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"Make a game where I can escape into a terrific story that lets me showcase myself and MY PERSONAL TALENT. I'll pay for THAT game. "

Have you looked into an online game called "A Tale in the Desert?" ( http://www.atitd.com/ )There's a game that lets you showcase your talent, as you say.

simple example http://atitd.com/ (MOORPG) playing this fairly long enough to tell you "u get as good as you really are"

regards, but FPS wont get anywhere to good soon; Have a friend that doesn't even know basic english but he tuns over HL2 UT2k4 and D3 in few hours...

Games are inituitive nowdays, puzzles in games just make alot of people drop them.

or talk to the folks at egenesis that developed A Tale in the Desert...

http://www.atitd.com/

there, are a few who are trying. Its just that the ridiculous up-front costs make it hard to attract the money.

I haven't tried it myself, but it sounds like A Tale In the Desert 2 is what you might be looking for.

It doesn't have combat, it relies on cooperation to get things done. Basically it is about improving yourself and society. Low level "tests" might be learning how to make bricks, straw, constructing simple artworks and so on. Higher level tests often include coordinating lower level players in helping you do something (say, have a dancing cermony celebrating the rising sun and all 20 dancers have to act in character, or have a couple of hundred people help you build a pyramid).

This is a game where you can go and open the door without risking the death of your character. The first one was NOT a never ending story. It had a clear beginning, middle and end, and a few players who were "winners".

Also, players could vote to change an amazing number of things.

The reviews for the first game were very positive, and the second one looks even better.

And guess what, there are even Linux clients!

This is a game I wish more people had heard of, you can download the demo for Linux or Windows today.

Do you play your own game, do you play other massively multiplayer games, consoles, board games, or do you just like to design em??

When you do play are you a 'serious' gamer, or are you playing causually, or are you playing as a professional who has an stake in keeping up with what is going on in the gaming industry?

What do you think of the how other games have handled trying to avoid the 'level grinding' like A Tale in the Desert and Puzzle Pirates?

While those saying "it's only a game" are making an often heard point, I haven't seem much discussion along the lines of why I think this was an interesting event. (BTW, I'm lead designer of ATITD.)

To a new player, ATITD can seem like a game about building "stuff." You build your camp, your compound, your character. If you play a long time, or play smart, you can excel in all of that. But the real challenge is that it's a game about building a perfect society, and that is *hard*. It's hard in RL, and if I'm doing my job correctly it should be hard in the game.

Along comes a foreign trader, with shiny new goods, and an attitude that's totaly offensive, totally out of line with the culture that has developed in our Ancient Egypt. Would you trade with him? Would you put aside your morals, if it meant you'd get an advantage that many people don't have? In real-life, would you patronize a store that had a "no jews allowed" policy? What if they had *really* good prices? Would you do it and hope nobody saw? Maybe feel guilty?

The best books, movies, television - can provoke a range of emotions. I like books that make me feel happy, enraged, triumphant, guilty, enlightened, sad. I want to have all of those emotions available in an MMO, and emotions occur in players, not characters.

So, to create emotions you have to do things to characters that the people behind them will react to. The only question is how hard is it ok to push? So hard that the person kills themself? Of course not. Did this event push too hard? Certainly for some people it did.

I'll continue to make it hard to build this perfect society. If that means we trade subscriber counts for a more memorable, challenging experience, I'm confortable with that. After all, if I were optimizing for subscriber counts, I'd have done a combat based game. Hell, if I were optimizing for money, I'd have been a lawyer!

Sorry, guys, I wanted it to be more closed beta of the client, so I linked it only off the downloads page until I worked out some more kinks. No big deal, just wanted the best impression possible BEFORE it hitting slashdot. Alas, you guys beat me too it ... BTW, The faster downloads is via http://game.atitd.com/download.html

Read the README for known issues with the mac client. It is still very much under development.

OK, I apologize for calling you lazy. I guess you are simply looking at another page.

The link is in this page: http://www.atitd.com/download.html.

I'm also using Safari, so that probably isn't the problem.

