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Massively Multiplayer Grand Theft Auto

Posted by Zonk on from the that'd-be-a-lotta-punkz dept.

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."

19 of 62 comments (clear)

  1. MMOGTA by clausiam · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Given this story: http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/02/17/13 40222&tid=123&tid=10/

    Does that mean we will also see massively parallel lawsuits (I guess that will make them class action lawsuits).

  2. Killer App by Golias · · Score: 2, Interesting

    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.

  3. MMGTA? by FirienFirien · · Score: 3, Funny

    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
  4. Dare I ask..... by LordPhantom · · Score: 5, Insightful

    .... 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?

    1. Re:Dare I ask..... by Golias · · Score: 2, Interesting

      For the first half of GTA-3, you play a bottom-rung flunkie for the mob, fresh from a jailbreak.

      Unlike fantasy RPG's, where the whole point (for most people) is to be a big-shot hero, I don't think it will hurt the story at all to have PC's play as one of a thousand mafia errand-boys, doing the dirty work for low-ranking made men.

      Being a nearly faceless scoff-law trying to build a rep for himself is what GTA is really all about.

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    2. Re:Dare I ask..... by clausiam · · Score: 2, Funny

      Can't they just integrate with the "Sims Online" (http://thesims.ea.com/). Then the GTA players can kill and mame the poor Sims players who just try and go about their daily life 8-)

    3. Re:Dare I ask..... by ShawnDoc · · Score: 2, Insightful

      How many superheroes CAN there be running around before it gets...boring?

    4. Re:Dare I ask..... by Golias · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Actually, the crowd of superheroes in CoH was not a problem for me. It was a fun sort of "The TICK" vibe.

      What bugged me was that the game's rewards system encouraged you to behave exactly as you would in any other out-for-yourself RPG.

      There's something wrong (within the context of Silver-age comics) with seeing an NPC old lady being mugged and crying out for help, as dozens of high-level "superheroes" simply dash right by her and the attackers, ignoring the situation completely, on their way back from their last "door mission" to level up and/or shop for enhancements.

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

  5. Jesus man, get the story straight by mrluisp · · Score: 2, Informative

    Webzen is the publisher for this game not the developer. The game's developer is Real Time Worlds.

  6. This sounds cool, if..... by Asprin · · Score: 3, Insightful


    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
    1. Re:This sounds cool, if..... by Golias · · Score: 4, Interesting

      If you followed the link, you would have seen that cops can be played... although from the promo shot it looks like they are supposed to look like the cop from the Villiage People.

      I've found that I've been able to "create and define missions" for lowbies in just about any MMOG. It started in Everquest, when my barbarian shaman needed snake skins and bat wings for spell components. Instead of running around hunting level 2 monsters (or looking for somebody who already gathered some for sale), I would invite some 1-5 level characters to take up a "quest" for me, rewarding them with a platinum coin for each stack of 20 they gathered.

      Since then, I've found that it's kind of fun to send players on errands. You would be surprised the lengths some people will go to for a "free" Sword-of-killing-pretty-touch-monsters, as long as you roleplay it out to make it seem like a "mission" to them.

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

  7. Oh my God, the *cycles*. by fm6 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    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!

  8. Great... by Dragoon412 · · Score: 4, Funny

    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. ;)

    1. Re:Great... by StocDred · · Score: 2, Insightful
      I see your point, but show me a current online game that isn't already filled with jackhole teens talking nonsense and abusing the gameworld. My rule for online gaming is, if I can't limit the players to solely people I know, I'm not playing.

      I think a GTA-esque MMORPG would work better by dropping the first M, and making it team based for the majority of it. (Wasn't that how PSO and Monster Hunter worked?) That way, your team could participate in an engaging and evolving story without being hamstrung by a overworld catered to holding a million player-thugs at once.

      And you brought up the "beating a hooker to death" meme. What is it with that and the GTA games? You can beat anybody to death, most will drop money. There's no direct line, zero sum $ in the game where you pick up a hooker and then kill her to get your money back. And if you continue to kill random pedestrians, it will not be long before the game sends cops after you. At which point you must stop and run and take your punsishment. Why does the general populace think GTA is nothing but some kind of hooker-killing sim?

    2. Re:Great... by Macgrrl · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Why does the general populace think GTA is nothing but some kind of hooker-killing sim?/i>

      Probably because they have bought into the whole madonna/whore diachotomy and believe on some level that the 'dirty' whores' deserve it. After all, having sex with someone, either for money or not, is obviously much worse than killing people. It must be or the ratings systems would be totally different from what they currently are where even implied sex will get you banned but explicit violence will get you awards.

      *sigh* And we wonder why society has fucked up attitudes to sex?

      --
      Sara
      Designer, Gamer, Macgrrl in an XP World
  9. In case we are invaded by demons from Hell... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    You may all rest easily, knowing that Blizzard has
    thoroughly trained me to deal with that situation.

  10. No need to RTFA... by TuringTest · · Score: 2, Informative

    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.
  11. defeats the point entirely by briancnorton · · Score: 2, Insightful

    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.

  12. A massively multiplayer GTA environment? by Wildcat+J · · Score: 3, Funny

    They already have something like that--it's called "Detroit".