Warbie
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After reading Sterns thread on the Conan game I got to thinking about what i'd really like in an mmo, and what i'd like to lose. Out would go grinding (who really likes this?) and also levelling ...
I'm not a fan of the way levelling in current mmo's herds players through the game world, taking away much of their freedom to explore and do as they please. Not only does this put a massive limit on where they can go while levelling, it also makes 90% of the world become redundant once you've reached the maximum level (no decent drops/mats/challenge). And then there's pvp which, imo, just doesn't work (and this is from someone who's spent the time to become exhaulted with av twice). Any game that allows players to take on umpteen foes without fear of a scratch in fundamentally flawed and open to all types of lame behaviour.
So, i'd like an mmo that involved no levelling at all. Instead, the more you play the more you get to tailor your character (what they look like, how they move - down to each animation - how they sound, how they fight), but not necessarily get much tougher. Of course, you would be able to get more powerful, but never to the extent that you can take on 2 or 3 people without concern. I'd like two people who are new to the game to have a fighting chance against a guy who's put in 1000's of hours.
The inspiration for this has come from 3 games. The first is Fire Pro wrestling (great series of wrestling games) on the DC (and many other platforms). You could create your wrestler, dress them up, choose their build, their moves, and even some of the animations used. I loved this, and would spend hours making new wrestlers to fight with characters my friends had made. Do you want a more traditional punch to the gut, or a karate style whack to the face? A flailing toe punt to the nuts, or a round house to the chops? (you get the idea). It's always been satisfying to be able to beat someone up in a video game, but to do it in a way that you've chosen is even better.
Now expand on this 1000 fold - do you want you character to lope around town, have a limp, or move gracefully. Instead of a punch maybe a vicious scratch to the eyes. The difference will be purely aesthetic - basic stats aside, a weak punch would do the same damage regardless of the animation - but I can guarantee it'd be a whole lot more satisfying. 1000's of animations to cover every action in the game would be needed.
The second game is Gunbound - a free online game that shares much in common with Worms. Winning earns you gold which allows you to buy new clothes and accessories, which in turn give a boast to stats. You can then take your new gear to servers and battle it out. There are also servers that allow you to wear your uber clothes, but you don't recieve any of the bonuses and thus level out the playing field. To my suprise, these are by far the most popular servers. People spending a silly amount of time just to collect clothes - and they're only doing it to look different. Much is the same in Animal Crossing. People spend hours designing new shirts to wear, or sell, or send to friends. They fill their houses with all sorts of crap in order to make them their own (i'm sure many of us are doing the same in Oblivion right now). And there's the Sims of course - people love this stuff. In my ideal mmo we'd be able to to the same, but again to a much greater extent. There'd be all manner of crating and trading of furniture/clothes/weapons/armour/accessories.
Lastly there's No Mercy on the N64 (with a little of Power Stone thrown in). Another wrestling game that has the most versatile fighting system i've encounted (and I play alot of beat em ups). It would work just as well for wrestling as it would for any martial art, with or without weapons - which, for a game that is all about making whatever character you want, is needed. I'm also a much bigger fan of real time combat then turn based, behind the scenes dice rolling, and would like a fighting system to match.
Stick these together and we have a game in which we can make a truly unique character, down to the tiniest detail. You'd start with a generic looking fellow and the basic choices - hair/eye/skin colour etc. Over time you could work on his/her build - bulk up, go on a diet, exercise. As your build changes your stats alter to match. Training in a certain schools of combat would unlock various moves and animations, or allow you to buy certain clothes/weapons - which you could then combine with others if you wanted. Maybe a dancing lesson would grant the option to walk with cheesey strut, or an injury to the leg give the option of a limp. Perhaps an option to learn moves from people or creatures you fight, or an uber move from boss.
As there is no big difference in power between players pvp should also be more tense and exciting. I'd imagine the intial stages of a fight would be trying to work out what exactly it is you're up against - the more someone plays the more they can specialise, you wouldn't know if they knew some Judo, had been trained by a pirate, or were proficient with an axe, untill you saw it for yourself. Variety, suprise, and practise will be the way to win - not by spending endless hours grinding for new uber gear.
I'd like some limitations (pre guns etc), but otherwise it's be up to the people who play the game.
