WoW Sequel Could "Kill Off Franchise"

[Elurindel]

I agree with blizz, it's going fine as it is and from what i've seen the sotry line is to continue and dive deeper in the normal WoW. Also why make WoW2 when theres over 11 million active subscribers on WoW today. I think if they made a WoW2 or a spinoff then people would just think blizz is being overly greedy.

The storyline got deeper? When? When we had to kill rogue zombies? Or was it the bats, or wolves that really added something to the depth of events set in motion by Warcraft 3? No, wait! I got it! It was killing a couple of respawning humans that added something!

As opposed to the hundreds of grunts and footmen you would churn out in Warcraft 3? The respawning creeps at creep points? The fact that your heroes would res from the dead with only a minor time and gold cost?

I'm sorry, what was your point?

Remember the cutscenes at al? Those bits that cut away from, you know, the scene, in order to progress the plot further? The in-game movies? Mission briefings? Ring a bell? *Warning, Sarcasm is reaching critical mass*

Remember the quest details? The progress of a questline? Those bits where you get to read a little bit about the goings on in the wider world? The in-game movies?

No? Not bloody surprising. Hardly the first person to get selective tunnel vision.

Right, me and the millions of other people who've already done these things before and have absolutely no impact on the world at large. That's the problem with MMOs, they hang in a kind of stasis, only really moving forward when the developers advance it. I don't expect that to change anytime soon, but I preferred the WC storyline when it was moving along at a pace I could actually see.

 

[Amnestic]

I agree with blizz, it's going fine as it is and from what i've seen the sotry line is to continue and dive deeper in the normal WoW. Also why make WoW2 when theres over 11 million active subscribers on WoW today. I think if they made a WoW2 or a spinoff then people would just think blizz is being overly greedy.

The storyline got deeper? When? When we had to kill rogue zombies? Or was it the bats, or wolves that really added something to the depth of events set in motion by Warcraft 3? No, wait! I got it! It was killing a couple of respawning humans that added something!

As opposed to the hundreds of grunts and footmen you would churn out in Warcraft 3? The respawning creeps at creep points? The fact that your heroes would res from the dead with only a minor time and gold cost?

I'm sorry, what was your point?

Remember the cutscenes at al? Those bits that cut away from, you know, the scene, in order to progress the plot further? The in-game movies? Mission briefings? Ring a bell? *Warning, Sarcasm is reaching critical mass*

Remember the quest details? The progress of a questline? Those bits where you get to read a little bit about the goings on in the wider world? The in-game movies?

No? Not bloody surprising. Hardly the first person to get selective tunnel vision.

The impact upon the in-game world is non-existent - thats the point of an MMORPG, it must continue. Hell, the only thing you can do that would count as a major plot even is killing the big End-Game boss, and if you're up to that point the plot means very little, as it has been lost in the game mechanics.

Surely the impact of killing a boss in any game is non-existant, as you can just restart the level and BAM they're right back there. Only difference between an MMO and a normal game is that you don't get control of the reset button. Well, not all the time, quite amusingly you do get control of the reset button on a few of WoW's instances.

So let me ask you this: With the knowledge of the Restart button, what's the difference in regards to impact on the game world? Impact on the story?

 

[SenseOfTumour]

I probably should mention the new 'phasing' involved in WOTLK as we're on the subject.

SPOILERS if you haven't made a Death Knight yet! (Tho I'll try to be vague)

You start out above the Plaguelands. going down and causing havoc, eventually burning a town down. Now after that quest, the town will be on fire. However, to anyone who hasn't done that yet, it's still in perfect condition. Also as a Death Knight, I went to a certain area, and found it deserted, knowing it's normally got some NPCs there. near the end of the quest chain, I had a huge event there, and the NPCs show up to be involved, and as we leave, they've set up there to stay.

What I'm saying is Blizz have found a way for the plot and surroundings to change as you interact with it, and I'm sure there'll be more examples of this later on.

Its a tough one to pull off, but they've bothered to do it, despite knowing they could just keep churning out another 500 grind quests and still keep 10 out of 11 million players paying.

