Sitemap :

You can trust in your luck and/or skill and sometimes come back in a body-bag, but have fun doing it. Hint - When you are outnumbered, run away very fast and they might not follow you - Do something strange and it might confuse them. Splicers are wary of running into something blind/unexpected, like you should be.

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This MMORPG Would Have A 17+ Rating ( Like the BioShock Games Had ... )

You Wouldn't want to ditch the colorful language

Even implied Smoking and Drinking are such horrendous/objectionable/decried subjects to the care-bear 'Politically Correct' mentality these days - But screw them.

You never know when some Subject (and Ideas) suddenly becomes 'Adult' or politically sensitive, and MMORPG games are meant to operate over many years.

That would be the bounds of what is allowed also in the MMORPG game ( We could use the BioShock Solo games as a similar center point of 'measure' for it ).

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Columbia Pornesque - Implied, But Not Explicit :

"OMG, a Woman Showing Ankle - We won't have such scandal in the holy city ... Burn her !!!!" - Heard in Columbia.

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Game Elements : ( This Rapture Reborn MMORPG is NOT to be a "Bean Counter's" or Loopholer's Type Game ) :

New things being learned all the time. New tools, tactics, actions, cooperation/coordination. Content would grow, offering new things for the Player to see, constantly ( Running out of new content is the misfortune of the MMORPG's Player ).

Good for the Player, to be surprised constantly, often with the variety of results for situations ( In details and combination ) and the possible reactions to Players actions. An amusement factor - with the unexpected constantly happening.

More varying situations including factors/circumstance that are not instantly apparent ( Player skills can sometimes help ascertain sooner ). Resources the Player has to employ can vary significantly ( Versatility/reliability is a more important attribute than pure efficiency in the Real World ). "Always have a Plan 'B'..."

Splicers/opponents can have more motives and goals ( besides the simplistic 'see Player, attack Player' we get endlessly ) which the player may use to their advantage.

Players situation continues to change - Things come into view and Player may/may not interact with them, and then they go out of view and are gone - a chance lost ( or if followed up quickly might be seen again ). As in the game "Pirates!" as an example.

'Setbacks' lead to more interesting situations, where the Player's Creativity can be employed. ( It is not just the usual "You are Dead. Respawning in Town ..." ).

Players have some Choice of what they want to deal with ... Player has alot of options and possible approaches available, and is NOT run through things as if they were on a conveyor belt.

Players can decide if/when they want to descend into 'the Heart of Darkness', or wander about a somewhat safer 'worked over' area which is a bit closer to Civilization. Either way, Players should be able to "find something interesting under every rock".

Manic_Magpie - Something to Avoid (Ex- Infinite) : Endless required looting from unlikely trivial places ( Why so much money in garbage cans ?? ) BS:Infinite seemed to have this to an even greater degree --- It Serves to push you thru their scenery ( Which they may have worried that many Players would largely ignore/bypass ), and also acted as activity filler for the already lowered 'Average Play-thru Time'. How far could you get in that game without being FORCED to endlessly scrounge in garbage cans ( particularly in the harder modes ) ?

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Getting There is Half the Fun :

Player should possibly find as much interesting Weird-assed Shit along the way to a Mission, than what's in the Mission ...

With randomization of Mission elements, there is little real purpose to 'Look it up on the Internet' to solve the Mission ( to get hints/shortcuts to complete the 'Mission' for its Payoff ) as its too scrambled in details.

Reports of Mission results ( and receiving subsequent adjustments depending on results ) can be 'Phoned In' instead of running all the way back to the Mission-giver as is done in so many games.

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"Pockets Of Weirdness" : Things you just sorta find along the way ( many move around, enabled by On-The-Fly creation/adjustment of the Terrain ).

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The PG Rating For The MMORPG ??? ( BioShock already had a 'M' 17+ Rating ... )

Bad-Language

Violence

Smoking/drinking ( and 'eating' seems to get the care-bears all twitchy these days too )

Lewd/suggestive behavior

Mind games and frightful sarcasm ( including stuff that isn't "politically correct" )

Unhealthy addictive gameplay

"Drug Use" - Remember the scene you got your first Plasmid ?

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Playing 1 Hour a Day :

A great many Players don't have alot of Daily Playtime in their busy lives.

SO DON'T WASTE THE PLAYER'S TIME !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Player should NOT take more than 5 minutes to review their various statuses and to minorly adjust their ongoing game Projects ( largely carried out by their NPC 'Team' minions ). SO minimize the point and click hell/abuse that most MMORPGs have ( being 'filler' player-grind grunt work -- for want of more exciting/better content ). There should be Succinct reports of progress, smart sifting of significant milestones and/or opportunities, highlighted decision points, and shortcuts for re-enabling similar actions.

Leave the Players time to wander the streets of New Rapture and see what is going on (and is interesting) or continue an expedition out into The Ruins.

AGAIN -- *DONT WAST THE PLAYERS TIME !!!!*

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Not Wasting Player's In-Game Travel (Game) Time :

Realistic movement might be good/better realism, but can be tedious/ordinary/non-entertaining. The Rapture Reborn MMORPG wouldn't have any Insta-Travel which other games use to skip their boring terrain, but the intent of this MMORPG would be to have all kinds of interesting things everywhere ( "A Journey - is the getting there" ... )

The standard of 'Running' everywhere in most games (versus 'Walking') also isn't overly realistic ( negative effects of 'running' through all but trivial terrain should exist ).

Alot of movement done by Team NPCs can be done while the Player is offline ( alot of tedious mundane tasks which many MMORPGs have the Players personally do - and it would help they can do it without explicit micromanaged orders for routine activities - tasks selected and prioritized and status is available ).