Anyhoo, this has gone for far longer than I intended, and it's just scratching the surface. I doubt anyone has got this far anways
I'm not a fan of the way levelling in current mmo's herds players through the game world, taking away much of their freedom to explore and do as they please. Not only does this put a massive limit on where they can go while levelling, it also makes 90% of the world become redundant once you've reached the maximum level (no decent drops/mats/challenge). And then there's pvp which, imo, just doesn't work (and this is from someone who's spent the time to become exhaulted with av twice). Any game that allows players to take on umpteen foes without fear of a scratch in fundamentally flawed and open to all types of lame behaviour.
So, i'd like an mmo that involved no levelling at all. Instead, the more you play the more you get to tailor your character (what they look like, how they move - down to each animation - how they sound, how they fight), but not necessarily get much tougher. Of course, you would be able to get more powerful, but never to the extent that you can take on 2 or 3 people without concern. I'd like two people who are new to the game to have a fighting chance against a guy who's put in 1000's of hours.
The inspiration for this has come from 3 games. The first is Fire Pro wrestling (great series of wrestling games) on the DC (and many other platforms). You could create your wrestler, dress them up, choose their build, their moves, and even some of the animations used. I loved this, and would spend hours making new wrestlers to fight with characters my friends had made. Do you want a more traditional punch to the gut, or a karate style whack to the face? A flailing toe punt to the nuts, or a round house to the chops? (you get the idea). It's always been satisfying to be able to beat someone up in a video game, but to do it in a way that you've chosen is even better.
Now expand on this 1000 fold - do you want you character to lope around town, have a limp, or move gracefully. Instead of a punch maybe a vicious scratch to the eyes. The difference will be purely aesthetic - basic stats aside, a weak punch would do the same damage regardless of the animation - but I can guarantee it'd be a whole lot more satisfying. 1000's of animations to cover every action in the game would be needed.
The second game is Gunbound - a free online game that shares much in common with Worms. Winning earns you gold which allows you to buy new clothes and accessories, which in turn give a boast to stats. You can then take your new gear to servers and battle it out. There are also servers that allow you to wear your uber clothes, but you don't recieve any of the bonuses and thus level out the playing field. To my suprise, these are by far the most popular servers. People spending a silly amount of time just to collect clothes - and they're only doing it to look different. Much is the same in Animal Crossing. People spend hours designing new shirts to wear, or sell, or send to friends. They fill their houses with all sorts of crap in order to make them their own (i'm sure many of us are doing the same in Oblivion right now). And there's the Sims of course - people love this stuff. In my ideal mmo we'd be able to to the same, but again to a much greater extent. There'd be all manner of crating and trading of furniture/clothes/weapons/armour/accessories.
Lastly there's No Mercy on the N64 (with a little of Power Stone thrown in). Another wrestling game that has the most versatile fighting system i've encounted (and I play alot of beat em ups). It would work just as well for wrestling as it would for any martial art, with or without weapons - which, for a game that is all about making whatever character you want, is needed. I'm also a much bigger fan of real time combat then turn based, behind the scenes dice rolling, and would like a fighting system to match.
Stick these together and we have a game in which we can make a truly unique character, down to the tiniest detail. You'd start with a generic looking fellow and the basic choices - hair/eye/skin colour etc. Over time you could work on his/her build - bulk up, go on a diet, exercise. As your build changes your stats alter to match. Training in a certain schools of combat would unlock various moves and animations, or allow you to buy certain clothes/weapons - which you could then combine with others if you wanted. Maybe a dancing lesson would grant the option to walk with cheesey strut, or an injury to the leg give the option of a limp. Perhaps an option to learn moves from people or creatures you fight, or an uber move from boss.
As there is no big difference in power between players pvp should also be more tense and exciting. I'd imagine the intial stages of a fight would be trying to work out what exactly it is you're up against - the more someone plays the more they can specialise, you wouldn't know if they knew some Judo, had been trained by a pirate, or were proficient with an axe, untill you saw it for yourself. Variety, suprise, and practise will be the way to win - not by spending endless hours grinding for new uber gear.
I'd like some limitations (pre guns etc), but otherwise it's be up to the people who play the game.
Anyhoo, this has gone for far longer than I intended, and it's just scratching the surface. I doubt anyone has got this far anways