...or you could download them directly from eGenesis-
Windows client and Linux client

...or you could download them directly from eGenesis-
Windows client and Linux client

Online games can't do proper "twitch" because of latency. The split-second reflexes which make a great twitch gamer would be absolutely ruined when subjected to typical internet lag. Do you really want your character to die just because one of AT&T's routers decided to not play nice and delay your packet by 500 ms, meaning that you missed your block and took a leathal blow? Most people don't.

But, perhaps you should try some different games if you're tired of timesinks. You might expecially want to look toward more independent games.

My own game, Meridian 59 is a pretty typical fantasy game that focuses on combat, but the combat is much more active. Maneuvering and distance is important, especially in PvP play. While there's definitely a learning curve, building a competent character doesn't take a year like it does in most level-dominated games. Yeah, you're still going to have to kill monsters and collect gold, but the pace is faster than most other online RPGs which makes a lot of difference. Plus, the PvP is second-to-none. I might be biased, but I think it's a lot of fun.

A Tale in the Desert features great gameplay and doesn't even include combat. It focuses more on experiencing life in an Egyptian setting, solving puzzles, and competing and cooperating with other players. There's no "hit 'a' and pray" here.

Or, you could try Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates if that strikes your fancy. The game uses puzzles for all meanginful in-game actios. Play a puzzle to pump bilge, or distill rum, or any of the other stuff. Plus, who doesn't enjoy talking like a pirate? It's actually role-playing in this game!

There's lots of games out there to play if you're tired of "timesinks" or the "grind". Go out and enjoy them instead of just complaining.

Have fun,

Thanks for the kind words. :)

A few thoughts about your comment:

The final state is presumably a 'virtual world' where nothing is scripted and everything is the emergent result of interactions within that world.

That's one possibility that people have advocated. Personally, I think that this is not the likely outcome. Even at Disneyland, which you mention later, the experience is rigrously organized and highly polished. Since people are paying for the entertainment, there are certain expectations. While I could conceive of a movie of various images and sounds strung together and left to the audience to construct something meaningful of it, I don't think that's the best way to entertain people. Likewise, virtual worlds need a bit of structure imposed by a competent developer in order to make it truly fun and worth paying for.

What I mean by that is that I imagine virtual worlds will be something like Disneyland where there are automated NPCs but also people employed to work as an in-game agent to keep the immersive experience running smoothly.

The problem is that the audience isn't willing to pay for it. Doing a quick lookup, the standard 3-day "park hopper" ticket for Disneyland is $124 if purchased in advance. That's only a bit under what you'd pay for a full year of Meridian 59! Yet, you see numerous complaints from people on sites like Slashdot complaining about having to spend $15/month on subscriptions. Honestly, the audience that are interested in virtual worlds isn't ready to pay the price for a focused experience like you get at a theme park like Disney.

Really, this gets into the reasons why we're stuck at the level we are. People have stated what they're willing to pay, and they mostly accept what online games have to offer. Until the market is willing to pay more and demand more, we won't see anything startlingly new.

That said, I think there's some cool things in the future that will turn expectations on their sides. A number of smaller developers have started making some cool games. Including my own game Meridian 59, you can take a look at the wonderful games of Puzzle Pirates and A Tale In The Desert. All these are games that were developed by a group of dedicated people, usually single-digit number of developers. These are games that offer something besides the same-old, same-old.

Some further points to ponder.

Have fun,

Skotos has been offering this type of service for a long time.

I'd make note that we make significantly more money on the Meridian 59 servers we host ourselves than the ones we licensed to Skotos. The Skotos server is a bit different (it's the non-PvP version compared to our PvP-focused servers) so it's not necessarily a direct comparison.

That said, I think there's more room for indie developers than people might otherwise think. The biggest thing is that the market needs to support the games the indies develop. A Tale in the Desert and Puzzle Pirates also offer innovative and interesting gameplay you won't find in the larger, heavily-marketed online RPGs.

Have fun,

Some interesting things in the interview, but I'm going to have to disagree with this assessment about team size, etc. There are a small number of online world that were built and are maintained by small teams. My own game, Meridian 59, is one example that is being maintained by about 4 people. A Tale in The Desert is another game that was built and is being maintained by a small team. Yes, these games are a bit smaller than the ones that get all the press, but they're still interesting virtual words that show it can be done.

