General Discussion

At Games Convention in Leipzig, MMORPG.com caught up with Sergio dos Santos of Ankama, the company behind the upcoming MMORPG, Wakfu. While some might scoff at the game's stylized graphics, the developers at Ankama are working on creating a truly dynamic world for their players.

While at Games Convention in Leipzig, MMORPG.com caught up with Sergio dos Santos to talk about Ankama's upcoming MMORPG, Wakfu.
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As we began the interview, it became clear very quickly that Wakfu is not your typical MMORPG:

First, we learned that Wakfu is not just an online game. In fact, the online game plays only a small part in the overall franchise. For example, a French television channel has already started production on a Wakfu television series that is scheduled to run from October to November of this year in France (negotiations are currently underway in other countries like the US and Germany). On top of this, the company also has plans to release a trading card game with Upper Deck and an Xbox 360 game (not the MMO).

Read the article here.

I could be wrong but isn't this game already out and called dofus? Or did they seriously just re-hash dofus into a new game?

So the developers made the game deliberately annoying by hiding their 'dynamic challenges' and use that as an excuse for gameplay?

Always nice to see MMORPG development take a step backward. 

1) Wakfu is an entirely different setup from Dofus. It's a much more dynamic world. The gameplay is differnt and the classes have entirely new setups. 

2) The "hidden challenges" aren't anywhere near as annoying as it sounds. If anything they offer you more freedom to run around and do as you please.

I think that Wafu really offers a refreshing perspective change from your standard MMO. It's about as "go anywhere, do anything" as you can get without blowing up civilization around you. 

Wonder if they are writing an article on "how to not market a game".  To start with what in incredibly ludicrous name. 

Nit-picking a name? Come on. Look down that list of MMO's and tell me there isn't one game title that can be construed as rediculous in some fashion.

EVE online? What is that? Some kinda bible game?

Ragnarok? It's Norse right?

MapleStory? Something about trees? Maybe like Animal crossing?

I grant you, you'd have to be living under a rock not to know what Lord of the Rings, Warhammer, Age of Conan, or World of Warcraft are, but I'm willing to be there's more than one person out there who thinks each and every one of those names are stupid.

In the end, it's not the name that matters. It's not even the sound or the graphics. It's the gameplay. That's what keeps them coming back. That's my opinion, anyway.

A short lesson on marketing.  Names are not a problem when you have few competitors.  It is a big problem when you have lots as we have now in the MMO arena.  A catchy name will get people to try it.  Let's face it, no one has the time to download and try all these MMO's so they either get word of mouth to attact players or a catchy name.

They really blew it on the catchy name, hence they better have great gameplay to get everyone writing about them, because the casual reader is going to bypass this game.

Don't judge the game by its name x) Wakfu has more into it that what meets the eye. Ankama is a company full of humour. Trust me when I say that <:)

~Zeta