At least within New Rapture, and its environs, you can take any available reconstituted "Transit" to the edge of your 'Stepping Off Place' into your adventures in 'The_Ruins'. Other shortcuts along your desired paths can also save you time ( It would be part of your mapping 'app' in the game to indicate these options, and your 'Team' NPCs AI would utilize them when you aren't there. ) Added access to these movement 'easements' are obtained through game experience.

Automatic movement along your predesignated 'Path' can be done by your Avatar WHILE you are attending other routine tasks ( reading your mail, looking at a newspaper, checking 'Team' Task statuses, etc ... )

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I've Played Some Of The Fallout Games :

Complex Interfaces which in a Solo Game you (the gamemakers/gameflow) can simply stop everything while the Player goes up and down clumsy menu interfaces. YOU CANT DO THAT IN A [[MMORPG[[.

That will be something to do better (The MMORPG will have many detailed action options also)

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No Artificial Walls in the MMORPG :

There won't be any "You Don't Have The Corresponding Quest" when you attempt to enter something setup for some static Mission ( because of the 'On-The-Fly generation, there won't be very many of those ). The fact that you found it gives you access to at least the place. Likewise, NO Magic invisible forcefield walls (game-enforced-movement-prevention ) which will block you from obvious otherwise-easily-reached things beyond ( That is done in many static-Mission-oriented games - in-view places which you aren't allowed to reach/move through because of where the 'level' stops, and its background terrain extends beyond).

Automatic generation allows creation of appropriate TRAVERSABLE terrain ( as far as you can go ), but IS helped by the fact that Rapture is an interior of a set of finite structures and an overall pattern for the City IS finite also. All the outside spaces can be reached also, if you bother.

But alot of new terrain is always to be found for Missions. The MMORPG's modifiable terrain system allows creation of additional locations reached through some door "you hadn't noticed before" ( and maybe a building floor the elevator normally didn't stop at ? ). Appropriate 'generic' places suit many Mission profiles, with the contents of those places being what's important. Likewise manhole covers and gratings ( leading down to "who knows what" ) can be just about anywhere to access all those hidden "nooks and crannies" which are everywhere in Rapture. Vents and ducting can always have that loose panel that opens onto somewhere new.

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Running Into Stuff While Moving(Game Mechanics):

In alot of games you charge about crazily, but rarely do you :

Trip over things

Collide with Walls painfully

Knock stuff over

Impale yourself on your own weapons

Drop stuff

Get tired either moving too fast or carrying alot

Make noises when fumbling about.

Slide along wall surfaces

More realistic movement Physics can make things much more interesting. The MMORPG could allow for a Player's Skill/control of Movement ( especially rapid movement ) when dealing with obstacles/situations/environments of all kinds.

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GET RID OF :

Clipping the merest edge and being instantly stopped.

Getting stuck on merest Terrain Irregularities

Team Companions who don't know how to jump down when the player can ( Not part of the pathfinding algorithms - doubly important with more complex MMORPG Terraiun )

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Game's Physical Player State Simulation and Effects :

People (Players) get affected by things, and their experience is colored by their current state ( and very different from the retarded/simplistic Player stability seen in most games where you barely get affected by life-threatening wounds and such while doing game actions ). MORE versatility is needed :

Wounds ( including various side-effects ), limping, trembling, etc...

Burns and Significant Pain

Nauseous (queasy/vomiting)

Drunk / Buzzed / Hung Over / Headache - Migraine

Hit on Head - stunned

Bad Clams .. (food poisoning , vomiting)

Flatulance, burpulance, Sneezing

Sick with a Cold - impaired - Cough and Congestion

Tired / Sleepy

Groggy, Dizzy / Woozy

Hungry - distracted in advanced state (low energy)

"The Nine Dwarves of ADAM ABUSE" ( A Rapture Public Presentation - 10 minute between-movies 'short' )

Various visual animations and shifts of perception, as well as stances and impairments of movement, etc... ( Lots of additional animation/asset work to add all these and variations, and scripting to control them ).

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Accidents With Plasmids ? :

Apparently they didn't have too much of this problem ( things like accidental activation ) -- It was in a simplified-detail Shoot-Fest game remember ... In a realistic situation there WOULD be accidents and mishandling of these potentially dangerous effects.

Even the more benign products could do serious damage to nearby objects/people (or the user).

Voluntary activation has to be well controlled ( and involuntary particularly prevented ).

Maybe we just didn't see enough use of them ( only a fraction of the Splicers had them by BS1 times )

Accidental effects would add interesting dimension to the game ( both by YOU(Players), NPCs and Splicers ). Misfiles and Malfunctions would likewise make things less certain, or cause unwanted/unfortunate surprises.

There's also affects of some of the Tonics which might similarly be hazards ( clumsy Spider Splicers with those razor-sharp hooks, or just missing a finger/toehold and falling ??? ) Alot of the 'defensive shield' type defensive Tonic had rather strong effects.

SO lots of complication can be added for this to make Plasmid/Tonic use a bit more interesting.

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MMORPG Missions should be preferred to not be the (majority) Industry-usual Kill/Get/Deliver "X" of "Thingee Y" variety which so commonly afflicts many a MMORPG Player's game experiences.

Having more partial results of the Missions is also desirable, and when the Player is tired of trying to find every last hidden item the Mission calls for (otherwise fail it). They should be able to end it, and have the rewards appropriate to their work.

Also there can be a 'Ramp' Difficulty when obtaining ADDITIONAL target items. ( Bonus on achieving some specific count ).

