MMORPG Viability

MMORPG Viability

I've been saving up my money for a while and I've really been thinking about a fun way to invest it. I love to play mmorpgs, but I've been sickened by the genre lately as everything released recently has been nothing but overhyped cookie cookies of games before it. The genre really needs a kick in the right direction. So lately I've been thinking of starting a commercial MMORPG project.

First off, I am a very experienced programmer and the actual aspect of programming an mmorpg won't be a problem. I know how to manage bandwidth to keep things within limits for massive amounts of players. I would also more than likely license a networking suite specifically for mmo games that already handles thing such as dynamically/seamlessly splitting the world across multiple physical servers. Probably the best indie solution would be UnityPark which can be licensed for just under $1000 and ties in nicely with Unity3D for which I already have a professional license.

The part the worries me is the art, which in todays age and expectations is the most expensive part of game development. I would really like to keep my budget below $20,000. I'm not sure you could really make much of a mmorpg with $20,000 though and was wondering what you guys think? I would like to do a similar art style to the 3D version of Evoland which I asked about here. Really great game by the way.

Just wanted to get your guys thoughts and opinions on such a project, and hell if your a good artist send me a PM or something and we can talk numbers.

 

Thanks,

Kalagaraz