Re: Ryzom vs WoW
Posted: Sun Nov 21, 2004 5:43 am
Well, having fiddled a bit with both now, I've come to the conclusion that both are good, but very different games. It's like comparing apples to oranges.
WoW is solid, and I think it will encourage a lot of people to look at MMORPGs that haven't before. It is very straightforward, it feels familiar to Blizzard players. It also feels very complete.
My problem with World of Warcraft is that I feel like I'm playing a Warcraft III hero. He or she will be just like every other [insert class name here] and I don't have much in customization options. Lots of characters look like each other too. There is just little to make your character truly unique.
The world is also, as others have put it, very static. It's _very_ familiar, and in some ways that makes it just a repeat of every other WarCraft game. That's got its ups and downs, too.
With Ryzom, I can tweak my character's appearance, I can build up whatever skills I want to, I can customize to death if I want to. The world feels alive. The animals act like animals. Things are aggresive because it's logical for them to be aggressive -- predators hunt _you_. The world looks very neat.
Then there are the down sides. Ryzom does have content gaps, which are apparent. They rushed it a bit. That's apparent. It doesn't feel nearly as rushed as earlier generation MMORPGs. I played Dark Age of Camelot when it first came out, and it felt MUCH more incomplete than Ryzom. DAOC had major mechanics missing. Ryzom does not have the same kind of massive gaps, so I am tolerant of the issue.
What I like about both is that they are both very different in feel from other MMORPGs out there. WoW definitely has that "Blizzardy" feel -- you ARE playing in the WarCraft universe, not another Looks-Just-Like-LOTR fantasy world. They steered away from realism in portrayal, and that was wise. Likewise, Ryzom carries a unique feel. It mixes some sci-fi elements with fantasy, and avoids putting straightforward plain-vanilla humans in. The races look "realistic" without being real, and that way they don't have to be concerned about some elements of realism which are nearly impossible to get (even with today's technology).
In this sense, both companies were very, very smart. There are a lot of fantasy MMORPGs out there, and as Richard Garriott pointed out, there's still room for more. But they have to be different. They have to stand out, not just be "just another fantasy game."
As far as being interested or not interested, it really depends on your style of play. Both games have elements that cater to more casual gamers, and that is a wonderful thing to see! It's good to know the industry is looking at the people who can't spend thirty hours+ a week playing a game.
In a lot of ways, the design differences in Ryzom and WoW are the same issues in MMORPGs' older cousins: tabletop RPGs. Many tabletop gamers debate the class-based system versus the skill/points-based system all the time. WoW is a class-based, static system that is very friendly to the gamer who doesn't want to have too many decisions. Ryzom is a skill-based system that is very friendly to a gamer who wants gaggles and gaggles of options. If you don't like one or the other, then that MMORPG probably isn't for you.
The design philosophies behind the games are very different. They are very different. You're just going to have people who don't like Ryzom. You are going to have people who don't like WoW. One or the other will bore them.
Myself, I'm not a fan of class-based systems. Ryzom is a friendly game to me. That doesn't mean WoW isn't a good game; to the contrary, I think it's a great game. It's just not really for me.
WoW is solid, and I think it will encourage a lot of people to look at MMORPGs that haven't before. It is very straightforward, it feels familiar to Blizzard players. It also feels very complete.
My problem with World of Warcraft is that I feel like I'm playing a Warcraft III hero. He or she will be just like every other [insert class name here] and I don't have much in customization options. Lots of characters look like each other too. There is just little to make your character truly unique.
The world is also, as others have put it, very static. It's _very_ familiar, and in some ways that makes it just a repeat of every other WarCraft game. That's got its ups and downs, too.
With Ryzom, I can tweak my character's appearance, I can build up whatever skills I want to, I can customize to death if I want to. The world feels alive. The animals act like animals. Things are aggresive because it's logical for them to be aggressive -- predators hunt _you_. The world looks very neat.
Then there are the down sides. Ryzom does have content gaps, which are apparent. They rushed it a bit. That's apparent. It doesn't feel nearly as rushed as earlier generation MMORPGs. I played Dark Age of Camelot when it first came out, and it felt MUCH more incomplete than Ryzom. DAOC had major mechanics missing. Ryzom does not have the same kind of massive gaps, so I am tolerant of the issue.
What I like about both is that they are both very different in feel from other MMORPGs out there. WoW definitely has that "Blizzardy" feel -- you ARE playing in the WarCraft universe, not another Looks-Just-Like-LOTR fantasy world. They steered away from realism in portrayal, and that was wise. Likewise, Ryzom carries a unique feel. It mixes some sci-fi elements with fantasy, and avoids putting straightforward plain-vanilla humans in. The races look "realistic" without being real, and that way they don't have to be concerned about some elements of realism which are nearly impossible to get (even with today's technology).
In this sense, both companies were very, very smart. There are a lot of fantasy MMORPGs out there, and as Richard Garriott pointed out, there's still room for more. But they have to be different. They have to stand out, not just be "just another fantasy game."
As far as being interested or not interested, it really depends on your style of play. Both games have elements that cater to more casual gamers, and that is a wonderful thing to see! It's good to know the industry is looking at the people who can't spend thirty hours+ a week playing a game.
In a lot of ways, the design differences in Ryzom and WoW are the same issues in MMORPGs' older cousins: tabletop RPGs. Many tabletop gamers debate the class-based system versus the skill/points-based system all the time. WoW is a class-based, static system that is very friendly to the gamer who doesn't want to have too many decisions. Ryzom is a skill-based system that is very friendly to a gamer who wants gaggles and gaggles of options. If you don't like one or the other, then that MMORPG probably isn't for you.
The design philosophies behind the games are very different. They are very different. You're just going to have people who don't like Ryzom. You are going to have people who don't like WoW. One or the other will bore them.
Myself, I'm not a fan of class-based systems. Ryzom is a friendly game to me. That doesn't mean WoW isn't a good game; to the contrary, I think it's a great game. It's just not really for me.