'Good' *Booby Prizes* should be minimal, as cheap 'grab and bugout' tactic become the norm when there is easy enuf ways ( some difficulty/effort in transiting to reach/pass a destination/guardians/obstacles could offset that ).

Multiple ways to solve the 'problem' also should be offered ( one of those 'improvements' the Player Asset Creators can add over time to a basic Mission ).

Appropriate *Secondary* 'opportunity' (preferable scrambled) targets/results can be incorporated ( giving players options of activity ).

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Mission Info Access Mechanism For The MMORPG :

Player Accessible through Interfaces :

1) A City Bulletin board which is pseudo-customized for the Player ( each Player sees a different one ).
2) Mission/Quest Givers met in 'the usual places' ( can even make a joke about the old D&D cliche ).
3) Ad Hoc 'Happens in front of the Player' immediate assignment activities (just join in).
4) Letters with assignments for any 'Role' the Player has agreed to.

The Mechanism should control :

Having some overall narrative sequence ( the usual chained missions, but likely with logic controlled with different 'path' options and variations ).

Loose story arcs - being an MMORPG, it is hard to 'nail down' major plot items, as endgames cause Players to stop playing when it is "finished". Different Players are usually on different parts/phases of these arcs simultaneously ( and they have to all exist together in the Game World ).

To Cull out the numbers of Missions which the Player is not capable of yet ( but leaving a few to give a taste for future possible Missions ). Being Fitted to a Player's level ( too hard content has a way of making Players give up and quit, when they think their time is being wasted ). Difficulty advancement adjustments - being able to do things you previously found, but had to 'run away from' ( Many could be designed with 'progressive difficulty' the further you go into the Mission ).

Timely Missions (ones that disappear after a while if not taken - deadlines, etc...)

Circulation of Missions taking place in Specific/Iconic/Well-Known (non-generic) Public Sites, to not have multiple Player mission-takers active at well-known locations at the same time. ( A Server Bubbles mechanism can alleviate alot of this ).

Ease-of-Use Interfaces (and widget/skins/mods) - Player "Shouldn't Have To Fight The Interface".

Information (clues ?) for "cumulative" mission progressions ( gathering the pieces - most probably not too subtle ).

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MMORPG's Expanding City (New Rapture)

Problems/Issues which need handling :

Can't be too generic in its programmed terrain/scene generation mechanisms ( needs human guided shaping to make it interesting/logical ).

The Physical World limitation, if city allowed to expand TOO much - Rapture can only get so large (within a pre-determined city layout).

Newly (expanded) content gets a Zerg Rush of Players wanting ALL to see/do the new content ( "If you build it, they will ..." ). Have to diffuse 'new' areas/content (instead of other MMORPGs who have entire Player level expansion areas opened at once).

Player living areas - only so many 'residence sites can exist for the Players ( a large population on Each Server will want/expect one ). Residence areas have to expand further into the rest of Rapture.

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MMORPG - Effectively It is ALL DLC ( DOWN LOADABLE CONTENT ) :

With so much game world data downloaded On-The-Fly ...

Good Compression (minimize data size)

Reuse of locally (Client disk) cached data ( Faster and even better with SSD, with their much quicker reloading )

Hierarchical Templates (reuse patterns for the data)

Procedural Generation (alot of data coming from auto-guided build scripts embedded into the Templates)

Constant New Publishing ( new/improved Asset stuff constantly streamed as it is created/added/refined )

Priority Data Streaming ( stuff you see NOW (closest to you) is first to download ), and adequate filler used until the more distant stuff is resolved.

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Mapping (MMORPG Game Mechanism in This 'Crazy Maze of a City') :

The map view is a '3D' representation ( rotation, see thru levels, path marking, feature filtering, etc ... ) -- for 'ease of use' visualization.

Note - each MMORPG 'World' is different in its exact detail. Some basic seed (buildings/streets) information is in common, but City auto-generation mutations and Player's actions/repairs will create things differently as the game progresses.

Mapping system - you build(explore) your personal map (in full detail) as you traverse the terrain ( exploration is a fun aspect of these games ) :

Rough positional location info ( like areas of buildings - low/rough detail ) can be assembled/surveyed from a distance, or given to the Player as a basic guide for a mission ( map handed to them by NPC ).

City Territory map data is easily available to Citizens ( Some starter areas of city are 'common' and don't need exploration ). 'Phonebook Directories' can direct Player via addresses.

City Hall has public maps that allow Player to 'research' outside locations/districts they want to visit.

Players submit 'survey' data to City for rewards/pay ( skills can enhance the capability and quality of info submitted ).

Your map data will be shared amongst your NPC 'Team' ( so that they can be directed to 'tasks' in those areas ).

Sections of map data can be given to another Player ( and data to NPC who assigned a mapping mission ) - turned into media to be posted as mail, etc ...

Map Location Position (MLP ?) 'tags' can be created from the Player's Map and used in orders and other information exchange (as input/various data transfers). Player can put markers ( like the pushpins/labeled flags Ultima Online^[1] had ) with notes onto their maps - so that it becomes a useful 'place of interest'/reminder database ...

A In-Game Map Tool may have a "How the hell do I get to there from where I am" direction assist system that pathfinds routes for the Player. Many people can barely read '2D' maps, let alone '3D' -- and many games have a MUCH too clumsy map system which is very bothersome to use or 'make head or tails of'. Again we can still use that pointy arrow thing guiding you along a path to a destination you have designated ( AS LONG AS YOU HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY THERE ).

This Mapping system should be largely run on the Player's Client machine (offloaded from Servers...) :

Server based backup data for information the Player has acquired -- allowing rebuilding the Client machine data if it gets lost - via the usual computer crashes/files deleted/etc ...

