Build Your Own MMOG

yebb writes "CNet reports about a company called Multiverse that has just begun beta testing of its platform for creating and integrating online virtual worlds. They are allowing developers and companies to use their online framework to expedite development of online games. Their network is free to use as long as you don't make any money from it's usage, but they also provide open source client applications to use or modify as you see fit." From the article: "'The business model is long-term,' said Richard Bartle, one of the pioneers of online games and an editor of Terra Nova, a leading Web site about virtual worlds. 'Although Multiverse's software will help speed up the to-market time for companies, it's still going to take developers ages to create content.' While Bartle is cautious about Multiverse's business model, he's fascinated by its potential."

Comments

Distributed MMORPGs

[VGPowerlord]

I wonder if anyone will ever get around to making a distributed MMORPG. Something where different parts of the game world would be hosted by different operators.

I suppose that would open a whole new slew of issues, though.

Re:Distributed MMORPGs

[bigpat]

I started working on the Varium MUD server with a couple other guys over 5 years ago, but frankly I wasn't a very good programmer at the time and I was supposed to implement the distributed stuff. It was written in Python, but we never got the distributed part working (my fault). But I had thought that we could put a graphical layer on top of the underlying game engine, to make a distributed MMORPG.

The goal was to have a server that could be distributed, so that say you direct your avatar to go through portals which would transfer your avatar and any compatible objects you were carrying to the linked server. Really the idea was to make the equivalent of hyperlinks, but that the servers would negotiate a transfer of the avatar and in game objects.

Some of the issues that came up (all solvable)

*security - ensuring that game objects could be transferred from one server to another without violating any rules of the local server.
      - we looked at parsing the incoming python for undesirable code in the same way that "Wizard" created code would be validated on the local server.
      - also having several levels of trust available between servers. (ie peered servers, trusted servers, unknown servers, banned servers and the ability to specify what individual privileges would transfer and correlate between servers)

*saving game state - assuming what if the remote server crashes, would we save any game state in the client (but what about cheats?) Probably just leave reliability up to the local admin and have a inactive copy of the avatar left on recently visited world servers so that you could just reconnect and pick up where you left off (more or less)

*also, game experience. What would you do about themed world servers? So, that if I was say on a Star Wars themed virtual world, and then went through a portal to a Barney themed world server, would my Chewy avatar suddenly turn into a Purple dinosour or would there be some sort of "Customs" border process where by you went through and specified preferences the first time you visited someplace. But that might really interfere with game play...

Anyway, those are a few of the things we talked about. The project is dead, codebase didn't include any distributable elements. Seems like distributed MMORPGs are wide open for an open licensed and non proprietary standard for connecting MMORPGs together to really create a workable metaverse.

Umm...

[ndansmith]

I guess by Massively Multiplayer they mean "like 5 or 6 of your buddies."

I just cannot see anyone getting a large community of players together without a large development and advertising budget. Large development budgets also lead to independent, customized systems with total control, which is the opposite of the Multiverse concept.

Re:Umm...

[swilde23]

I just cannot see anyone getting a large community of players together without a large development and advertising budget. Large development budgets also lead to independent, customized systems with total control, which is the opposite of the Multiverse concept.

Didn't people say the same thing about Linux (and its variations)? Look at all the different flavors, and then consider the select few that have a reasonable following. I imagine that's what will happen here, assuming the base code is worthwhile. We'll see a handful of good games emerge from a cool idea, but we'll also see several thousand others that die.

Let Users create content

[glengineer]

How about an MMORPG wherein the users can create content? So, after I play a while and become famous, rich whatever, I can build my own dungeon, castle, create my own army, my own artifact, create my own quests that other players undertake... There are a LOT of users out there with good content ideas who cannot get past the large undertaking to create their own game system, but who would love to create their own content in an existing one.