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153 Comments
- gavanw, on 10/12/2007, -0/+38Thanks for the comments guys...please note that the webpage sucks, I am aware of that. However, I didn't care to put the resources into making a better webpage as the game is the focus for now. The webpage will improve over time, I was just fearful that if I had a fancy webpage with lots of content that it might strain the server.
- betterth, on 10/12/2007, -2/+39It looks interesting. After seeing the screenshots and the fact it's kind of that 2D birds eye view, I don't doubt that this is possible with a one man team.
Hell, content is the majority of mmo design anyway. All of the items, lands, quests, etc. That and balancing the engine to the most miniscule degree.
This is definitely interesting. Guy needs a webpage that wasn't made in MS word though. - geminitojanus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+35You die, you don't come back.
Hince, Permadeath. - streetstealth, on 10/12/2007, -3/+35I think this guy has two choices:
A. Start building a team, fast.
B. Get picked up by Valve.
Either way, though... A fantasy RPG in which users create all the content? Let me be the first to say...
World of SporeCraft! - gmillerd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+30Terrible latency with that game, rerolling is a serious hassle and the gold farmers suck.
- turpenine, on 10/12/2007, -1/+21"This is definitely interesting. Guy needs a webpage that wasn't made in MS word though." read th page, he explains it is so plain to handle all the traffic
- humanaut, on 10/12/2007, -1/+20yeah but there's only one species to choose from and noone has any class :(
- betterth, on 10/12/2007, -1/+18Ack! My edit disapeered as did all of my changes. Well, for an addition, there's also no AI, everything is player controlled/pvp, meaning no ai to code.
No prebuilt buildigns, everything is assembled by players out of materials. No quests and story, it's all player created.
I like the idea of moving the work of creating onto the players. Works for everyone, hardcore players make the content, other players enjoy it, and the devs (well, dev) can work in bugfixing and implementing features. - gavanw, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16Thanks for your interest everybody...let me address a few common issues:
Permadeath really seems to be pissing off some people, but they have to realize this isnt like traditional games. Its not like a hundred hours of your work will be flushed down the toilet. You spirit and offspring carry on some traits, and there isnt much of a leveling treadmill. Additionally, it isn't as easy to die in Genesis as most standard MMORPGS. You can fight somebody without killing them (force them to submit, basically). You can be heavily wounded, but there is no instant death threshhold. Its not like when you hit zero hit points you die...rather you become incapacitated until someone can heal you. If you are left out to die, then you die. Most importantly, death is critical to story building. Imagine Lord of the Rings if everybody was invulnerable. Doesn't make much of a story, does it? Basically, I am not going to make people do tedious work and start over from scratch when they die...I wouldn't put permadeath in the game if it just pointlessly made things less fun. On the contrary, it makes things that much more exciting! Junior 27 put it pretty well: "...if you are too stupid to stay alive, you shouldn't be alive."
As for this project being too ambitious for one man, of course it is! That is why I am requesting everybody's help. - MikeCampo, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14^^ Uh yeah he did. Unless people randomly stumble upon his site, it's a great way for him to get attention.
Good luck man, very cool idea! - hartw, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13Direct link to screenshots and tech demo video for those who are interested:
Screenshots:
http://picasaweb.google.com/gavanw/GenesisPreview
and Video:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-636999085452619198&hl=en - gmillerd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12The game has a permanent death feature, thats the answer I would seek for them.
Good luck man. - lava, on 10/12/2007, -1/+12Well, I hope it doesn't fail. I would love to play this (and I hate MMORPGS)
- zorpscorp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10Technically, Digg users who find this interesting are promoting this, not him. I think this is a great idea and a great start, and I wish other people could see this and help out and/or donate.
Dugg! - furrot, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11Hey Gavan, good luck with this. It looks like you've accomplished a lot and can't wait to how you improve upon your engine in the future. I'm looking foward to your coding "assignments" because this looks like the kind of project I would definatly want to contribute to.
