MMO Gamers

I’m always on the lookout for new MMORPG’s, which for the most part has been light-on of late.  Ysharros put me onto this one in development, Gatheryn, a Victorian Steampunk styled game.  There isn’t a great deal of information on the website, but it sounds like it will have a lot of mini-games, such as a Tetris style crafting mini-game, as well as being able to play cards and checkers.

Gatheryn is a casual-friendly MMORPG like none you’ve experienced before. Offering a fully 3D world with all of the detail and atmosphere of a traditional role-playing game, Gatheryn gives players the chance to explore an ever-expanding environment, from bustling cities to wide-open countrysides, and to meet and interact with its extensive cast of characters. Learn their stories, take on a variety of quests on their behalf, or simply stop by for a chat

There will be player housing and you can make your own furniture.  Though it does make mention of quests it doesn’t explain what these quests will be. The game seems more directed at socializing and mini-games, rather than killing foozles.  It also promises heavy character customization, from clothes, accessories, and hairstyles.

Players will also be treated to an enormous variety of customization options, from their characters’ clothes and accessories, to the latest hairstyles, to furnishing and decorating their own homes. With enough personalization features to rival any virtual world, Gatheryn is a great place to take a break from your adventures and quests, and invite friends over to your in-game home to visit and socialize, or show off your new pet

I’m a big fan of deep and engaging crafting and player driven economies, but from the screenshots on the website the game looks pretty ugly, and without visual appeal it would have to be a pretty spectacular game for me to play it.

Another game that’s in development and one that looks to be tackling Second Life head on, is Blue Mars.  I’ve never played Second Life, so I can’t really talk about its game-play, but I have an understanding of how it works and what it’s about.  So, what’s Blue Mars about?

Blue Mars is a free to play massively multiplayer virtual world featuring stunning graphics, realistic characters, and endless social bonding activities. The Blue Mars virtual world is made up of an expanding set of independently operated cities that feature unique themes, activities, and attractions such as shopping, avatar customization, unique personal spaces, and games like dancing, racing, and golf

A key difference between BM and SL is how content is created.  In SL, anyone can create content using the game’s propriety toolset.  In BM, however, players will need to be registered as a creator and will need to use tools such as 3DSMax, Maya, and Flash.  Also the cities, where you spend all your time in, will be owned by “partners” of BM.  While the game is classified as a Free 2 Play, city owners can charge access to their city.

Blue Mars is free to play and free to download. Different cities in the Blue Mars network can choose to offer premium pay to play, try to buy, and subscription based games and services. In addition, content creators will have custom clothing, appearances, items, furniture, behaviours, and animations available for purchase

Graphically the game is appealing and certainly outdoes Second Life in that department, but whether it’ll be enough to win over the SL fan base or attract new players only time will tell.

So we have a couple of interesting games in development.  They’re both heavily focused on the social aspects of online gaming, rather than the levelling and questing that we’ve become accustomed to in our MMOG’s.  Something to look forward to if that’s your cup of tea.