MMORPG.com has a nice debate going on the subject, and I find myself siding with Dana, the Yes-You-Should guy: his responses are well thought through and insightful:
It is the responsibility of developers to pick IPs that has fans as excited about the worlds as the individual stories; which is to say appropriate worlds for development. Perpetual Entertainment’s choice of Star Trek has that potential. That franchise has existed and been popular in a number of incarnations. The only common thread is the universe in which the shows are set. Thus, I believe fans of the series will have no problem with the fact that they cannot be Captain Kirk.
Jon makes a number of points about how any deviations from the original story or world is an inevitable disappointment to the fans who live and breathe that world; he has a point, but this is surely unavoidable. It falls into the same category as the person who doesn't want to see Lord Of The Rings so as not to spoil the mental picture they have in their head from reading the book...?
It is an excellent point. You just have to be careful/thoughtful about how you do it (see exhibit A: SWG).
Posted by: Melissa Della | January 30, 2006 at 11:18
I agree to a point - the Harry Potter is a good example. The world of Potter is an insular one - so few references have been made to anywhere outside Hogwarts as yet... whereas Middle Earth for example is a developed world, large and expansive with multiple races enveloped in a multitude of problems. Become a dwarf, and elf a human etc...
Star Trek is the same - become a Vulcan, a Romulan - all with their own heritage and own life-paths to follow - differing starting areas, unique quests.
Some IPs will make good MMORPGS, some will make good 1P games.
Potter is a story - an engaging one - of a boys life seen through the eyes of a boy.
LOTR is a story about a world - seen through the eyes of many.
Posted by: WandringSoul | January 30, 2006 at 11:19
IMHO the biggest factor is the cost of the licences themselves, all that money will come from development costs, which hurts the game.
Posted by: Factory | January 30, 2006 at 11:29
I just want someone to get on and to Dune. There is already a film and a mini-series, and a number of book cover version so a wide range of visual styles assoicated with the world.
Posted by: ren reynolds | January 30, 2006 at 12:10
Spi-i-i-i-ce!
Posted by: Alice | January 30, 2006 at 21:35
'ol blue eyes?
Posted by: Shard | January 30, 2006 at 22:28