Faster running as you don't have to wait for updates from the Server ( if you've played with Google/Yahoo Map you know how annoying the delays are)

Saves on alot of bandwidth and processing on the Servers.

Same data set and most of the Map interactions should be sync'd/runnable on a handheld/tablet computer, so that 'Offline' activities can be done ( part of the game is figuring out the best way to get places, and planning what you want to do later 'Online' ). Pre-positioning Team Assets]] for subsequent 'Adventuring' usually wastes alot of time in many MMORPGs.

A Map "Guide" (Game Interface) :

Rather than a 'HUD' style indicator, an NPC 'Guide' (a 'Team' member), who for routine movement can guide the Player ( and rest of NPC Team ) along ( optimal/routine) paths to the desired goal location - the programming reading true '3D' Maps ( picking good paths isn't easy for many Players ). This meanwhile would allow the Player's attention to be on doing other things ( Don't Waste The Player's Time ... ).

Any one of the Players NPC "Team" can do this function ( a 'Guide' Skill maybe for harder destinations where paths can be offered as a choice with a 'risk'/cost assessment ).

Verbal cues for destinations to activate the 'Guide' as an interface 'shortcut' ( at least for 'Lead On' )

"Take Me To Hardware Shop" ( if "Hardware Shop" is a known/oft-used location w)

Player Voice Training (Customizing) for their Vocal Inputs can be done because of the limited Vocabulary ( and would use simple sentences/phrases - and a confirmation before going in that direction ). There would be various configuration and settings to facilitate the Vocal Input system.

( Note - Through-the-Internet deciphering is now the norm for handhelds, where a central computer's resources are utilized to understand/interpret/translate voiced phrases, and then to lookup access the data identity -- Versus having all the computing power and massed data be IN the Player's Computer ).

Player groups using Audio Chat would/could interfere with voice command, UNLESS the Player must press a 'mike' button to issue verbal commands which would differentiate it from an 'open' mike (most of the time), OR the reverse procedure ( Press 'Mike' to talk to other Players ).

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Additional Player Maneuverbility for more Complex/Interactive Terrain :

Double Jump input for maneuvering (usually activated by quickly double pressing the button - perhaps triple also)

Climbing things ( including using climbing tools/props ) - auto-prompting to indicate climbability

Run/Leap, Jump and Grab ( like in "Far Cry 3" ) Watch your encumbrance ...

This all Needs to be A bit less split second ( as compared to a non-Internet game ). But utilizing the Client Machine CAN allow this ( with Server still checking to prevent the inevitable Player attempts at cheating ).

Moving Vehicles ( which add so much to other games ) - a whole dynamic generally lacking in the BioShock games.

Crumbling/Falling debris ( Terrain is deformable, and Player's actions upon it can be far more realistic ) - Kinetics for object interactions.

Get rid of Insta-Stick ( sticking on corners ) movement impairment/defects ( you clip terrain features and INSTANTLY and VERY ANNOYINGLY it stops you dead ). Skidding/bouncing/deflecting type reactions.

Crawling ( all actions for this movement stance ) - Holes you have to do more than 'Crouch'-in/pass through.

Swimming (you'd think ?)

Swinging ( why not? ropes, cables ... )

Death From Above (landing)

Note - many of these require a much better coordination and effort played by the Players Client Machine with the Servers

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Wide Range of Cosmetic Clothing/Accessories For Players :

Strange stuff from parties ( allows wide spectrum )

Personalized texture ??

'Team' jerseys/uniforms ( makes NPCs stand out ?? )

Idea to allow more customization, but would prefer the 'templated' system to prevent

Network saturation/lag when a Player comes into a location with a dozen Players with all customized stuff that requires ALOT of data to be downloaded on the network to render

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Clothing Mannequin (Interface) :

Something many MMORPG games should have had - A way to change your appearance ( multiple clothing items/accessories ) with a single interface action. You assemble the appearance items on the 'dummy' ( or dummies for multiple outfits ).

Quick change for that 'party' you are going to ( out of your usual adventuring stuff ). Even better if for EQUIPMENT ( different Missions/activities require different sets of equipment )

Eliminates alot of tedious sorting and searching and dragging and clicking ( other MMORPGs pad their game with that tedium because of lack of better more interesting content ). You can still fiddle with the stuff piecemeal, but better if you don't have to do that EVERY FRICKEN TIME, ad nauseum.

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Players Character On 'Automatic' - How Players May Skip Boring Stuff ...

Look thru all this world interaction stuff you (and NPCs) can do in this MMORPG game and ALL the simulated detail the NPCs act out -- The motions of doing alot of normal things ( when in sight of Player ). NPCs behaviors include acquiring their own new stuff ( ie- buy stuff from Players/NPCs ) and setting up their stuff appropriately where they live/work ( ie- inside their 'Residence' and shops , etc ... ).

Does the Player need to have to do all this mundane normal stuff for his Avatar???

Here is a nifty idea : The game's NPCs behavioral programming would include doing all these things, WHY NOT allow the Player to cut loose his Avatar to do the same thing auto-magically ???? You go offline ( or get something to eat ) and leave your Avatar (character) in your Apartment with a pile of new stuff with command mode set to 'DO STUFF" and let the AI Logic run, and have your Avatar rearrange your furniture.

Example - You just bought a new high quality clock ?? The logical thing would be to put it up on a wall in a prominent location. A clock already there? - move IT to a second less prominent (useful) spot (in another room?) or take it down.

