Would you play a M:tG MMORPG or other non-card video game?
General forum
Posted on Nov. 22, 2024, 4:48 p.m. by legendofa
I seem to remember there was a beta MMORPG a few years ago, but I don't really know anything about it. There hasn't been anything else besides "play the cards, but on a screen" for something like ten years, and I feel like there's some potential space here.
I'm not big into MMORPGs, but that seems like it could be a good M:tG product with enough support. (I don't really know anything about video game development, so I might be underestimating what it would take.) I would absolutely check out a real-time or turn-based strategy game, or single-player RPG. Is there a market for non-card M:tG games? Is there any chance they could happen?
TheoryCrafter says... #3
I concur with everything Balaam__ said except the lore. It's not that it's all bad in and of itself, it's that it rarely has a strong coordination with the lore of the cards and it's often one story or character decision that ends up ruining the whole thing. There have been some good stories, but more often than not they are the standalones, such as the Akroan Wrestling story or The Gitrog Monster story.
I'd also like to add that the gameplay of MMORPG would have to be similar enough to Magic:The Gathering to have the same feel, but different and original enough that pieces could not easily translate to one or the other. Otherwise you'll only have either players finding the MMORPG cheaper to play than the cards or old-school players such as myself rejecting the premise entirely 'cause why play online when yer already pretending to be a Planeswalker physically?
November 23, 2024 7:43 a.m.
I think itd be fun, especially if cards were still somehow involved in real time combat, thatd be really unique.
Also, I like the lore for the record hahaha
November 23, 2024 10:44 a.m.
wallisface says... #5
I’m also on the side of magic lore and worldbuilding being pretty bad. It serves-well for the nature of fleshing out a card game, but I feel if you try to apply it to anything beyond that, it’s just going to look weak and lazy compared to anything else in that genre.
I’m not really an RPG playing-person, but if I were to play such a game, i’d rather do so in a world built around an RPG world, as opposed to a world built around a card game.
November 23, 2024 3:29 p.m.
I feel like it would would be either really really good or really really bad. Most likely really bad. A real-time version would be pretty good.
November 23, 2024 10:21 p.m.
Seems to be pretty lukewarm in here. I'm not trying to push anything or convince anyone of anything, but I'm curious.
What kind of non-card M:tG product would interest people? Aside from the physical and digital card games, the online stories, and continual rumors of some television/network streaming/whatever production, there really isn't that much being done with the franchise. Does anyone think there's room to expand, or should the focus stay on the cards?
I'm kind of basing this question on the largest franchise in the world, and if it's possible or worthwhile to effectively emulate it. Pokemon has multiple TV shows, multiple video game lines, multiple manga series, a trading card game, general merchandise, and a pervasive cultural presence, to the point where there's an actual, real-world genus of pterosaur named for Aerodactyl and a nervous system protein called pikachurin. All of that came from a jankily-programmed, bug-filled video game with good music that came out around the same time as M:tG.
Assuming a hypothetical supply of sufficient resources, so this doesn't turn into an economic and employment discussion, is there any other direction that the M:tG franchise could go that would interest people? (I promise I'm not secretly working for WotC or anyone, I'm just indulging my own curiosity.)
November 25, 2024 2:12 a.m.
sergiodelrio says... #8
Here's my pitch for a video game:
Magic: The Gathering Tactical RPG
2+ Planeswalkers (players) fight it out on a hexagonal (or quadratic) board. Position, distance and elevation matters.
Translate existing cards into this system (as much as possible, whenever applicable). This is going to be the hard part, but also much of the hook.
Balance 'OP' stats with slower movement or initiative.
PvE - Take challenges, quest or grind to unlock new spells and refine your deck/strat for the next encounter. Heck, maybe have an actual overarching story!
PvP - well, yes
EDIT: SNES graphics would be right down my alley, but not a dealbreaker
November 25, 2024 6:45 a.m. Edited.
wallisface says... #9
I’m still going to stick to my stance that I have no interest in the lore of magic outside of the card game. I think what they’ve done is well-suited to the game, but trying to uplift it to any other media is going to feel either lazy, tacky, lame, or (most likely) all 3.
Its worth noting most game-lores don’t translate across medias. Tekken is always (in my mind) going to feel really lame doing anything outside of its fighting game (which it does do well). Doom is a great/fun IP, and I think it translates terribly to cinema (it can pass decently as a board game - but the point stands that it does best when the lore itself is mindless).
If i’m playing any game where the story/world matters, I don’t want to be doing that in a world that’s only been tacked together to make some other game feel somewhat coherent. The magic lore is a mess (and rightfully so - they’re a card game with lore tacked-on to spark imagination/conversation), and I don’t see me enjoying any game where its lore/story/worldbuilding is at the forefront of the game. It does best to leave all this stuff in the very-distant background, and prioritise gameplay mechanics.
Balaam__ says... #2
Die hard gamer responding to the call. My initial reaction to the question is ‘Yes, with a but’.
Unpopular opinion incoming: I think all lore in M:tG created and crafted by WotC themselves is awful (as in, absolutely abysmal). This game excels best when riffing on established real world folklore and mythology (Arabian Nights, Antiquities, Legends and Mirage are my favorite sets from a design/visual language/presentation perspective).
So to your point, a well crafted rpg of some sort in the gaming space could be quite compelling to someone like myself—but only as long as it melds non-WotC lore with competent gaming sensibilities.
And therein lies the issue. A brilliant rpg rooted in real world folklore and mythology and unencumbered by any M:tG-specific lore is…just an rpg, like any other.
Removing my personal feelings and viewing your question objectively, I’d wager the answer is a resounding Yes, but only if the game is good (by contemporary gaming standards). If the moment to moment gameplay is lacking, even a perfectly seamless integration of M:tG lore into a fully realized rpg world will fail, and hard.
I have a Deflecting Palm and two mana at the ready, so haters, come at me.
November 22, 2024 6:01 p.m.