bit too normal for current day mmos...
I know for sure what overused words in OP´s article was: I counted:
15x used of: wow
8x used of: World of Warcraft
I wanted to point out that "wow clone" doesn't necessarily refer to the elements of the game but rather the community it creates. WoW creates a community where people tend to use you to complete their needed quest, then ditch you when they're done because they care only about their own interests or the interests of their guilds. Games like EQ or DAoC didn't carry this in the community NEARLY as much. WoW clones, to me, are games that create this atmosphere. However, with the way most MMO's are today, it could be blamed on structure, and not WoW. WoW however was sort of the first to create this in communities.
ROFL. I loved this article. So very true on every single point. Especially about the use of the term "WoW Clone".
If a game has an interface, combat and spells and appeals to a larger audience than what you can fit into an underused and darkened basement, it's deemed a "WoW clone". Such generalisations are ridiculous.
A Lexus, a BMW and a Ferrari all have 4 wheels, a steering wheel and an engine. Are they "clones" of the first car? Technically yes. But does anyone care enough to shun such cars? No. Because regardless of the fact that the latest car designs evolved from the original concept of a 4 stroke engine automobile, some people prefer one over the other. Why? Because some people are able to recognise and appreciate the unique aspects of any one particular product over the similarities that it has with another.
If having to live up to such expectations of the term "Innovation" means that an MMO has to throw out every single tried and tested concept just to be seen to be different, then I'll take an evolved game over a so-called "innovative" one any day.
The real key to both the words and the terminology is captured by each person's description of community, which can be very subjective. I can look at any one of the terms provided, and it probably has a very distinctive definition based on my background.
For example, out of the 100+ post on this thread, I could only find one reference to Lineage or Lineage 2. We've had members of that community leave it for WoW, or other games, then return to the world of Lineage. I could argue after having played several games including WoW, LoTR, etc., that my preference is Lineage2 based on what I've experienced. Would I be considered a hardcore player of that game because of my perspective?
In my mind there are several different types of players out there, and each player brings with them a different set of desires or wishes when they play a game. There are some players who go from game to game, never finding a home. There are those who find a game they like and never leave it. And then there are those players who venture out from time to time from their favorite game to see what else is going on in world, but eventually return home.
I've been playing RPGs since the days of the Tandy 1000 and the early Apple MacIntosh computers. In the late 90s when Lineage came along, it provided a venue where I could interact with other players in a group-minded scenarios. I was stationed overseas at the time and it was a great outlet for me.
When Lineage2 was released our Pledge from Lineage for the most part migrated to the new game and formed a Clan. Amazingly enough, after five years in Lineage2, we still have some original members. But for the most part, most have left for other pastures, including WoW. Many who went to WoW when it was released have since returned citing many reasons. Chief among those reasons was that it was too easy to achieve the highest levels of the game.
Does that mean that Lineage/Lineage2 players are "hardcore" because they thrive on the mind-numbing grind every day, sometimes for years on end? That, I believe, is in the eyes of the beholder. For me, I continue to play because of the friendships that have been formed over the years. Lineage2 has become very much a social hour (or ten) enjoyed with friends, like hanging out at the local pub.
I am thankful that the MMO industry has provided a plethora of venues for people like me who enjoy the community that we choose to stay in. The language used changes with the times, much like earlier references to "teabagger." This does not change the OPs article, just proves the point that with MMOs, evolution continues, and the language along with it.
Nie article, funny one :D
I agree with 6 and 9 i disagree with 10.
I agree that Sandbox and Failure are mis used a LOT.
The term Innovation i disagree.I think MANY know innovation and when they ask for it ,they actually mean it.Innovation is easy to point out...VG card game,FFXI and the sub class system,Renkai system.The Chocobo a pet/mount that you actually raise from an egg and nurture it to it's abilities,so many other innovations in FFXI like Besieged or Campaign battles.The Mentor system utilized in EQ2.The security tag by Blizzard,albeit not actually game related but still an innovation,i believe most people realize what innovation is.
Awsome list, i agree with it completly. The fact is that people seem to get into arguments over everything instade of keeping an open mind and discusing things.
Interestingly enough, it ain't just people who enjoy WoW or cut their MMO teeth on WoW that misuse this term. Likewise, it's not just people who play WoW who misue the term "fanboi"
Can I throw in the word Troll? Cause it seems like troll is nearly replacing hater. Anyone who starts to raise questions that may lead to some flaws of a game pointed out they are called trolls. From what I remember. Trolls are people who either A.) Live under a bridge. or B.) Make nonsense posts just to take up space and/or get flames/insults from people.
So true! Why don't you take your fanboi self back to your little unpolished epic-fail WoW-Clone while I play my innovative 1337 WoW-killer with all my hardcore guildies. Sandbox FTW!!!
Can I be in teh clubz now?
Yeah I'd like to see that too, and the history of MMO acronyms, where they started. Each acronym with their respectful game. Because I know a lot started in games even before UO, some in UO, but some acronyms don't work in UO and I'd like to know all that.
HAHAHAHAHA... ahhh I love people like you. So funny.
LMFAO! This post went south of heaven fast didnt it? Geesh, for those who dont know...ITS JUST A GAME!! A GAME!! ITS NOT REAL!! ITS A GAME!!! Lol, morons, I swear...
