So I was just reading the 'Living NPCs' thread and it got me thinking; What if an MMO was created with absolutely no NPC content? So, imagine an MMO with no NPC vendors, no NPC guards... No NPC monsters. A world in which players would *have* to create their own lives, their own stories and their own quests. You want loot? Go kill another player and loot him! You want to buy some new armour? Go visit a player that's been training crafting and is capable of making it for you. You've been killed by someone and looted? Gather some friends together and go kill him back!
Its called 10six and it was the best MMO ive ever played. (ok its not really a rpg its a fps/rts mmo)
No mobs, no npcs, no quests, no towns, no levels(ok they added levels later which was a mistake imo)
So what did this game have?
War....four factions fighting to own land.There will never be another pvp mmo this ruthless and fun (you can lose everything you own while your asleep, but cash and one locked base)
What did players do all day with no quests or levels?
1. Mine aka make money. You had to go to every camp and sell the tu it mined when it was full. (boring so its now automated)
2. Scout unclaimed or owned camps for new bases
3. Build stuff, you would need alot of "rovers" (attacking vehicles that you controled) and there were alot of variety and they died alot so you had to build alot. Build camps, camps made you money so you could always build one more(you designed everything in the base camp you set turrents walls mine storage buildings, and mods for each)
4. Buy and sell, everything you stole from fighting had to be sold to players or trashed for almost nothing. So you would often need to trade to get the 100 rover parts you need to build your favorite combo.
5. Defend your stuff and your mdn(guild clan) bases. (if anyone attacked an alerted camp everyone got a message)
6. Events they did have special events from gm's and stuff. Mostly tournament type stuff 1v1 etc.
So I was just reading the 'Living NPCs' thread and it got me thinking; What if an MMO was created with absolutely no NPC content? We all know UO (in it's hay day) was loved by a huge number of fans, many of whom are still loyal to the 'old' UO to this very day. Why? Because players were literally forced to interact with one another on an almost constant basis. NPCs had very little use (apart from loot), and most of the game revolved around PvP and player interaction. So, imagine an MMO with no NPC vendors, no NPC guards... No NPC monsters. A world in which players would *have* to create their own lives, their own stories and their own quests. You want loot? Go kill another player and loot him! You want to buy some new armour? Go visit a player that's been training crafting and is capable of making it for you. You've been killed by someone and looted? Gather some friends together and go kill him back! Okay, so a world entirely devoid of NPC life may be a little far fetched, but I think this is a trick current MMO developers are really missing out on. It seems that the current emphasis is to create a game that'll play much like a single player game in 'co op' mode, with NPC interaction playing an enormous part. I know for a fact that there are a huge number of MMO fans that, having played older MMORPGs when they were first released, miss that feeling of absolute 'sandbox' freedom. An MMO is about players interacting with one another and NPCs really needn't play a large part. I think the first developer to realise this could, potentially, make an absolute fortune.
There already is such an MMO and its been going on for centuries. Its called REAL LIFE. Your short term and long term ambitions are you self made quest. You choose the path you take and the story line daily. You can be a coperate business man or a thug or whatever you wanna be. Want to upgrade your stuff? Simple! Earn the money with your own abilities using stats like IQ, EQ, hardwork, luck talent etc etc etc. Want to craft your own stuff? SIMPLE! look for someone to teach you, learn the trade Wanna get better deals on on items/ sales? Its called the art of boot licking. Also you level up everytime you grow up, maturity + 1. And as you "level" up, you get stronger and there is so much out there in the world for you to discover and learn. seriously dude...WTF!
There already is such an MMO and its been going on for centuries. Its called REAL LIFE....
I dont know about you, but I've been told that the worlds been around a bit longer than centuries... Have you been listening to a certain Archbishop again? (that was James Ussher for those interested)
Do people really want 'Realish-life' the RPG maybe set in a Tolkenish world? If so then getting back to the OP I'd have to say we need NPCs to help fill out the population.
Regardless of all the other replies I would be willing to give a game like this a chance.
It could either be hugely successful or not work at all.
I think what would make this game so good is that the community inside of it would have to use each other in order to gain items/levels, would certainly make it a lot more community friendly.
Comments
Its called 10six and it was the best MMO ive ever played. (ok its not really a rpg its a fps/rts mmo)
No mobs, no npcs, no quests, no towns, no levels(ok they added levels later which was a mistake imo)
So what did this game have?
War....four factions fighting to own land.There will never be another pvp mmo this ruthless and fun (you can lose everything you own while your asleep, but cash and one locked base)
What did players do all day with no quests or levels?
1. Mine aka make money. You had to go to every camp and sell the tu it mined when it was full. (boring so its now automated)
2. Scout unclaimed or owned camps for new bases
3. Build stuff, you would need alot of "rovers" (attacking vehicles that you controled) and there were alot of variety and they died alot so you had to build alot. Build camps, camps made you money so you could always build one more(you designed everything in the base camp you set turrents walls mine storage buildings, and mods for each)
4. Buy and sell, everything you stole from fighting had to be sold to players or trashed for almost nothing. So you would often need to trade to get the 100 rover parts you need to build your favorite combo.
5. Defend your stuff and your mdn(guild clan) bases. (if anyone attacked an alerted camp everyone got a message)
6. Events they did have special events from gm's and stuff. Mostly tournament type stuff 1v1 etc.
Own, Mine, Defend, Attack, 24/7
There already is such an MMO and its been going on for centuries. Its called REAL LIFE. Your short term and long term ambitions are you self made quest. You choose the path you take and the story line daily. You can be a coperate business man or a thug or whatever you wanna be. Want to upgrade your stuff? Simple! Earn the money with your own abilities using stats like IQ, EQ, hardwork, luck talent etc etc etc. Want to craft your own stuff? SIMPLE! look for someone to teach you, learn the trade
I dont know about you, but I've been told that the worlds been around a bit longer than centuries... Have you been listening to a certain Archbishop again? (that was James Ussher for those interested)
Do people really want 'Realish-life' the RPG maybe set in a Tolkenish world? If so then getting back to the OP I'd have to say we need NPCs to help fill out the population.
Regardless of all the other replies I would be willing to give a game like this a chance.
It could either be hugely successful or not work at all.
I think what would make this game so good is that the community inside of it would have to use each other in order to gain items/levels, would certainly make it a lot more community friendly.
MarcussUk