Inspire - 3D sidescroller MMO

This is my first GG blog post for Dream Games Contest.

Inspire is a 3D platformer, with a fixed 'sidescroll' camera, built on TGE and Dream Games MMOKit. It is not going to be a true MMORPG, rather a series of zones (reset every few weeks) with persistent character elements. It is MMO by definition of 'more than 100 logged in simultaneously'.

The development philosophy is 'keep it simple', since I'm the main developer, and MMOs are traditionally huge projects. The aim is to focus on fun first, by distilling common MMO elements into their basic form, and adding some more innovative elements which I feel need to be given a chance.

Being multiplayer, I feel the game should facilitate people to play together, and not segregate them. Inspire won't have traditional levels, experience points or classes. Rather, a freeform feat system allows players to tailor their avatar to the situation and their preferences.

The core gameplay consists of combat, collection and crafting. Basic combat plays out like Tower Defense, with streams of monsters capturing nodes on the map. Fighting is based on standard MMO hotkey abilities, ala WoW. Various collectible items are scattered across the zone, and monsters also drop them, for anyone to pick up. There will be a number of ladders to compete on, and badges to collect. Weapons, Armour and Items are crafted from resources collected or dropped by monsters. The majority of the game items will come from crafting.

Inspire will be free to play but revenue will come from micropayments and special items.

The cliched backstory:

Demons overran the continents of the world. The remenants of the human kingdoms, helped by the divine Phoenix, escaped to airborne structures floating in the clouds above. The demons made portals to invade the humans' new refuge. Join with other warriors to repel the invasion, collect resources to craft mighty weapons and armour. Collect the ancient relics to restore your immortal king to his former glory.

Links:
Official Site
Developer Journal

Screenshots from a tech demo:



Thanks for reading.