Copra asked a little while ago about MMO settings, specifically, “What would you like your MMO to be?”
I’ve written about this sort of thing before, but mostly in a whole package sort of way, pontificating mechanics, business model and such along with the setting. Just for fun, though, while I’m working on another balance article, I wanted to write a bit purely about a setting I’d love to see in an MMO.
While I’d like to see things like Dinotopia (from the book, not the lame TV versions) and Midkemia represented well in a graphical MMO (Midkemia Online is a text MMO… I’ve nothing against such, they just don’t interest me as much), or even Warmachine, what I’d really like to see is a blend of things. Over at Copra’s place, I called it “an alternate history Steampunk MechWarrior game”. Perhaps a bit more detail is in order, perhaps not, but it’s fun to get things down in type. That’s sort of what I do here.
First, there’s Steampunk, a curious fiction genre adequately summarized by the Wikipedia entry, or in more entertaining form, by the Girl Genius comics (yes, yes, the Foglios refer to GG as “gaslamp fantasy“, but I like that twist of the fantastic in the steampunk mix) or the Clockworks comics. It’s a sort of alternate history where steam power became more prominent than it did in our history, with a bit of Leonardo da Vinci and even Escher thrown in, maybe with some magical elements. I love the look and feel of this sort of gritty, gear and steam-based technological world. The Industrial Revolution was a fascinating period of history, so riffing off of that makes me happy.
MechWarrior, on the other hand, is a subset of the BattleTech universe, a fictional far future where different factions of humans use big, stompy robots to fight interstellar wars. It has a long and storied history, and the IP has spawned a ton of games in a variety of formats. MechWarriors are the elite warriors of that universe, pilots of said big stompy robots. There are other military units to be sure, but infantry and even most tanks aren’t much of a match for these giant walking tank-things that typically range from 20 to 100 tons, bristling with energy, ballistic and even melee weapons.
I’d like to mix the two. I’m imagining a game setting where the Industrial Revolution turned into an arms race, with each country devising its own steam-powered ‘Mechs as the ultimate fighting machines. A purely terrestrial political war might not have the vast resources that the interstellar Inner Sphere of BattleTech has, but that’s part of the draw. ‘Mechs would be more ramshackle, more likely to be MacGyvered into military service than perfectly cloned assembly line hot rods. They wouldn’t be far and away better than the other machines of war, but they would be important “heavies” in combat. They would be steam and gear-powered, but you could even see prototype Gauss Cannons (purely magnetic) and Gatling Guns. Scientific innovations would be rapid, and experimental weapons might just carry the day in several instances… or might backfire spectacularly.
The political landscape would be a mix of feudal systems and nascent city-states, with most major countries shattered into several internal factions. Such a diverse political backdrop could provide very fertile ground for mercenary work. Reputation could be interesting, and managing a career by playing the lines between powers who may or may not know of your work history (communications being a bit more primitive in those days) could be an interesting non-combat large scale puzzle.
Similarly, the economic game could be a lot of fun. The arms race would be fueled by weird science, always chasing new energy sources. Factions would try to squeeze the most out of their controlled territory and even expand into the New World.
…which opens up even more potential. Forget the Eastern Kingdoms vs. Kalimdor, let’s talk stompy robots storming New England. And don’t forget, ‘Mechs function underwater…
…and you never know what sort of things a mad scientist might come up with. Even smaller mouse-sized ‘bots might be a threat…
But you know what would happen. Every fight would have the driver (tank) yelling at everyone while the DPS (loading guys) are all rushing around ruining everything like that kid in the Matrix Revolution, meanwhile they can’t do anything at all without a coal-shoveler (healer) who has the most god-awful boring task ever created and who always gets targeted first anyway. I’m not saying the universe can’t work, but the orphan coal-shoveling class just never feels like it gets a fare shake, what with a short life span, being orphans, and no one loving them.
Ah, but in the great cosmic balance of game design, those orphans are the only ones who can control the mousemechs…
I want a mousemech!!!!
I chose a steampunk world as the setting for my latest writing project. I am fascinated with mixing the fantasy and the fun mechanics of the industrial period.
It makes for a fun world to play with, and inject my love for science too.
I think there was a miniature game based on steam powered Mechs some years ago, as well as Dragonmech game of Steam Mechs. So the idea is there, alive, well and living. We’re just waiting for the larger scale realization of this.
Anyhow, what you describe on the political and faction side sounds like the game I would want to see and play. More repercussions on your actions in the game, which would ripple through the factions based on their standing between each other.
More reason to be a good guy with one and shun the other.
Steampunk is a bit in a place of a stepchild nowadays. I wonder why?
C out
I’ve asked myself in the past what other ‘themes’ and settings could work for the MMO genre, besides good old fantasy, medieval or scifi. it’s not so easy because MMOs live from ensnaring people longterm and for that to work you need a world which is vast and compex, with the potential to grow into the future and come with a past. it’s no wonder that fantasy works so well there as it’s both familar to everyone (we’ve all heard fairy tales as children and that’s a first step to fantasy) and offers the developer limitless options (assuming they know how to use them to their advantage).
I’ve heard rumors that Blizzard’s next MMO project ‘Tera’ is going to be an FPS-MMO or similar and that makes me curious about the setting and how they plan to pull this off. all I hear is Tabula Rasa there which doesn’t appeal at all.
but to get back to themes rather than modes; Steampunk is indeed something I’d love to see sometime. if done well, there’s great potential and plenty of great examples to draw from – personally I’m thinking Mad Max here, maybe even add some western in the mix, like Steven King does in the Dark Tower series.
Another theme that I think could work is pirates, everyone loves pirates, right? 😀 an MMO based on the whole idea of islands and sea campaigns, I would love that!
Or mix both and go Waterworld. 😉
*Raises an eyebrow*
MouseMechs… MouseWarrior Online. 🙂
Springs vs. Steam, the new Goblins vs. Gnomes?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakura_Wars
Not so much battletech, but you might want to watch some of it. Using steam and psychic powered mechs to fight demons in 1920s Japan. Also try Kishin Corps.
My own idea was inspired by the anime Gad Guard. A 1920s alternate America where humans and robots exist together in an uneasy relationship. There are so many eras in history that are much richer to draw on that generic fantasy or sf. Even something like the Agency has the potential to be richer because it can set itself in specific details.
It’s funny – I think there was some point in human history, not to distant, where stories/literature/fiction went from the practical (eg, tortoiseand the hair, imparting the idea that slow and steady is good) and only being told for that usefulness, to somehow the fiction somehow being of interest in itself (eg, what sort of house did the tortoise live in? How fast could the hair run?)
Somehow that facination for the fireside cautionary tale just slid right over to steam punk, etc.
I mean, if the human world was in a fine condition, then I’d just shrug and say that’s cool myself.
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