This site offers some interesting information about MMOs:
- Free-to-play MMOs make up almost half the subscriptions.
- In June, Runescape had almost as many players and as much market share as Warcraft.
- Only a handful of games have more than 1 million subscribers: WoW, Runescape, Second Life, Guild Wars, Lineage, and Dofus. Most MMOs have fewer than 300,000 subscribers.
I was intrigued by Dofus so I downloaded the client and created a character. I’ve hardly played it 30 minutes, but I’m impressed actually because I was expecting a game riddled with bad translations and horrible mechanics. The Flash-based graphics run well and looks good. [I'm intrigued, too, by a class who combat spells include 'alcoholic blow', 'Boozer' and 'Hangover,' though the Pandawa class isn't available on the English server yet.] A turn-based MMO has my interest, though I’m not sure about the depth of the gameplay. The game does include crafting, as part of what looks like a variety of professions. And the recipes appear to have some variety, as the baker and handyman recipes show.
It’s very tempting to dismiss a non-serious game like Dofus, especially when it comes to MMOs which seem to be inherently hardcore. Yet, a frothingly light theme does not make it a casual game. The game appears to include, for example, territorial conquests.
Dofus is free to download and to play, but there is a subscription [US$7 a month] to access other areas than just the one free Astrub as well as a slew of other interesting features. Still the free version should give you a pretty good idea of whether or not the game is fun. Quite frankly, I’m not sure surprised this game is capturing a significant MMO marketshare quickly.
7 comments ↓
Actually I wasn’t planning to ever touch Dofus untill now. lovely. thank you.
sure. I’ll try to play more this weekend. I’m anxious to try the professions. I’m wary of groups, which might seem odd for playing MMOS . . . but I might try.
One thing that somewhat slows down getting the game is that they give the spells and classes unique names, so that you really have to read the descriptions. Still, I like that someone is willing to break with convention to create a mood or environment.
i like my mmo and rpg’s on the semi real and entirely serious side… has anyone played runescape? it consistently tops the search engine buzz list and yet the graphics look so dated…
I played it a couple of years ago, and my 15-year-old nephew still plays it. When I tried it, it was rough but actually had a bit of features, such as crafting and quests.
I thought at the time that it was too repetitive, and I was not crazy about the combat. Plus, I found the camera angles very awkward at times.
I like the more serious MMOs, too, which is why I’ve not cared much for any of the free MMOs. Guild Wars was interesting for a while, but I like some variation to the game, like crafting. Guild Wars is more just hack and slash.
One I’ve been considering trying is Voyage Century, which has combat and profession, as well as free to download and free to play. Shadowbane is free/free, but, like Guild Wars, it’s really aimed at PvP.
I’ve also seen more about Dungeon Runners lately, which is NCSoft game (Guild Wars) and is designed for easy in/easy out MMO . . . with supposedly a bit of humor. But since I already own Guild Wars, I’m not really attracted to it.
Now, are them comments moving in the opposite direction?
Great links Guttertalk thank you, voyage century looks terrific… and for a change i match up on computy specs… hooorayyyy!
I was upgrading the kids’ computer (a $25 used computer I bought 5 years from work) when I realized the AMD x2 duo they’re getting is a bit better than my AMD 64-bit.
Guess who’s getting the new computer?
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