This same 'prop' placement system is used by Splicers (and mission/quests) to 'customize' their lairs/scenarios with various resources the server gives them ( as defined by the scenario templates ) -- Just that the server will immediate auto-place anything just 'auto-generated' in that location ( which the player just blundered into ). The server drops a Splicer into its new 'home' and it sets up its 'stuff' - so that it will look like it has all the things it WOULD HAVE around it in its miserable brutish life).

How hard is this behavioral programming to write to make this actually happen ? Its just like any other behavior in THIS game where there are rules to decide what is appropriate to do and actions scripts to carry them out. Players creating assets can eventually expand the auto-placement scripting to offer more elaborate/variations/scenario appropriate logic.

Some Players may even like to leave their character on 'automatic' and watch what it does ( not necessarily go adventuring (risky) ), just ordinary stuff, including the job work that character can get done when the player is offline - Just now WITH the Player still watching. There probably should be a 'spy mode' for players who want to remotely watch (in '3D') their 'Team' NPCs doing their 'own thing' (not only the bookkeeping-like tablet Team Task interface)...

I would have this game have part of this interface show what an NPC ( or Avatar on Automatic/Auto-pilot ) PLANS to do, and allow the Player to rearrange priorities/ordering. The proposed NPC Task System is alot like this, with 'Team' NPCs placed at a worksite and they can figure out what needs to get done, and actually do it (without the Player ordering every fiddly little step - ditching alot of micromanagement).

Rapture Reborn Motto - "Grindy games are INFERIOR games".

Joke - "For a INFERIOR Game : Hey this is just like "The Sims", except with GUNS !!!"

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"Planners" are a well understood AI mechanism that simply calculates what things need to be done, what priority those things have, and what steps/sub-goals are needed to make those things happen. The job logic that gets stuff done (goals) are just another Asset that the 'Player Created Asset' system would supply ( ontop of basic ones the company initially supplied ).

What isn't simple is creating the scripted logic system to evaluate which is better/worse, and some universal metrics to be able to compare different solutions/activities to prioritize/select between them.

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MMORPG Travel Shortcuts :

Movement/Travel Shortcuts in the game can be one of the things which can assist the Player not waste time. Once 'discovered' (a Player advancement goal), they are handy for alleviating some tedious routine movement to various routine places. It is preferable that they DON'T "discover it" ( to a specific destination ) *AFTER* it no longer has a utility value to the Player ( I've seen it in other MMORPGs ... achieved finally when the Player has little further need for it ).

If possible such shortcuts shouldn't circumvent realistic travel ( like just Teleporting/Gating to locations instantly, which many MMORPGs allow ).

Possibly there would be 'automatic' "Auto-Lead" traveling, where the player can concentrate on doing other mundane activities ( mail, task status checking/assignment, etc ... ) while traversing a 'routine' path.

Access to a 'shortcut' is not just knowledge of it, but may require access to a restricted conveyance or 'authority' from a city role.

The Player's Team NPCs can have abilities to utilize some shortcuts, and once they are manually invoked can become available for Player movements -- Suggested automatically as part of the Intelligent Pathfinding, where options are offered to the player, NOT AUTOMATIC as the decision may depend on COSTS of using more optimal passages ( like private transit, or delays for daily schedules, or party size limitations ).

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A Closer Examination Interface :

You would have Object labeling with generic names ( an auto-generated blur ? ) until the Player examines ( or has developed skill to differentiate more, with less inspection ). Crate, Box, Puddle, Stain, Bottle, Corpse, Etc...

How much 'labeling' in the game ( with higher detail and Object Counts in the MMORPG, such text labels might soon overwhelm screen space unless some filtering mechanism are working ). Its a LOD - "Level Of Detail" thing.

An Examination interface where you can pull in more detail ( like with 'Links' - Hinting to your memory/training where you had seen it before ). It is understood that Players forget things, and some easy (optional) retrieval of such info would be a nice feature ( particularly when details matter more in the MMORPG ).

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A 'Joe Blow' Character to Join a (your) Mission Expedition :

To facilitate group activities - bulk up the firepower or 'special' abilities ( Separate Additional skill as a Joe Blow versus your Regular Avatar and your Henchmen ). The MMORPG would have little 'Insta-Move' (Teleporting/Gating) in the game, with longer 'getting there' duration of 'Group-Play' missions, which makes getting another Player there 'fast' for a quickie Mission harder/unlikely.

To be a direct story narrator ( handy for Tutorials in a game with more Player Action options ).

'Extras' don't compete with the Player for their mission loot/goodies. YOU earn some other payoff from the NPC ( including for your experience/skill ramp ).

Develop 'associations' with specialist NPCs ( with a development ramp and their own story arcs ).

AI abilities in the MMORPG would have them do ALOT more than typical limited 'go along' NPCs ( not just gonna be invulnerable and chucking buffs and ammo at you ... ).

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"Execution" Action Game Moves for Rapture BioShock :

Whack someone over the head with a Vacuum Cleaner (a Herbert Vacu-Kleen)

Punch the Tumor (weak point) - aim option some times misses til you up your skill

Moe Howard's double fingered eye poke ( and the *advanced* 'double handed 2-finger' attack, to handle the classic hand edge 'splitter' block move ) -- Not so easy to carry through with those spastic Splicers, though.

Flying Scissor Kick a Big Daddy ( or sneak up behind them and start turning all their valves )

Throw a jar of lye in the enemy's eyes (chemical blinding) - Splicers had all kinds of NON-ADAM stuff available to them ( Throw a chunk of Concrete is another effective move, and there is LOTS of 'Ammo' for that action lying about ).

A MOVE you would REALLY like to have Done : You as Little Sister, in BS2, thrusting your 'Angel' Siphon into the back of Sofia Lamb's head as she sits there in her office ( You weren't allowed that, were you ? ) You'd still have to escape, so it wouldn't quite be ""GAME OVER - YOU WIN" yet. SO many good IMAGINATIVE things could be added to a MMORPG redo of BS1, BS2, etc ...