STRONGLY disagree with #2. A game with quests and levels IS a Themepark game. A quest IS a "ride" you jump on, with a developer built perrogative that you must complete in order to recieve a reward of some sort. Similarly, a LEVEL based game is exactly the same thing, Themepark style gameplay.
I agree that Sandbox gets thrown around a lot, in my opinion. In fact, terms seem to constantly get redefined in this industry by people like you.
In my opinion, Ultima Online pre-trammel was the ONLY definition of an "MMORPG" back in the day of 1997 and games like Diablo and then Everquest that came soon after, I considered them "MMOs". Then somehow games like Everquest and WoW began being defined as "MMORPGs". It's at this time that I began making references to Ultima Online pre-trammel(1997-1999) as a sandbox because it was so drastically different than the rest.
All of a sudden EVE, SWG and console games like Fallout 3 came out and started referring to themselves as a "sandbox".
Now we have to redefine what Ultima Online pre-trammel was again and I refer to it today as a "MMOWS (RPG)" Massive Multiplayer Online World Simulator (Role Playing Game)".
The fact is that UO pre-T simply cannot be compared to any other game that has come after it. If a game does not have at least ALL these following elements it simply can't be compared:
These are the core elements that a sandbox MMOWS game must have, it's the solid foundation to start from. Now, a game surely could come in and add many more elements on top of this. But if it's missing one of these above, you just cannot call it an MMOWS. There will have to be another name for it, perhaps MMOFPS(like Darkfall). Mortal Online is the only game that gives me hope that this dream will actually happen(since they tout real player housing unlike Darkfall), but a true MMOWS needs to drop the FPS+Friendly fire/Crosshair in your face 24/7 bs. I would hope that a company out there is brave enough to make a truly beautiful MMOWS, in 10 years we've really only had 1 and that was Ultima Online pre-trammel which died a decade ago. People are sick and tired of the Themepark games and 99.95% of MMORPGs out there are Themeparks. ENOUGH!!!!!
Half of these stupid saying come from WoW players, the other half came from people who hate WoW. Either way, it just shows that WoW is fackin annoying.
If quests make a world a themepark game, then heck, the real wold is a themepark and then by jove, any good game should have quests build into it.
EQ and WoW are RPGS because the role (iow character) counts more than the player. (As compared to FPS where the player counts more than the role). That being said, there are a couple definitions of RP, so saying one is a RPG and one isn't should be prefaced with a definition.
Please don't confuse skills with level. They are apples and oranges. Skills equate to classes. Both skill based games and class based games use level. The difference enters when skills (which are actually micro-classes) are then adjusted to improve quicker and thus its easier to level a skill then it is to level a class.
On Wow clone:
The good old ''every RPG uses quests(and interface and so on)'' ignorance remark.
Which is true ofc, except that WoW and Warhammer, and AoC, and Tabula Rasa (rip), and hellgate, and Lotro and many others don't just "have quests'' in the generic way that's hinted in the article in such a goofy way, but they SPECIFICALLY have the ones of WoW... in every possible aspect except what's actually said in the text.
Point is, i already DID play WoW and sort of enjoyed the levelling system, for more than a year(so it's not even like in SP RPG's where you play for only 1/2 weeks so you can't get SICK OF IT), now an even SLIGHTLY but ACTUALLY fresh levelling system would be fantastic.
What the article guy failed to realize is this difference. Every rpg has quests, but:
-i.e Baldur's gate quest: no goddamn exclamation mark (incredible uh?); no kill collecting counter(displayed as usual to the right center of the usual screen); the structure is basically to reach a place and the path is filled with encounters and difficulties you just can't skip.
-Fallout quest: get in a town, talk to a person at the entrance who explains the situation, the factions at war, the buildings, the shops, everything. The town is your arena of situations, you got lots of choices to make and puzzles to solve. IT's ONE big quest, taking place ONLY inside the town(unlike the wow clones, usually taking you miles away just for time-sink sake).
-WoW quest: Find a guy with some kind of exclamation mark icon, right-click him, rectangular window opens in the precise left upper side co-ordinates of the screen, skip thru about 10 to 14 lines of useless text, skip also thru the fast description for dummies(because reading is SO, like, uncool, dude!), press accept button to the left of the decline one, see the rewards given or the choosable ones, start travelling to the spot, then kill the needed amount of mob or collect the testicles dropped therein, go back to the QG who now comes with a differently coloured exclamation mark, skip thru the "hey you made it'' useless text, grab reward, put it on, sport it around for loosers to see, rinse and repeat.
-WAR quest: same as above.
-Tabula Rasa quest: same as above.
-Age of Conan quest: same as above.
-Pirates of the caribbean quest: same as above.
-Hellgate quest: same as above.
-every other KOREAN mmo quest: same as bove.
It's interesting to notice, tho, that there are indeed a few changes. Back in WoW there was no such a thing as a marker on the map guiding you to the quest spot, a big spot blinking in your face the message "you're an idiot, you're an idiot, you're an idiot'' because you can't even take a few minutes to REASON out the right place to go, you need the damn marker on the map... and today's players are happy to be dumb and play their games, and PAY for them, for god sake, they actually pay for being considered like idiots who can't even find the place to go for a quest, and a quest that works EXACTLY like those in the previous games.
This is easily explained: WoW had success because it managed to eliminate part of the hardmanships of levelling in mmo's, which sometimes felt like an insurmountable task, taking months. So since WoW BABYSITS you thru the levelling process, every other MMO after that had the goal of dumbing things further down, in the hope of another success.
