Introduction
Our
directed study brief is to design and concept an MMO which would run on the
Nintendo 3DS. We need to make special and innovative use of the 3D capabilities
of the 3DS and create an interesting and unique concept.
I
am working in a team of 4 who I have worked with previously so I know we will
make an awesome team. They are:
Stacey: http://nerdasaurus-rex.blogspot.co.uk/
Sophie: http://sophiewoollard.blogspot.co.uk/
Olive: http://olivegamesartanddesign.blogspot.co.uk/
Stacey: http://nerdasaurus-rex.blogspot.co.uk/
Sophie: http://sophiewoollard.blogspot.co.uk/
Olive: http://olivegamesartanddesign.blogspot.co.uk/
We
are all artists which we thought might be a problem at first but I was happy to
step back and take reins on the research and final documentation of the game
design/concept in favour of the girls doing the concept art. We came to a rough
conclusion that Sophie would be doing the environments, Olive would be doing
characters and Stacey would be in charge of the map design.
My
first port of call is to do some basic research into MMO's and what they are
all about, what makes them popular and how do they work? We already have a
fairly rounded off idea for our game spouting from many different influences
but we all agreed that with some basic research into MMO's (as none of us
really play them religiously/at all) our idea would be more grounded and
contain common aspects of MMO's but also with a high amount of creative and
innovative designs.
What is an MMO/MMOG?
from
my own knowledge of gaming I know that an MMO/MMOG stands for "massively
multiplayer online game". It is a game that is purely online and can
consist of hundred and thousands of players at any 1 time, usually through
different "servers". Wikipedia
gives a well rounded description of an MMO:
"A
massively multiplayer online game (also called MMO and MMOG) is a multiplayer
video game which is capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of players
simultaneously. By necessity, they are played on the Internet, and usually
feature at least one persistent world. They are, however, not necessarily games
played on personal computers. Most of the newer game consoles, including the
PSP, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, Ps vita and Wii can access the
Internet and may therefore run MMO games.
MMOGs
can enable players to cooperate and compete with each other on a large scale,
and sometimes to interact meaningfully with people around the world. They
include a variety of gameplay types, representing many video game genres."
What are Common Attributes of
MMOG's?
Another
thing I wanted to research was the gameplay, style and genres of MMO's. As I
don't play them myself I am unsure as to how MMO's play out. looking through
this Wikipedia page on MMO's they have a deep understanding from the community
about how MMO's play and why.
"There
are a number of factors shared by most MMOGs that make them different from
other types of games. MMOGs create a persistent universe
where the game milieu continues regardless of interaction. Since
these games emphasize multiplayer gameplay, many have
only basic single-player aspects and the
artificial intelligence on the server is primarily designed to support group
play. As a result, players cannot "finish" MMOGs in
the typical sense of single-player games."
"However
single player game play is quite viable, although this may
result in the player being unable to experience all content. This is especially
the case for content designed for a multiplayer group commonly called a "party" or "raid party" in the case of the largest player groups which are required for the most significant
and potentially rewarding play experiences and "boss
fights" which are often designed to require multiple players to ensure the
creature or NPC is killed."
"Most
MMOGs also share other characteristics that make them different from other
multiplayer online games. MMOGs host a large number of
players in a single game world, and all of those players can interact with each other at any given time. Popular MMOGs
might have thousands of players online at any given time,
usually on a company owned server."
What Makes an MMOG Fun, Addictive
and Entertaining?
The
next thing to look into was what actually made an MMO fun? Are there any
general factors that go into an MMOG to increase the fun or levels of addictiveness?
I found an article online that suggests some of the most commonly used attributes
across most MMOG's which increase the entertainment, keep it fun and make the
game last longer.
I
have noted down the key elements and written my own statement about them.
Levelling: When
a player can progress through a story and gain XP (experience points), or their
equivalent, it allows them to become stronger, gives them the ability to use new
items (such as weaponry, inventory items, more health, better statistics, new
combat moves, better armour, new clothes, more character customisation etc). It
keeps the game fresh, always giving the player a new goal to play towards.
Farming: I personally don't think farming on any game is
particularly fun, perhaps when you're with friends on an MMOG it is but my
personal experience of farming has been dull and usually a last resort to
achieve a goal. However, the main thing to take from farming when considering
how it adds to the fun
and addictive side of MMOG's is that the game might have an ingame currency of
bank. Farming might allow the player to become richer and richer in return
making them want to have the most money they can which would resolve with the
player being able to purchase upgrades or new items that others might not be
able to afford.
PVP (Player vs. Player): Pretty
self explanatory, some players enjoy combat from one real life player to
another where no AI (artificial intelligence) is needed. PVP can show a players
skill and determine a winner adding more gameplay bonus's.
PVE (Player vs. Environment): I
really like this idea in an MMO, it's the idea that a player (or group of
players) can go into sections of an environment within the game (a dungeon is a
commonly used environment) and do a selection of tasks to "win" the
final outcome.
Achievements: These
are considered minor extras within a game that rewards the player for doing a separate
task. They are very commonly known on consoles such as the PlayStation 3 which
rewards players with Trophies for completing specific in game tasks. The Xbox
and PC gamers also have achievements which are for the same purpose. They can
also be used to determine what a player has achieved throughout the game and
used to compare/contrast against other players.
There
are other elements that are successful contributors to MMO's which are commonly
seen on trailers and gameplay videos. They are:
- Character customisation
- Apparel customisation
- A choice of character "class"
- Companions
- Statistics (leader boards, HP/Hit Points/EXP)
- Ingame chat
What are the Current "Market
Leading" MMOG's?
A
selection of videos from the current, market leading and famous MMOG's.
World
of Warcraft
Blizzard
Entertainment, 1994 - present
Diablo
3
Blizzard
Entertainment, May 15th, 2012
RIFT
Trion
Worlds, March 2011
EVE
Online
CCP
Games, May 6th, 2003 - present
Runescape
Jagex
Games Studio, January 4th. 2001 - present
Guild
Wars
ArenaNet,
April 2005 - August 2007
EverQuest
2
Sony
Online Entertainment, November 8th, 2004
Do MMOG's have Different Genres?
MMO
itself is a genre, but can it go deeper than that? I did some research to find
out. Here are a list of possible and available MMO genres floating around out
there:
- MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game)
- Fantasy MMO: World of Warcraft, EverQuest, Runescape.
- Space MMO: EVE Online, Star Wars The Old Republic, Star Trek Online.
- Sci-Fi MMO: Anarchy Online, PlanetSide, DarkSpace.
- Anime MMO: Maple Story, Grand Fantasia, Fly for Fun.
- Historical MMO: World of Planes, War of Legends, Rise of Empire.
- Horror MMO: DarkEden, Hellgate, Requiem: Bloodrayne.
- Real Life MMO: Habbo, CrimeLife 2, Family Guy Online.
- Sports MMO: Football Superstars, Drift City, Top Speed.
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