I think the bigger problem is that everyone wants to be the "million seller" online game. I suspect There had its sights set too high, and when the million subscribers didn't show up, they became a bit disillusioned. But, I think it's interesting that he says smaller projects can lead to bigger things. I've been a firm believer in that; Meridian 59 is a niche product, and we offer it to the playerbase in order to scratch a particular itch they have, namely balanced PvP.

In short, I think it's quite possible to do a virtual world with a small team. You just have to be smarter about it and not expect to be an "EverQuest-killer" out of the gate. Target an audience and serve them well. That's my plan, at least.

My thoughts,

The really evil twist is as follows... for every additional drink of SotS you take, you get the same ability boost... but the mandatory interval between your doses of "antidote" shortens by a day... so after 2 drinks of SotS, you need to drink the antidote at least once every 27 days... after 3 doses, you need to take the antidote on a 26 day cycle... etc etc...

This effect is cumulative, and (to date) there is no cure. However... the allure of the benefits that this potion can bring has driven a lot of people to become completely dependent on the antidote - having to log in every few days to make sure they get their fix and their character stays alive(!)

Of course, most people think: "Hey, I can handle one drink... the consequences aren't so bad..." - but once you're on the slippery slope to addiction.... ;)

A non-violent multiplayer game. Quite fun. Plenty of opportunities to learn from the other players.

If I recall correctly the age limit for this game is 13 and older, with parent's permission. Unfortunately your students may be too young.

As others have said, there are tools such as TeakSpeak and Roger Wilco that will deal with the voice chat side of things.

But what game to play? I'd suggest A Tale In The Desert. It's nice because it has a very laid-back feel to it - there's no combat, and the emphasis is on long-term co-operation with your friends to further the development of your avatar (the web site, as well as the excellent fansites and wiki explain all this much better than I can).

It runs on Windows and Linux, and doesn't have to run full-screen, so it's great for leaving running in the background so that you can get some work done while your avatar is busy feeding the camels or waiting for papyrus to grow. The chat system is also pretty good, for those of is who don't want to inflict their irritating nasally voices on the rest of the world. :-)

Called Greifers, these people usually tend to haunt MMORPGs but can be found in just about any game. They get bored with the "standard" gameplay, and so attempt to ruin the game for other players.

In MMOs, this can be anything from following around a newbie and killing anything close to them, preferably after it gets to about 25% health, to building many small cheap buildings in one area to prevent others from building there (a real example from A Tale in the Desert) - the harder it is for the player to get around the greifing tactics, the better it is for the greifer.

In RTS games, Greifing can range from the passive (disconnecting after 30 seconds (or 2 mins or whatever depending on game), sitting on one's ass not doing _anything_ until someone kills your town center and starting workers) to active (building an army, not attacking with the rest of your allies, then when they're armies are away you force-attack their bases with your anti-building troops) and generally ruin the game for everybody else. The winning team is robbed of a challenge, the losing team robbed of a decent chance.

I can see this policy only being exercised on solid cases, ie. multiple complaints for the account, with replays available. Just having a partner that sucks isn't greifing (though some greifers do intentionally play crappily to get under the greif radar) and I can't imagine any of those cases holding up to a blizzard staff member reviewing the evidence.

Maybe someone mentioned this but I certainly didn't see A Tale in the Desert mentioned anywhere. Go to atitd.com and download the trial. Brilliant game.

Easily the most original game I've seen this year (or for quite a while for that matter) has been the MMORPG A Tale in the Desert. Cooperative play, no combat, a player-created society... this game departs from the norm in so many ways that it's crazy - no wonder they independantly released the thing, no publisher would ever support such a complete departure from what MMORPGs really are.

I think A Tale In The Desert has prior art.

Posting anonymously because I moderated. ;)

EverQuest certainly does have a lot of advertising. It had a number of full-page advertisements in Computer Games magazine from a month or two ago.

It also has some embarassing advertisements, too. A few years ago they released this video of a few vapid yet stunningly beautiful women trying to discuss EQ in a bar setting. They were describing the game very poorly, making it painfully obvious to even a casual player that they weren't players.

Marketing and eye-candy make a HUGE difference in games. Otherwise smaller games like A Tale In the Desert and Meridian 59 would dominate conversations with their superior gameplay. With small advertising budgets and something less that cutting-edge graphics, they don't get nearly the attention that EQ or UO get.