MMO's is an industry that bases its success on how much dumber can the mass of players get... the dumber your game is, the more people you might attract.
Every industry is like that...
Wow clone is used before people even play the game. As soon as they hear it has levels and classes.
Its used on games that came before Wow. Its used on games with quests tat don't follow your formula. (Like Eve).
Its sort of entered parlance as a generic derogatory term. Thus its misuse and overuse.
Now, LOTRO has quests that fit into your Wow quest mold, but it plays different (at least for me). So blaming it on the quest structure doesn't really hold water.
Doesn't make sense, Quentin Tarantino doesn't direct movies for everyone, counting on dumbness to make the most money, He already knows many will hate them.
I never heard the term wow clone used for every MMO, just for the more evident ones. And it's weird anyway cause im pretty sure when i said it the first time i had made it up... could i be the unaware inventor?
Sure it may have been used in the wrong way, but the article doesn't say that, the article says it's ALWAYS used in the wrong way because there are NO wow clones.... which is ridiculous.
Doesn't make sense, Quentin Tarantino doesn't direct movies for everyone, counting on dumbness to make the most money, He already knows many will hate them.
I never heard the term wow clone used for every MMO, just for the more evident ones. And it's weird anyway cause im pretty sure when i said it the first time i had made it up... could i be the unaware inventor?
Sure it may have been used in the wrong way, but the article doesn't say that, the article says it's ALWAYS used in the wrong way because there are NO wow clones.... which is ridiculous.
No, it doesn't. say that.
What do i know though? I only wrote it.
Wasn't Everquest first? Hmm, certainly not Ultima. But I have the feeing there was something similar before Everquest and Asheron's Call...
Yup
Multiplayer examples:
Meridian 59
Any/all of the AOL Neverwinter Nights sagas
Insert any MUD, MUX or MOO as well here
Single Player examples:
Insert any Wizardry style single player RPG
Insert Bards Tale style RPG
Insert Ultima
Insert SSI D&D games
etc etc ad nausium, etc.
In short: WOW was FAR from the first and won't be the last and people need to realise it. Anytime I see someone write "WoW clone" I feel like the IQ of the world just went down a little.
No, it doesn't. say that.
What do i know though? I only wrote it.
yup you said it. you ONLY wrote it. Now plz read it. :D
jk
You said that almost any MMO(after wow ofc) has been called a WoW clone. And it's naturally true since they all are, except now Darkfall, truly different from it, of UO old breed.
But most importantly You said that people call 'em clones not because they BELIEVE that those quests work EXACTLY like WoW, like i do, but you think people say that referring to the generic concept of ''having quests'' which is the same old wordplay i had to stomach a dozen times ever since...
To be absolutely clear, this time and for all times, when we say ''this game is a wow clone because of the quests'', we're not referring to the generic gameplay element of a quest, but to the ACTUAL empirical way those specific quests are structured, which makes WAR quests a clone off WoW. The fact that you and all the persons i argued with in the last years about this(and they are SO damn many) don't even know quests aren't all the same, that you can't even single out the parts and bits that constitute a quest to discriminate the hundreds of ways these work from game to game(by stating that WoW quests come from RPG's you literally declared that WoW and, say, Planescape: Torment, quests are exactly the same, just quests), it's evident that you guys have no idea what you're talking about.
As for the problem of WHO DID IT FIRST, i'm finally able to solve this problem too, once and for goddamn all. EQ or DAOC might have had the same interface of WoW before WoW, and it even had the same old quest window, quest description, accept/decline buttons and rewards(DAOC had the quests, but they were way fewer, way harder to do, not funny at all)
But it's NEVER the real first ones who actually come up with something that get the merit of the invention, the merit ALWAYS goes to those who manage to do that thing well polished, perfected, those who make the thing so damn popular that everyone now starts reusing the same thing, even tho the actual invention wasn't his, HE's getting the merit, and it's right that he does so.
BECAUSE IT'S NOT THE VIKINGS WHO DISCOVERED AMERICA EVEN IF THEY DID, IT'S BLOODY COLUMBUS
I strongly dissagree that WoW Clone is a misused word. It is the devs that have "copied" so many WoW concepts in an attempt to get anywhere near the success that WoW is.
So the therm WoW clone is not misused but rather an accurate description of many MMORPGs these days. Unfourtantely I may add. However that does not make the therm misused, it is rather quite accurate.
For example, no one is using the word WoW clone for describing Mortal Online or Darkfail as those are very different from WoW. However games like WAR and Lotr are very similar to WoW as they are all linear, themepark MMORPGs that cater to the casual player. They have differences from each other and from WoW but their are fundamentally they all use the same base ingredients as WoW, this making them WoW clones. (and yes I know what a clone is but don't take the word literally, if so there is no such thing as a WoW clone because no MMORPG is a carbon copy of WoW as that would be illegal).
Hehe apparently koreans don't think it is illegal. ;)
But admittedly i might be thinking too much about graphics.
No, it doesn't. say that.
What do i know though? I only wrote it.
It doesn't say that but it certainly implies that by having a top ten of most MISUSED words and have WoW clone as nr 1. That would strongly imply that in most cases it is misused.
I find that highly inaccurate since most MMORPGs, released these days, are actually WoW clones and hence the word is very correctly used.
I do have to defend WoW here a little, despite the fact that I can't stand it or other games like it.