Seriously, in Infinite BS, those 'canned' execution actions WAS REALLY the only justification for having that stupid Skyhook buzz saw thing (????) ( Oh yeah, Booker was an expert with this bizarre weapon which he never saw or used before ( in his entire life ) ... Sorry, No. The Pinkertons/US-Calvary WERE NOT armed with such things. ) The BS1 'Wrench' was about 80 IQ points more intelligent a weapon ... Weren't it?

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Player Difficulty Issues :

The MMORPG wont have 'ramped opponent difficulties' ( just more 'harder' ones as you get further away from the 'civilizing' influence of New Rapture ). So the art of 'Running Away' will offer more challenges to Players than the usual routine 5-second-kill 'body count' based game playstyle you usually see in MMORPGs.

Your opponents when they are too strong might just laugh at you.

"I killed Thousands and They Still Came"^[2] ( many MMORPGs have that weak/unimaginative bodycount playstyle ). We don't want that for OUR BioShock Rapture MMORPG.

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Vagueness Can Be Your Friend :

Asset storyline (Canon) repairs ( from the existing games with their problematic Canon ) - Just add a dash of vagueness. If you don't have precise details, they can't be easily challenged by nitpickers ( it also takes (and took) alot less writers work and thinking ).

Having information be 'something someone remembers' or 'seems to them ... an opinion' can leverage dodgy NPC memories or their outright delusions to cover old complications.

"It was all a dream" sequences can cover just about anything you want without contradicting Canon. You can have 8 different versions of what 8 someones 'saw' of the same thing (if needed).

MMORPG Player Created Assets will have enough of a problem sticking to and matching the known Canon details and then the interpolated details. Consider also that players DON'T like to have to read a 'wall of text' story for every Gofer Mission. An Interactive Option for NPC 'life stories' can still be there ( and there should be a notebook mechanism which the Players can reference later for relevant Characters, Places, Story ).

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Intuitive Use of Objects :

If it looks like a X, then it should react as an X, and be useful/usable as an X. ( and be damaged like an X, and be usable by an NPC as an X ).

This MMORPG is to stretch Players imaginative use of their environment/props, not to be an endless game of "guess if this does anything you would expect it to, or is only unusable static window dressing". Better to have more imagination instead of double-thinking in everything you do.

The Templated Attributes and object Behaviors/Physics/interactions ( reuse of same code/data and handy Tools to select and apply them to produce all these goodies for the game ) helps streamline creation. We want to lower the effort required by Players, and increase application of creativity/imagination to far more people -- far less tedious dealing with mundane aspects when creating game objects.

THE REAL feature expansion (for this MMORPG) is how to have MANY more ways objects interact with each other, allowing Players to employ them more creatively to get things done in their game (and have more to explore/play-with, to find out what things are good for - to keep their interest).

I've mentioned elsewhere, that the detail level of objects ( grossness/rendering quality ) was fairly adequate ( circa 2007 and 2010 ) and does not have to achieve "new heights of perfection", as that eats up rendering resources ( Memory AND Graphics processing ) and this MMORPG instead wants to have ALOT MORE objects Players are able to manipulate. Some good median appearance 'quality' will be sufficient.

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More Interesting Loot ( MMORPG Fun and Amazement ):

More MMORPG fun just seeing the weird/odd things that Splicers]/etc can carry or things lost in the ruins ( lots and lots of Player Created items to fill out ranks of 'odd' and 'weird' ... and many a story to go with them ). The Objects will have a real shape ( so you don't have to say at close range "WTF is that ?" and guess ) and be able to be operated/manipulated them ( to function like most everything else in the MMORPG game) adding to the Player's ability to examine/play with the things (and maybe creatively find uses for them ). Most loot objects wont just be an icon/name in an inventory list, like in so many games.

Fewer bodies to 'loot' : so we need to make the ones you get to rifle more fulfilling ( and NOT just 'bodies' -- far more often its stuff that's been dropped when a Splicer ran or hidden or just stuff lying about in the ruins/wreckage or where a Splicer 'camped out' ).

Many items will need to be identified ( a Player/Team member/NPC expert skill ) to decide what they are worth. Some interesting 'gang'/Faction items will be wanted by the New Rapture Intelligence group ( the hush-hush group that is trying to keep track of whats happening outside New Rapture City Limits ... ). Others would be tools/components you don't know how to use yet.

I prefer Drag-n-Drop 2D interfaces (interface mode) to facilitate sorting/handling -- versus having to always ( ad nauseum ) "hit 'E' to Loot body", and often be too exact with cursor crosshairs in obscuring terrain -- It gets old after the hundredth/thousandth time. So a good interface will be needed.

"Team" NPCs pick out those items that they want for their own skill specialties ( ammo of course, but tools or even just 'hobby' goodies ) ... This actually could require fairly complex/sophisticated loot choosing AI, as the idea for THIS game will be more loot than you can carry and YOU having to be selective or take lots of effort to take more than what you can easily carry. An Interesting opportunity for 'negotiating' with your NPC Team members who have their own preferences and motives. 'Team management' is another expanded game feature.

If Team NPCs can do stuff like that, then so can Splicers ( they have to be good at hiding stuff - its part of their survival ) - this would be sharing alot of the AI programming to give the Player a little more complications in this world. A good game idea is to reward Players who take time to look/explore ( when they feel like it ).

