I didn’t even notice, since I know you by both names from following your game site over the years. But the main thing is, I understand what you are shooting for a bit better. And I think it can help move MMORPGs along and into a new, ummm, sphere (?) for players. Moving towards that “next gen”, so to speak.

Just as Metaplace will help move gaming in general into the next sphere, and into an exciting time of exploration in game making. And I expect Metaplace to also have an answer to that problem with the big guns controlling advertising, by it’s very nature. Giving “word of mouth” to the internet in a big way.

Well, it seems that exciting times are approaching for games, of all sorts. The current MMO scene seems stagnant, as does all gaming. But I’m not really all that tuned in, just my impression of things.

All this, both Kressilac’s and Raph’s, and looking at all the odd little things going on, that’s where true innovation shines, when people are “going where no man has gone before.”

Exciting times indeed.

Derek, curious how far you intend to go with this. I’m just a player, not a developer bone in me carcass. But one of the things I’ve always wanted was real depth in a regional way, in a huge game world. In other words, one aspect would be a running history of “that valley”, or “that side of the river with the desert region”. This means, whatever the players do, or encounter, or unearth, it should be somehow documented. And then possibly used for future happenings.

So a liche rises, is defeated. He may come again. His goals may not change. What is revealed from his first appearance may be important for his later appearances.

With what you are talking about, it’s easy to see that a guild could easily document what’s happened in their region, and then having this available through the game to newcomers. But what happens if this guild goes away? Their web site gone? Do you intend a feature where that guild can send their article to an official archive?

Then have access to that archive through any of the means of connection to the internet?
Same for player run events on the docket?

What about notification of special events? Say there’s a surprise liche attack on a city. Automatic notices in text messages? Could I get a text on my cell phone from someone live in game, through a service for mass notifications?

Oh one more thought on that line. I believe that the way to fight player churn going into the future is to make access to the game so ubiquitous in the player’s lives that every other game they try to play leaves them wanting for the information that your game provides at their fingertips. Switching to another game costs the player far more than simply installing and subscribing to another game. All the work they put into their vendor spreadsheet that’s updated daily from a web service is no longer used. All the work that they put into their web site with direct feeds from the game server is now left abandoned. Maybe there’s no iPhone app for managing their crafting business on the new game. The new game doesn’t update Twitter or Facebook the same way or it requires them to create another user id for the game instead of simply using an OpenID that they already have. If you integrate with a pile of outside services, make the world always at their fingertips then switching costs go up dramatically reducing churn or at least reducing subscription churn. They might not play anymore but they’ll keep the account open and pay you simply to keep all the scaffolding they built up and running on the odd chance they want to come back.

I’m kind of torn here. I’m not much for walled gardens, but if ever there is an appropriate place for a walled garden, I wonder if it’s in games.

What I mean is, sometimes there are wide open sandboxes and sometimes there are specific elements of gameplay. A game to me is as much about the constraints, the rules and the limitations as anything else. So in a way, they’re supported by walls.

Granted, virtual worlds aren’t always about gameplay, but they are quite a bit of the time.