Stigmas are very common in the MMORPG industry, especially if you've been playing in this field for as long as I have. For example, World of Warcraft has commonly been associated with being "too easy" in the eyes of some MMOers, while Final Fantasy XI has that (somewhat deserved) stigma of being a bit complicated and a bit slow (and a lot of frustration!) in the eyes of other gamers. Of all of these prevailing stigmas that have been floating around for quite some time, however, Funcom and their enduring-despite-the-odds MMO, Age of Conan may have gotten the shortest stick of them all, having been stuck with one stigma that has virtually defined their game in the eyes of gamers and journalists alike (guilty!); that of having one of the worst MMO launches in a long, long time.
Unfortunately, one of the biggest problems with gaming stigmas, especially ones like AoC's, is that companies tend to run into giant brick walls when they try to work their way out of the muck that they've found themselves in. Here at ZAM, we chatted with Craig Morrison, Producer and Director of Age of Conan about the problematic launch of the game, and we've already done some heavy coverage on just what went wrong, but, on the alternative side, I think a lot of the general populace doesn't realize just how dedicated Funcom is to their ailing MMORPG, and just how far this game has grown beyond its inhibiting stereotype. We here at ZAM decided that, with their newest "Rise of the Godslayer" expansion announced and in development, now would be a perfect time to check out Age of Conan and find out what everyone's missing out on. Read on for Part I of II of our revisit to the Hyborian Kingdoms!