As internet gaming grows more mainstream by the day, every company is looking for the next big idea to cash in on with a multiplayer mode. With Age of Conan and Warhammer Online coming out this year, the MMORPG market is very alive, if not exactly promising. Still, one has to wonder–what if there were something more? Something a little different? Something not a rehash of a rehash its with pretty ponies and stone castles?

For a while I’ve thought about it and done nothing, forsaking the genre completely and daydreaming of Left 4 Dead. That all changes tonight, however, because tonight I present you the top five MMORPGs that don’t exist. In all likelihood they’ll never be made, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t. Because I know I’d buy them and you would too.

The Legend of Zelda MMORPG
I want this. I want this now. It will never happen, and I can say that with extreme confidence given Nintendo’s track record and the fact that making the Zelda lore line up to create a cohesive MMORPG would give anyone a headache. Still, at the risk of sounding like Veruca Salt, I want it now dammit. I want to be a Gerudo, ride a horse that looks like Epona, and gather pieces of a shattered Triforce to level up. Just imagine the possibilities: Deku shrub stores, Hyrule Castle Town bustling (and hustling), late night forays into the graveyard for some Poe catching, and cucco hunting for that night’s stew while watching for those pesky Redeads.

Are you still not sold? Well, what about the raids Zelda would offer? The PvE scene would be off the chain with the temples and dungeons already in place, let alone newly created ones. You can’t even pretend you wouldn’t want to fight the Poe Sisters with four other people on ventrilo. Besides, Hyrule isn’t a land completely unto itself and all alone—wouldn’t it be fun to see what’s beyond Hyrule? I can already see the Doblins of Zyrule, Hyrule’s originally named next door neighbor with an equally originally named bestiary!

Why it would work: Everyone loves this cash cow and its Lon Lon milk.
Why it wouldn’t work: No one can really be a Hero of Time except for Link, especially not Legolazz the upcoming Goron Archer.
Why I still want it: I WANT TO RIDE EPONA.

Elder Scrolls Online
Morrowind is a game with a beautiful, seamless world with depth and endless possibilities. Frankly, all it needs for more success is to be populated. The game and its predecessor Oblivion were so big and open-ended they felt like a MMORPG already.

Imagine leveling up in Vvardenfell as a starter zone. Imagining traveling outward then joining the Thieves Guild with Sephiroth27, your new best friend. Imagine the trials and tribulations of mastering the combat system with a high ping. Imagine selling Skooma on the street to newbies for ridiculous prices. The potential for a Bethesda MMORPG is incredible—and has been shot down multiple times already. At the end of the day, for those of us who see Morrowind or Oblivion and immediately think of epic dungeons and engrossing PvP with a million other players, it’s a pipedream for now. When the company was cornered last year about its MMORPG plans, they gave no definitive answer and a lot of doublespeak. Us gamers know that means five years at least before we get any news. Someday, my friends, someday.

Why it would work: The game already plays like a MMORPG.
Why it wouldn’t work: Game devs hate me, and probably you. Oh, and the game’s stealth mechanic would be overpowered.
Why I still want it: Skooma.

Resident Evil
Ignoring the fact that Resident Evil’s initial online debut was really unfortunate and awful, let’s face it—Capcom could take this idea and run with it all the way to millions of monthly subscriptions. You can see it yourself, I bet; narrow streets, thousands of people running, zombie sharp-shooters and evil scientists. PvP would be zombies vs. people, leveling up would be through quests to kill the other faction, retrieve samples of the virus or brains, or collecting various colors of herbs. Raid bosses could be Tyrant, or other mutated fiends.

It also doesn’t have to be confined to just Raccoon City, or the USA even. The game could be set a decade into the future, after the virus has killed virtually all of humanity and a struggle of good and evil has reached epic proportions. The survival of the human race relies on you and your friends, the small group of rebel fighters who escaped as the last bastion of humanity fell to the flesh eaters.

But in case you’re listening, Capcom, don’t put Albert Wesker in game as the final boss. That shit’s best saved for the second or third expansion–think ahead!

Why it would work: People like different, non-convential RPGs. RE would set the stage for a smashing post-apocalyptic one!
Why it wouldn’t work: Capcom is too busy with delaying RE:5 for a MMORPG.
Why I still want it: Monique Redfield, anyone? You may have heard of her, she’s Claire Redfield’s sister?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Online
Now, I know there’s a few big glaring problems like how slayers are females or how a slayer usually slays alone or how Joss Whedon would never sponsor this madness. But let’s work on the problems when we get to them—let’s not be negative. Instead, let’s think about the fun and money this game could bring in. I mean, who doesn’t want to raid the sewers, be a slayer or watcher, and kill hundreds of baddies? It’d make a great MMORPG! Really!

Just envision your very own Scooby Gang; someone can be a Xander (utterly useless), another person could be a Willow (awesome lesbian witch), your dad could be a Giles (English watcher with a penchant for tea), and you could be a Buffy (totally hot and kickass). Together you could hunt in towns, crush vampire hideouts, or reign in renegade slayers like Faith. And for raids, mass amounts of slayers could raid powerful villain headquarters and take out bad guys like Glory or Evil itself.

Why it would work: Buffy is a modern twist on a medieval tale, and everyone loves those. Well, almost everyone…
Why it wouldn’t work: No one would want to be Xander and your dad would never agree to be Giles. That and Joss Whedon would probably never consent to such a bastardization of his series.
Why I still want it: I miss Buffy.

Universe of Starcraft
Blizzard has made so much wealth and fame from World of Warcraft it’s surreal. Still, it’s inevitable the giant will fall at some point, years down the line, when people get sick of raiding Naxxramas for the third or fourth time. While Blizzard is probably looking for something with Diablo for its next MMORPG hit, neglecting the SC name would be a really big mistake. A really, really big mistake.

1) WoW came from three RTS games. Starcraft is a RTS game, with a sequel on the way. Coincidence? There are no such things.
2) Like WoW, SC has a solid storyline and many key characters to set it up for raid bosses and epic battles. Hello, Kerrigan; I will come into your lair and make sure not to hatch your broodlings during phase two. I wouldn’t want to lose DKP.
3) Starcraft has multiple worlds: Char, Aiur, and Korhal. Each world would make for an excellent expansion pack, just like World of Warcraft is doing. Coincidence? Again, there are no such things.
4) Spaceships are cool. Zerglings are awesome. Valkyries would make a great hero class.
5) The Draenei and their spaceship crash showed the community’s willingness to accept outer space elements in a MMORPG. It’s time to converge fully to the stars and make a new space game, one that walks and talks a hundred times better than AO or EVE.

Why it would work: Blizzard’s name can sell everything, and most of us WoW players loved us some zerg rushes back in the day.
Why it wouldn’t work: Blizzard already has plans with Diablo for a MMORPG.
Why I still want it: “70 Medic LFM for Lost Temple, pst.”

And there you have it, the top five MMORPGs never made. Will they be made? Probably not; that’s why they’re the top MMORPGs never made, you know. While there is a slim chance one or two will be actualized within the next twenty years, for now the pickings are slim, Jim. It’s going to be of the Warhammer variety for months to come in the MMORPG department which is, incidentally, why I’ll be off playing GTA4 this week instead of Warcraft, Warhammer beta, or Conan beta.

So what’s your top five never realized?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 30th, 2008 at 5:04 pm and is filed under Game Design, MMORPGs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.