To me , WOTLK is the best thing that ever happened to WOW and the Death Knight starting area is the best few hours of gaming I've ever had in an MMO.

 

[Amnestic]

I agree with blizz, it's going fine as it is and from what i've seen the sotry line is to continue and dive deeper in the normal WoW. Also why make WoW2 when theres over 11 million active subscribers on WoW today. I think if they made a WoW2 or a spinoff then people would just think blizz is being overly greedy.

The storyline got deeper? When? When we had to kill rogue zombies? Or was it the bats, or wolves that really added something to the depth of events set in motion by Warcraft 3? No, wait! I got it! It was killing a couple of respawning humans that added something!

As opposed to the hundreds of grunts and footmen you would churn out in Warcraft 3? The respawning creeps at creep points? The fact that your heroes would res from the dead with only a minor time and gold cost?

I'm sorry, what was your point?

Remember the cutscenes at al? Those bits that cut away from, you know, the scene, in order to progress the plot further? The in-game movies? Mission briefings? Ring a bell? *Warning, Sarcasm is reaching critical mass*

Remember the quest details? The progress of a questline? Those bits where you get to read a little bit about the goings on in the wider world? The in-game movies?

No? Not bloody surprising. Hardly the first person to get selective tunnel vision.

The impact upon the in-game world is non-existent - thats the point of an MMORPG, it must continue. Hell, the only thing you can do that would count as a major plot even is killing the big End-Game boss, and if you're up to that point the plot means very little, as it has been lost in the game mechanics.

Surely the impact of killing a boss in any game is non-existant, as you can just restart the level and BAM they're right back there. Only difference between an MMO and a normal game is that you don't get control of the reset button. Well, not all the time, quite amusingly you do get control of the reset button on a few of WoW's instances.

So let me ask you this: With the knowledge of the Restart button, what's the difference in regards to impact on the game world? Impact on the story?

Because there is a story beyond the boss. If I were to spend the next 3 months of my life on WOW, and get my Level 70 Warlock to a point that would allow him to take on northend, run the final instance, and kill the Lich King, when I emerge, nothings changed. The armies of the Lich still run rampant - I've made no impact.

There's a story beyond the Lich King in WoW. I'd assume, I mean, he's not yet released so I can't really say. You've made as much impact as you want to make. Suspension of disbelief is the name of the game and for people who game so much I'm really quite surprised people don't do more of it. In my eyes, I kill the Lich King and he's gone for good. Any undead left are just leftovers to be mopped up. How difficult is it to think that? Just because the game doesn't hold your hand through the story leading you along its merry merry way doesn't mean the story isn't there. Yes, the game world doesn't evolve around you due to logistical reasons, but to say that there's no story is just wrong, I'm afraid.

 

[Izail08]

I agree with blizz, it's going fine as it is and from what i've seen the sotry line is to continue and dive deeper in the normal WoW. Also why make WoW2 when theres over 11 million active subscribers on WoW today. I think if they made a WoW2 or a spinoff then people would just think blizz is being overly greedy.

The storyline got deeper? When? When we had to kill rogue zombies? Or was it the bats, or wolves that really added something to the depth of events set in motion by Warcraft 3? No, wait! I got it! It was killing a couple of respawning humans that added something!

As opposed to the hundreds of grunts and footmen you would churn out in Warcraft 3? The respawning creeps at creep points? The fact that your heroes would res from the dead with only a minor time and gold cost?

I'm sorry, what was your point?

Remember the cutscenes at al? Those bits that cut away from, you know, the scene, in order to progress the plot further? The in-game movies? Mission briefings? Ring a bell? *Warning, Sarcasm is reaching critical mass*

Remember the quest details? The progress of a questline? Those bits where you get to read a little bit about the goings on in the wider world? The in-game movies?

No? Not bloody surprising. Hardly the first person to get selective tunnel vision.

The impact upon the in-game world is non-existent - thats the point of an MMORPG, it must continue. Hell, the only thing you can do that would count as a major plot even is killing the big End-Game boss, and if you're up to that point the plot means very little, as it has been lost in the game mechanics.

