thought-experiment
Latest
EVE Evolved: Designing EVE Onland, part 1
When I'm not playing or writing about EVE Online, I can usually be found huddled over my computer typing lines of code into a compiler and chipping away at bugs that make varying degrees of sense. Designing my own hardcore space game is a really fun challenge and very fulfilling work, but I have a dirty little game dev secret: I've actually always wanted to make a fantasy game. While the budget and personnel required to take on a project the scale of an MMO remain quite far outside my grasp for the moment, it's still fun to think about how I might design such a game if the opportunity arose. The MMO genre seems to be heading for a sandbox revolution this year, and there's no bigger sandbox than EVE Online, but could all of EVE's gameplay translate to a fantasy game? EVE is probably the most atypical MMO out there, maintaining a subscription-based single-shard PvP sandbox in a genre that's typically headed in the exact opposite direction. There are several new sci-fi sandboxes on the way that may or may not qualify as massively multiplayer titles, but the vast majority of MMO gamers still prefer to keep their feet on the ground in fantasy lands. I often find myself wondering how much of EVE Online's core gameplay is possible only because of its setting -- and how much could actually be applied to a fantasy MMO. Not only should it be possible to adapt most of what makes EVE great to a modern land-based game, but many of the mechanics sandbox gamers now attribute almost solely to EVE actually started life in classic fantasy MMOs like Ultima Online. In this week's unusual EVE Evolved, I'd like to start a game design thought experiment as I delve into the hypothetical world of EVE Onland.
The Daily Grind: What game would you play for a job?
Today we're going to offer a thought experiment, of sorts. Pick a game that's currently operating, any game. Now imagine that it's your job to play this game five days out of the week, eight hours a day, with occasional time in the middle for lunch. What game would you pick? Keep in mind that this isn't about working as a tester, but still working a job. You would be told what you need to do for eight hours along with daily responsibilities, and it would be up to you to accomplish those goals. Not that those goals would necessarily be logical or even possible within your shift, but that's not the point here. Hardcore raiders from back in the days of World of Warcraft's original launch will likely remember being in a similar situation, but you don't need to have that environment. Maybe you're just playing economics in EVE Online full-time, or perhaps your job is crafting in Final Fantasy XIV. So what game would you play for a job? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
The Daily Grind: Would truly unique items help or hurt an MMO?
Let's indulge in a little thought experiment. Let's say that your favorite MMO has enabled the salvage of an entirely unique, singularly powerful weapon/item. And by 'unique', I don't mean 'Legendary', I mean 'only one person per server may have this thing'. It binds on pick-up for 24 hours, then disappears from your inventory, to become available for the next person to find it.Let's say that for those 24 hours, the wielder of this object is untouchable. Would such an item help or hurt your favorite MMO? Sure, it's an unbalancer, but it's also a goad. If it can only be found, then everyone gets an equal chance for it, no favorites. And who wouldn't want to be GM (or the combat equivalent) for a day? Of course, we know what passions uber items can arouse in the hardcore, but what do you think? Good or bad idea?
