More massive futures

Verant's "Everquest" is arguably the most successful massively multiplayer role-playing game to date, with over 50,000 players often online at once. Nick-named "Evercrack" thanks to its addictive qualities, players often lose themselves in the creaky 3D graphics for hours at a time, and a second expansion pack for the game (titled "Scars of Velious") is about to be released. Now the game's Producer, Brad McQuaid, has spoken about how he sees the future of massively multiplayer games in an interview with RPGVault.

"I hope they'll become larger, more immersive, more diverse, and more dynamic. I think the second generation of MMORPGs will all involve very detailed 3D worlds - larger budgets and teams will allow this", according to Brad, who added that "I also think MMOG budgets will be approaching movie budget ranges" within the next five years.

"The power of computers in the future will be mind-boggling, and of course we'll all be creating 3D engines that use every drop of that power. Faster CPUs, more RAM, and more hard drive space will allow game developers in general and MMORPG creators specifically to create incredibly realistic looking and detailed worlds. And these worlds will change - a dynamic, living world is one of MMORPGs' holy grails, but in five years we'll all be a lot closer to that goal. I think you'll see landscapes changing before players' eyes, and I also think you'll see players finally having real influence in terms of game play… I'm talking about player-run governments, cities, armies, etc. What we're doing now will seem very primitive."