More random musings

I've been thinking a lot over this semester about current implementations of game systems and the sort of systems I'd like to see implemented in games. Particularly I've talked a bit about dynamic and adaptive AI systems, and different skilling mechanics in RPG games. In talking about these systems I've focused a lot on the RPG genre, as this is one of my favourite genres of game.

Throughout the course of the semester I've been reading a series of books by author Robin Hobb called the Liveship Traders, and I've been thinking that these books could provide a foundation for quite an interesting MMO. The books are fantasy but have a very different focus to many other fantasy books that I've read. The story has very little in the way of magic and sorcery, or epic battles, or heroic quests. Instead, it focuses on the lives of Traders and Pirates (and talking liveships).

As I've previously mentioned in posts, I'm interested in examining how MMO games in particular could be created with a variety of alternative avenues for a player to follow to get satisfaction. These books have prompted a lot of these thoughts. The books create an enthralling environment and narrative without reverting back to the combat-based backbone of fantasy. Surely it would be possible to implement a similar model inside a game? I believe there is great potential to explore such options in an MMO framework due to the implicit social and widespread nature of the game. Most single player games are bound to a critical path, where a player must fill a certain role. In MMO games however, there can be many different paths, and different players can progress along different paths without it hindering the progression of the game itself.

I've been wondering how feasible it would be to implement different paths into a game, and whether the end product would be fun and playable. In most current MMOs that Iknow of, a player can choose a class, and each class has a different approach and play-style, but at the end of the day the main mechanic for player progression is combat. What about if other mechanics were introduced, such as becoming a Trader or a Merchant, or a Craftsman, or a Scholar? I can't say whether this would be fun, but I'm certain that it could be made to be fun. Just as there are people in life who enjoy and choose to follow such paths, so too would they appeal to players in-game. Furthermore, it could open up whole new avenues of exploration and progression in the games industry.