- Rayonic, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11So, what are you going to do about the griefers? Say I log in and start deleting people's structures, filling in caves, and other destructive things. Maybe you can ban that person, but not before they do significant damage.
Frankly, this project reminds me of A Tale in the Desert. Can I assume that was an inspiration?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Tale_in_the_Desert - gmillerd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Why? Its free, he gets a few thousands hits and the word is out there.
He slimmed down the page for the flux in bandwidth, knowing how successful the digg/boing effect would be. - gavanw, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Yes, by all means go for it. Thank you very much!
- Crass22, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9oooooh these graphics remind me of Ultima games *gets all warm and tingly inside* I really hope this concept picks up some momentum and that this game is actually produced, I would love to be a beta tester.
- humanaut, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Nice idea, horrible webpage. If you want some help quickly installing some kind of wiki/blog/thing, reply here, I can do it in 2 mins. It will make a HUGE difference.
- xeroskill, on 10/12/2007, -7/+15i agree, very interesting idea, just 1 person cannot do this alone...
i think this project is sadly doomed to fail. - daeyeth, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Any game that let's you be a ninja AND a pirate sounds like a good game to me!
- acerra, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8This is an awesome idea! A game created by people for people. As up-hill as this battle may seem, it promotes community involvement and QUALITY. What are the 2 biggest reasons for liking/disliking an MMORPG? The community and quality of the game. It may even be inspirational to a lot of younger audiences who will use this to learn what they need to in order to contribute to the project. GOOD WORK AND GOOD LUCK!
- taylorhayward, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7It's a chia mountain!
- MackPrime, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10im gonna get this and be the biggest ***** you can imagine. It'll be great.
Digging holes everywhere, fishing, killing other's kids. - Crass22, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7imagine if 1 guy in ur band starts lagging, then it screws the hole performance. it is a neat concept, but one that i would image would be hard to pull off, and yet still be fun for all.
- RareSaturn, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8How about vigilante death squads hunting people who just wanna burn ***** to the ground?
- randomvictim, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7He said you can reproduce and that they get some of your skills ( so say you where 'maxed', had a kid, when you die, play as the kid and you wouldn't have to start from scratch.)
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7http://insidegenesis.blogspot.com/ -- more detailed info, such as races and stuff.... very in depth, definitely sounds interesting
- corexian, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Could be just me, but the video demo for Genesis looks more 3 dimensional than 2. Just because the camera angle doesn't change (yet) that might be what gives the impression of 2d. When he zooms in for a detailed close up of the grass or water, it looks great. Hope he keeps up the good work.
- gavanw, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Hey everybody, another update:
A lot of people are concerned about this product becoming vaporware. I'll be honest, so am I. Like I have said before, there is no way I can do all of this on my own. Fortunately, I have been recieving hundred of emails from people will to donate their services doing artwork, programming, web design, game design, and web/ftp hosting. I think this project might just have the enthusiasm behind it that it needs to take off!
Also, a few people are concerned with it being "2d". It is actually 3D, just a fixed perspective. Everything is rendered in 3d with polygons, I just removed the ability to rotate the scene because it means that I can render the scene once (for static objects) and have millions more polygons in a scene than commercial games! Also, graphics are of the least concern...the main thing you should be concerned with is: will it be fun? - Tetragrammaton, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6I digg it on principle.
Who cares if the game is a failure or success in the long run? The guy is a single developer with a vision and is innovating. This is the formula that gave games their start. The game could be a total failure and gaming, as an institution, will learn from his experience, thus bettering itself. Or, it could have positive aspects, which other games could then perfect. It's the Marketplace of Ideas at its best.
So carry on, Gavan. We salute you, basement developer! - Junior27, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6One question though. If you don't have npc characters and you have children, how will you have them? Will they be treated as livestock until you die and whatnot?
