Namaste-Entertainment
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Tattered Notebook: EQ Next and Storybricks, sitting in a tree...
OMG! It's EverQuest Next news! No, really. I'm not pulling your chain. It's all official and everything. Namaste Entertainment, the creator of Storybricks, made the announcement that it is collaborating with SOE on EQ Next. So go ahead and do your finally-some-news celebratory dance, I'll wait a moment. Just don't go all out and strain something; you'll want to be able to spring into celebration again when more is revealed, right? Sadly, the news is pretty much summed up right there in that one sentence; we don't have any more details to revel in and no time frame for getting more (well, other than SOE Live, of course!). But when has a lack of specifics derailed fan excitement about an upcoming game? Well we may not have definitive details, but using what we know about Storybricks, we can certainly speculate on what the relationship between the two means for Norrath's next incarnation. And if there was ever a relationship I was happy to see, it's Storybricks and EverQuest Next's.
Storybricks team announces EverQuest Next collaboration
What's the Storybricks team been up to lately? Oh, nothing much. A few tweaks here, an idea or two there, and a whole lot of vacationing in Norrath. What's that, you say? It turns out that Namaste Entertainment has been teaming up with SOE to work on EverQuest Next, of all things. "After several months of working together with Sony Online," the team posted, "we can finally reveal that we are collaborating on EverQuest Next. EQNext is 'the biggest sandbox ever designed' and we are extremely happy to be working on the most innovative MMORPG under development." The post couldn't go into specifics about the project, but it did say that the team is doing "remarkable things" with the game.
Exclusive: Storybricks dev diary expounds on bringing NPCs to life
In much of the MMORPG world, NPCs are nothing more than quest-filled Pez dispensers, human vending machines doling out the standard kill-10-rats chore to each and every player who roams by. They are lifeless tools at best and forgettable backdrops at worst. But the folks working on Storybricks believe NPCs can be more, much more. In this exclusive dev diary, Brian "Psychochild" Green and Stéphane Bura discuss making AI that can interact with players on an individual basis, adapting to individuals' choices, needs, and emotions and even remembering and drawing on past interactions to make a deeply engaging sandbox experience. Check out their thoughts in the full dev diary after the break!
Storybricks shifting gears, partnering with 'several studios'
Namaste Entertainment is shifting gears on its Storybricks project. The company has posted an update letter on its website, and in a nutshell the firm will be moving away from development on a standalone product and focusing on partnerships with other game studios. The Kingdom of Default test project is being shelved. Namaste says it was "not enough of a game for traditional MMO audiences, too complex for casual players and too much of a game for educational uses." Namaste does have "several projects underway," but due to NDAs the company "cannot be as open as we have been in the past." Storybricks is an AI initiative that aims to upgrade the capabilities of game NPCs. Namaste "designed and built an emotional intelligence engine in order to breathe life into virtual characters. They have their own goals and moods; they interact among themselves and take decisions on their own. The story no longer revolves solely around scripted behavior; game worlds can now be rich and complex." [Thanks to John for the tip.]
Storybricks demo and interview with Brian 'Psychochild' Green and Kelly Heckman
Namaste Entertainment's upcoming MMO-narrative-building toolset, Storybricks, is quickly picking up steam among the massively multiplayer gaming community. The quirky title recently released a public alpha client to coincide with the project's Kickstarter campaign, and I had the opportunity to sit down with Namaste's Brian "Psychochild" Green and Kelly Heckman for a tour of the client as well as a short interview on what the future holds for the toolbox-cum-MMOG project. Follow on past the cut and join me as I try to pinpoint Namaste's goals for the future of Storybricks.
Storybricks' alpha web client goes public
Attention, all would-be MMO creators: The Storybricks alpha client has been made public, allowing players to utilize their creative urges to create in-depth adventures that can be shared with fellow players across the globe. The site seems to be getting slammed at the moment, so some patience may be required before you get your hands on the game proper, but if you're at all interested in Storybricks' particular brand of tale-weaving, it's definitely worth a look. And stay tuned because later today we'll have a hands-on impression of the alpha client as well as an interview with the folks behind it all. In the meantime, though, just click on through to the alpha client below and jump right in.
