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Massively Multiplayer Grand Theft Auto
Voodoo Extreme has the story that earlier this week Grand Theft Auto creator David Jones announced the upcoming release of APB, a massively multiplayer game in the vein of Grand Theft Auto. It won't be out until 2007, but will make an appearance at E3 this year. Business Wire has details on the game's developer, Webzen, as well. The company sounds as if it's going to be making a major push into the market. From the article: "In addition to APB, Webzen, Inc. plans to bring multiple online game titles to the U.S. market. The titles include the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), SUN, releasing in the third quarter of 2005, and a massively multiplayer online first person shooter (MMOFPS) called Huxley, that leverages the latest Unreal 3 game engine and is scheduled to release in 2006."
Does that mean we will also see massively parallel lawsuits (I guess that will make them class action lawsuits).
I just got rid of my one and only Windows PC, since my current MMORPG choice, World of Warcraft, runs on my Mac, and I mostly game on the X-Box other than that.
However, if APB turns out to be a Windows-only game in 2007, I will run out and build a brand new Intel or AMD whatever-the-hell-version it is up to , slap in whichever nVidia or ATI card is the new hottness at the time, and install Longhorn (which just might be out by then)... for no other reason than playing this game!
That said, it would rock if I could just play it on my media-room Mac.
Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
This is going to be a game of 'who can run over the pedestrian first'... gonna have all the "That was my pedestrian!! OMG" arguments we see in hacknslashes at the moment ;)
Browsing with +2 to insightful posts and a higher threshold makes the average post seen seem a lot more ingenious
.... what your charachter options are? I can see it now - "I wanna be a $10 dolla ho!" or "I wanna be Crazy Voodoo Woman". I mean, seriously, how many mobsters CAN there be running around before it gets....boring? And what happens when the Cops and the Mobsters get organized?
Webzen is the publisher for this game not the developer. The game's developer is Real Time Worlds.
maybe the majority of these prosac deprived ADD ridden kiddies will leave the RPG games where they try to recreate all their FPS fantasies.
sigs suck
I had that same idea years ago.... Oh well my lazy factor, lack of motivation and know how kept me from pursuing it..
APB on the Atari Lynx:http://http//www.atarilynx.com/pages/apb.shtm l
That was a superb game, in a lot of ways a precursor to GTA 1.
Ian
Three things need to be possible, though:
1) Higher-level players have the ability to create and define missions for other (lower-level) players to complete. You could order hits on enemies (or friends), pay other people to take the rap for your dirty work, etc.
1) Cops need to be playable characters. (You could even become a dirty cops!)
2) Jail time has to COUNT. When you get caught by the police, the game has to turn into you sitting in the crossbar hotel sitting on a cot for 48 hours (or so) of realtime.
"Lawyers are for sucks."
- Doug McKenzie
There are a lot of MM games out there. But do any of them even try to emulate real-world physics to the extent that GTA does? The amount of computing power to make this work is mind boggling. Maybe SGI will survive after all!
Fantastic! Where do I sign up for beta? There's nothing I'd rather do than hang out with the sort of quality people that think beating hookers to death is fun! I can't imagine a game with a more enjoyable crowd of players than the teenage-suburban-white-kids-that-act-like-gangstas demographic this game will surely attract!
;)
I mean, just think of the possibilities! I always found common 13375p34k to be too intelligable, now, I'll be able to revel in wonderful in game conversation like "wtf yo gimme ur g4tz fo rizzle j00 f4gg0t" and "3y3 wiznill takes j00 ryde fizzy you plz!11!elevntyone!11"
*sigh*
I fear for my generation.
Besides, what could this game accomlish that Gizoogle hasn't already.
You may all rest easily, knowing that Blizzard has
thoroughly trained me to deal with that situation.
Here are the OTS summaries of both articles:
All Points Bulletin, a massively multiplayer action game from the creator of Grand Theft Auto, was today announced. APB will feature real-life cities from across the world, with Squads (the law) going up against Gangs for control of this territory. Thousands of players will form gangs or squads all around the world, and will play in hundreds of online cities.
Grand Theft Auto Creator, David Jones, Awards Worldwide Publishing Rights for His First Online Game, 'APB' to Webzen, Inc.; (Nasdaq:WZEN) was awarded the worldwide online game publishing rights to All Points Bulletin (APB), the first online game developed by David Jones, the creator of the multi-million unit selling video game, Grand Theft Auto, and his UK-based game development company, Real Time Worlds (RTW).