Surely the impact of killing a boss in any game is non-existant, as you can just restart the level and BAM they're right back there. Only difference between an MMO and a normal game is that you don't get control of the reset button. Well, not all the time, quite amusingly you do get control of the reset button on a few of WoW's instances.

So let me ask you this: With the knowledge of the Restart button, what's the difference in regards to impact on the game world? Impact on the story?

Because there is a story beyond the boss. If I were to spend the next 3 months of my life on WOW, and get my Level 70 Warlock to a point that would allow him to take on northend, run the final instance, and kill the Lich King, when I emerge, nothings changed. The armies of the Lich still run rampant - I've made no impact.

There's a story beyond the Lich King in WoW. I'd assume, I mean, he's not yet released so I can't really say. You've made as much impact as you want to make. Suspension of disbelief is the name of the game and for people who game so much I'm really quite surprised people don't do more of it. In my eyes, I kill the Lich King and he's gone for good. Any undead left are just leftovers to be mopped up. How difficult is it to think that? Just because the game doesn't hold your hand through the story leading you along its merry merry way doesn't mean the story isn't there. Yes, the game world doesn't evolve around you due to logistical reasons, but to say that there's no story is just wrong, I'm afraid.

You are correct, there is a story, and it does require some suspension of disbelief. What gets me is the fact that, while you can imagine that once you kill the Lich King (or Illidan, Ragnaros, etc) that they're gone forever, that falters the next time my guild goes in to kill the same guy again...and again...and again...

 

[GothmogII]

I agree with blizz, it's going fine as it is and from what i've seen the sotry line is to continue and dive deeper in the normal WoW. Also why make WoW2 when theres over 11 million active subscribers on WoW today. I think if they made a WoW2 or a spinoff then people would just think blizz is being overly greedy.

The storyline got deeper? When? When we had to kill rogue zombies? Or was it the bats, or wolves that really added something to the depth of events set in motion by Warcraft 3? No, wait! I got it! It was killing a couple of respawning humans that added something!

As opposed to the hundreds of grunts and footmen you would churn out in Warcraft 3? The respawning creeps at creep points? The fact that your heroes would res from the dead with only a minor time and gold cost?

I'm sorry, what was your point?

Remember the cutscenes at al? Those bits that cut away from, you know, the scene, in order to progress the plot further? The in-game movies? Mission briefings? Ring a bell? *Warning, Sarcasm is reaching critical mass*

Remember the quest details? The progress of a questline? Those bits where you get to read a little bit about the goings on in the wider world? The in-game movies?

No? Not bloody surprising. Hardly the first person to get selective tunnel vision.

The impact upon the in-game world is non-existent - thats the point of an MMORPG, it must continue. Hell, the only thing you can do that would count as a major plot even is killing the big End-Game boss, and if you're up to that point the plot means very little, as it has been lost in the game mechanics.

Surely the impact of killing a boss in any game is non-existant, as you can just restart the level and BAM they're right back there. Only difference between an MMO and a normal game is that you don't get control of the reset button. Well, not all the time, quite amusingly you do get control of the reset button on a few of WoW's instances.

So let me ask you this: With the knowledge of the Restart button, what's the difference in regards to impact on the game world? Impact on the story?

Because there is a story beyond the boss. If I were to spend the next 3 months of my life on WOW, and get my Level 70 Warlock to a point that would allow him to take on northend, run the final instance, and kill the Lich King, when I emerge, nothings changed. The armies of the Lich still run rampant - I've made no impact.

There's a story beyond the Lich King in WoW. I'd assume, I mean, he's not yet released so I can't really say. You've made as much impact as you want to make. Suspension of disbelief is the name of the game and for people who game so much I'm really quite surprised people don't do more of it. In my eyes, I kill the Lich King and he's gone for good. Any undead left are just leftovers to be mopped up. How difficult is it to think that? Just because the game doesn't hold your hand through the story leading you along its merry merry way doesn't mean the story isn't there. Yes, the game world doesn't evolve around you due to logistical reasons, but to say that there's no story is just wrong, I'm afraid.

