Real Survival MMO
by Rockatansky · in Game Design and Creative Issues · 09/06/2003 (11:27 am) · 9 replies
How about a game set on the serengeti plains, where every player takes on the role of a wild animal. The only object is survival. There are no items to collect, dungeons to traverse, just wide open plains. Herds of grazing animals and stalking predators. There wouldn't be any character levels, your character (animal) would just become stronger as it ages. So the longer you survive, the stronger you are. But even the strongest bull elephant could be taken down by a well organized pride of experienced lions.
Without the need to design all sorts of weapons and armors, or spells and skills, you could devote more production resources to having unique player skins, battle damage (permanent scars) ai to support autonomous herds and realistic seasonal and plant growth cycles to keep the herbivores moving (so they aren't all just standing in one place all the time).
I think something like this has a lot of potential, you could block out chatting altogether, and make players communicate through body signals (animations) and scents only identifiable among their species. Strong male lions could fight among eachother for control of a pride, female characters could raise their young like a sort of tamagochi, which another new player could take control of when it's old enough.
What do you guys think? Sound fun? Sound boring? The TGE would be great for a game like this due to its wide open terrain.
Without the need to design all sorts of weapons and armors, or spells and skills, you could devote more production resources to having unique player skins, battle damage (permanent scars) ai to support autonomous herds and realistic seasonal and plant growth cycles to keep the herbivores moving (so they aren't all just standing in one place all the time).
I think something like this has a lot of potential, you could block out chatting altogether, and make players communicate through body signals (animations) and scents only identifiable among their species. Strong male lions could fight among eachother for control of a pride, female characters could raise their young like a sort of tamagochi, which another new player could take control of when it's old enough.
What do you guys think? Sound fun? Sound boring? The TGE would be great for a game like this due to its wide open terrain.
#2
09/07/2003 (3:02 pm)
It's actually a similar idea to one someone had a while ago (though sadly nothing came of it), only that one focused more on single player or smaller-online capacities. The general design worked a lot better that way. 
#3
10/23/2003 (12:28 am)
Sierra made a game of this called Pride i believe...around 95 you played a Lion.
#4
-Eric F
10/23/2003 (12:32 am)
Someone was making a very promising game called "Neandertal" (I think) with the Torque engine. I think it followed its namesake and became extinct, tho. =/-Eric F
#5
10/24/2003 (4:01 am)
Oh that game looked nice.
#7
E.g. hunting simulators and (eeck) fishing simulators are amongst the best selling games ever, because they appeal to a completely different group of gamers than your usual XP hunting crowd.
So if you really think your idea is good, that this will hold against the tide, then by all means go for it. Thats what indie game dev is all about - pushing boundaries of what can be done and how its done.
Just my humble oppinion.
10/24/2003 (9:02 am)
Dont discard a good idea on basis of "this can't turn on ppl, because other games do it in a different way".E.g. hunting simulators and (eeck) fishing simulators are amongst the best selling games ever, because they appeal to a completely different group of gamers than your usual XP hunting crowd.
So if you really think your idea is good, that this will hold against the tide, then by all means go for it. Thats what indie game dev is all about - pushing boundaries of what can be done and how its done.
Just my humble oppinion.
#8
A problem exists there for MMO type games though, because the server hosting is incredibly expensive you needit to appeal to a large enough audience to pay those expenses.
The question you should ask yourself is whether you would be willing to pay $X per month for this game? Subscription based games are a big commitment, but an MMO can't survive without constant subscription income - not only that, but you will be expected to constantly update the game and provide new content and patch for new technologies.
The fact that there are no character levels prevents the addiction factor of "well, I spent all the time getting to level 50, I really shouldn't cancel my account..." this keeps people paying for MMO's long after they have stopped playing them. I have friends who are still paying for UO, though they havn't played it in years just because they have leveled up and built houses and don't want to lose all that.
A good concept, but much better to start small with a single/multiplayer game with the option of dedicated servers, I think.
10/24/2003 (12:42 pm)
I agree with Thomas, the best way to succeed as an indie is not to try to compete with the big developers, but to seek out a niche market that they have ignored because it isn't large enough to support their huge development costs.A problem exists there for MMO type games though, because the server hosting is incredibly expensive you needit to appeal to a large enough audience to pay those expenses.
The question you should ask yourself is whether you would be willing to pay $X per month for this game? Subscription based games are a big commitment, but an MMO can't survive without constant subscription income - not only that, but you will be expected to constantly update the game and provide new content and patch for new technologies.
The fact that there are no character levels prevents the addiction factor of "well, I spent all the time getting to level 50, I really shouldn't cancel my account..." this keeps people paying for MMO's long after they have stopped playing them. I have friends who are still paying for UO, though they havn't played it in years just because they have leveled up and built houses and don't want to lose all that.
A good concept, but much better to start small with a single/multiplayer game with the option of dedicated servers, I think.
Torque Owner Thomas Glennow