Loot Caches - the ability to hide a bunch of stuff ( a Player skill ) for later pickup on a return trip ( or after mission when you on returning no longer have to travel 'light' ). Remember those Splicers wander everywhere and will think themselves lucky to come upon your stash of goodies ... THEY survive by scrounging so don't count on finding anything later you have to leave behind.

Lots of loot accumulates - you need a place to store it all ( versus carrying it around along with the 'kitchen sink' in you avatars inventory ). "Hey, that looks interesting, I'm gonna take that" the Player says and soon they have tons of such items. Banks have safe deposit boxes for small valuable objects. When you get a 'Residence' (fairly early on), that becomes the place (base) to pile up stuff 'you will use Someday'. Selling it of course is an option ... Players fix up a 'Team' base to extend their usable facilities/infrastructure. All kinds of interesting things can be found secreted in the walls or laying about in abandoned spots ( and behind long unopened doors )- and not everything is recovered by retreating Splicers when they see you coming.

Puzzle-pieces/parts-found-over-time to be put together/assembled into useful/interesting objects ( "Oh look It assembled into a 'Flux-Capacitor' !!" .... ) You find something weird and after the 'what-the-hell-is-this-thing', research may tell you its something more valuable/useful than you might have expected ( Ooooh, an original production AI Controller for a Flybot !! )

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The Hidden Lives of Splicers - EXPOSED !!! :

MMORPG - All Inhabitants need a reason to be somewhere, doing something, for plausibility purposes

The MMORPG would have them have more personalized lives ( Auto-Generation assisted ), doing normal things throughout the day. This Would be as true for the NPCs seen around New Rapture ( alot of the programming/scripting of Behavior would be the same/shared ).

Motivations

Survival (of course)

Hobbies ( boredom is the Great Killer )

Pets

Social Interactions ...

Obsessions

A RIGHTEOUS ANGER AT PEOPLE WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND ME !!!!

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Archetype like the Sinclair test Program NPCs ( Who getting early access to such things might ALL be made "bosses" in the MMORPG - or at least personalities you encounter ).

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Game Engine

Behavior Control Programming Shortcuts :

Tactical map data of predigested Terrain Analysis used by an AI to tactically make use of terrain features ( add cues for various choreography )

Plug-together terrain blocks and details matched to the relevant NPCs involved.

Lots of variations of tactics/moves/action ( including different interchangeable props )

'Behavior' Happens everywhere from the City Hall offices to Forum Square shops to the passages and ways of the ruins

'3D' movement/interactions of the MMORPG doubles the complexity of that part of the game

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Watch Your Footing in Bioshock 3 ( "BioShock : Rapture Forever" ?? ) :

More Rickety terrain - patched floors ready to collapse ( you don't want to run across them ) and some 'jerry-rigged' catwalks and such might not hold your weight or the weight of more than one person ( desirable to have NPC 'Team' members who can follow simple orders. ) Safety lines might be a good idea in much of Rapture's unstable structural environment. Sorry, but Indiana Jones style bullwhips don't really work that well to 'swing across' various gaps and chasms ( and in slippery slimey Rapture, it tends to work even worse ).

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Something In The Sea (SitS) - That Interactive Document Presentation System :

Similar Mechanism could be used for various in-game (MMORPG) bulletin/posting boards which change with time ( Point at and Click to zoom ). City postings board ... Interface is workable for the Tablet/Smartphone game access.

The Player can have their own markers ( including colored strings and color markers/flags/annotations to highlight/mark/link things of interest ).

Pictures/notes/document forms/token objects/mementos.

Something like this would be in the 'P.I. Investigator Role-Playing missions ( Means, Motive, Opportunity ) case board.

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Consistent Makeup and Scaling of 'Terrain' and the Objects/Humans in Them :

Improvements :

All those out-the-window scenes will be real terrain and outsides of buildings which the player might traverse (within).

Shorter buildings ( still can have 'towers' like many Art Deco buildings did ). A few Tall ones amongst much shorter ones is the most logical.

Seeing activities out there - maintenance, transport, industrial work, tourism, vehicles, etc ...

Light dwindles very fast in water, so more 'murk' and only very bright lighting being seen for very far.

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"Associations" Between Players :

A bit looser than a 'Adventuring Party' or a Kinship/Clan/Whatever.

Players can have Multiple 'memberships' ( unless the Association is defined with a limitation ).

Associations can be defined by players with various conditionals and limitations.

The usual Role/Officer definitions for people who organize whatever the Association is for.

Lots of features seen in existing MMORPG games ( and more could be defined/refined ).

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Simulating Inept/Untrained/Harder Combat Skills :

With the redirection of the game's goal being to NOT kill Splicers ( you are an Ex-Splicer yourself ) you can now have more interesting interactions/situations when your 'opponents' (and YOU) aren't Wyatt-Earp-fast or accurate, and their weapons and tactics might be alot less than optimal ( ie- Scene of fireball flaming out in the hand of a Splicer, and setting THEM on fire and then them "running around like a chicken with its head cut off" trying to put it out ... A fave would be the "bringing the roof down on their own head" -- you don't get negative Empathy Points if a Splicer does themselves in ). Misfires of poorly maintained guns and bad ammo would be frequent.

The Player likewise mishandling weapons ( prevalent wavering hand type mechanic - most often seen with sniper rifle mechanics or effects of injuries ). Jamming or misfiring of weapons ... Unwanted collateral damage, etc ... Being an MMORPG, 'twitch' skills would be hampered ( the Internet delay issues ).

