This article is originated from www.brighthub.com.
World of Warcraft's sales numbers and critical acclaim place it in a class all its own. This type of popularity can't help but have an influence on the future of MMO games. Check out five of WoW's great features that we are sure to see in future MMOs.
No single game in the history of MMOs has enjoyed the success of World of Warcraft. Record numbers of subscribers and overwhelming critical acclaim have elevated WoW to the undisputed king of the MMO world.
Unprecedented success of this nature can help but have repercussions on the future of MMORPGs. Players who have enjoyed the many revolutionary features of World of Warcraft are unlikely to abandon it for another game that doesn posses certain qualities they have become accustomed to.
Whether in terms of customization options, questing and leveling, instanced encounters or item transfers between characters, these aspects of World of Warcraft are inevitably here to stay, changing the way we play MMOs forever.Addons
World of Warcraft offers an unprecedented ability for the player community to customize their interfaces and design helpful (and not so helpful) WoW addons.
You see, in the olden days before questhelper, players were forced to tab out of the game and open a web browser when unable to locate a quest objective. Often, we were forced to rely on the kindness of others when searching for a particularly well-hidden quarry.
There were no DPS meters or DOT timers back in the day. We took whoever we could find that filled the role we were searching for. We had to keep an eye on our spells and manage them manually, without the help of countdown timers. When we downed a boss, we simply crossed our fingers and hoped for something useful to drop, rather than knowing ahead of time exactly what to expect.
It was a different time. I don miss it. Fortunately, it appears that the ability to create addons is here to stay. Just ask anyone who plays Warhammer Online.The Auction House
Back in the Everquest days, players designated a certain low-level zone as the place to go to buy and sell goods. Hopeful merchants would station themselves near a certain small settlement and hawk their wares over the global channels, quickly filling up the screen of anyone attempting to quest in the zone with spam.
If a player needed a certain item, they were usually forced to acquire it themselves or ask a guildmate for help. There was no convenient centralized location in major cities to which players could turn. If you needed a certain drop, you went out and grinded mobs until you got it. Now, I can just run to the AH and buy it for a few gold.
WoW certainly wasn the first game to incorporate an Auction House. Final Fantasy XI had one, and practically every MUD ever invented had a similar system in place. WoW was simply the first game to bring the Auction House concept to a very large audience, and I doubt that audience will want to do without it going forward.
Check out page two to find out how WoW has changed the way we gain levels and think of dungeon encounters.123next