In a way, I do agree with the "Wow Clone" thing. WoW doesn't actually contain ANYTHING that didn't happen before it.
Several MMO's had levels, classes, instances, raids, pvp zones, etc.
It IS true, however, that most MMO's since WOW have tried deliberately to clone it's particular spin on all those things. Even an existing MMO's (SWG) was altered from a leveless, skill based, mostly sandbox form into one more resembling WoW, after it's success, and Smed even stated that "killing WoW" was a goal of it (said this in a Slashdot interview shortly after the NGE).
The problem though is that these would-be cloners and killers of WoW missed that which actually set WoW apart from all that has come before it and since it: Yep, the word "polish". So far ONLY WoW has come out in a complete and polished form, with no missing core features or glaring bugs at launch. While WoW isn't a particularly deep or innovative MMO, it has the virtue of working more or less flawlessly, not coming out 2/3rds done, expecting the subscriber base to pay subscription fees while they continued finishing the game.
In other words, it was the FIRST and so far ONLY MMO to release as an acual gold product, not as a "pay to test" "final beta" form.
This element, of course, is ignored by all the would be WoW clones and killers out there. They continue to release partly unfinished games, which was the norm from the dawn of the industry until WoW and expect their customers to pay for the final stage of development. Most MMO's released since WoW have failed as a result, MMO's released in the last 5 years seemingly have been cancelled much more often than older games. The two MMO's released in the "Wow Clone" era that have had decent success, LOTRO and WAR also represent the most polished of their generation at release.
Remember when SWG launched, and was missing player cities, mounts, vehicles, and space combat, which were all things promised at launch? Yet it still managed to pull 300K subs at it's peak. That sort of launch today would get you 100K in your first month then maybe 30K and falling after that, and cancellation within a year or two. Back then, though, we bought into the fantastic potential of it's sandbox and "make your own" profession skill system. Sadly they added the missing stuff then ripped out it's soul later on.
WoW killer, WoW clone, damn this guy must be a WoW fanboy so let me do the WoW hating (this was a joke).
Nice article, the picture associations were pretty funny, plus this article has a lot of truth. I'd really enjoy another round of misused words in MMOs written by you.
LOL!!!
If we counted everything that was called nextgen, as such, what gen would be one 10,000,000,000?
He certainly doesn't direct intellectual thinking movies that require a phd either. The simple stuff, violence, nudity,action, gets the money. Some high quality arty stuff that requires 2 brain cells doesn't make any money. Want to know how to fix GM? Invent a car thats so dumbed down, so mindless and worry free that anyone with opposable thumbs could use it safely, from children to the oldest of senior citizens. No license required. Possible? Probably not. But it would be the best selling car around.
Granted the idea of a 'clone of wow' is not a bad idea. We may actually see a direct knockoff of wow soon. I remember thinking many PnP games were clones of AD&D. However, the term itself IS widely misused. I've often seen it used and then when asked to describe the so called clone, they instead describe those facets that make up most any RPG. Its like people don't realize that the features of WoW that make it what it is are common to 95% of RPGs. I never have the heart to break it to them that perhaps they just don't like RPGs and should try a different genre of game.
That being said, merely listing classes/levels and even quests that ask for 5 pelts and using that to justify the cloneliness of a mmorpg is just assinine.
Your list sucks... and yes I am a "fanboi" of your list sucking... and yes I am a "hater" of your list. Your list is not "Innovative" enough and is a complete "failure". Your list reads like the editor put you in a "sandbox" or "theme park" and let you run wild with it. I was expecting a list of "real" MMO only words people miss use and got "vaporware". I guess your just not "hardcore" enough for MMORPG.com. So "polish" up your content and resubmit something good.
WOW clone is a highly mis used word ,because there is NEVER any truth to it.WOW "IS "a EQ clone,so everything thereafter should be referred to as an EQ clone NOT a WOW clone.Even to this day WOW continues to add EQ content,but giving it a different name for obvious reasons,too easy a lawsuit otherwise.I cannot think of one thing WOW innovated to call its own,and therefore using the word CLONE,on games that have been developed afterwards.
ROM could be considered a slight FFXI clone,but barely.VG is also a EQ clone but did add a touch of innovation,to give itself an identity.
DID you know WOW still
uses the ghost shard retrieval upon death,lmao,that is so old EQ, it is ridiculous.I have played TONS of games that did not copy that idea,as a matter of fact MOST do not use it.Most games do NOT use tiered spells,so really WOW is pretty much the ONLY EQ clone all other games try to do things a tad different.This "IS"the sad reality,that so many hold WOW in high reguards,yet shun the father, an identical game[better looking] in EQ2.
The "Ten Most Misused Words in MMO's." was a great article and there were many good point's. I enjoyed it, my fav part was the pic's on the side's with the little quote's next to it. Made the article have some great humor!
He certainly doesn't direct intellectual thinking movies that require a phd either. The simple stuff, violence, nudity,action, gets the money. Some high quality arty stuff that requires 2 brain cells doesn't make any money. Want to know how to fix GM? Invent a car thats so dumbed down, so mindless and worry free that anyone with opposable thumbs could use it safely, from children to the oldest of senior citizens. No license required. Possible? Probably not. But it would be the best selling car around.