"As an avid gamer and creator of many single player games, it has been my dream to create an online game experience that provides the player with the ultimate freedom to do whatever he wants, in a thriving, living environment," said David Jones, founder and creative director of Real Time Worlds. "When looking for a publishing partner for APB, it was imperative to find a company that was a worldwide leader in online games and we found that in Webzen, Inc."
"APB is an online game that we think will fuel the worldwide growth of online gaming," said Nam Joo Kim, CEO of Webzen, Inc. The titles include the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), SUN, releasing in the third quarter of 2005, and a massively multiplayer online first person shooter (MMOFPS) called Huxley, that leverages the latest Unreal 3 game engine and is scheduled to release in 2006. is also developing game properties for the next generation game consoles to enhance its appeal to the mainstream gaming audience.
Singularity: a belief in the "God" idea with the "demiurge" relation inverted.
APB (All Points Bulletin) is also the name of an Atari Games arcade release, circa 1990 or shortly after, which is readily playable on Midway Arcade Treasures 2 (and is indeed one of the high points of the collection). -THIS- APB is also recognized as having gameplay that harkens forward to the Grand Theft Auto games (having a huge simulated city to explore with special locations to keep track of, gameplay that focuses on driving, and being filled with secrets). While it is a "classic" game, the fact that Midway is making money off of it at the moment indicates it's still bankable, in some small way.
Thus, I predict a name change in the near future for these guys. Not that the name shouldn't be changed anyway -- the arcade APB is one of the better things Atari Games did IMHO, and should be respected for that.
The entire point of GTA is that you get to be a predator without regards to the lives of the relatively peaceful citizens around you. So now you go from predator amongst sheep to predator amongst predators, and the dynamic changes entirely. You'll have snipers on every rooftop, a couple air-wars, one guy with a tank and streets that resemble the LA riots with serious military hardware. It'll be REALLY fun for about 10 minutes.
People who think they know everything really piss off those of us that actually do.
Multi Theft Auto anyone?
Life is like an analogy
I respect that there is this thriving "twitch-centric", Prozac-prone community of gamers who enjoy Halo, Half Life, Unreal, GTA and their contemporaries as appropriate entertainment therapy.
I've played these games; they're visually exciting in many cases but the environment is so aggressive and hostile that it seems to breed an almost artificially, unrealistic, hyperactive, reactive approach to problem-solving that many of us feel is highly counterproductive, if not destructive.
I don't see where it's fun to drop into an online sim and get instantly killed. Sure, if you're masochistic and determiend enough, you can rise above the neophyte level to end up the killER instead of the killED, but I have a hard time appreciating the resulting rewards.
I figure at some point, more "thinking peoples games" will rise up from the ashes of these sadistic, unrealistic twitch-fests, which will remind gamers of what it's really like playing a game, instead of merely playing a victim or a victimizer.
They already have something like that--it's called "Detroit".
Just because you can't think fast enough to handle it doesn't mean there's no strategy in a FPS. Try UT2004 Onslaught with the game speed at 0.25.
p.s. "unrealistic" as a CRITICISM of computer gaming? If you want reality go outside and live it.
Wait for your transhuman future.
Transcend Humanity. Please.
There are two cheat codes that simulate this now:
T
OURGODGIVENRIGHTTOBEARARMS
and
FIGHTFIGHTFIGH
The one here - it looks like an army of Fred Dursts.
Sign me up for the Cops team...
These comments and opinions are mine and mine alone, although they shouldn't be.
Onslaught is a great example of what I'm talking about. Most players spawn and go on a 12-second kamakazi run. The only strategy for the most part involves running like a maniac in a chaotic pattern. That's not my idea of strategy.
Perhaps there won't be a traditional MMORPG level system? Beyond aquiring a few advanced weapons, the hero in GTA3 doesn't seem to improve much inherent combat ability. Once the player first aquires an armor upgrade, he is just as resistant to damage as he will ever be. I believe APB could follow a similar system, which would make teamwork much more important than in a traditional MMORPG. The measure of a player would be the number of reliable friends he or she could bring to a fight.
I figure at some point, more "thinking peoples games" will rise up from the ashes of these sadistic, unrealistic twitch-fests, which will remind gamers of what it's really like playing a game, instead of merely playing a victim or a victimizer.
They're not hard to find if that's actually your area of interest. Search for servers hosting games of Go or Diplomacy. It doesn't get much more "thinking people" than that. Or if those are too sedate, play one of the hundreds and hundreds of online racing sims.
Examples are easy to find, which leads me to believe that you aren't much of a gamer at all, you just want to whine about The Dreaded Simulated Violence. What a unique and compelling viewpoint you've provided for our consideration.
Slashdot quality declines as the number of hot grits posts decreases. - Provolt's Law, Apr-09-2005