Setting the record straight,

The AC.

The MMORPG to grow more popular than EverCrack (or Lineage) will be the kind that is open to user modification and governance so it can take on a life of its own. Depending on a central crackdaddy for content can't compete with the promise of a dynamic Metaverse.

The games that currently come closest to this ideal game world are A Tale in the Desert, and, Second Life.

--

Not sure if a non-combat game would be your cup of tea, but our game has what I believe is the highest proportion of female players of all MMORPGs. 27% if you're counting based on paid accounts, and 40% if you're counting by hours played. (Yes, women tend to play more hours than men.) Anecdotally, I find that people almost always play a character of their gender. I've talked to dozens of guys who have said "This is the first computer game my wife/girlfriend will play with me."

We have Windows and Linux clients, and it's free for 24 hours. (We don't even ask for a credit card upfront.) If you check it out, do a "/chat pharaoh" in game and let me know.

It's interesting to see that the online RPG market is already turning to sequels, licenses, and derivatives after less than a decade of wide-spread commercial attention. It seems that the large game publishers are falling back on what they know in order to maximize profit.

It's a bit unfortunate, because the online medium deserves a lot better than that. You can do some very cool and interesting things online that you simply cannot do with traditional single-player games. The social dimensions these games and worlds can explore are astounding.

I think that in the future we'll see the rise of more 'independent' games. My own company, Near Death Studios, runs Meridian 59, a classic game with a strong focus on PvP. We are willing to cater to the smaller market that wants meaningful PvP in their game. There are plenty of other games out there, including the rather unique A Tale In The Desert that offers an entirely non-combat world. I think that as more people are able to take bold steps in developing an indie game, you will see more options out there. My hope is that the indie games will be able to offer people more of what they want, instead of just trying to slap a license into an online world where it doesn't fit, or build a sequel of a game that should last a long time. By offering people a more focused experience, instead of pandering to a mythical "mass-market audience" for these games, the indies will hopefully show the power of the online medium.

Of course, if only it were that easy. Players have to actually support these games for them to grow. Yeah, indie games are as a rule less pretty and less polished than big-name games. But, if the gameplay is more of what you like, why not support them? The gameplay is arguably the reason why people play these games. Also, most of the smaller games can't afford big advertising budgets like the large games do. EQ has probably spent more on advertising than ATITD has spent on game development as a whole, so obviously more people are going to hear about EQ rather than ATITD. So, people need to do a bit more searching for these games. In the end, I think it's the best option to keep the online medium intersting and fun for the most people.

My crazy opinions as an indie online game developer.

Actually, there are some independent online RPGs out there. We just don't get the press coverage of the larger games. We also don't have as high of production values (I.E., our art isn't as pretty as the big-name games).

My own game, Meridian 59 is a typical fantasy RPG, with a heavier focus on player vs. player combat and socialization. It has a much more interesting character advancement system which is much faster than most other games.

If you like crafting or an Egyptian setting, you might try A Tale In The Desert.

If you like puzzles and pirates, try out Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates.

Want to express yourself creatively while playing an anthropomorphic animal? Furcadia might be your game.

It's kinda like movies. Sure you can go see the latest action flick starring The Rock(tm) advertised heavily on TV and magazines, or you could spend a bit of time reasearching for yourself and find a great indie movie. The indie MMORPGs are out there, you just gotta look a bit harder.

It is expected that there will be a Second Telling once we win/lose this one. (basically, a complete reset with unspecified changes in world/tech/mechanics/etc.) Many people seem interested in staying after this reset, but it remains to be seen what effect this will have on the player base.

That's why I enjoy the smaller MMORPGs out there. They tend to be cheaper, with devs who are actually interested in making a good game.

I've been into A Tale in the Desert lately, in addition to being without a doubt the most innovative game on the MMORPG market right now (no rat killing in this one!) it also is free to download with a large trial play - no outrageous box fee. Add in devs that respond within the hour if a new tech is bugged or even give out their cell numbers in case the server crashes, and you've got me locked in for quite a while.

Would a kind soul explain what "crafting" is, in relation to MMORPGs?

