MMORPGs often take their inspiration from existing intellectual properties including novels, films, and even pre-existing games. A few of the comments on yesterday's edition of The Daily Grind got us to thinking about untapped IPs that could conceivably be made into online games. Whether they should be made into online games is another thing entirely.

Take George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire opus, by most accounts one of the landmarks of fantasy literature and an absurdly detailed feat of world- and character-building. Would it make a great MMO? Eh, I'm not so sure. The ground-work would certainly be there, but at the end of the day, it would likely turn into some sort of faction grind, skill grind, or level grind, and much of the human drama that makes the books what they are would be lost. A similar fate might befall Frank Herbert's Dune, another genre classic based in a world that lends itself to game settings, but again featuring a narrative driven by memorable characters, not PvP, questing, or lulz-worthy avatar names.

What do you think, Massively readers? Would you like to see your favorite world given the MMO treatment, or are you skeptical that it would be the same old same old with new skins and a built-in audience?

From Massively.

TH