Minecraft: SBRPG Server, Season 1 Begins

Watch your step.

George and I have been playing Minecraft recently, and you're welcome to join us, I put the server link in the sidebar. We are hosting a mess-around public server so you can play with us, come create things, and generally play around with your favorite game developers. It's Season 1 of our experiment, and we'll be highlighting things and creations as we go along, along with posting pictures for people to enjoy.

Yes, SBRPG is still in development, we have focused our ideas, and we are still working on the beta release. SBRPG will be the ultimate sandbox pen-and-paper RPG as it always has been, and you'll get a very cool package of stuff to play with soon. Just to mention, SBRPG is not Minecraft, nor are we affiliated with them in any way; nor will SBRPG2 be anything like Minecraft, though that would be funny and cool. It fascinates us because of the sandbox nature of the game where you are given basic abilities and tools, and you make your own experience. Sound familiar? Yeah, that was us back in the day with our original pen-and-paper game.

Minecraft is a great game, totally sandbox, and just a blast. It is an awesome do-what-you-want, build-what-you-want sort of experience, totally modifiable, and just really cool. If you haven't checked it out, please do, it is an insane level of addictive fun, especially with the new 1.72 patch. Below is our starting castle, hard fought, and really silly looking. Hey, when you're surviving, looks are the last thing you worry about, plus I'm in the middle of my tower design experiments. We needed food, so you can see George's garden and our little fishing pond there in the middle. The first pic has my spiraling staircase down, we built our original dirt fort on top of a hill near the spawn point, and I had to dig straight down in order to safely mine stone for the castle. George also built a silly 40-story dirt tower we had to use for navigation you'll see at the end of the post, with no way to harvest trees, we were constantly getting lost. It helped, but that's getting torn down some day, when I figure how to take it down without falling to my death.

Don't jump on George's plants.

Okay, game design time. We set our server to adventure mode and hard difficulty - one step of difficulty below the "die and you're banned for the season" hardcore mode. In adventure mode, you need the correct tool to mine the type of resource you want, or you cannot mine. Note in adventure mode, you do not start with any tools, you need to lure the explosive creepers near trees and hope that wood drops so you can build an axe. Otherwise, you run around trying to avoid dying. It is ultra hard difficulty until you get started, and on hard mode, starting out is near impossible (for us newbs lol). Note only do you need to worry about defenses, you need to play the food game pretty aggressively.

Now, we got some criticism from some Minecraft players for starting a hard difficulty game on adventure mode, without loading a pre-compiled 'adventure map' where there is a dungeon laid out and things given to you by the map-maker. There is a less challenging 'survival mode' in the game that is more free about tool use (and also intended for open starts like ours), where you can mine most things with your bare fists, making the game vastly easier. We didn't go that route for a reason, we like challenges, surviving without a chance, and getting that feeling of accomplishment for a hard earned victory. We died a lot of times building that castle, so it means something to us, more than something we didn't really care about and just built out of easily gathered materials.

Hard-adventure mode games fit our philosophy better than easy games where everything is given to you, victory is assured, and the pen-and-paper RPG acts as a babysitter for your fantasy enjoyment. This is closer to  old-school pen-and-paper difficulty, and we wish ourselves finding the game harder in some ways, and with more depth and danger. Maybe in Season 2 of our experiment, we will add some more mods, crank up the difficulty, wipe the world, and change things up. For now, the experiment begins with vanilla hard-adventure Minecraft, and please feel free to drop by and play if you would like. 

Zombies break down doors on Hard? Yeah, meet the trapdoor, creeps.

If you play, feel free to drop by our castle, or try what we did and try starting with no tools, and resisting the urge to borrow things to make life easier. What will your hard-fought castle look like? What will happen to your character on that first scary night with zombies and creepers lurking about, and there's no safe place to hide? Carve out a little place in our world using that philosophy, and then come back and see how you feel about your creation. Do you remember how hard it was? Did all those sacrifices and tough times make your castle feel more special to you? Where did you start, and what compromises did you make because of a lack of materials? Did you want to give up, steal, or cheat? It's a cool experiment, and it tells you a lot about yourself and your survival and tactical instincts.

That said, the next SBRPG will be a a difficult game, but those victories and achievements will feel good when they are won in a hard-fought battle. Yes, you can tone things down and play in easy mode if you want; but for us at least personally, we love the challenge, we love the danger and feeling of survival and adventure, and we love getting our hands dirty and challenging the impossible. And now, George's dirt tower of navigation, which you can see live on the server today, while it lasts:

Silly, but effective.

Back on Track Soon

We're still around, just ramping things up for a release. Lots of work to be done!

