1. Cross-Genre Collaboration
Heres one that is more of a hope than a certainty. More and more titles are coming out these days that involve a number of genres of gameplay working in collaboration in a multiplayer setting, and they look positively awesome. One of the biggest franchises leading the charge is Eve Online. Eve, the crazy-complicated intergalactic space MMO that has a real economy that sort of translates to real money currently has a spin-off called Dust 514 in the beta stages of development. Unlike Eve Online, Dust 514 is a first-person shooter that takes place in the Eve universe. Players fight in large planetary environments, similar to the Battlefield games, but the gameplay is directly linked to that in Eve Online. FPS players can be hired as mercenaries by MMO players, mutually affecting the games directly. MMO players can provide assistance to FPS players on the ground, while ground troops can capture territory for players in the starships above. Remember, these are two separate titles--how cool is that? Another beta-only cross-genre title in the works is Heroes and Generals. This independently produced game is part World War II shooter, part real-time strategy. RTS players (the generals) move military units including infantry, tanks, paratroopers and more across a giant map of Europe with hundreds of towns and battle sites to capture in a virtual world war using either a PC or iOS/Andriod tablet. FPS players (the heroes) take the role of the troops being moved around, fighting in the battles their generals move them to. This style of gameplay is really exciting because it brings together gamers with different styles to create a game environment with strategic and narrative depth beyond that set by the developers. Rather than interacting in a 2-D universe of decisions, cross-genre collaboration gives a new level of accountability and depth to strategy and action that is really exciting to see in the world of online gaming. Lets hope this one doesnt go the way of Zynga.