Storybricks alpha video shows how you can choose your own adventure
Ever since the Storybricks toolset was announced, a common question people have had is, "That sounds great, but how easy will it be to actually make my own MMO world? Will I need to be a master programmer or something?" The answer is, apparently, quite easy. The Storybricks devs took a few minutes to put together an alpha gameplay video showing how simple it is to set up complex social interactions between characters. As players piece together the "bricks" that dictate a character's mood, actions, and responses to the player, every encounter in the game turns into a "choose your own adventure" that has a variety of outcomes. One of the situations that was shown is that of a player encountering an irritated wizard. In the first attempt to interact with him, the player pesters the wizard, which prompts the wizard to unleash a zombie. If the player apologizes, the wizard is astonished, unsummons the zombie, and asks to be the player's friend. But in a second attempt, the player chooses to zap the zombie instead and then punch the guard that comes to investigate. This outcome leads to banishment from the city. Storybricks is currently seeking funding via Kickstarter. It's certainly a promising system fraught with possibilities, so give it a look-see after the jump!
Storybricks starts Kickstarter campaign, welcomes aboard animators Don Bluth and Gary Goldman
Build-your-own-MMO toolset Storybricks is getting a major second wind today as the company's announced that it's brought on board legendary animators Don Bluth and Gary Goldman to assist in animation and character design. The two are well-known in both the film and video game industry for their work on The Secret of NIMH and Dragon's Lair (among many other projects). "We intend to bring our experience in animation and character design to help provide appealing, believable, thinking characters to Storybricks' founding partners' vision for gaming," Goldman said. The two join a dream team of advisors for the project that includes Richard Bartle, Liz Danforth, and Chris Avellone. Storybricks is also tapping the Kickstarter well to help fund the project. The team hopes to raise $250,000 in pledges by June 1st. "Though we have found the right people who share our mad (or perhaps inspired) vision of role-playing and storytelling in computer RPGs, we haven't been able to find enough people willing to write us a check," the team explains on the page. Sponsors can get copies of the game, beta keys, and even digital versions of themselves inserted into the final version. [Source: Storybricks press release]
Storybricks video reveals UI, gameplay, zombified NPC
Back in January, Namaste Entertainment released its second video dev diary for Storybricks. Prior to that, company representatives drip-fed information to the press and convention-goers relative to the new title's story-based sandbox and its unique approach to both NPC and quest design. Today we get to actually see the game in action courtesy of the newest video dev diary. Storybricks CEO Rodolfo Rosini walks us through eight minutes of gameplay, complete with a look at the UI, a small story instance, and some of the options available for customizing NPC action and motivation. Storybricks looks to break the traditional kill-10-rats MMO quest paradigm. The video clip shows us how with multiple NPC actions, behaviors, and customizable flavor text (not to mention a zombie ability, which Rosini describes as "very important."). He also says the footage is "pre-pre-alpha," but it's pretty exciting nonetheless. See for yourself after the break. [Thanks to John for the tip!]
Massively Exclusive: Storybricks team talks art, animation, and non-combat design
Namaste Entertainment is working away on Storybricks, and the company has just released a new exclusive video dev diary featuring CEO Rodolfo Rosini, art manager Oliver Bermejo, and a glimpse of the game's art style and animations. Rosini talks at length about the inspiration behind the art; one of the chief influences is a book called The Illusion of Life by early Disney animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston. Rosini also name-checks Generation X geek icons like Dragon's Lair and The Secret of Nimh as well as more recent properties like the Fable series, and he says that the Storybricks team aims to convey emotion in a similar manner to these epics. "We want to capture some of the Disney magic without necessarily making a game for kids," Rosini explains. Rosini also talks a bit about the game design philosophy behind Storybricks. In current MMOs, he says, NPCs have two states: They either serve as quest dispensers or as targets. Namaste is aiming for a new type of gameplay that isn't built exclusively around combat. "Don't get me wrong -- murder works fairly well. There are 12 million murderers in World of Warcraft," Rosini says. "I've been one of them for many years, and I think it's a great game. But there has to be something different." Enjoy the full dev diary after the break.
Namaste Entertainment trumpets upcoming Storybricks beta
If you're part of the crowd that grouses at unoriginality in the MMO genre and are craving a fresh breath of minty innovation, then you might have been intrigued at the ideas put forth by Namaste Entertainment's Storybricks toolset earlier this year. But when would this become reality? Turns out the answer is sooner than you'd think. Namaste announced that Storybricks' beta is scheduled for February next year, and if you want to check it out, all you need to do is sign up for the newsletter and you'll be on the list. The beta will be a "skeletal version" of the toolkit without the associated game, but it should allow players to fiddle around with creating their own MMO scenarios and worlds. During the beta process, the devs will be actively creating Storybricks content and releasing it for testing as well. To cement the good news, Lead Designer Stephane Bura and MMO Architect Brian "Psychochild" Green have put forth their first developer diary talking about the lead-up to beta and what is planned for early next year. Feast your eyeballs and eardrums on the excitement after the jump!