Great idea though. I would really like to help develope something, anything, to contribute. I don't even care if I get a credit or not, I just wanna help out (I'm a poor student, so I might only barely be able to help you finance wise.) Keep it up man, don't give in. And don't be afraid to ask for help either, you have like, *THE* best community for this kind of stuff right here. - MikeEnIke, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Well, presonally, I think the graphics are pretty great looking. It's got the Ultima games and runescape look but with updated newer graphics. I think it's a very great idea and I can't wait to beta test and play this game. I wish there was I could code to contribute of something to that extent. Hopefully, I can pull some funds together to donate.
- TheWestExit, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6"One idea that I have been very interested in implementing is the ability to play instruments within the game. This way, virtual bands could come together and create their own music."
Please, please, please do this. If you do there will defiantly be people that capitalize on it. - decay, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I love his idea, he has links to google groups as forums, picasa as picture, google video for video and the blogsphere for the FAQ.
Any ETA or anything on gameplay ? I think he needs some help... - Durinthal, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5And guess what? You'll get your ass beat down for it too.
- dbug, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Well yeah, it's a tech demo of a 3D-engine that he created, which is pretty impressive. But so far I can't see any gameplay at all. And without working gameplay it's just vaporware so far. So I have to agree with speel, "I'll believe it when I see it".
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5lets hope people don't start to abuse their kids, like in beta stage of Fable.
- gavanw, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5It's ok for you to throw a big "so what," pyrochemist, as there is indeed not much to look at right now. Mostly, the screenshots and media are to show that this is a legitimate effort, and I have the skills to put together a decent game if enough people help out. You are right about implementatoin being the valuable part...I don't have a full implementation yet, but I have two years worth of development to get this project rolling, and hundreds of people have offered to help me already. The chances of this game succeeding depend greatly on people's attitudes towards it. So if you want it to succeed, then you have to WANT it to succeed.
- Crass22, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5yeah, and upon second thought: Vaporware is still Vaporware regardless of if its from a big company or a 1 man operation.
- crapu, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I have to say the graphics rock. It reminds me of some of the xbox live arcade games that are coming out that utilize the unreal 3 engine (hoop world for example). Very sweet.
- streetstealth, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I've contributed to a number of game-related projects over the last half decade (notably an ambitious Deus Ex total conversion and a nearly as ambitious Sim City 4 mod), but they've all run out of people and interest.
I believed in those projects' potential, but they lacked leadership. Thus I advise: If Gavan here's going to build a team, leadership skills are of the utmost importance. This means proper delegation of duties, an extremely lucid whitepaper for what the game's actually going to entail, and actually holding people to schedules!
Best of luck! - bobgb4, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4if I had money I wouldn't second guess donating
- zoidberg76, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I must admit being away from the gaming world for a long while, but I do think this game has the potential to restructure the format of gaming in a very positive way if enough people contribute to it with intelligence and commitment. What eventually drove me away from the gaming world (along with evolving interests) was the sad fact that most commercial games lacked any kind of imaginative storyline that allowed for meaningful interaction with other players and the environment; while many MMORPGs may at least partially fulfill the latter, I think that this game has potential for endless improvisation with regard to the player's environment. My only worry might be that the possibilities are almost too limitless: where is the structure and storyline going to come from? As described, it sounds like much of it may evolve organically, but it probably needs a framework, something a bit more advanced than a primordial, archaeobacterial ooze (to speak in crude evolutionary terms) which holds limitless potential. I will be fascinated to see the results...
- spindrift, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4The engine is incredible! The only thing that I found annoying while watching the video was the fixed perspective. I kept wanting to "turn" the landscape so I could see everything from the opposite angle. But since you can cutaway layers of objects and see behind them, I guess it's okay.
It *seems* like you're using procedural generation from reading the FAQs, and if so, good for you. I really hope this gets off the ground. - dan2, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5You can see a tech demo, what more do you want now?
- Obsidian743, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Could you imagine something like Genesis crossbred with something like Spore?
- Obsidian743, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4If it relies on the players then the Digg effect will weed out the bad apples...in theory. Sort of like evolution and Open Source, it will, on average, continue to improve.
- Aminus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3One thing you won't be doing: paying for it.
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