Micro Forte Interview

IGN PC had the chance to quiz Micro Forte lead designer Paul McInnes about their upcoming spy-themed MMORPG and the future of the MMORPG industry as a whole.
Q: What can we expect from MMOs over the next few years?

A: Some of the natural places for people to innovate in the MMO space are in genre, are in gameplay and are in business model. The 100,000 pound gorilla of World of Warcraft has actually been refreshing for the MMO space. Because it's forced people to say, I love that there are subscribers and a big community and I want to make a community-based game, but I cannot compete head-to-head [with WoW]. I can't just make a WoW clone and think it will be successful. I need something to be different.

Some people will attempt that battle and come up with something innovative in that space. The amazing [developers] need to start innovating and looking further [beyond the] field. The whole era of MMOs being just old school RPGs is pretty much over. We're going to see more and more innovation in terms of any kind of gameplay you would see in any single-player game, translated across to a community-based, social-based, persistence-based game.