Granted the idea of a 'clone of wow' is not a bad idea. We may actually see a direct knockoff of wow soon. I remember thinking many PnP games were clones of AD&D. However, the term itself IS widely misused. I've often seen it used and then when asked to describe the so called clone, they instead describe those facets that make up most any RPG. Its like people don't realize that the features of WoW that make it what it is are common to 95% of RPGs. I never have the heart to break it to them that perhaps they just don't like RPGs and should try a different genre of game.
That being said, merely listing classes/levels and even quests that ask for 5 pelts and using that to justify the cloneliness of a mmorpg is just assinine.
Please read the post after. You too mistake generic elements from unique elements.
The features that make WoW are generically all the elements of RPG's, but the SPECIFIC way each is hacked is of ITS OWN making, and that's what every other game after WoW cloned, not the generic element of "a quest''
If you can't see the difference between the typical WoW quest and a quest in Vampire Bloodlines, it's your bad.
I did read your specifics. Not too many, icons over head, rectangular window, text, yes/no, changed icon. Other than the icon over the head, all of the facets were done and done well by earlier games. If anything, wow was the clone. The big complaint about WoW when it came out was that it didn't bring anything new to the table, everything else was copied from earlier games. Their only innovation as far as i can see was that icon. It gets credit for polishing the genre, thats about it.
As to the argument that its whoever perfected the feature gets the credit, no, its usually whoever popularizes it gets the credit, its never really perfected. So EQ/DAOC should get credit, not WOW.
It did invent and popularize that icon. If you want WOW clone to mean 'floating icon over the head', okay. Rather meaningless if you ask me. I guess i'll call everything that uses a rectangular window a DAOC clone.
Having played both EQ and WoW for 6 months each I can't disagree more that WoW is NOT a EQ-clone. WoW is casual friendly and EQ is anti-casual friendly as it had long downtimes in combat (something that is unheard of now post WoW). Also EQ had huge zones and cities where you could easily get lost where as in WoW everything was pointed out to you, either on the map or on the screen. Furthermore WoW had instancing which changed ALOT on how things worked and was also very solo friendly, where as EQ more or less required you to be in a group and the death penalty was high, by todays standards.
So where as WoW did copy some of the basica elements of EQ, like linear, class based leveling system, they were VERY different. What made WoW so special, and probably so popular, is that it was extremely casual friendly. An 8 year old could do most of the content in the game and all it required was some time, and not much at that since WoW had an extremely fast leveling curve for that time.
Finally WoW topped it of by having, arguably, one of the most proffessional PC gaming development companies behind it. Blizzard is infamous for creating solid and stable games that cater to the masses. And that was probably the main reason why EQ 2 didn't take of, the system reqs was steep high and the game was not very stable when released, on most peoples systems, where as WoW was.
So I don't think you are giving Blizzard credit enough. They certainly did not make a EQ clone, they took EQ and transformed it, simplified it and made it cater to the masses. And ever since WoWs huge success now every company is looking at WoW and trying to copy the casual friendly elements that they perfected, not realising that a copy of a game will not be a success unless it has something truly innovative that the copy does not have and none of the many WoW clones released, Lotr, WAR, AoC, have any of that.
However if you want a EQ clone then DAoC is that, it is basically a EQ light version with RvR introduced (the innovative thing that made the game a success, even though the game was essentially a EQ clone). WoW was certainly not.
"The truth of hardcore is that it is about the amount of hours put in, not what people enjoy doing in those hours."
I disagree with this statement. It's not about the hours but rather the passion. Someone could only spend 2 hours a week playing a particular game but the passion that they bring for those 2 hours is what determines if they are hardcore or not.
More time does not equal hardcore, rather the seriousness that one holds for a game is what defines them as a player.
Sure, WoW way of questing was already at its core in DAOC. But DAOC's quests were way less, way harder, slower, boring. WoW made 'em more accessible, easy to accomplish, easy to take, guiding you from lvl 1 to lvl cap... they became ''fun''(not for me, i hate that kind of accessible fun), in a way they are unique.
If WoW didn't DO anything new, then why did every MMO after it reuse the same core mechanics? Why were all MMo's before WoW unique in every aspect, and then they were all EXACTLY the same in the quest gameplay? I tell you why, because WoW invented a winning formula for quests nobody had come up with that became an accepted standard. And again im not talking about generic similarities of the concept of quests, but the same in every way.
But even if WoW didn't invent anything new, it still has the merit(not a merit for me, it bastardized the genre, made it for kids) of having made the genre a protitable business, a genre for the big masses... that alone is a great reason to call every mmo like it(and like EQ/DAOC) a wow clone.
Because as i said, everyone knows vikings went to america first, but Columbus made it known to the masses, so he gets the merit.
It may be true that "it's just a game." But these games, especially MMOs, are connected to people .... like you! Much, much more sophisticated than playing Monopoly or Life, eh? :)
Why do we like the term WOW Clone...because there really hasn't been much innovation in the MMORPG industry other than a few games....like AC1 and Eve Online...the rest of have been D&D knockoffs using the same leveling paradigm...Just because your not innovative doesn't mean that you can't be fun...which some of these games have been...Being innovative will be done by independent shops...because it's easier to copy than to be truly innovative...
Heh...even though my arguments have to use some of the terms that are over used...doesn't mean they are any less true.
Actually the quest system was used by AC2 before WOW(a game designed by Turbine and MS....it even used the symbol above the head...if anything WOW cloned AC2 but did a better job of polishing it and putting it in a traditional Fantasy setting ;)
Hehe, a good read.
