All settled in? A brief overview.

Preface

Greeting there, I'm Higura, and this will be my blog for posting thoughts, project updates, ideas, etc. I'm making this blog really to help me keep a record of my progress and keep my thoughts and direction organized. Just to be clear, what is written on this blog is mostly thoughts, so unless I post a screenshot or something, then it probably won't be one hundred percent concrete.

To start, I've been a roleplayer for almost eight years, I've been playing MMORPG's just as long. I've watched MMO games slowly go downhill for quite some time. I usually roleplay in those games, remaining in character, and getting ridiculed by the "so leet omg XD" players. And I thought to myself, "When did MMORPGs become a grindfest that catered to blubbering idiots?" I know that seems a bit harsh, and I know no amount of complaining will fix that. So I have a vision of creating an MMORPG that revolves around players being 'in character', and player decisions actually making more of a difference in the game world. Not this, "Go kill ten slimes, and then get 50 EXP so you can go to the next quest."

Games include lots of Arbitrary features that mostly end up serving no purpose at all. "Hey look, we have a jump button... There's nothing to jump on." or "Hey look, there's two factions, but they really don't do anything." Not to mention the incessant need of players numbercrunching everything they get their hands on. "Oh nice, I got a sword, I wonder how much I can upgrade this?" rather than appreciating that they have a new weapon. I would love to do away with all of the silly features that appeal to annoying people who don't bother to socialize, and focus on a game that rewards players for interaction and such. The .hack series is something I might reference quite a bit, not for it's uniqueness but more for how characters are actually engaged in the game, and socialize. "The World" is a conceptual idea in which games should aspire to be, not having developers moving in a direction away from that.

I'm a frequent player of Mabinogi: Fantasy Life, and the developers, DevCat, in Korea have tried very hard to make it less about grind. (In before lol AP grind.) There's much you can do in game, even without leveling. Yet people just.. don't. You can build fires, sit around them and socialize, but people won't. You can play music, but people don't. You can attend parties, go questing, explore a big continent, but people don't. It's mostly "look how expensive i am XD" or "lolnub im level 3000". I guess this is partly to blame by the publisher, who seems to cater to that sort of behavior, but there is a moderate, healthy Roleplaying community on the server I play on, and since the games structure itself seems to encourage roleplay, the players who participate seem to really enjoy it.

Ideas are Platinum

Regardless if no one ever reads what I write, or ever plays the game I hope to put together, or if I ever get to the stage of putting it together, it will have been nice to have written about the experience, and I hope that if I can inspire a few people, or at least get them to agree, then maybe it will have all been worth it. I know basic Java, and some other interesting programming things, but by definition, I'm a newb at it. It's not hard to learn, and I enjoy every minute of it, but don't expect miracles of what I do. I'm going to take the time to explain some of what I have in mind, in detail.

1. An MMORPG that rewards players for being in character, or encourages roleplaying in itself.

I sometimes wonder how a game would be if not everyone was completely retarded, and actually had some sort of civility to themselves. Of course if a game caters to people who enjoy roleplaying, and helps expand their experience, of course more people like that would be attracted to the game. I think the main problem with MMORPGs today, is that 90% of them are all the same thing, with pallet and texture swaps. WoWClones, I guess. I think it would be wise to do away with the unnecessary grindy nature of the game. "But Higura! Grinding is what keeps people playing MMOs", you'll say. Not necessarily, I log into, and continue playing Mabinogi, only to continue advancing my characters story among the roleplaying circles. It's entertained me for years, and I didn't need grind for that. Surely I'm not the only one? There must be plenty of people who are like that.

I'm not talking about a virtual world, like Second life, wherein all you do is roleplay and do fuck all, which is still interesting, depending on the sim you visit. (Despite all of the ERPers plaguing the whole game.) A game would still need an objective Adventurey feel to it.

2. Be part of the game, not a visitor/

What do you think of when you think of the words "Fantasy RPG"? I'm sure most people reference World of Warcraft, or Lord of the Rings, which are both acceptable answers. Lord of the Rings Online, I have not played, but I've played World of Warcraft back during Burning Crusade, as a Dwarf. I didn't really enjoy it.

Now, bear with me, because this is what I personally would like to see, and it may seem a bit jumbled, due to me not making any sense. I would love to play a game where there was actual diplomacy, conflicts, economy, etc. Probably not something I could pull off with my current level of coding. Imagine if you would, two, or three factions, all controlling territory. Let's be vague and call them, "The good guys", "The Bad Guys", and "The Outlaws". Each faction controls a section of the map, has their own races, and guilds, and interacts with each other depending on how the guilds of that land vote. Example: The Bad Guys want to go to war. A vote is held among the ruling guilds, and they decide on how they should act.

Rather, guilds, and those who are employed, or in the service of that guild, yet not a member. Say you pick up a quest in a guild controlled town. Depending on how much work you do, or how well you perform, you can become an affiliate of that town, and gain the ability to vote on issues. The idea is.. vague, I know, but it's sort of there.

As for towns themselves, I believe it should be up to the players on how to manage them. A town with 6 buildings and no shops, could become a bustling city, or shrivel away to a single abandoned hut. Players engaging in farming, lumberwork, or other activities, can help bolster the economy of the local town, as in, selling wood to a shopkeeper would inturn have the shopkeeper start selling wood-related items. Guilds could put homes up for rent, and players could decorate the property, and use the facilities as they see fit.

Reliance on players isn't something developers like to do, it seems.

As for the environments, try to make them as friendly to players for roleplaying as possible, making arrests, doors work, furniture is interactive, etc etc.

...And I should probably stop there, before I write a novel, and scare away any readers. Please leave a comment or some such, if you did read. I'd love to hear ideas, suggestions, complaints, or simply telling me how my ambition is too great, for someone of my skill.

Until next time, Godkiller Higura.