Also, what's an "overarching storyline"? I did a search on google and it's funny that it is used almost exclusively in game reviews.

Simple. There are just two things to do in almost all MMORPGs: 1) Kill stuff, 2) Make stuff. Crafting is making stuff. You sell it to other players or the NPC stores. Most of the games I've played (EQ, DAOC) have made getting useful levels of skill at crafting mind-numbingly tedious. Only an obsessive-compulsive could get good at crafting in DAoC without using a mouse/keystroke injector like Xylobot. It's that bad. Anarchy Online was much better at crafting, allowing Engineers and Traders to make useful items without investing lots of time and effort. And, as the article notes, SWG is a vast improvement over everything else for those who would rather build than destroy.

A Tale in the Desert tried to break this kill/make mold with a series of trials, many of which require player cooperation, but I never played it. They had totally removed combat. Interestingly, they have a Linux client.

Game designers want you to believe that you can alter the "overarching storyline" by your actions, and thus change the destiny of the online world. In no game I have played has that been true. They are all pre-scripted. SWG allows a limited amount of variation based on how many people complete a monthly story quest. If more players on one side than the other complete the quest then their side will a bonus for the next month. This is much like DAOC's relict raids, just on a monthly schedule.

Where other games put out "expansion packs", the developers add new content to the game on an ongoing basis - new stuff seems to appear every few days (and all client patching is done seamlessly while you're actually playing) ...which from the players point of view is great stuff...

BUT...

According to the developers, not releasing expansion packs is actually *hurting* their PR! The thing is, each time the likes of Anarchy Online brings out something like "Shadowlands", they suddenly get big spreads in glossy magazines, headlines on all the news sites, and a new boost of publicity. Expansions that are given away for free, on an ongoing drip-feed basis, just don't blip on the gaming press radar. It's actually becoming a problem for the ATITD people; they're adding new (and pretty revolutionary) content to the game all the time, but the gaming press won't touch them because they assume the game is the same thing it was back at launch, and therefore old news... Seems they're just not interested in revisiting games unless there's a new shrinkwrapped box on the shop shelves... and, of course, no publicity = no new customers.

Sadly, it seems that this is one MMORPG company that's suffering by using a payment model that treats it's subscribers the "right" way :(

Of course the growth is still to come.

The growth will come when there are MMO games that do not involve HOURS of doing nothing. Because the devs will finally realize that doing nothing is neither intresting nor excieting.

The growth will come when there are MMO games that have fun things to do that don't get repetative after 2 days, or after 2 months or after 2 years.

The growth will come when there are MMO games that have a strong community of players supporting each other.

The growth will come when there are meaningful interactions between the players. Not "I OWNZ JOO!", not "Lets group up and XP", something deeper.

The growth will come when there are MMO with massive worlds, meaningful means of transportation and player property. The growth will come when the PVP is meaningful and fun. Not something put in just so that highlevels could do "something".

There is currently no MMO that does this.

You got that right! I got all excited about SW:G but it turned out to be overhyped and unfinished. Even without the technical problems AO proved to be really limited. You could say exactly the same for WWII Online and a stack of other big names.

But I can think of a handful of real gems right on the horizon. A Tale in the Desert is a breath of fresh air (although no PvP which kinda sucks) and RV in particular addresses every single one of the thigns you mention. And you're starting to get real diversity instead of just the goblins'n'wands or aliens'n'lasers that we've had to put up with. I mean I'm still not even sure what There is supposed to be all about.

Basically I totally agree with the article. I think MMORPG's have gone through a teething period and are just about to experience big growth. The people that start something off always suffer from the fact that other people just keep coming along and improving on it.

Your proposal is very close to the system used in A Tale in the Desert.

Good game.

I tried out "A Tale In The Desert" and it has a free 24 hours of playing trial with no credit card required.

I highly recommend the game.

If you think this is a good idea check out "A Tale In The Desert"

I have been playing it the last couple weeks. It has the coolest player run legal system.

A Tale in the Desert comes to mind...

