MMO版《英雄聯盟》砍掉重練?Riot蠻王:不想只做成套皮遊戲 埋首苦幹中
Riot Games 數年前就透露幕後正在開發 MMORPG 版《英雄聯盟》,由首席設計師 Greg Street(外號鬼蟹)帶領團隊發展,甚至在 2020 年公開招募職缺;不過這些年來,Riot 始終沒有明確的成品,就連鬼蟹本人都在去年離開了 Riot Games。而在今日稍早 Riot 創辦人終於針對這項企劃公開回應。
Riot 創辦人泰達米爾(@MarcMerrill)表示,官方決定把 MMO 版《英雄聯盟》砍掉重練,因為他們不希望端出一款像是市面上現存的 MMO,但只把外皮換成《英雄聯盟》的符文大地世界觀。
After a lot of reflection and discussion, we've decided to reset the direction of the project some time ago. This decision wasn't easy, but it was necessary. The initial vision just wasn’t different enough from what you can play today.
— Tryndamere (@MarcMerrill) March 20, 2024
We don’t believe you all want an MMO that…
(沒錯他就是蠻王本人,《英雄聯盟》有些早期英雄的名字是用真人去取的)
泰達米爾亦指出:砍掉重練已經發生一段時間了,現在現在團隊大致抵定開發方向並且努力默默製作;雖然尚未端出成品但「沒消息就是好消息」,這表示他們正在埋首苦幹、全心全意製作玩家會喜歡的東西,在此他希望能獲取玩家們的諒解。
Resetting our development path also means we will be "going dark" for a long time—likely several years. This silence will help provide space for the team to focus on the incredible amount of work ahead of them. We understand the excitement and anticipation that surrounds new…
— Tryndamere (@MarcMerrill) March 20, 2024
至於鬼蟹走了之後,目前 MMO 新團隊將由 Fabrice Condominas(@Faburisu)帶領,他先前待過 EA、Bioware,曾參與製作《質量效應:仙女座》、《星際大戰:中隊爭雄》。
Excited and humbled to join this incredibly talented team and take on the huge responsibility of leading a game with such high expectations.
— Fabrice Condominas (@Faburisu) March 20, 2024
Developing an MMO is a monumental undertaking, and while I am eager to dive into the work, I am also mindful of the patience and… https://t.co/FKJhg7lPSR
考慮到今年 1 月 Riot Games 裁員不少人,再加上近年他們明顯把發展重點放到射擊遊戲《特戰英豪》上,社群普遍難以想像這款符文大地世界觀的 MMO 還要花幾年才會問世,部分網友甚至認為可能會胎死腹中。此外,鬼蟹離開 Riot Games 後,去年 11 月亦成立新工作室、開發代號「Ghost」的史詩級 MMORPG,說不定這款遊戲可能還會比 Riot 開發的 MMO 還更早發售。
延伸閱讀:《英雄聯盟》前副總裁鬼蟹成立新工作室 領軍開發代號「鬼」MMORPG