It's been said that interest in any MMORPG normally waxes and wanes, but Funcom quest designer for Age of Conan">Joel Bylos, Funcom's Age of Conan (PC, Xbox 360) quest designer, has one particular MMORPG in mind: Blizzard's World of Warcraft. Simply put, Bylos believes that World of Warcraft is losing its appeal.

Mr. Bylos described it as "a feeling on the internet" that the luster that had once marked Blizzard's World of Warcraft is now fading.  Furthermore, Bylos said that the mistake that developers make is that they try to beat WoW at WoW's own game-essentially making a clone of Blizzard's MMORPG that has a tough time competing with the already established WoW.

Which is why, Mr. Bylos added, Funcom intends to take a different approach to the MMORPG genre: Age of Conan is going to stand on its own two feet instead of merely basking in the shadow of Blizzard's World of Warcraft. Whether Funcom succeeds or not is something worth watching out for.