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Genre Emulation
Sep. 30th, 2011 12:05 amIt’s occurred to me that superhero comics are, in fact, the best possible setting for an MMO, and should by all rights have been the default rather than fantasy.
First, because superheroes take place in the modern world, and a hero’s origin tends to be ‘a regular guy who suddenly got superpowers!’, the person on the global chat channel ranting about Obama/God/their parents doesn’t seem anywhere near as out of place as they would in Middle-Earth or Azeroth. You have to actually work at breaking character in a superhero world.
Second, the static nature of the world isn’t an issue. You defeat Sauron, you expect that to have an impact on the world and it’s disappointing when it doesn’t. You defeat the Joker, and you’re not really expecting him to stay in jail more than a week or so before he escapes. If anything, it feels more authentic to the source material for villains to re-spawn the minute your back is turned...
First, because superheroes take place in the modern world, and a hero’s origin tends to be ‘a regular guy who suddenly got superpowers!’, the person on the global chat channel ranting about Obama/God/their parents doesn’t seem anywhere near as out of place as they would in Middle-Earth or Azeroth. You have to actually work at breaking character in a superhero world.
Second, the static nature of the world isn’t an issue. You defeat Sauron, you expect that to have an impact on the world and it’s disappointing when it doesn’t. You defeat the Joker, and you’re not really expecting him to stay in jail more than a week or so before he escapes. If anything, it feels more authentic to the source material for villains to re-spawn the minute your back is turned...