Genesis Preview: a community-made MMORPG

Genesis has been dubbed "World of SporeCraft" - and for good reasons. The video above shows one man's extremely ambitious project to create the world's first dynamic MMORPG. The game's most interesting features include the ability to reproduce, permanent death, dynamically created story lines/quests, and fully destructible/creatable environments. While this seems very interesting, it will be interesting to see how it navigates around the pitfalls of gopher quests, vast tacky worlds of carelessly created and otherwise uninteresting miles of user content (cough Second Life cough)... not to mention that this is presently a one man band running on little sleep and coffee, I'm sure. Screenshots and info from the creator follow: This was posted on Digg yesterday and his server had a heart attack, so before the page shuts down again I'm mirroring everything below. Read on: Hello, my name is Gavan Woolery, and I am about to show you something impossible. While many sat idly and criticized the lack of creativity in the gaming industry, I spent the last two years trying to change things. In an era of eight-figure game budgets and hundred man development teams, I am attempting to prove that one [crazed] individual can compete. Whether or not my efforts are ultimately successful, my hope is that they ignite the spark of a revolution. At the very least, I would like to change people's perception of what is possible. Take all of the ideas you have about what a video game is or could be. Now throw them out, because Genesis does not comfortably fit into any given genre. Genesis, as the name implies, is about creation. Imagine a storyline that shifts dynamically with your actions. Imagine having the power to create or destroy any aspect of your environment. Imagine being part of a world where your actions have a profound impact. Imagine. Genesis is the game that creates itself. The actions of the users reshape living conditions, political structures, economies, ecosystems, and all other aspects of the world. Storylines emerge naturally, the same way that they do in real life. Content in Genesis is supplied by the users, not a development team, so every user's experience is unique. In short, Genesis is the first truly dynamic massively-multiplayer online game. Obviously, Genesis is a work in progress, and I could really use your help to complete it. This does not just mean donating money - there are a number of other ways you can actively help out with this project that will not cost you a dime. Distinguishing Features at a Glance: -Dynamic, Player-Created Environments: Build and destroy houses and other structures, one wall at a time (no pre-fabricated buildings). Dig out terrain and pile it up elsewhere. Plant seeds, watch them grow, and harvest plants and lumber. Anything that can be created in the game can also be destroyed. -Volumetric Terrain: Terrain can be hollowed out to form caves and tunnels, versus simply raised or lowered like most games. -Dynamic, Player-Created Storylines/Quests: All quests and storylines are generated naturally based on the current state of the world, its political structures, its economy, its ecology, and so forth. A very advanced expert/logic system analyzes the state of the world and its inhabitants to create motivations and aspirations that drive your character to play their role. For once, role playing truly lives up to its name, as players even go so far as to assign personalities to their avatars that actually affect gameplay dramatically. -Reproduction and Permanent Death: Players have the ability to reproduce, but are also mortal (and can only be resurrected under very rare circumstances). However, player's offspring absorb a mix of their parent's traits, so they aren't forced to start from scratch necessarily. The player permanently resides in one spirit throughout the entire game which can assume control of any available humanoid or creature. -No AI controlled opponents or NPCs: Every player and creature (with the minor potential exceptions of fish, game, and livestock) is controlled by another human. Players can play as creatures that can evolve any manner of traits, allowing them to assume forms of classical mythological beasts or other creatures. -Open Content: In addition to building content within the game using the game's engine, players can contribute base content for the game (entities which must be built outside of the engine), such as music, artwork, models, and even some code and scripting. Of course, all content is approved for quality and appropriateness before it is included. -Open Funding Model: Players can decide how they want to fund this game. If I receive enough donations to support myself (and potentially a small team of people), I will release the game for free. If I must find alternate methods funding to continue developing the game I will (as a last resort) accept a publishing deal. I am hoping that players will donate enough money to support this project independently, that way the game could be given out for free, and I would not be under a publisher's budget/time constraints. I am not a greedy person, but I do need to put a roof over my head…if there were some way for me to develop this game on zero dollars now that I am out of college, I would. -Unique Graphics Engine: the engine used to power Genesis has an old-school isometric look, but is enhanced by new-school technology. Unique rendering algorithms are used that allow millions of polygons per scene, with displacement mapping and per pixel materials (not to be mistaken with texturing). The engine is designed from the ground up to facilitate procedural content creation. For more information, donations, and getting involved in the project www.playgenesis.com http://insidegenesis.blogspot.com/