Home » The Crystal Hall » An Online Role Playing Game? » Like OMG! WE'RE IN 3-D! (Shall we play a game?)
| Like OMG! WE'RE IN 3-D! [message #35203] |
Thu, 09 April 2009 05:54  |
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 Sanceria
Messages: 16
Registered: February 2009
Location: I am off in Sancey Land! |
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As long as I have been reading the stories, I kept on thinking, "You know what? This would either make an awesome game or movie or TV series! Awws, too bad they don't have one yet..." But then I got to thinking, "You know what? Maybe they CAN have an Online RPG!" When I say that, though, I am not referring to just something that is text-based alone (though it would still rely heavily on text), rather I am thinking of a platform that encompasses ALL elements of games and social networks really. In this platform, you literally have the ability to define how the virtual world is. You can literally create and bring to life anything that comes to mind (though of course there ARE some limits, but even then it only causes you to use your imagination to work past those limits). Now what platform am I speaking of, you may be asking? I am talking about good ol' Second Life.
Now before y'all knock down the idea, you have to admit the concept behind the application is quite intriguing. One of the reasons why people get tired of games is because of the fact that you are limited by what the designer designating the way the game should be. Of course you can try to contradict that by saying that in MMORPGs they are constantly adding new content and things like that. But really, is there anything that they could introduce that is truly new? Almost everything that can be done in games like those, has been done. It just becomes about grinding and the likes after a while, which only eventually can make you bored. Notice I said CAN, because hey, every person is different. But what attracted me to Second Life was just that, the flexibility. The fact that I was not bound by any rules except my own morals (which even then are not a concrete thing since people have their own personal views of morals) made it intriguing to me. The fact that I could create land or whatever I wanted to mind you was appealing to me. Also the fact that I could interact with people around the world at the same time attracted me. It is things like these that make many a person hooked to this platform.
So I have a proposition to make... Why not bring the Whateleyverse to life (Second Life that is...) utilizing this platform? Just imagine being able to actually attend classes in Whateley Academy. Just picture yourselves flying in the sky, gazing down onto the magnificence of the Crystal Hall. And for those that are more geared to fighting... Just imagine being able to have matches in the arenas or to shoot in the ranges. All this, and more, can happen if this platform was utilized. But alas, this is but a dream. Yet this is a dream I hope to see become a reality.
We are who we choose to be.
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| Re: Like OMG! WE'RE IN 3-D! [message #35232 is a reply to message #35203 ] |
Thu, 09 April 2009 11:24  |
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tensai
Messages: 976
Registered: July 2008 |
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| Sanceria wrote on Thu, 09 April 2009 02:54 |
As long as I have been reading the stories, I kept on thinking, "You know what? This would either make an awesome game or movie or TV series! Awws, too bad they don't have one yet..." But then I got to thinking, "You know what? Maybe they CAN have an Online RPG!" When I say that, though, I am not referring to just something that is text-based alone (though it would still rely heavily on text), rather I am thinking of a platform that encompasses ALL elements of games and social networks really. In this platform, you literally have the ability to define how the virtual world is. You can literally create and bring to life anything that comes to mind (though of course there ARE some limits, but even then it only causes you to use your imagination to work past those limits). Now what platform am I speaking of, you may be asking? I am talking about good ol' Second Life.
Now before y'all knock down the idea, you have to admit the concept behind the application is quite intriguing. One of the reasons why people get tired of games is because of the fact that you are limited by what the designer designating the way the game should be. Of course you can try to contradict that by saying that in MMORPGs they are constantly adding new content and things like that. But really, is there anything that they could introduce that is truly new? Almost everything that can be done in games like those, has been done. It just becomes about grinding and the likes after a while, which only eventually can make you bored. Notice I said CAN, because hey, every person is different. But what attracted me to Second Life was just that, the flexibility. The fact that I was not bound by any rules except my own morals (which even then are not a concrete thing since people have their own personal views of morals) made it intriguing to me. The fact that I could create land or whatever I wanted to mind you was appealing to me. Also the fact that I could interact with people around the world at the same time attracted me. It is things like these that make many a person hooked to this platform.
So I have a proposition to make... Why not bring the Whateleyverse to life (Second Life that is...) utilizing this platform? Just imagine being able to actually attend classes in Whateley Academy. Just picture yourselves flying in the sky, gazing down onto the magnificence of the Crystal Hall. And for those that are more geared to fighting... Just imagine being able to have matches in the arenas or to shoot in the ranges. All this, and more, can happen if this platform was utilized. But alas, this is but a dream. Yet this is a dream I hope to see become a reality.