There are a lot of fishy, over-used and hollow phrases in this terrain. Like "epic" or "massive" or "brutal". Every second new MMO is either brutal or visceral these days. Or iconic!
Usually it is the typical result of too much hot PR air.
Actually the quest system was used by AC2 before WOW(a game designed by Turbine and MS....it even used the symbol above the head...if anything WOW cloned AC2 but did a better job of polishing it and putting it in a traditional Fantasy setting ;)
Very well.
It's as if you came up with the lightbulb but didn't ''tell'' anyone. Then I manage to spread it worldwide because i made it so ''pretty'' looking, and now everyone uses the exact same thing... not YOUR version which was ugly-looking, but mine. So the one who gets the merit(in this case the blame) is THAT who made it an accepted worldwide standard... WoW... even tho the ideas aren't original.
Thus explaining why we call the new mmo's ''WoW clones''
Very well.
It's as if you came up with the lightbulb but didn't ''tell'' anyone. Then I manage to spread it worldwide because i made it so ''pretty'' looking, and now everyone uses the exact same thing. So the one who gets the merit(in this case the blame) is THAT who made it an accepted worldwide standard... WoW... even tho the ideas aren't original.
Thus explaining why we call the new mmo's ''WoW clones''
No we call it a WOW Clone...because they are the 800 lb gorilla...not because they came up with anything original...
thought for sure "NOOB" woulda been number 1 on that list..lol
Great list.
You may have included a similarly coined phrase "Wow sucks" as a Misused.
The game is great, many of us just don't like it anymore or perhaps never did. But saying the game is bad is just as arrogant as thinking the only good music on the planet is the stuff you're in to, while hating on all the rest. Especially all that pop/rap/country music thats just terrible
Exactly. It seems the term is not used because its accurate, or correct, but because its easy. Its a dumbed down term for dumbed down people to describe what some people mistakenly feel is a dumbed down game.
And i'd just as rather use the more accurate term.
That's the point of the entry. WoW was FAR from the first to do it.
It's missing the point of the term - "WOW clone" implies that the developers intentionally made systems/mechanics in their game similar to WOW's system/mechanics in order to try to copy its success, rather than try to innovate or try something new.
The reverse is also true. MMO developers who do try to deviate too far from the WOW clone model, such as Darkfall, are trashed for how much they aren't a WOW clone.
I will call it "WOW-clone-itis" - the expectation that a new MMO will have game systems that are WOW-like.
I would like to disagree with the Hardcore definition.
Just like how the afformentioned "hardcore" porn isnt just porn that goes on for a long time.
Its in reference to the intensity.
A hardcore gamer is somebody who plays the game much more "intensly"
I don't play games 10 hours a day, my buddy plays wow 12 hours a day.
Nobody would consider him hardcore really, he just chats and farms.
Where as everyone I know refers to me as a hardcore gamer, yet I work most of the day and play video games 4-5 hours if im lucky on a work day.
The difference is, I'm always trying to accomplish something, im min/max'ing, competing and playing in a much mroe intesnse style.
There is a correlation between time played and intensity, but I think you have the causation reveresed. Hardcore playing lends itself to long play hours, but long play hours doesnt lend itself to hardcore play.
If time was all it took, secondlife would be chalked full of "hardcore" gamers.
I do not consider the term WoW clone indicative of a game involving "swords" or "quests" but more along the lines of basic concepts, every MMO maker wants to have a woW clone under their belt, a successful MMO, or alternatively a game which has no real ideas of it's own just combining ideas from WoW and a few oher MMOs.
Hithero, WoW is an everquest clone.
Then you are pretty much going to call every game a wow clone, whether it is or isn't.
You will have to login to all of them. They are all going to have servers, you will have avatars that are only on one server at a time. Your avatar will have clothes. You will be able to chat with other avatars around you. There will be avatars not played by a player (called NPCs). You will have the option of moving around by WASD. etc etc etc
Pretty useless way to describe a WoW clone, if thats all it takes.
"WoW clone" exists due in part because WoW is largely responsible for exposing mmorpgs to what I would consider to be the "mainstream".
Before WoW, from what I've observed, it wasn't everyone and their brother who even knew what an MMO was. I hesitate to use the term cult. It's not entirely accurate, but it does give you a general idea of what I mean. The people who used to play rpgs were cult-like in the sense that, comparatively speaking, there just weren't that many.
Before world of warcraft, mmorpgs were much different as a rule. The character progression was much slower and required a larger dedication, and since the human animal is a lazy beast, didn't appeal to the masses. Pre-wow, an RPG took true love and devotion.
What blizzard did, in essence, was take a really big, good book and turn it into a two hour mediocre movie. Sure it's not as rich and invested, but it's quick and easy. With only a small investment in time, you can accomplish quite a bit, and it doesn't necessarily take a small army to get it done (think grinding static camps for hours...)
As a consequence, people who wouldn't get within a mile of a good RPG suddenly got interested. It appealed to more mature, busier players who could afford to slip in an hour of wow time in between paying bills and hanging out with the kids. It appealed more to younger kids who have both very short attention spans and curfews/limits on their pc time. What's that get you? 11.5 million subs instead of 300 thousand.
Granted I'm just pulling random numbers out of the air, but of those 11.5 million subs, this is probably the first exposure to an RPG for 10 million of them. Since this is their first RPG, they subconsciously think it's THE "first" RPG. You and I both know that couldn't be more wrong, but that's how they think. And as a consequence, they use WoW as the measuring stick for every game that comes out after, because suddenly they're ::cough:: experts of the genre.
