Why MMORPGs Work (or Don't Work): Thoughts from an Aging Gamer

Everyone's talking MMOs these days...almost like a litany of formulae for success...EQ2, World of Warcraft, Dark Age of Camelot Catacombs, the list goes on. But everything has to start with a plan--a master plan as it were. You start with a foundation in any building, and any good game should and must have a good foundation. For games, that means having good code, good middle-ware, and a good idea how you want to use it all. From there, you have to decide what your game is going to be about--be it a sequel, a stand-alone, or something altogether different. But trust me when I say that, without a plan, any game is doomed to fail.