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Well. For starters, SL is free to the general user; however, in order to build lasting structures, you need to lease land from Linden Labs, the people who run the servers, and that costs money.
Once you have the space, then you have the issues of content generation and modification; someone's going to have to make the buildings, someone's going to have to go in and code power models or figure out approximations.
Once you've done all that, you have a very empty schoolground on your hands. The IRC RP has only maybe ten or so active members; if you drop that few people into a SL Whateley, it's going to feel very lonely, especially as SL doesn't have NPC models.
Then, there's the issues with SL itself. It's graphics-intensive, hogs memory and bandwidth, and has some reasonably hefty hardware requirements. The thrill of seeing the Crystal Hall is kinda lost when it's covered in jaggies and rendering artifacts because you can't afford a good graphics card.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but IRC RP is really the better option; it's cheaper, doesn't require specialized skills to create content, imagination is the best graphics card you can have, etc.
In the end, that's all you're really proposing, too: IRC RP with a fancy graphical frontend.
"It took her some time to accept that with such wings, her soul would never soar--but the fact that she could kick a man's lungs out through his spine was ultimately some small consolation." -ursulav
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| Re: Like OMG! WE'RE IN 3-D! [message #35245 is a reply to message #35232 ] |
Thu, 09 April 2009 14:29 |
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Sanceria
Messages: 16
Registered: February 2009
Location: I am off in Sancey Land! |
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Yes yes, I am quite aware of all the difficulties and the likes of SL. I have been playing it myself for a while now. I was not saying it could happen right away, lol. But really, I was referring to a future event, not something to happen right now. And you are correct to state that you need to pay for land, at least on SL. So naturally to start off there would be some expenses.
As to content creation... That too has a possibility to incur expenses also, for developers do not necessarily do things for free really. Though personally on SL I know quite a few scripters, clothing makers, avatar builders, and even sim builders. So rather then leaving the development to just one person, it could be a group of multiple people to accomplish that one goal. And hey, if you get them hooked to the Whateleyverse, maybe, just maybe they will become interested enough in it that they would be willing to do it free, lol.
Oh, and as to them not having NPC characters, I beg to differ. NPC characters are starting to appear on SL though to a limited degree. There are sims where they have shooting ranges and in the areas they spawn zombies that are animated and start attacking you. So they are eventually moving towards that direction. But I have a feeling that when you were referring to more interactive NPCs, like the ones that they have in the cities in RPGs or the likes.
As to the fact that there are only ten people that participate on the RPG on IRC... Really, you are forgetting about the people on SL itself. If you make it accessible to people outside The Crystal Hall forum and make it so that they are given basically something like a Whateley Primer to go by or something like that, then who knows? Maybe it would not be so lonely as you think it would be. Really, there are quite a few RPG sims out that that have dedicated followers. The ones that I can think off of the top of my head is Avalon and the Isle of Wyrms. The last one is really more based on fantasy since it is centered on the them of dragons, but it also includes elements of sci-fi since one of the authors that the people favor over there is Anne McCafferey and Jane Yolen. But really, each one of those sims started off small but eventually grew. So who knows? And really the sim does not need to be centered on making a profit. As long as enough comes in to pay for the sim or for the rent, then it would be worth it. All that needs for this to happen is for the fanbase to expand beyond this forum alone.
And now to the limitations of the SL client itself... Yes, I am quite aware of the fact that SL client is glitchy, buggy, and things like that, yada yada yada. Plus I am aware of the fact that you need a decent computer and a decent connection in order for it to look all fancy and pretty and shiny. But really, the thing is, so what if the graphics look like junk? This platform is still fairly new and they are always making updates and such, though admittedly I think they focus on the wrong things really and do not address the important problems of the platform. nd not only that, as time passes even the introductory computers are becoming more powerful. Though yeah, it IS recommended to have a video card with at least an NVidia 7-chipset, though preferably an 8-chipset. It helps that video cards are becoming cheaper price wise also.
So all things aside, anything is possible. Just because something does not seem to be possible at the moment, does not mean that it is not. Like they always say, anything is possible. All it takes is a little time and a little effort. Hey, even if it means learning how to code things myself and learning how to design things, I will so I can see my dream become a reality.
