Over at their blog, Keen talks a little bit about his first Star Trek Online impressions, and how it “being Star Trek” sort of helps a little bit with dealing with potential problems with the game. The cons outweigh the pros, Keen opines, but it’s going to be played for at least a little bit because of the Star Trek feel.
Some people think that dressing up a game with a nice looking Intellectual Property dress is a bad thing, that it creates bias for players and causes problems long term, but I don’t seem to think so. Intellectual Property is, for better or worse, one of the driving marketing forces behind why geeks purchase certain things. Sure, you could sell, for example, a regular toaster, but slap a Cylon head on it and allow it to literally make imprinted Battlestar Galactica toast and you’ve got guaranteed interest even if the toast gets burned to a crisp. As jaded as they sometimes can be, geeks have a propensity towards merchandise and items that elicit feelings of joy and love for what they’re into, and IP sells that to the nines.
There’s also the idea that MMOs themselves are currently, on some level or another, “paying to beta test”. I’m an optimistic guy, folks, don’t get me wrong, but I also know about managing my expectations and realizing inevitable pitfalls aren’t always so bad. What a good or recognizable IP does, really, is help people come to the same conclusion, consciously or unconsciously. If Star Trek Online goes through growing pains (which it most certainly will), the frustration of not being able to play certain races, crash in an instanced zone, or get killed over and over in PvP will be somewhat made palatable by the fact that you are actually piloting a Federation ship or leading an away team. I can’t say that this is honestly such a terrible thing – for developers, it gives them breathing room to see what the problems behind their design are and to adjust, and for players, the (temporary) enhancement for retention rate will keep folks in the game for longer than normal.
Besides, if anything, history will teach lessons about MMO marketing, design, and implementation, so if STO somehow struggles after its initial IP charm, then later titles like Star Wars: The Old Republic, which will have the same issues, will tread more carefully. MMO releases are, if anything, a learning experience for developers, so if IP love just happens to work out, then that’ll be a huge driver towards creating more enjoyable (and hopefully more polished) games.