I wanted to second Brian's rallying call to support independent developers -- these people are doing it out of love, and it tends to show. Another independently produced game is A Tale in the Desert, an incredibly innovative MMOG which has one of the most sophisticated and complex world-models I've ever seen in a game...Moreover, it's the only RPG-style game I've seen in which people become truly skilled at doing what they choose to do (gemcutting? gear-box design? pyrotechnics?) by doing it, and performing the complex machinations involved. So players actually become skilled, rather than characters just advancing a skill number! There's at lot more -- check out the website if you are at all interested. Only in an independent game like ATITD would the lead developer give out his cellphone number in case the server goes down!

No, I don't work for them -- I'm just really impressed by the game and want to spread the word.

Another independent game I'm keeping my eyes on is They Came From Hollywood!, which looks to be a great update on the old "Crush, Crumble, and Chomp!" concept...

I wanted to second Brian's rallying call to support independent developers -- these people are doing it out of love, and it tends to show. Another independently produced game is A Tale in the Desert, an incredibly innovative MMOG which has one of the most sophisticated and complex world-models I've ever seen in a game...Moreover, it's the only RPG-style game I've seen in which people become truly skilled at doing what they choose to do (gemcutting? gear-box design? pyrotechnics?) by doing it, and performing the complex machinations involved. So players actually become skilled, rather than characters just advancing a skill number! There's at lot more -- check out the website if you are at all interested. Only in an independent game like ATITD would the lead developer give out his cellphone number in case the server goes down!

No, I don't work for them -- I'm just really impressed by the game and want to spread the word.

Another independent game I'm keeping my eyes on is They Came From Hollywood!, which looks to be a great update on the old "Crush, Crumble, and Chomp!" concept...

I know I've seen a few stories posted about this game in the past, but I wonder if those who wrote this article had a chance to look at A Tale in the Desert. In this game there are no laws for a reason - players must create the legal system from the ground up. Laws are then implemented by the devs (with some reasonable restrictions of what can be legislated). Examples of important laws passed so far would be laws that allow players to tear down or use the buildings of 'Departed Players', as well as laws that allow people to feed or slaughter starving sheep (sheep unfed can become sick, and this sickness can spread to other player's sheep). The funny thing is, the laws that try to prevent greifing or solve problems almost always have their own ill-effects, so it makes for a very interesting experiment to watch laws get.

Oddly your link goes to the website of a forwarding company (such companies are supposedly used by terrorist sympathisers to get contraband to blockaded countries). At first, I thought you were being tongue-in-cheek, then I found the real link. Interesting game...

Hi, I'm Jia, I wrote that article. Anyway, I'm glad that Slashdot finally posted up a follow-up article to the one from four months ago considering we're the only MMOG that actively supports linux and we've been live for over three months.

Our free downloadable linux client is at http://atitd.com/eClient-linux.run. Our engine is also partially open-sourced. "A Tale in the Desert" owes a lot to the open source community too. We're a small company with only two lead developers that basically coded the entire game on their own. Thus, we make use of alot of free software such as, eCal3D (download source here, a derivative of Bruno Heidelberger's Cal3D.

I'm not sure why some Slashdot readers are so hostile to the idea of a "cooperative thinking game." Isn't that what the open-source movement is all about? Does everyone really love mindless hack-and-slash leveling treadmills that much? I guess we'll find out if SWG becomes a success (and I wish Raph Koster the best of luck too!).

Anyway, this is just the first in a series of articles about ATITD I plan on writing for GGA. The next one will probably be about the player-run legal system. So far players in our game have drafted, voted on, and passed laws about theft, land ownership, property permissions, social taboos, obsenity laws, and even virtual rape. Feel free to continue to link to future news about us since we can't afford to advertise on Slashdot (contacted OSDN's advertising department, figure they quoted was 10 times what we paid for our Penny Arcade ad deal).

Have you looked into A Tale in the Desert? It is a very cool MMOG that has absolutely no combat in it whatsoever - it is a game of collective social and cultural advancement, and is quite amazingly fun.

You insensitive clod! Oh, wait, this isn't a poll is it? ATITD is my MMOG of choice. Check it out at atitd.com and atitd.net. Of course, I think it's only in the thousands of simultanious players right now.

A Tale in the Desert has the original game downloadable for free, with a free 30 day or 24 hour trial.

What, precisely, makes Metroid Prime innovative, apart from the control scheme?

