Behold... The Metaplace.
I think we all sort of thought it'd be something "Web 2.0" oriented, but I honestly didn't expect much more than a revisioned Second Life. This teaches me to doubt the man behind UO and the Original SWG. Though there were problems with those games, there's no denying that their heart was in the right place, and indeed there's no denying that UO is one of the greatest examples of a sandbox MMORPG there ever was or will be. But SWG ended bloodily, and I was worried Raph wouldn't be able to shake what happened over there between SOE, LucasArts, and the community.
If he pulls this one off... all will certainly be forgiven, in my eyes anyway.
Basically what Metaplace could end up being is an endless supply of user-created MMOs and casual games... even full-fledged MMORPGs. With this comes the risk of a giant sea of uninspired crap, but that's besides the point. The point is, for all that crap we'll be ecstatic to get a few diamonds out of the bunch. Look at modding communities, see some of the talent behind those add-ons, and you'll start to see why Raph is so keen on making this tool-set.
If it proves as easily maleable as he and his crew claim, then we're all in for one wild ride. I've got quite a few game ideas in my head that I wish I had the skill to put in action, and Metaplace just might let me realize them.
Here's hoping it's as revolutionary as I hope. Don't forget to head to the site and sign up for the newsletter and alpha while you're there. As they head towards beta, that's going to be the time that makes or breaks the tools and how accessible they are.
Consider my attention grabbed.
Edit: Also, according to Cuppy at her blog, Raph's also designing his "worldy" MMO on the toolset as well. Talk about a gamingasm. I just had one. I'll be back after I change my pants.
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4 comments:
Fingers crossed. It could be so free-form that it feels too undirected (well that's how Second Life feels to me anyway), or it could be truly awesome if they give folks enough tools to facilitate building nifty things. I really hope for the latter and can't wait to see.
As far as the MMO angle, it's all gonna come down to the tools. Make them too hard to use and people won't use them. Make them too easy and there's the fine line you walk between ease of use and quality of the finished product.
I'd like to see the toolset before salivating too much. Even if Raph is behind it.
I'm almost more interested in what Raph is making using the Metaplace tools than I am about Metaplace itself. I think Julian hit upon a key issue with the difficulty and robustness of the toolset.
Puzzle Games.
>.<
I think I'll go hammer my penis flat instead.
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