Most people can't help but use the term "WoW clone" because they truly believe it. They think blizzard invented elves and magic and interactive combat. They've only heard of tolkien because of the newest movie franchise, they probably still don't know who Robert Howard is, Gary Gygax was just some character in a Futurama episode, And what exactly is a drow, anyway? When they say "WoW clone" they really mean it. It's a shame, but they do.
World of Warcraft is simultainiously the genre's greatest achievement and its most epic failure. It gave the MMORPG world it's largest exposure ever. Us "old timers" certainly don't have any trouble finding companions to adventure with these days. But it streamlined it so much that people who don't have a passion for RPGs now have time to dabble, influence, and ultimately corrupt the genre. Then they get bored and go play halo and leave the rest of us with a husk that's unchallenging and unengaging.
But then again, this could all just be unenlightened conjecture.
I have to agree totaly with what saberune just wrote and it's a shame.
I'll just take my girlfriend as reference:
Started playing WoW with her because I tested it and she wanted to try it too, so we played for a year. Now I quit the game again because I got bored and couldnt really get myself in the game like I could with other games and I didnt like the Community.
So She is still playing and whenever we're watching a movie/trailer/whatever of a new/old mmorpg, she's comparing details like the UI or skillbar with WoW as if it was the first game ever, like saberune said they would do (yea it was her first mmorpg).
Even now that we started playing good old Everquest 2, she's comparing every second most basic detail of the game with what it is in WoW. Kind of sad bud true, World of Warcraft's influence on the genre, for me, is a curse.
Good article, I'd wonder though if we could create a special MMO Hell just for those "leet" speakers, god I just want to smack them when I see that garbage
So, basically, what you're saying is that these "stupid sayings" come from everyone. Well, forgive me for saying this, but one would have thought that was pretty obvious.
I'd prefer to be rich and be popular to a large majority with an evolved product, than be uninteresting and poor with an "innovative" product that only a small amount like. It's a waste of effort designing a product which YOU like but no one else does. Not every idea is a good one.
Gone are the days whereby a game can be designed in a garage and live off a mediocre income. That isn't WoW's fault. Blizzard certainly cannot be blamed for the world economic crisis (though I'm sure someone somewhere will try). Hate WoW all you like for being popular, but it doesn't change the fact that Blizzard are pulling in excess of $100 million per month. I don't play WoW, but even I can recognise the fact that they refined the MMO formula to appeal to a greater audience. They gambled, and won the lottery.
The only part of this article I have to disagree with is what makes an MMO a failure. MMO's dont have to be the next WoW killer to be suceessful, but niether does turning a slight profit does make them a sucess. You have to consider the power of the IP behind teh product as well. Lord Of The Rings isteh biggest name in fantasy. People on the other side of the world have heard of it. People who never read the books or saw the movies have still heard of it. My MOM has heard of it. For a game with that much instant recognion to barely have 300k subscribers is pathetic. Who cares if they make enough to keep the servers running, in the stock market if you dont meet expectation, your a failure. The number one IP in the market should be remotely close to having the number one share of the market to be a sucess. So its 11.5 million vs 300k. Thats epic failure. An being a hater I would say thats Turbine for you. The same with Age of Conan. What a waste of potential.
LOL... Too many WoW Clones? And what is WoW?
Try reading the article about misusing words before misusing exactly the term you are misusing :P
But I agree 100% with the first statement of the post - I am a carebear myself, mining, industrials, BPC, BPO, and so on ;-)
Wasn't Everquest first? Hmm, certainly not Ultima. But I have the feeing there was something similar before Everquest and Asheron's Call...
All the games you mention are just evolutions of other games before them.
Before everquest there was Ultima Online, and before UO there were MUDs, and before "popular" MUDS there were Moria (CGA Style FTW), and before Moria there was Tabletop, and before Tabletop there was... and so on... and so on... and so on...
Each of the games add something new to the game/genre (They better) - and if you take all these games, and peel one layer of evolution off the GUI, you'll find the previous game. WoW Fanboys who are 16 years old, were practically raised in a wow world, and EQ fanboys who are 20 years old were raised in an EQ world, and so on... but please, don't start taking up your game as the original for anything, because odds are, it wasn't.
PS: I've never used the word "fanboy" before, but the article made me want to try it, and since the zidane-person proved exactly one point of the article, with his fanboyism´; another point of the article, I thought it was funny :)
'A' to attack is one of the bizzrrest things to use to classify things as a wow clone. Effectively, all RTS games use that, most flight sims have a lock on and single fire button for missles, many baseball sims have one button to place a batter up to hit and you watch how he does against the pitcher.
All of these games use stats (other than reflexes) to figure out how effective the attack is, and indeed, the whole point is to avoid twitch in those cases.
I'm not real sure what you mean by ""Click to Attack", and watch the fight style combat" as applied to the combat system of WoW. I know that surely isn't the way I experience it.. in any way, shape or form. If that was the case there certainly wouldn't be any need for voice communications during raids in order to execute a particular strategy for bosses. Would be more like.. "Ok, everybody.. click now. GG. We win."... but it's not like that at all. During raids you watch for things that are happening, and give the proper response, in real time. Example, boss starts casting searing flames, they must immediately be interrupted. There is no turn based anything in there. Please explain to me how you consider this "Psuedo-turn based". Maybe I'm missing something but I really don't get what your gripe is with the mechanics or how it could be done better.
