Non-violent MMORPG Glitch launches

This week a new and highly original MMORPG launched, and almost nobody noticed. The game is Glitch, and it is very different from whatever else you played. The most obvious difference is that it is non-violent. With even kids' MMORPGs like Free Realms features some sort of combat, that is pretty remarkable. How many non-violent MMORPGs do you know? I can only think of Glitch and A Tale in the Desert. If you are very generous, you include Puzzle Pirates in which "combat" is handled by a very abstract puzzle game similar to Tetris. But after that it's either MMORPGs revolving around combat, or "social spaces" like Club Penguin which are barely games, and certainly not role-playing games.

Glitch is one of the most original games I have played in a while. It is funny, and has lots of interesting new features like the world becoming larger through player cooperation. And of course it has features that resemble other MMORPGs, like a skill system that is similar to the one of EVE (real-time learning) or instanced player housing. Glitch is full of highly creative fun features to discover, like your auction house purchases being delivered by flying yoga frogs. Namaste! Gameplay revolves around gathering resources, crafting, and collaboration with other players on projects.

I just wonder if all those people who *say* they want original games are really ready to actually play them. Or whether they say "What? No combat like in all the other games I play? I'm outta here!". Do we really want innovative to the point of being very different? Or do we just want a slightly improved version of what we already have?