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[Column] General: Working for the Greater Good

SBFordSBFord Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
in News & Features Discussion

In our latest Independency column, we take a look at a game that has captured Cassandra's interest: Topia Online. It's a game that all work for good or, as the developer says, "the world will die". Whoa...that's a sandbox. Find out more about Topia Online in Independency and then leave your thoughts in the comments.

Drawing inspiration from games like Ultima Online, Minecraft and even Dwarf Fortress, Topia Online is being designed to be a living, breathing, persistent world. It's being designed as a game where player-generated cities, dungeons, trade routes, bandit camps are possible, a game where it is mandatory to hire workers and gather resources in order to get bloody anywhere.

Read more of Cassandra Khaw's Independency: Working for the Greater Good.

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Comments

  • JaggaSpikesJaggaSpikes Member UncommonPosts: 430
    interesting. can players also work for greater evil?
  • TheLizardbonesTheLizardbones Member CommonPosts: 10,910

    Originally posted by spinner_vis
    interesting. can players also work for greater evil?

    According to the article, the world will end, so it's probably not in your best interest to do so. However, it might be fun to join another world and work against it.

    I can not remember winning or losing a single debate on the internet.

  • ZekiahZekiah Member UncommonPosts: 2,483

    Another kickstarter.

    /sigh

    I'll check back after launch.

    "Censorship is never over for those who have experienced it. It is a brand on the imagination that affects the individual who has suffered it, forever." - Noam Chomsky

  • OzmodanOzmodan Member EpicPosts: 9,726
    First you get excited over Greed Monger which most thought was a horrible idea and now this game?  Games like this give the sandbox genre a bad name.
  • aspekxaspekx Member UncommonPosts: 2,167
    Originally posted by Zekiah

    Another kickstarter.

    /sigh

    I'll check back after launch.

    ya agreed. while i think the KS revolution is in general a good thing, i'm not holding my breath for any real results anytime soon for any of these KS funded games.

    "There are at least two kinds of games.
    One could be called finite, the other infinite.
    A finite game is played for the purpose of winning,
    an infinite game for the purpose of continuing play."
    Finite and Infinite Games, James Carse

  • MumboJumboMumboJumbo Member UncommonPosts: 3,219

    > 'if you do not work together for a greater good, not only will you die, but the entire game world will die.'

    ^Always liked the idea of this.

    The scripting sounds very interesting approach to sandbox.

    http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014633/Classic-Game-Postmortem

  • FoomerangFoomerang Member UncommonPosts: 5,628

    Just once, id like to see prelaunch features line up with post launch features.

  • TheocritusTheocritus Member LegendaryPosts: 9,751
    Originally posted by MumboJumbo

    > 'if you do not work together for a greater good, not only will you die, but the entire game world will die.'

    ^Always liked the idea of this.

    The scripting sounds very interesting approach to sandbox.

          So if the player base fails and the game world really does die, do they get their money back?

  • kb4blukb4blu Member UncommonPosts: 717

    Asking players to work for the greater good is like asking North Korea to become a democracy.

    This game will become a griefers paradise.

     

     

  • DarkVagabondDarkVagabond Member UncommonPosts: 340

    But... What if sacrifices are demanded by an Obelisk to keep it working?

    The GREATER good might mean the spilling of blood.

  • aattssaattss Member Posts: 40
     
    Originally posted by Theocritus
    Originally posted by MumboJumbo

    > 'if you do not work together for a greater good, not only will you die, but the entire game world will die.'

    ^Always liked the idea of this.

    The scripting sounds very interesting approach to sandbox.

          So if the player base fails and the game world really does die, do they get their money back?

    Actually, a new world will spawn.

    Not that it's very likely. The forum organizations show that most players are going to be pro-good.

  • aattssaattss Member Posts: 40
    Originally posted by kb4blu

    Asking players to work for the greater good is like asking North Korea to become a democracy.

    This game will become a griefers paradise.

     

     

    There has been lots of conversation about this. It's not very likely. Start here: http://forum.topiaonline.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=53

  • LoktofeitLoktofeit Member RarePosts: 14,247
    Originally posted by lizardbones

     

    Originally posted by spinner_vis
    interesting. can players also work for greater evil?
    According to the article, the world will end, so it's probably not in your best interest to do so. However, it might be fun to join another world and work against it.

    Never confuse the developer's best interest with the player's best interest. ;)

    There isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to play, if you want to use a screwdriver to put nails into wood, have at it, simply don't complain when the guy next to you with the hammer is doing it much better and easier. - Allein
    "Graphics are often supplied by Engines that (some) MMORPG's are built in" - Spuffyre

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