The Soapbox: The battle for story
Disclaimer: The Soapbox column is entirely the opinion of this week's writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Massively as a whole. If you're afraid of opinions other than your own, you might want to skip this column. When I was in grad school, one of my favorite classes spent a couple of sessions talking about the use and importance of story in teaching. It opened my eyes to the fact that stories are one of the most universal elements of the human experience, from antiquity to modern times, ranging from a little kid playing with toys to an adult penning a novel. We simply love to tell and listen to stories -- they grab our attention, spark our imagination, teach us valuable lessons, and create lasting memories. But somewhere along the years, something went horribly wrong when it came to MMOs and stories. MMOs were always supposed to be the ultimate platform for storytelling, as both developers and players could pitch in to weave epic sagas, and for a while that seemed to be the case. Lately, however, I've seen a movement that is thrashing hard against stories in MMOs, typically using one of the following two statements: "Get your stupid story out of my game!" or "Stories are better left to other forms of entertainment." It's made me a sad panda to realize that MMO storytelling is under attack by the very players who should embrace it, and often they're acting as if they're being dragged, kicking and screaming, into future MMOs where story is placed as a priority. Make no mistake: The battle for story is on, and the stakes have never been higher.
Storybricks taking an alternative approach to MMO story
If you've been following MMOs in recent months, you've no doubt been inundated by the new story focus of the genre's upcoming AAA titles. Whether we're talking about Star Wars The Old Republic, The Secret World, or even TERA, story has been the favored industry buzzword for a while now. Enter Storybricks, a new concept from Namaste Entertainment that eschews the big boys' affinity for tacking single-player narratives onto a traditional MMO foundation in favor of player-generated content. Storybricks is more tool than game at this point, and a new post at Kill Ten Rats sheds a bit of light on what makes the software unique. Ravious describes Storybricks as an offshoot of tabletop roleplaying, and as such, a concept that linear gaming and conventional MMO fans may not embrace. It's an interesting read, and it features commentary from developer Brian Green and community manager Kelly Heckman. You can read more about Storybricks via Massively's hands-on impressions piece from this year's GenCon.
Global Chat: Player-created content edition
Welcome to this week's Global Chat! We love hearing what you have to say at Massively, and we love it even more when we can share the best comments with all of our readers. Massively staffers will be contributing some of their favorite comments every week, so keep an eye out every Sunday for more Global Chat! As always, we had plenty of interesting chatter among the Massively readers this week, but a few of the most intriguing comments focused on player-created content. In discussions covering topics from exciting new tools of the trade to long-running games, our ever-astute readers made us want to jump in and get involved. Follow along after the jump to see why!
Namaste Entertainment charts the history of MMOs [Updated]
It's one thing to have a vague sense of what MMOs came out when, but it's another thing entirely to see a huge chunk of history plotted out in one comprehensive chart. It's also dang cool to see. During her research into user-generated content in MMOs for Storybricks, Namaste Entertainment's Kelly Heckman built a giant graphic to get a handle on how games developed over the years. She not only plotted them by year released, but also lumped them in with their respective genres and showed which games inspired others. The end result gives the viewer a bird's eye view of the industry as it's grown in the past decade and a half. "It turned out so well we made the movie with it and plan to release the source so anyone can make a movie with it," Heckman said. You can walk through this giant infographic in the gallery below, and make sure to hit the jump to watch the accompanying video that makes use of the chart. [Update: Here's a direct link to a much bigger version of the infographic.] %Gallery-130322%
Storybricks: Opening the Pandora's box of MMO design
"I could make a better game than this!" At one point or another, we've all said this, usually in disgust after we've become fed up with another tired MMO trope or lazy quest design. Unfortunately, most of us don't have the good fortune to work for a major game studio and thus will never see our brilliant ideas come to fruition. Except that this may no longer be true. Enter Namaste Entertainment's Storybricks, a bold and intriguing concept aimed at putting game design in the hands of Joe and Jane Gamer. Namaste is a small startup that began in 2010 when its team members got tired of derivative titles and mechanics in the industry. Storybricks is the team's first project, and while it's still in its infancy, it's already started to capture the imaginations -- and excitement -- of gamers everywhere. At this past week's GenCon, I caught up with Brian "Psychochild" Green and the rest of the Namaste crew as they publicly demoed Storybricks to the gaming crowd. Hit the jump as we look at why this program may just be the answer to a question you've never fully asked.