The Post D&D World

I remember when everything used to be talked about in the terms of "Dungeons and Dragons." Final Fantasy? Oh, that's a roleplaying game on the Nintendo, kinda like D&D. Traveller? That's kinda like D&D in space. Everquest? That's an online Dungeons and Dragons type fantasy game on the computer.

Today, you ask what a RPG is to your average game playing demographic member, and you'll probably get answers like: World of Wacraft, Skyrim, or Mass Effect. Many World of Warcraft players have never even touched or opened a pen-and-paper RPG, ever. To them, the definition of 'fantasy roleplaying' is World of Warcraft - that is the world they grew up in, and that is what they know.

Interesting times, and if I can crib from the greats, I will. Steve Job's Post-PC World comes to mind, and I shall toy around with the term, Post-D&D World. Pen and paper games have not kept up, and 4th Ed made it worse by trying to be like MMOs, from the world to the powers, and especially the progression, you can't compete with MMOs. It's like trying to compete with Apple with the same product and a different OS, sure, if you are a fan of the OS it's great, but most people, average consumer types, will buy the iPad or iPhone and call it a day. Yes, there will be a day that changes, and yes, this is flameworthy, but at the time of this writing, it's the truth for everyone that's tried to compete based on the mantra 'competing with Apple.'

Post-D&D reflects people's perceptions of what fantasy is nowadays. It's not Elminster running around a dungeon with fireball and magic missile anymore, nor are thieves perceived to be the people who are only good for climbing walls and picking locks. Fantasy is more broad nowadays, more ingrained into popular culture. Orcs can be seen as heroic, noble characters; these aren't Tolkien's mindless brood with 1 Hit Die anymore. Elves just aren't happy tree creatures or knock-offs of the residents of Rivendell, they are living breathing spirits of the elements, such as night, magic, or fire. Our view of fantasy has evolved beyond Tolkien-isms, and the Tolkien movies are taking back the things D&D borrowed from them in the first place. I am sure when you say the word Elf, people will say, "Oh, like the Lord of the Rings Elves?" rather than, "Oh, like D&D's Elves?"

D&D4 tried to strike out on its own, culture-wise, and that was cool. The new world construction, the races being a part of things, and the entire vibe was interesting. The rules, a step forward compared to D&D3, but too MMO and heavy for a pen-and-paper game. Now it seems we are back to the Tolkien-borrowed standards, and somehow, I think that's a step backwards. I feel you can't go back to the future here, D&D needs to make its own lore and strike out as something new. Yes, D&D needs to change from its Tolkien-borrowed roots, and let Middle Earth be Middle Earth.

There are a bunch of thoughts here, trying to define what happens after the market has moved on, after technology has replaced you, and that thing that was once cool is searching for a new identity. You can't grow without changing, and you can't change without looking at what you are. The world has moved on, and it's up to D&D and Wizards to prove 'why should I care about D&D?' Yeah, it's a big task, and I enjoy the game, so I hope they can answer that. A big part of the problem with D&D is D&D itself, refusing to move on from the Magic the Gathering styled complicated rules of 3E that are too heavy for new and casual players to grasp.

Lots to think about, and a Post-D&D World is an interesting term to use when thinking about the question, "What is fantasy nowadays?" You can't think along the lines of , "Oh, let's start with D&D." Things have moved on, and your thinking must too.

EQNext: The End of Opposing MMOs?

One fascinating part about Everquest Next is its abandonment of the two-sided MMO model. It seems as if everyone starts out on the same side. The lore is such that one group of survivors of the dragon wars returns to their homeland, and they begin the long, arduous process of reclaiming their lands. Even the Dar kElves have been recreated as a somewhat-friendly faction of elite warriors, so there isn't two sides returning home - there is one.

From the panels we attended, it seems the EQ Next team wants to start everyone out as equals, and let your actions decide your fate. If you want to walk an evil path, you will choose to do that through your actions. You will find the evil factions, ally with them, perform quests for them, attack the good guy factions, and your choices will lead you down that path. It is a fascinating setup, and one eerily similar to SBRPG's sandbox mode of play, although we do assume there are factions in the game world that are both good and bad, we don't say you have to ally with them.

Note up until this point in MMO-land, most games have been bi-factional, when you create a character, they force you to pick a side. World of Warcraft's Horde vs. Alliance, Warhammer Online's Order vs. Chaos, SWKOTOR's Imperials and Rebels, and a bunch of other games where the sides really feel sort of arbitrary and forced upon the story (Rift, Guild Wars, etc). Here, you pick the side your character ends up on based on their actions - it is up to you.

