Nexon Should Make More 2D MMORPGs

Nexon has had enormous success with their 2D side scrolling MMORPG MapleStory and their arcade MMO brawler Dungeon Fighter Online. The company reported some $550 million in revenue in 2009 and MapleStory is easily their biggest game. With the explosive growth and success of MapleStory, you’d think that they would release similar games, but that isn’t the case. Nexon is committed to releasing “different” games like Vindictus and Dragon Nest. Now, don’t get me wrong, these two games both look awesome, but it seems like all 3D MMORPG feels the same, so I prefer 2D games. In case you haven’t heard, both Vindictus and Dragon Nest are 3D action MMORPGs.

I should mention that Nexon has made an effort to grow their 2D MMO portfolio – especially with the recent acquisition of Ndoors. That’s right, Nexon actually bought Ndoors! They are the guys best known for the turn based MMORPG Atlantica Online and the less known 2D trade skill heavy game Luminary: Rise of the Goonzu which for some odd reason is published by ijji. The main reastson, in my opinion, that Nexon bought Ndoors is because it saw the company’s newest MMORPG – WonderKing Online as a threat to MapleStory. WonderKing, for those that don’t know, plays almost exactly like MapleStory. It has the same art style and controls, but offers some interesting gameplay mechanics that MapleStory just doesn’t have – such as crafting and PvP. Nexon also had a lot of success with their MMOFPS Combat Arms, which is why they decided to buy GameHi – the game developer behind Asia’s most popular MMOFPS – Sudden Attack. So Nexon has bought out other companies in the past.

Instead of just buying other game studios, Nexon should definitely think about making more 2D MMORPGs. Why? Because they’ve already had a lot of success in that department! Both MapleStory and Dungeon Fighter Online are big hits! Why do you think ijji keeps releasing new MMO shooters? It’s because they’ve had success with them. Just look at ijji, they publish GunZ, Soldier Front and Alliance of Valiant Arms. They also have Huxley: The Dystopia, Karma: Operation Barabarossa and Genesis A.D. Releasing soon. These are ALL MMO shooters too! Ijji is sticking with what they know, and that’s MMO shooters. I think Nexon should do the same with 2D MMORPGs.

Any other MapleStory fans agree?

Avatar Customization

Know what every 2D MMORPG needs more of? Heck EVERY MMORPG needs more of? Character customization. In fact, I think every VIDEO game needs better character customization – but MMORPGs in particular, as unique avatars are much more important in MMOs than say a single player puzzle game. Why am I writing about this now all of a sudden? Well, I was playing Conquer Online the other day – a free 2D MMORPG from TQ Digital, and after creating my character and logging in, I saw so many doppelgangers of myself running around. The game has no appearance customization what-so-ever. Once you play the game for a while and reach late-gand, the equipment you wear can make your character look different, but the regular appearance customization in the game sucks. Now, Conquer Online isn’t the only game with this problem. MMORPG character customization across the entire spectrum tends to suck, except for a few exceptions. Perfect World, Vanguard and EverQuest II all have great customization. But most games don’t.

I don’t mind poor customization in MMOFPS games, as appearance customization is pointless in games like GunZ, S4 League and Soldier Front. But in actual MMORPGs, I feel that appearance and uniqueness are very important and should never be over looked. One of the reasons I quit playing Ether Saga Online is because of its lack of customization. I was pretty shocked to see Ether Saga have bad customization, as Perfect World had great customization, and both games are by the same company – Perfect World Entertainment. So what’s up? Either the developers got lazy or they figured no one would notice. Grand Chase is another example of a top notch game that would benefit from better customization.

I’m really curious why so many games have such limited appearance customization? How difficult could it be to program a thousands different hair colors and hair styles into the character creation system? Or how about a thousand different shirt colors and a few hundred body options. In the grand scheme of things, it can’t be that expensive. Look at games like Runes of Magic and Allods Online – both are big budget games that took over $5 million to develop, but both have decent appearance customization at best. If you’re going to spend $5+ million making a game, why not spend a tiny bit more and make it perfect? Both of these MMORPGs are great, but they could be better. Unfortunately, I could say the same for most games, as appearance customization in the free to play space, as is, is disappointing.