I know that during our raids things can sometimes happen so fast it's hard to mentally process and react to them in time. The only thing I can think of that you could be referring to would be the global cooldown, but then many actions are instants. I really can't fathom how combat in WoW could be any more "real time" without being a FPS.
Before you go calling me a fanboi one more thing.. about the polish issue.. lol. I guess maybe at release WoW was more "finished" than some of it's competition. I firmly believe that has long been relegated to a buzzword now. There are so many small issues, bugs and unresolved "promised" bits it's not even funny anymore. Druids have been left with what amounts to placeholder art for *years*, only now are they getting around to updating tired and downright broken models/textures. Several pieces have very broken texturing. Falling through the ground bugs.. being stuck and needing a GM to move you to a safe place, reviving on a totally different continent than what you were just on.. the list goes on and on. I guess nobody was around for the 2+weeks of "beta on live servers" as many reffered to it when the patch just *before* LK went live last year when all the new assets were brought into the client. Now still we have promised features from this expansion nowhere to be seen.. hunter ammo changes, dance changes.. just off the top of my head. So there. It's really not that polished.
You forgot 'Next-Generation' :)
Yes, developers feel the need to put a fancy word on in order to described pieces of plastic, overpriced and easily breakable pieces of crap in order to make them sell better.
To the people above that use this term, the reason you have backlash against it is WOW ripped off every game that came before it. Most of the race/job combos from WOW were directly lifted from the warhammer IP. Hotbars? How about just about every single MMO before it. Click on mob click on ability to kill it? Not even close to first on that one. So yes, to the rest of your 12 year old friends I'm sure this is an apt description as they know nothing of what came before it. The funny part that makes you look really stupid saying things like 'WOW clone' is that many of those games that were 'ripped off' are still being played today.
I don't believe anyone has ripped off anyone else but used that in quoteing the wow fan of nonsensically enthusiastic support(didn't want to use THAT word in the list but it might apply here). To say anyone is ripping off someone else in this genre is to also claim that any car with wheels ripped off Honda's idea for the Civic...
Sadly all this talk by people saying they use the term wow-clone is just as a previous poster said, a term used by people that either were born in the mid 90's or don't know what they're talking about. When Dark Age of Camelot was in beta all anyone could say was EQ-clone! Look at that guy with the sword attacking that thing! EQ clone!
You completely forgot the #1 misused term of all...
MMORPG
I know I'm necroing this post, but I just had to say the mmo word I had most is GAY.
Do people know that Gay means fun. What's wrong wtih a game being fun anyways?
Wasn't Everquest first? Hmm, certainly not Ultima. But I have the feeing there was something similar before Everquest and Asheron's Call...
All the games you mention are just evolutions of other games before them.
Before everquest there was Ultima Online, and before UO there were MUDs, and before "popular" MUDS there were Moria (CGA Style FTW), and before Moria there was Tabletop, and before Tabletop there was... and so on... and so on... and so on...
Each of the games add something new to the game/genre (They better) - and if you take all these games, and peel one layer of evolution off the GUI, you'll find the previous game. WoW Fanboys who are 16 years old, were practically raised in a wow world, and EQ fanboys who are 20 years old were raised in an EQ world, and so on... but please, don't start taking up your game as the original for anything, because odds are, it wasn't.
PS: I've never used the word "fanboy" before, but the article made me want to try it, and since the zidane-person proved exactly one point of the article, with his fanboyism´; another point of the article, I thought it was funny :)
WoW Clone will fade just like Doom Clone faded. BTW Doom wasn't the first first-person shooter either but they did it better and bigger than Wolfenstein (if I remember right that was the first).
Eventually WoW and WoW Clones will be known by whatever moniker the gaming world decides to group them in. Whether it be MMORPG, MMO, Fantasy MMO, or one to yet be coined. It took over 10 years for Doom Clone to fade. You can figure WoW Clone will stick around at least that long.
EDIT: Great list BTW. Must read for all the forum elitists. Afterall they are the ones that generally overuse these phrases.
I think were all missing something here about the term ,”WoW clone” The Op is right in his description but that's only half of it's meaning, we must remember that WoW,( like it or leave it) has a very public view, it's one of the most publicised mmorpg's in the market and one of the most well known mmorpg in the western world, you could go up to nearly anyone in the street and ask them to name an mmorpg, they would most likely say ,”World of Warcraft” it's become a point of reference for a lot of people, has mentioned in this thread already, people have grown up with this game,
So what I'm trying to say is, most of the time when people say,
” It's a WoW clone!”
all there just trying to say is,
“It's just like WoW” or “It plays a lot like WoW” or even “ It looks a lot like WoW”
not everyone is saying,
“It's a rip off of WoW, because WoW is the one and only, praise WoW!”
Maybe it didn't start off that way, but I think that's what it has become for a lot of people, instead of being an aggressive term it's just become a simple term for a reference point, this is not to say that it doesn't get used in the aggressive any more, it's just that it also gets used as a reference as well.
Anyway I guess that's my opinion or was that a different thread,
Great top ten list, I think it needs to be lengthened to a Top twenty list, or possibly a dictionary.
step one to not being a noob: don't use words like lads/lasses
you have 99 steps to go