You are correct, there is a story, and it does require some suspension of disbelief. What gets me is the fact that, while you can imagine that once you kill the Lich King (or Illidan, Ragnaros, etc) that they're gone forever, that falters the next time my guild goes in to kill the same guy again...and again...and again...

I don't get it though...why suspend belief at all? I mean...it's not like the people complaining about this aspect are serious roleplayers. The problem only really seems to come up when people can't seem to get to grips as to why their actions don't make an significant action on the world as said. There are only really two ways at present around this:

One - Ignore it all. That is, take the game on it's face, as a game. Raid, grind, gear up, pvp. Ignore the story and lore and just play the game.

Two - Roleplay. Take each instance as you will, you and your buddies kill Illidan? Great. He's dead to you. Oh? What's that? Going again next week? Well, so what? Count only that first time, after all, your char doesn't have to be aware that they're in some kind of time loop, so, ignore it.

Lastly, I don't recall being 'The Hero', adventurer? Yes. One of many and all that.

 

[Rezfon]

I agree with blizz, it's going fine as it is and from what i've seen the sotry line is to continue and dive deeper in the normal WoW. Also why make WoW2 when theres over 11 million active subscribers on WoW today. I think if they made a WoW2 or a spinoff then people would just think blizz is being overly greedy.

The storyline got deeper? When? When we had to kill rogue zombies? Or was it the bats, or wolves that really added something to the depth of events set in motion by Warcraft 3? No, wait! I got it! It was killing a couple of respawning humans that added something!

As opposed to the hundreds of grunts and footmen you would churn out in Warcraft 3? The respawning creeps at creep points? The fact that your heroes would res from the dead with only a minor time and gold cost?

I'm sorry, what was your point?

Remember the cutscenes at al? Those bits that cut away from, you know, the scene, in order to progress the plot further? The in-game movies? Mission briefings? Ring a bell? *Warning, Sarcasm is reaching critical mass*

Remember the quest details? The progress of a questline? Those bits where you get to read a little bit about the goings on in the wider world? The in-game movies?

No? Not bloody surprising. Hardly the first person to get selective tunnel vision.

The impact upon the in-game world is non-existent - thats the point of an MMORPG, it must continue. Hell, the only thing you can do that would count as a major plot even is killing the big End-Game boss, and if you're up to that point the plot means very little, as it has been lost in the game mechanics.

Surely the impact of killing a boss in any game is non-existant, as you can just restart the level and BAM they're right back there. Only difference between an MMO and a normal game is that you don't get control of the reset button. Well, not all the time, quite amusingly you do get control of the reset button on a few of WoW's instances.

So let me ask you this: With the knowledge of the Restart button, what's the difference in regards to impact on the game world? Impact on the story?

Because there is a story beyond the boss. If I were to spend the next 3 months of my life on WOW, and get my Level 70 Warlock to a point that would allow him to take on northend, run the final instance, and kill the Lich King, when I emerge, nothings changed. The armies of the Lich still run rampant - I've made no impact.

There's a story beyond the Lich King in WoW. I'd assume, I mean, he's not yet released so I can't really say. You've made as much impact as you want to make. Suspension of disbelief is the name of the game and for people who game so much I'm really quite surprised people don't do more of it. In my eyes, I kill the Lich King and he's gone for good. Any undead left are just leftovers to be mopped up. How difficult is it to think that? Just because the game doesn't hold your hand through the story leading you along its merry merry way doesn't mean the story isn't there. Yes, the game world doesn't evolve around you due to logistical reasons, but to say that there's no story is just wrong, I'm afraid.

You are correct, there is a story, and it does require some suspension of disbelief. What gets me is the fact that, while you can imagine that once you kill the Lich King (or Illidan, Ragnaros, etc) that they're gone forever, that falters the next time my guild goes in to kill the same guy again...and again...and again...

Well it was revealed long ago that one of the future expansions was going to be the emerald dream. The death knight starting area was good as when you completed quests the area around you changed for you to match the story progression, that would be a great touch if that happened end game aswell.

 

[theultimateend]

WoW 2? No.

