I haven't even played Guild Wars 1, but the Manifesto got me excited. Honestly, it looks like a step forward. Like Extra Credits summed up nicely last week, it's not trying to copy WoW. Copying WoW is like a shooter copying HL2 because "it was successful" - it's still an outdated game, despite the mods.
What they describe on their site sounds suspiciously familiar to what the biggest contemporary MUDs have achieved - a world that's dynamic and even hostile to the player, always giving him motivation to advance and group up with others. The goal of the game becomes playing the game, not munching "crunchy bits" at regular (and expanding) intervals. Of course, MUDs have the advantage of a small, easily monitored player base and the lack of graphics, so I suppose making an equally complex and immersive MMORPG would be really costly.
And since they insist on being "story-heavy", it actually looks like it could be a multiplayer role-playing fantasy. Not a social network with glorified minigames and collectibles.
The funeral part would be awesome, but a little over the top. Maybe in a couple of years, MMOGs will be populated with NPCs that have daily cycles and scripted reactions, like in Bethesda games. Until then, I'm satisfied with: "If players don't react, enemy armies independently conquer territory, establish bases, disrupt trade and send patrols and snipers to threaten wandering players." This sense of crisis might be just enough to create a more tightly-knit community.
