**this can also be seen at Video Gaming Blog, where I am a contributing author.
Age has its benefits. Besides the wisdom, experience, and more than a few grey hairs there is the chance of plans working out. This is true in life and apparently in virtual life as well. When I say virtual life I mean MMO (massively multiplayer online), and in this case in particular I mean the granddaddy of the modern gaming systems, Everquest.
Now I’m sure that most any casual gamer has heard of Everquest. The first to create a stable, visual MMO which spawned a whole genre in video gaming. There were issues of course, dial-up was horrendous, you had to cue to kill virtually anything, trains were plentiful and devastating. Not to mention the occasional crash. But there was nothing else like it and millions had to play this new wonder.
Of course the genre matured, technology improved, and new themes were introduced. Books, comic books, and movies have all lead to newer MMO’s and several are planned for the near future. The leadership has changed from the original to the latest big thing, WoW (World of Warcraft). And a huge amount of respect has been garnered with this growth in interest and viability.
One of the benefits of this maturity is that other entertainment formats are now available. Rather than movies inspiring MMO’s the process is now going towards MMO’s inspiring a movie. And of course if there is going to be a movie, which game would be better to feature than… Everquest. Yep, not WoW but the granddaddy.
Sony seems to finally be looking seriously at developing an Everquest movie, targeting a 2009 or 2010 release date. They even have, reportedly, Avi Arad to produce. That would be a great sign since he was the man behind the recent transition from comic books to movies for several of the better Marvel comic book series. Add to that the fact that the writer from 300, Michael Gordon, may also be attached to this story and you can have a good movie.
The inherent problems are the lack of interest since Everquest stopped being the leader years ago, and the story as well. If this is done badly you can expect another version of Dungeons & Dragons the movie. Awful is to kind and glamorous a term for that dren.
But if it’s done right, like maybe the first X-Men movie or, if we were really lucky, the Lord of the Rings then we can see several other films and really get to enjoy the alternate lives in a grand scale. Now tell me that wouldn’t be of interest?
Expect to hear more soon. This isn’t over by a longshot.
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