WC4? Likely [http://www.warcry.com/articles/view/conferences/blizzcon_08/5358-Blizzcon-08-WoW-Diablo-3-Press-Conference].

so how exactly do you make a warcraft IV without simply having the exact same story happening in world of warcraft?

Since WoW begins right after Warcraft III

I agree with blizz, it's going fine as it is and from what i've seen the sotry line is to continue and dive deeper in the normal WoW. Also why make WoW2 when theres over 11 million active subscribers on WoW today. I think if they made a WoW2 or a spinoff then people would just think blizz is being overly greedy.

The storyline got deeper? When? When we had to kill rogue zombies? Or was it the bats, or wolves that really added something to the depth of events set in motion by Warcraft 3? No, wait! I got it! It was killing a couple of respawning humans that added something!

As opposed to the hundreds of grunts and footmen you would churn out in Warcraft 3? The respawning creeps at creep points? The fact that your heroes would res from the dead with only a minor time and gold cost?

I'm sorry, what was your point?

Remember the cutscenes at al? Those bits that cut away from, you know, the scene, in order to progress the plot further? The in-game movies? Mission briefings? Ring a bell? *Warning, Sarcasm is reaching critical mass*

Remember the quest details? The progress of a questline? Those bits where you get to read a little bit about the goings on in the wider world? The in-game movies?

No? Not bloody surprising. Hardly the first person to get selective tunnel vision.

The impact upon the in-game world is non-existent - thats the point of an MMORPG, it must continue. Hell, the only thing you can do that would count as a major plot even is killing the big End-Game boss, and if you're up to that point the plot means very little, as it has been lost in the game mechanics.

Surely the impact of killing a boss in any game is non-existant, as you can just restart the level and BAM they're right back there. Only difference between an MMO and a normal game is that you don't get control of the reset button. Well, not all the time, quite amusingly you do get control of the reset button on a few of WoW's instances.

So let me ask you this: With the knowledge of the Restart button, what's the difference in regards to impact on the game world? Impact on the story?

Because there is a story beyond the boss. If I were to spend the next 3 months of my life on WOW, and get my Level 70 Warlock to a point that would allow him to take on northend, run the final instance, and kill the Lich King, when I emerge, nothings changed. The armies of the Lich still run rampant - I've made no impact.

There's a story beyond the Lich King in WoW. I'd assume, I mean, he's not yet released so I can't really say. You've made as much impact as you want to make. Suspension of disbelief is the name of the game and for people who game so much I'm really quite surprised people don't do more of it. In my eyes, I kill the Lich King and he's gone for good. Any undead left are just leftovers to be mopped up. How difficult is it to think that? Just because the game doesn't hold your hand through the story leading you along its merry merry way doesn't mean the story isn't there. Yes, the game world doesn't evolve around you due to logistical reasons, but to say that there's no story is just wrong, I'm afraid.

You are correct, there is a story, and it does require some suspension of disbelief. What gets me is the fact that, while you can imagine that once you kill the Lich King (or Illidan, Ragnaros, etc) that they're gone forever, that falters the next time my guild goes in to kill the same guy again...and again...and again...

I don't get it though...why suspend belief at all? I mean...it's not like the people complaining about this aspect are serious roleplayers. The problem only really seems to come up when people can't seem to get to grips as to why their actions don't make an significant action on the world as said. There are only really two ways at present around this:

One - Ignore it all. That is, take the game on it's face, as a game. Raid, grind, gear up, pvp. Ignore the story and lore and just play the game.

Two - Roleplay. Take each instance as you will, you and your buddies kill Illidan? Great. He's dead to you. Oh? What's that? Going again next week? Well, so what? Count only that first time, after all, your char doesn't have to be aware that they're in some kind of time loop, so, ignore it.

Lastly, I don't recall being 'The Hero', adventurer? Yes. One of many and all that.

I'm pretty sure they imply that YOU are THE one who will save Azeroth for a few of the races .

 

[theultimateend]

I still think Blizzard should branch out a bit - the lands pof Azeroth are a brilliantly intricate landscape, with moments of pure brilliance that many will never get to see - why not make a single player experience? An action adventure game that takes place over the higher-level instances.