It is an interesting setup, one I wish was used in World of Warcraft and other games, since there are some factions in each of those games that sit between the sides (Goblins, Pandaren, etc). A problem with WoW is that part of the design was to keep the two sides unique, if you saw a Tauren of any type, you could be sure it was Horde. With the new expansion and the Pandaren, that is not true anymore, and by the original design goals, this is a mistake. Wouldn't it be more interesting to let players form up battle lines along ideals they believe in, instead of artificial allegiances to some faction picked for them during character creation? If I want to be a warlike Human-hating Orc, let me join that faction; or if I support Thrall and his Alliance-supporting faction of peace, let me join them. It seems disingenuous to force all Horde down a narrow path just because the (non-existent) world PvP requires forced factioning. It's why the game seems so limiting and cold nowadays as well, there's simply no freedom.

I hope EQ Next forces game designers to think hard about factioning and forcing players into roles. Let me pick a race, and let me decide. If one race trends towards one way of thinking, make that an easier path (Orcs and war), but never limit me from choosing my path, or choosing it for me. This is one of those key design goals we had for SBRPG1, and it is reinforced for SBRPG2. You deserve to pick your character's fate, who they ally with, and what factions they support.

In a way, even games like Pathfinder and D&D4 force you into a role. With Pathfinder, there's an assumed Pathfinder Society membership implied; and with D&D4, the game puts everyone on the side of the good guys. These games were built with the MMO mold in mind, and it's an interesting choice. As a result, the factions trend towards the good guys, and the evil factions are relegated to monster status. You could never join them, nor expect these factions to have anything more than a simple, "bad guys of the next adventure" motivation.

Freedom, it's what makes games epic. Supporting it in the game's design matters a whole lot too.

"Change comes when you want it."

A very wise friend of mine said that to me, and it is one to think about. For many people, this should be followed up by, "Why change?" If you are happy with what you have, fine, don't rock the boat, change would be bad for you. If you are unhappy, then the question of "why change?" is already answered, and you must.

The entire EQNext experience changed me. Sometimes, when you see something new and different, you want that instead of what you have. For MMOs, the same-old static worlds and terrain of EQ2 and World of Warcraft have gotten stale, and yes, I would like to see something new and different for a change. It does not mean EQNext is going to be better, and I think that is where people get defensive and confused. EQNext has to prove itself, and it deserves a fair chance. If you are happy in your current MMO, fine, don't rock the boat, and change would be bad for you. Others may be unhappy with what you are happy with, and that is fine too, I accept that, and you know, it is life. Who knows, the old games may be more comfortable for some, and even me, I don't know, but I am excited by the future and all its possibilities.

Same thing with Pathfinder, D&D4, D&D3.5, and to some extent D&D Next. All of these celebrate the past, and it is a fun, wonderful past, mind you - I enjoy all of these games. Something on the edge of my conscious says, there is something better out there, something wonderful and fantastic with new worlds never seen before. There comes a time when I don't want to live in the past, I want to explore the possibilities of new games, so I head out and try new things. I design too, game design is my hobby, and I enjoy it to no end. However, the twentieth time through Keep on the Borderlands and the Tomb of Horrors gets the same after a while, and yes, there are the Pathfinder adventure paths, but those are still in the same D&D Normal worlds where you know what to expect.

Part of me wants to head out into the unknown, and experience worlds never seen before. It's part of the original spirit behind SBRPG1.0, to cut players and groups loose with a full set of world creation tools, and let them come up with the world. This spirit is back in EQNext, where players shape the world, players create it, and the shared "live" experience is more important than the written module. It's part of why the game calls to me, and why we are recreating SBRPG in a new and exciting form. To adventure in games where magic does not work the way you are used to, you can never expect what's down that deep hole, and the dangers lurking out there you have no idea what they are capable of - that is a truly dangerous and exciting world, and ones people love playing in.

There will come a time when the pen-and-paper world wants change, something new, something cool. It's a natural cycle and renewal and rebirth. It only comes, however, to those who want it.

Wise words indeed.

SBRPG2 and 7dRPG Plans

Now that SOE Live is over with, we are finalizing plans in regards to SBRPG2 and 7dRPG. 7dRPG will become the core-engine of SBRPG2, and the steampunk elements will be moved off into a steampunk world book. We envision 7dRPG as being the licensed part of the game, just like anyother roleplaying system license. People will be able to build world books and other fun stuff off the 7dRPG core. More on this later.

SBRPG2 will be its old 'create a world and play' self again, although using 7dRPG as the core of the game. This will be a showcase game with support for lots of cool stuff, with a more generic focus, but still supporting all the crazy and fun stuff we had in the original SBRPG way back when.

We have a number of worldbooks in the works too for specific games and worlds we would like to see, with a lot of this coming from our playtesting and other work.

