How awesome would a Transformers action MMORPG be? Totally awesome would be the correct answer. As long as there was a way of allowing for a procedural method of transformation (i.e. you can tweak your character’s appearance in a nearly infinite number of ways) I think the actual gaming mechanisms would translate well to a MMORPG format.
You can start by picking either Autobot or Decepticon, then specialise in various abilities such as vehicle mode (wheels, flight), weapons, etc. Quests could be against mega-robots, enemy facilities, Quintessons and PvP is a natural. Leveling up gives you better weapons, new transform options (triple-changers, extra AI-controlled componenets like Optimus Prime’s trailer) and the ability to customise more of your character. Players would have to use both vehicle mode and robot mode for different weapons, ability to heal and take damage, travel speeds, etc.
Naturally the world would be Cybertron, with possible Earth and space expansion packs. The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. That probably means someone is already making it, and while I hate them for stealing my idea, I can’t wait to play it, if they don’t fuck it up…
Tags: MMORPG, Transformers, video game
July 8, 2008 at 11:53 pm
Admittedly, I haven’t played many MMORPGs, but it sounds like an idea. In fact I’d wager it’s in the works as we speak (sorry).
Some things that crossed my mind:
- I’d imagine there’d need to be some “creeps” to kill when you’re not killing your rivals (e.g. those Quintessons you mentioned). I think in the recent Warhammer MMORPG it was purely race vs. race though, so as long as there are enough players to kill and bases to raze then it should be fine.
- How would the PvP work? From what I remember in WoW you basically clicked on the enemy and you would automatically engage, allowing you to cast spells / perform special abilities as you attacked. Not quite my cup of tea, but I was never a big MMORPG fan. Anyway, it’d probably be better to have TransformersMMORPG in “fake real-time” ala Mass Effect or in “real real-time” ala Age of Conan.
- For some reason I can see a bias towards choosing the flight transformation specialty – I guess you’d offset this by putting higher requirements on the class e.g. additional abilities have higher experience requirements, they consume more energon etc.
- You’d probably also have a military-type class system as well, since it is a war after all. E.g. Recon and Intel, Support, Assault, Engineering etc.
- This might also be an opportunity to introduce some new IP into the mix…new races, robot factions, sentient programs?
and yes, good to see you back *thumbs up*