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The Daily Grind: Procedurally-generated MMOs
With the way MMOs keep changing and growing, there's some very exciting things on the horizon for players wanting something more than what's currently out there. For example, Eskil Steenberg is working on a unique procedurally-generated MMO - you could call it an art-house MMO - named Love. What we've seen of it has been utterly fascinating so far, and the fact that he's developing it solo ensures it will hopefully come out precisely as he wants it. Outside of that, a friend of mine named Jason tossed out a post this morning about another procedurally-generated engine - the CityEngine - that can generate enormous cities completely on the fly. As he mentioned, can you imagine using it to create a horror MMO where you can essentially wander for huge distances, in and out of buildings before you find another player? Completely open and playable building interiors? Zombies? In a sandbox? We'd be happy to just play there as a seriously spooky fragfest. But before we get ahead of ourselves, we wanted to ask you - what do you think of the idea of procedurally-generated content? Do you think this is really the only logical choice in terms of building enormous open-ended sandbox MMO worlds for the future, or do you think the tightly designed and scripted worlds we have now are the only way to go? Can you see procedurally-generated games becoming a part of the mainstream, or is the tech too open ended for us? Are we ready to break free and tell our own stories?
Omni-directional treadmill allows individuals to sashay through virtual cities
Though not the first omni-directional treadmill we've ever seen, this version crafted for the EU-funded CyberWalk Project is entirely more interesting. The 6- x 6-meter device features an active walking area of 4.5- x 4.5-meters, and later this month, individuals anxious to prance through a virtual city will be able to strap on a head-mounted display, lace up their LA Lights and indulge in escapism. Aside from giving curious persons the ability to walk through a recreated version of ancient Pompeii, the device could also be used to meander through buildings not yet created or give firefighters a way to train without placing them in harm's way. Now, if only there was an option to dissolve into pixels and teleport to locales you find particularly intriguing, we'd be sold.[Via Slashdot]