Expect the events of the previous four days to have a huge impact on how both 7dRPG and SBRPG2 will look, the pen-and-paper world is shifting, and we have to stay ahead of the curve. Oh yes, nothing is staying the same, we need to push the envelope to compete with what we just saw, and yes, we plan on competing with all that. Very cool stuff, and an exciing time to be a RPG designer, either PnP or MMO.

SOE Live: Final Day

Wow. What an incredible trip. Our final day of coverage begins as I think back at everything we have done and saw here at SOE Live.

We have breakfast with the director of the SOE game Dragon's Prophet, and got to give him feedback on the game. It is a fun game, worthy of holding us over until EQNext comes out, and looks to be a fun experience. He has been with SOE for about 12 years, and worked on everything from Clone Wars to Everquest Online Adventures, so he had a great pedigree of titles. It was fun just being able to sit down with him, share ideas, talk about games, and different ideas we had about MMOs and gameplay. I will keep what we talked about with him a secret, since it is a very cool thing, and we would love for him to run with the ball and get it implemented. Regardless to say, the gameplay idea we shared with him would change the game with MMOs forever, and truly bring these games to the next level.

We share because we're cool guys, and who knows, maybe SOE wants to work with cool guys like us someday. Yeah, we're like that.

EQNext is just 50 Shades of Awesome. It won't be out for another year or two, but the creator toolset portion will be out this winter. This is a smart strategy, the days of building gigabytes of pre-chewed content and stories and delivering them at launch died with the Star Wars Old Republic MMO, and Sony recognizes that. You can never build enough story and one-shot content to satisfy your players, they will burn through it in a couple months, and leave. That model does not work anymore. Instead, they are going the route of player-generated content, both before the game launches (with the toolset), and after launch with a changing, dynamic world.

It's a sound strategy, and exciting to support. There will always be games now to play and experience, plenty of stuff to do in Planetside 2, Dragon's Prophet, and the Everquest franchise. I support this because the focus here is clearly on the players, and not the company's story lines and canned experiences. The players here will be the ones creating the cool places in the world, creating the history together, and changing the game to be what they want it to be. George and I have always been about 'rolling your own experiences' in pen-and-paper games, and really, it is a great-great thing to see a company embrace player-created content, and be open to totally changing the history of the world based on what happens on the game's servers (yesterday, discussion panel). For this openness and welcoming of player-content, EQNext is our game.

There's a ton of other things happening here as well, and games from Everquest, EQ2, Planetside 2, and DC Heroes Online are getting small ways to incorporate player content. It's a sea change over here, and a welcome one to see. There's tons of expansion packs, new stuff to do, and cool little changes they are making in each game to improve things. Keep in mind, making changes in these games is a big project, and the company does the best with what it has to keep stuff cool and fun, even in games coming on 15 years old. We appreciate the support, and it is a great thing to support a company that doesn't abandon its games. Yeah, I know, SOE had some it shut down too, but for the ones still played by many people, it is a cool thing.

Nothing changes on the pen-and-paper front, and in fact, as we see more and more games move towards virtual dungeon masters and player-created content, PnP games are going to increasingly become obsolete. Think of the benefits of pen-and-paper games as being a series of goals that MMOs need to reach, and there still are a number of them out there that have not been reached yet, such as a referee, user-created adventures, user-created worlds, referee-controlled NPCs, referee-spawned monsters, adventures that can change mid-stream based on party actions, and a bunch of others. EQNext is knocking some of these milestones down, and I expect MMOs in general to start seeing these technical challenges as features to implement.

Think of that. We are now moving in a direction with MMOs that is towards replacing the human-referee entirely. I know there will still be things a human referee can do, but with advancement after advancement, the human referee will become obsolete, and in fact indistinguishable from a computer AI. This isn't far-fetched, it is just a normal progression of artificial intelligence, and in fact, expected. EQNext's user-generated content may start with structures, terrains, and props - but what's next? Monsters? World factions? Adventures? AI referees? There will be a time when the computer does a better job than a human referee, and that day is coming quicker than we think.

There are cool opportunities in here as well for the human referees, and SOE sees that too. We are getting tools for human referees to generate adventures in these games, and that is only the beginning. Someday, it may be possible for a player to 'jump out of body' and become a temporary referee in the game world for a group of players, spawning monsters, creating goals, and speaking as the NPCs We are heading towards that world too, with even more chances for creative people that want to tell stories to be able to do so through the game's tools. The combination of AI referees and human-created and managed MMO content is coming, and again, probably faster than we think.

Exciting stuff, and I do feel SOE Live this year was a glimpse into the future of gaming, both pen-and-paper and MMO. It was a special honor to attend, and also give the developers and execs here a taste of the SBRPG magic. What a fun, cool couple days this has been; I hope we could share with you a little look into this, and give you a glimpse into the crystal ball as well.