This is somewhat inspired by the Spore 2 thread, I was going to post this in there but really it's somewhat off-topic to Spore so here it is.
A Wildlife MMOG. No real evolution in this, you just pick your predator creature, and you hunt and run from other predators. There would be several complete ecosystems each with their own selection of predators. You'd be able to pick several different types of animals like birds, fish, sea mammals. wolves, tigers and cheetahs. Guilds would be something like Wolf Packs depending on the type of creature you are playing.
In the game you would have to manage your hunger, thirst and other vital elements to life. You DO level up... sort of. You start off as a pup, either already in a pack or a lone mother's child. Either way your mother teaches you in the form of quests. You learn new abilities and you begin to prepare yourself for adulthood.
The combat would be the star of the game really. For example, as a Wolf you would have your basic movement, scratch and bite abilities. You can combine all these abilities with others, like jump. So if you move to the right and jump at the same time you do a sideways dash. Another good example is if your sprinting, you perform a forward dash, but while turning around you could pull a really nifty aerial 180, land on the ground and slide a bit to then continue in the other direction. These actions can even be combined with attacks for some impressive and devastating results. A lenient stamina meter will manage your abilities. Being a nimble cheetah will leave you with a lot to work with, but as a much larger bear you wouldn't be able to keep up a fast pace for nearly as long.
The animations will have to be the biggest highlight of this game. For all these elaborate actions to work well with each other they will have to be responsive, yet smoothly animated. This means the game will probably have to sport some of the most advanced animation blending technology seen in a game to date. Running in the woods as a cougar should give you a fantastic sense of speed. A quick diagonal dash to avoid a tree coupled with a nice jump over a fallen tree.
Several not so realistic elements would be added to the game. An arena where different animals can square off with each other. Obstacle courses and Olympic style races. Who's the fastest cheetah in the world? Who's the fastest cheetah while jumping fallen trees, and avoiding large standing trees? What if you played football (soccer for you americans) as a wolf? As an Eagle you could have a cool water polo type sport where you toss a ring around. If the ring touches the ground the ball is out, and you have to throw it into the opposing team's net. A bunch of neat ideas to tailor some of our common sports for animal contestants.
Different animals would bring different play styles. An eagle for example would be a bit more like that special set of wings you could get in Pilotwings 64. As a bird you would be able to perform nifty aerial maneuver. Grab for fish like a WW2 dive bomber.
The game idea is heavily inspired by the old game called "Wolf". But Wolf would be taken to a much larger scale and taken into a persistent online world. There would be no humans, therefor the ecosystem would be untarnished and completely wild. The game would be subscription based like many of the MMOGs out there. Non-subscribers can actually play the game, but they will be restricted to being prey. That's right, as a subscriber you get to chase some poor non-subscribing rabbit for a nice meal! You don't have to pay a penny to be able to experience the thrill of being a gazelle chased down by a group of cheetahs.
The whole idea is ambitious, but I think it could be possible. The game would heavily rely on smooth, and interesting gameplay. The very act of running through the woods would have to provide some sense of fun.
A Wildlife MMOG. No real evolution in this, you just pick your predator creature, and you hunt and run from other predators. There would be several complete ecosystems each with their own selection of predators. You'd be able to pick several different types of animals like birds, fish, sea mammals. wolves, tigers and cheetahs. Guilds would be something like Wolf Packs depending on the type of creature you are playing.
In the game you would have to manage your hunger, thirst and other vital elements to life. You DO level up... sort of. You start off as a pup, either already in a pack or a lone mother's child. Either way your mother teaches you in the form of quests. You learn new abilities and you begin to prepare yourself for adulthood.
The combat would be the star of the game really. For example, as a Wolf you would have your basic movement, scratch and bite abilities. You can combine all these abilities with others, like jump. So if you move to the right and jump at the same time you do a sideways dash. Another good example is if your sprinting, you perform a forward dash, but while turning around you could pull a really nifty aerial 180, land on the ground and slide a bit to then continue in the other direction. These actions can even be combined with attacks for some impressive and devastating results. A lenient stamina meter will manage your abilities. Being a nimble cheetah will leave you with a lot to work with, but as a much larger bear you wouldn't be able to keep up a fast pace for nearly as long.
The animations will have to be the biggest highlight of this game. For all these elaborate actions to work well with each other they will have to be responsive, yet smoothly animated. This means the game will probably have to sport some of the most advanced animation blending technology seen in a game to date. Running in the woods as a cougar should give you a fantastic sense of speed. A quick diagonal dash to avoid a tree coupled with a nice jump over a fallen tree.
Several not so realistic elements would be added to the game. An arena where different animals can square off with each other. Obstacle courses and Olympic style races. Who's the fastest cheetah in the world? Who's the fastest cheetah while jumping fallen trees, and avoiding large standing trees? What if you played football (soccer for you americans) as a wolf? As an Eagle you could have a cool water polo type sport where you toss a ring around. If the ring touches the ground the ball is out, and you have to throw it into the opposing team's net. A bunch of neat ideas to tailor some of our common sports for animal contestants.
Different animals would bring different play styles. An eagle for example would be a bit more like that special set of wings you could get in Pilotwings 64. As a bird you would be able to perform nifty aerial maneuver. Grab for fish like a WW2 dive bomber.
The game idea is heavily inspired by the old game called "Wolf". But Wolf would be taken to a much larger scale and taken into a persistent online world. There would be no humans, therefor the ecosystem would be untarnished and completely wild. The game would be subscription based like many of the MMOGs out there. Non-subscribers can actually play the game, but they will be restricted to being prey. That's right, as a subscriber you get to chase some poor non-subscribing rabbit for a nice meal! You don't have to pay a penny to be able to experience the thrill of being a gazelle chased down by a group of cheetahs.
The whole idea is ambitious, but I think it could be possible. The game would heavily rely on smooth, and interesting gameplay. The very act of running through the woods would have to provide some sense of fun.
