Blogger tackles principles of creating “virtual worlds”
Or, more appropriately, Richard Bertle of Terra Nova wrote a pretty general analysis piece on creating virtual online worlds – if you can call it analytical. It’s nothing as great as a 1000-page book on MMO development, but at least it does have its good points.
But what Bertle discussed only nipped off the tip of the iceberg, tackling on the “bare minimums” of creating a virtual world, which include persistence, the establishment of rules and virtual world “physics,” the placement of virtual avatars and that the virtual worlds must be as synchronized with reality as possible.
Why discuss such a topic, you ask? Well, it’s because we’ve seen more than a generous share of fantasy based MMORPGs that try to tackle dynamics made more famous over single-player games. You can easily spot that the alchemy mechanics that can be attempted in World of Warcraft, for example, are slightly reminiscent of the deeper training-based skills mechanic in The Elder Scrolls Legends of games.
But then no matter how realistic MMO games try to be (such as that of Second Life), we’re still left with persistent worlds that although can affect the players from slightly to tragically, cannot be immediately affected by the players actions upon the world. Developers make the changes and then the world reflects a “virtual” reaction to player activities. Seeing an online world as living and as evolving as, for example, Avernum III (or Exile III) is pretty rare today.
What would it take to make a great MMO that would surely fit your fancy? Feel free to discuss.
Via Terra Nova
Or, more appropriately, Richard Bertle of Terra Nova wrote a pretty general analysis piece on creating virtual online worlds – if you can call it analytical. It’s nothing as great as a 1000-page book on MMO development, but at least it does have its good points.
But what Bertle discussed only nipped off the tip of the iceberg, tackling on the “bare minimums” of creating a virtual world, which include persistence, the establishment of rules and virtual world “physics,” the placement of virtual avatars and that the virtual worlds must be as synchronized with reality as possible.
Why discuss such a topic, you ask? Well, it’s because we’ve seen more than a generous share of fantasy based MMORPGs that try to tackle dynamics made more famous over single-player games. You can easily spot that the alchemy mechanics that can be attempted in World of Warcraft, for example, are slightly reminiscent of the deeper training-based skills mechanic in The Elder Scrolls Legends of games.
But then no matter how realistic MMO games try to be (such as that of Second Life), we’re still left with persistent worlds that although can affect the players from slightly to tragically, cannot be immediately affected by the players actions upon the world. Developers make the changes and then the world reflects a “virtual” reaction to player activities. Seeing an online world as living and as evolving as, for example, Avernum III (or Exile III) is pretty rare today.
What would it take to make a great MMO that would surely fit your fancy? Feel free to discuss.
Via Terra Nova
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