Don't take this as a critique of MP, as it's one of the most enjoyable games I've played in a long time (excepting Wind Waker, which currently has a stranglehold on my precious gaming hours), but I'd say MP is hardly the first adventure/expoloration game born out in full 3D (Thief and Deus Ex come to mind as prior art). I'll grant you that the platforming/morph ball elements are unique, but I don't think they qualify as innovative.

As for FPS innovation: Planetside. Want arcade-y action mixed with your FPS? The upcoming Tron 2.0 looks very interesting. Battlefield 1942 is a recent example of getting a team-based FPS truly, terribly almost right.

A Tale In the Desert is a current example of a game that defies current MMO conventions and instead prides itself on being a virtual community simulation.

Enigma: Rising Tide is wicked fun, as is Moonbase Commander.

How about Mafia? Sure, it's seen ports to the consoles too, but it started on the PC. Or Freelancer?

So speak not to me of "innovation". It abounds on the PC platform.

Presumably, most people here have a fair familiarity with the MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game) phenomenon, but here's a rundown of the major products out there from my bookmarks, for anyone who's interested but not wholly informed. Feel free to correct any of this if my understanding of any of these games is in any way flawed:

Anarchy Online
Asheron's Call
Dark Age of Camelot
Everquest
Shadowbane (just released - very buggy)
A Tale in the Desert
Ultima Online

Horizons
Eve Online (final beta - close to release)
City of Heroes
Dragon Empires (in beta)
Everquest 2 (in development)
Lineage II (in development)
Star Wars Galaxies (closed beta)
Imperator (very early development)
World of Warcraft (very early development)

Most of these games don't release specific subscriber base numbers. However, a series of very good guesses is compiled here.

In addition there is a MMORPG company, Lyra Studios, which wants someone to port their game client for Underlight to Linux. Underlight is a pretty cool MMORPG which actually focuses on *gasp* Role-Playing and player interaction. It's pretty cool, and they just need someone with the necessary experience to port it. So, if you are a Game Programmer with experience in DirectX and OpenGL and such, and would like to help out with this, contact Lyra.

Note: I am not a Lyra Employee, I'm just someone who really likes Underlight, and would love to play it under his OS of choice.

-----QUOTE-----
And, hey, if they MUST use first person, why not a first person multi-player game WITH a story... imagine king's quest first person where you walk around a 3d environment... what if you took your friends along with you for the quest? That way you can chat with them and you can all cooperatively solve problems / puzzles / decide on things?
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Isn't that exactly what A Tale in The Desert offers? And with a Linux-Native Client too!

Here's a perfect example of an independent developer who's got those left field ideas, and has executed very well on them:

eGenesis recently launched A Tale In the Desert - a MMPORG which has distinguished itsself in a number of important ways:

1. A constructive multiplayer approach - It's been speculated and theorized on (well, by me and my friends, anyway) - but these guys have done it with style.

2. Ingame voting - it's allready transforming the gameworld of 'egypt'

3. A particularly clean launch - unlike any number of MMPORG titles I spent loads on and was frequently not playing because of bugs.

4. Gameplay mechanics that reward the player for the player's skill, not for artificial avatar skills.

5. Excellent Support. I had a GM to help in 10 seconds on the release date!

6. Simultaneous Linux and Windows clients at launch.

check out this previous post... A Tale in the Desert

I also noted the following article re: Difficulties in making MMPOGS Ten Reasons You Don't Want to Run a Massively Multiplayer Online Game eGenesis has all of this stuff down.

Free tryout, etc. Here

Support Independents, and Linux gaming!

I'm the president of eGenesis, the company that does A Tale in the Desert. Six days ago we became the first MMO game to release with both Windows and Linux clients. We even got slashdotted. Here are the numbers so far:

Out of the 4978 Accounts created:
4198 Use the Windows Client (84%)
780 Use the Linux Client (16%)
Creating an account is free.

So far, 1148 of those 4978 (23%) have paid for a subscription. Of these 1148:
1043 Use the Windows Client (91%)
105 Use the Linux Client (9%)

The Linux client is somewhat harder to get working than the Windows version right now, because of different library versions installed on people's systems. The potential percentage of Linux users is certainly higher than the above. However, once you are in the game, both versions work equally well (and the Linux version seems to be slightly faster.)