I've been saying that for a while. I wish WoW was like diablo, so that I could play it by myself without having a subscription .

Plus throw in the guild wars "npc allies" or lan play and you got yourself a good deal. Plus people could make mods and dungeons and stuff .

Anywho that would be fun so I doubt it'll be done unfortunately.

The storyline got deeper? When? When we had to kill rogue zombies? Or was it the bats, or wolves that really added something to the depth of events set in motion by Warcraft 3? No, wait! I got it! It was killing a couple of respawning humans that added something!

While I overall found wow to be an unimpressive diversion (since I'm not a huge fan of the mmo play style because of 'hardcore' players) I would have to say this is extremely unfair.

Tons of stories pan out in great depth all throughout WoW. It's just that it requires reading and most people are too lazy to read.

 

[Bullfrog1983]

If they mean there will be no Warcraft 4 then that really sucks. I loved all of the other installments in the series, and it was my favourite real-time strategy. Unfortunately the amount of cash they bring in from World of Warcraft is probably going to keep Warcraft 4 off of the books forever. I guess someone else will just have to make a new Fantasy related RTS that will cash in on their dismissal of what is a surefire winning formula that will sell as many copies or more than there are subscribers of WoW. So I guess we'll either have to wait until that happens, or when WoW finally becomes obsolete.

 

[Lord_Ascendant]

I have an idea

World of Warcraft has a MONOPOLY on the MMO industry?

Blizzard COULD get sued to infringing on the Antitrust Laws.

 

[DoomDispenser]

so how exactly do you make a warcraft IV without simply having the exact same story happening in world of warcraft?

Since WoW begins right after Warcraft III

World of Warcraft begins about 10 years after Warcraft 3, leaving a little room for more storyline. Besides, they could just make the next expansion 10 years after Warcraft 4 if they had to.

As for making a second World of Warcraft? "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" (except ,of course, for the hundreds of patches, but we can look over that)

I don't really see a reason to make a sequel for any MMO. All the time people put into characters would seem like an unnecessary waste when we have those oh-so-great expansion packs.

 

[Kellerb]

the games becoming more and more dummed down. its all going to collapse someday...

 

[Grand_Poohbah]

Wait, so no WoW 2 or no Warcraft 4? The former I couldn't care less about, but to completely disregard the series to improve the MMO is kind of stupid. I don't think we *need* a Warcraft 4, but WoW is not part of the Warcraft franchise, it's simply a spin-off.

The point is that Blizzard doesn't think World of WarCraft is a spinoff. Your statement is moot.

Anyways, it is bad news, but some franchises need to end while they are ahead anyways. Personally, this is a better fate for WarCraft then letting it wither away like a beaten dead horse.

Last time I checked WoW was doing great, so why end it now? Sure it would go out on a good note, but there's still money to be made.

 

[oliveira8]

WoW 2? No.

WC4? Likely [http://www.warcry.com/articles/view/conferences/blizzcon_08/5358-Blizzcon-08-WoW-Diablo-3-Press-Conference].

so how exactly do you make a warcraft IV without simply having the exact same story happening in world of warcraft?

Since WoW begins right after Warcraft III

Simply by making it.

Imagine this. I'm a new player to the Wacraft world. I start playing WC1,WC2 and WC3(and all of its expansion packs) so the natural follow up to WC3 is WC4! You start playing WC4 and notice something odd...were the hell is all the characters from WC3??!?!?!?!??!??!? What happened to the evil scourge? Or the Elves and the Nagas? WTF HAPPENED!! INSTEAD OF GIVING ME THE FOLLOW UP STORY THEY MAKE A NEW ONE???!!??!?!?!

So after I nerdraged for a while I go into the internet in hopes I can find the missing expansion to WC3..but instead I find a game named World of Warcraft! A game that I need to pay every month, and in order to advance the story I need to gather up 25-40 people and play trough old content...that no one plays.

So yeah WC4 is going to be the story from WOW..cause WoW shouldnt be the official follow up of WC3 if theres going to be a WC4, if only for the fact that not everyone has played WOW.