MMO Roads less traveled

It seems to me that MMOs very rarely stray from the genres of science fiction or fantasy. These two settings seem to be the safest to do and are frequently repeated. So much so that I am frequently surprised that the market can stand yet another sword and sorcery game. I suppose it just comes down to the hope that the next one will be superior to the last few. Unfortunately, that is not usually the case and I still maintain that SOE did it right the first time around. That isn’t the point I’m trying to make, however. My point is that there are other settings out there that would be quite suitable for MMORPGs and have yet to be utilized.

None of these particular settings will be unfamiliar, new, or even that clever. They’re simply areas that I’ve called out that I would enjoy playing in. I imagine I’m not the only one, either. My only discriminator here is that I attempted to choose settings that would involve little risk. Any of these can be used without much technical innovation and, thus, the investors might not run scared when they’re brought up.

The Roman Empire

Greek and Roman themes have showed up in numerous MMOs. You’ll find whole areas based off them in AAA titles and you’ll also see some smaller budget games focus here. Nothing has been done extensively, though. The period fits the standard mold for MMO combat given the nature of the weaponry. History itself gives numerous options for dieties and magic. The whole setting is ripe for the picking but we continue to skip past it and go right to the middle ages. Who wouldn’t enjoy being a Roman legionnaire or a Greek hoplite? I know I would!

Napoleonic Wars

Europe and the entire world in general were pretty much at war from the late 1700s to the mid 1800s. Ranged technology was just coming into its own and soldiers still frequently fought in hand to hand. Given the diversity of options, the range of uniforms and roles, and the contributing factors, I imagine an MMO set in this time would be exceptional. It could be based on either reality or given a steam punk twist. That is, after all, the rage right now. I could see a Warmachine (from Privateer Press) MMO being quite successful as long as the developers don’t have that moment of idiocy where they go, “Game haz guns. Must make game FPS or MMO/FPS hybrid.” No skippy, you don’t. EQ2 has rangers and it isn’t a shooter! No one wants to FPS with a musket.

Asian themed for the West

I realize there are a lot of Asian MMOs in Asia. I also recognize that virtually every western MMO has included some sort of samuari or ninja aspect to it. Whole mini-expansions and areas have been devoted to the setting. That said, nobody has really brought to the west a Chinese or Japanese historical MMO. I’ve never gone into a game and became a samuari and battled other clans. I’ve never learned about the beauty of ancient China or learned their brand of feudalism. All we get is Morpheous with a katana cutting an SUV in half. I’ll pass on that one! Legend of the Five Rings would make an exceptional MMO!

Those were just three quick and dirty ideas that I had. I’m curious what sort of other titles have slipped through the cracks. What would you guys like to play?