I always wanted to learn more about the steampunk genre. Now I get to see what its like AND play a game with it. Hopefully it goes well.
New Bungie MMO
- Thread starter Michael Brunson
- Start date
As much as i am looking forward to a new Bungie game, i'm afraid i'll have to say what i always say whenever a studio makes whispers about developing a new MMO - Good Night Sweet Prince.
Trying to dip your fingers into the mythical honeypot of niche demographic that is the MMO genre is the final nail in the coffin of an otherwise successful (or not so) industry that is trying to roll the dice. It never works and it ultimately ends up in crushing the developers. You don't need to be a doomsayer to see how The Old Republic is going to cripple Bioware in terms of finance and reputation (People who say TOR looks good may be excited for it now, but it'll inevitably fade into obscurity due to a shoddy release, inevitable bugs and glitches, or complete lack of shine and polish that make such well established MMOs like WoW the monoliths they are today. People seem to forget that it took 7 years of patching to get it where it is today and assume new out of the box MMOs are going to be just the same level of quality)and i'm willing to bet this will also put Bungie to rest. Especially seeing as how they lost their cash cow to Microsoft after washing their hands of the Halo franchise; it's like a desperate attempt to try and keep themselves afloat and hope they hit the jackpot. It's like Tyrone says; You gotta risk it all, if you're ever really gonna... Win! BIG!
I also never really got the appeal behind 'Steampunk'. Alternate histories are neat and everything, but the concept just seems so... staggered. How can you live in a futuristic world that uses primitive technology and concepts? As i understand it, 'steampunk' is basically sci-fi with ancient methods of powering machinery (like, surprise surprise, steam powered engines) with fashion from the ancient era to match. Like living on a space station where people dress up from ye olde Victorian England. It works very well in a dystopian setting such as Bioshock, because this meshing of past and future lends itself very well to dystopia; the idea that this marriage of form and function from different eras causes conflict, and ultimately, disaster. But to celebrate it outside of horror or the surreal just seems outright bizarre to me.
Trying to dip your fingers into the mythical honeypot of niche demographic that is the MMO genre is the final nail in the coffin of an otherwise successful (or not so) industry that is trying to roll the dice. It never works and it ultimately ends up in crushing the developers. You don't need to be a doomsayer to see how The Old Republic is going to cripple Bioware in terms of finance and reputation (People who say TOR looks good may be excited for it now, but it'll inevitably fade into obscurity due to a shoddy release, inevitable bugs and glitches, or complete lack of shine and polish that make such well established MMOs like WoW the monoliths they are today. People seem to forget that it took 7 years of patching to get it where it is today and assume new out of the box MMOs are going to be just the same level of quality)and i'm willing to bet this will also put Bungie to rest. Especially seeing as how they lost their cash cow to Microsoft after washing their hands of the Halo franchise; it's like a desperate attempt to try and keep themselves afloat and hope they hit the jackpot. It's like Tyrone says; You gotta risk it all, if you're ever really gonna... Win! BIG!
I also never really got the appeal behind 'Steampunk'. Alternate histories are neat and everything, but the concept just seems so... staggered. How can you live in a futuristic world that uses primitive technology and concepts? As i understand it, 'steampunk' is basically sci-fi with ancient methods of powering machinery (like, surprise surprise, steam powered engines) with fashion from the ancient era to match. Like living on a space station where people dress up from ye olde Victorian England. It works very well in a dystopian setting such as Bioshock, because this meshing of past and future lends itself very well to dystopia; the idea that this marriage of form and function from different eras causes conflict, and ultimately, disaster. But to celebrate it outside of horror or the surreal just seems outright bizarre to me.
It's a steampunk game....
Bungie have just made my day.
*runs around room in excitement*
@Gralian : Steampunk isn't 'sci fi' up to space stations mostly. Steampunk universes are usually set in an alternate reality in the 1900's where steam power has been further developed. Most have frankenstein like creations in and some have magic in existence.
It's a bit like Fallouts idea of the nuclear age continuing on if you see what I mean.
Like you said it lends itself very well to horror.
Bungie have just made my day.
*runs around room in excitement*
@Gralian : Steampunk isn't 'sci fi' up to space stations mostly. Steampunk universes are usually set in an alternate reality in the 1900's where steam power has been further developed. Most have frankenstein like creations in and some have magic in existence.
It's a bit like Fallouts idea of the nuclear age continuing on if you see what I mean.
Like you said it lends itself very well to horror.
Bungie did something right with Halo - until they let go of it - so I'm on board. Where do I preorder this MMO?
I just hope it's free to play. It'll probably be a console MMO seeing as Bungie is currently trying to hire PS3 engineers.
I just hope it's free to play. It'll probably be a console MMO seeing as Bungie is currently trying to hire PS3 engineers.
Well to be fair, Halo borrowed many plot elements and visuals from Bungie's previous sci-fi shooter opus, the Marathon series.Selvec said:
Anyway, I'm not sure it's such a good idea to plunge into the crowded and risky MMO market, but a steampunk theme would be pretty neat. If Bungie brings some genuinely new and interesting gameplay conventions to the table they just might carve a sizeable niche for themselves (since it appears nothing can stop the juggernaut that is World of Warcraft).
False. Just another rumor already said to be false.
From a post on the Neogaf forums from Urk the main community manager at Bungie
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=28568501&postcount=12213
"We're not making a Steampunk game.
"
IMO it was either just a convenient meeting spot for whoever was asking to meet or it'll have something to do with their Bungie Day festivities on 7/7 when they give their final farewell to the Halo series completely as they give Reach's post-launch support over to 343 Industries.
Maybe something to do with their "Pimps at Sea" running in-joke.
From a post on the Neogaf forums from Urk the main community manager at Bungie
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=28568501&postcount=12213
"We're not making a Steampunk game.
"IMO it was either just a convenient meeting spot for whoever was asking to meet or it'll have something to do with their Bungie Day festivities on 7/7 when they give their final farewell to the Halo series completely as they give Reach's post-launch support over to 343 Industries.
Maybe something to do with their "Pimps at Sea" running in-joke.