And yes, that is what I am proposing, a graphical frontend to the IRC RP. Let me illustrate... It was the same thing that happened to Linux. Linux itself used to be just strictly a command-line interface if I remember correctly. Admittedly at the time it was a good OS and the likes, yet at its start you had to have a decent knowledge of the commands and everything. So essentially you could not just be a basic computer user, rather you had ti be a moderately proficient one to be able to competently use Linux. But then along comes projects like Fedora and Ubuntu. Gone was the need to be a computer whiz, for now they had a fancy Graphical User Interface that can be easily utilized by the masses. Linux became a platform for the common folk also, not just for the computer whizs. Now lets apply this scenario to the Whateley RP.
I do have to agree that imagination is the best graphics card that you can have, for that is quite true. That is why I prefer reading over watching a movie or playing games. But really, those who would normally avoid participating in an RP session would be more likely to IF they had a visual aid to assist in the RPG. The thing is, not everybody knows how to write. Not everybody can just place themselves into the heads of their characters and bring them to life. It takes at least a small amount of skill to do that. Now like the Linux Operating System, in order for it to be more accessible to the general populace, they had to add a GUI in order for it to be easier to use. Once that was done, more and more people turned to Linux and have done some amazing things using the platform. So that is all this would be, an aid. It would be an aid for those that have a hard time picturing everything in their head. And this is not to say that it would not require imagination anymore, far from it! It just would make it easier, that is all. So yes, just as there are purists who use only the command-line for development, there are also those that prefer to use the GUI. The same thing applies to those who prefer to use MUCKs rather then 3-D platforms. The main issue at hand is that each person is different, so what may not be appealing to you personally may be appealing to someone else.
And who knows? What if one day Whateley does one day come to SL? And if you want to think even farther, what if one day Whateley even evolves past the boundaries of SL and becomes a game of it's own? One can never say what the future could bring. The reason being is because in the past there have been games that have been SL-only, yet a developer in the real world snaps it up and makes it into a real game. Anything can happen.
Now this may seem like a waste of a thread to you and such... But hey, a girl can dream can't she? xD
We are who we choose to be.
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| Re: Like OMG! WE'RE IN 3-D! [message #35287 is a reply to message #35279 ] |
Thu, 09 April 2009 18:49 |
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Faraway
Messages: 1105
Registered: January 2009
Location: Russia |
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If little works, you can make a dice-throwing chart, like 1=Man, 2=PSI, 3=TK, 4=PDP etc...
Said chart would be like:
Throw 1=4  PDP 1 ESP/1 PSI/1 TK
Condition: Throw a 10-sided dice, the number N you get is the number of overall allocation points. If N is more than 6 roll dice again to score the GSD (1,2, or 3 on dice). Allocation points may be used alternately
-to define your ESP=2 points,pickable once
-to raise ESP by 1=1 point
-to raise TK by 1=1.5 points
-to raise PSI by 1=1 point
-to choose a PSI knack=1.5 points,pickable once, prereq PSI 2, makes minimal N=2.5
Never mind, I'm just a guy.
Eldritch: “Details, details, no pokey the cranky bitch.”
Bladedancer: “But Hekate’s not here!”
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| Re: Like OMG! WE'RE IN 3-D! [message #35320 is a reply to message #35287 ] |
Fri, 10 April 2009 00:47 |
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Anvildude
Messages: 1927
Registered: November 2008 |
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Check one of my posts in the Whateley: The Game thread. (I think I posted this) But I've figured out a nice table for power to point ratios. I think that it keeps it rather balanced, so that two people, one with TK brick and one with Esper, if they get similar dice rolls, won't be way way different in power levels. It also, I think, prevents building block syndrom a bit, since if you want any of the powers at a high level, you have to concentrate on that power, not the others.
It's a sad thing when your paraphrase is longer than the original quote.
Survivor of the Great Crash of 2011
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| Re: Like OMG! WE'RE IN 3-D! [message #36391 is a reply to message #35320 ] |
Fri, 17 April 2009 15:53 |
Auly
Messages: 201
Registered: August 2005
Location: Cleveland |
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SL can work extremely well for regular play and simple RP.. Honestly I love the game and have made a few things here and there. Every day I log in and explore some I see new stuff that surprises me.
Now there are plenty of negatives for example you are 'mostly' limited to a human shape. (GSD folks there is ways around this).
Also there is very few form shifting items out there that isn't a little jaring at some level.
Good things are that there is TONS of stuff that's already done out there. Recent changes have allowed much improved customization for areas. While it does cost some money to get relatively customized avatars it's not very expensive(10 to 20 USD with changes of cloths and such).
In the end though I just wish I didn't have to work late on thursdays
"Jumping from high ledges without anticipation of fatal impact is
commonly know to be an unwise activity and is not
recommended by the legal team of Aperture, Inc"
Portal the game.
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