How much should be REAL Player Skill, versus Artificial ( repeat-use/training readjustment of ) skill efficiency ?? (Definitely NO AUTO Targeting even on Console platform clients)

Kludgey weapons ( and ammo and 'accessories' ) may not fire overly straight or consistently (jamming) or even (crude/poor quality ones) explode injuring the user. Might be a good thing that Splicers may largely have old/damaged weapons, otherwise if playing on a near(er) level skill/ability the Players would be killed/injured too quick and too often.

Target Bounding Boxes can always be tightened up to make hits harder (even with 'perfectly' accurate sighting).

Swapping of weapons and equipment takes time -- putting the in-hand weapon somewhere ( slings/holsters for some might be add-on assist/speedup the getting out the replacement ). Swapping back-from/to tools likewise. Certainly, you could have reloading in more realistic time and cocking actions where appropriate

Increased encumbrance would effect mobility and manipulations of weapons/tools ...

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Things That Happen Too Fast :

Limitations of computer games which lack/obscure many real world environmental clues, and have limited/narrow vision and reactions speeds ( 'Twitch' interactions impaired by internet delays ).

Perhaps all combat and actions should be slowed somewhat to allow the Player to figure out what is going on ( and time to work the controls for things more complicated than pulling a fire trigger ).

If The Players were still Splicers ( instead of now being Ex-Splicers ) they could have used some of the Tonics/Plasmid which sped up perception (Slowed time) to facilitate this ( Splicer Role Playing CAN still utilize this ).

This MMORPG is not to be a |slaughter-fest FPS game. IMO, those stupidly accelerated Online MP games which cater to the ADD suffering, uppers-fed-monkey type Players ( who historically whine when they think things go 'too slow' ), really cover up those games lack/avoidance of realistic tactics and their simplified reality ( death becomes irrelevant when you always come back to life in 5 seconds ), and simply support their Player Skinner Box^[3] bloated bodycounts and unrealistic gimmicks.

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Game Mechanics

The Player Taking Simultaneous Missions Would Be Limited :

Many MMORPGs let you stack up dozens of Quests/Missions and come back to them any time. And if you advance and the missions are level dependent, they can become obsolete ( too easy to do with little/no XP ).

The Player soon forgets the Mission details and whatever story. Most Players just read the handily provided Mission Summary to remember what actions they have to do for completion ( usually very limited describable in one sentence ).

In the MMORPG there is far more specialized data included in an activated/paused Mission, so you don't want those piling up on the server. Likewise, the context for which a Rapture Reborn Mission may have been generated (customized) may not continue to exist for too long.

Solutions :

Have Major and Minor Quest/Missions - short and long - easy and hard, ( with sufficient description as to effort/difficulty ).

Have Major Missions be time limited ( and not redoable if you Fail ). Player can concentrate on the achievement.

Enough new Missions available all the time. Since in this MMORPG, Quests/Missions aren't static and aren't designed around Player Level appropriate zones.

Role-based Missions should be numerous ( themed towards the current role the Player has or is working towards ). Ex- Bulletin boards of Tasks for the City.

Various other 'goals' exist which Players can achieve as they do the formal 'Missions' ( ie- gaining advancements for various behavior/activity/societal based goals and crafting and such ). These can open up further Mission availability.

Player Joining onto another players Mission for those which take greater resources ( or just to be more casual play-style ).

Immediate (pickup) Missions ( frequently available and are short term ) don't count towards the limit.

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Make It So, Number One (and again ... and again.... and again ... BAD REPETITION ) :

The Player should be able to do repeated Actions without so much tedious interface twiddling. ( Of course its better if you DON'T have you be required to do much repetition of anything in the game. )

I've seen too many games where many frequently-done-actions required traversing a Menu (interface) control several levels deep ( and sometimes also having to uses a slider control on that Menu tier on top of that ), and then having to do the same thing again and again. ( Even 10 times of THAT is bothersome when its a routinely done task. Games having that reflects a poor interface design ).

A Repeat-Just-Used "Again" command button would be one way.

A customization interface with configurable addable buttons for commonly done transactions/actions/queries

An option asking (when the actions criteria is met) to do some multiples of the same thing ( a max allowed and set count control for flexibility ... ).

Putting recently done actions AT THE TOP of the command list shouldn't be Rocket Science for competent game programmers.

Voice Command bypassing alot of deep menu options might be a very good feature.

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Flashbacks of Events a Component of the |MMORPG :

Recreations of significant events to try to tell Rapture's story. Its not exactly 'The Lord Of The Rings' as far as well-know Canon, but there is plenty of background which could be elaborated upon to add to the game experience. '

Usually this type of thing is a choreographed scene that the Player witnesses as a bystander, sometimes with minor interactions to be a part of the situation.

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"Be careful Where you Fire Your Gun Citizen !!!" :

The MMORPG's Player's Attack Actions can do damage to innocent bystanders and NPC allies (or neutrals) and OTHER PLAYERS (and their property).

It takes more skill/restraint/control to avoid harming those who are NOT your intended opponents.

Penalties for having this happen ???? Keep You Gun Holstered in town or the Constables will Issue a Citation ( fines, which increases each incident until it results in Incarceration ). Player has a 'record' that can impact Mission offerings.

Overkill ? Wound but not kill those Splicers ( remember YOU were once one of them !! )

You may also damage equipment which might cause life-threatening consequences ( especially to YOU ), in town its probably someone's property which you will have to pay damages for. You need a mechanism which if 'requires observation' to prevent Players from 'trying to get away with it' - probably WILL be some security cameras within New Rapture and NPCs "witnesses" might not always be noticed when incident happens.

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Respawns - They Don't Exist the Same Way In This MMORPG :

I noticed in Minervas Den some places that had an endless rather quick respawn cycle, which caused the regenerated Splicers to interfere (in Hard mode) with some of the staged situations. ( I've seen this before in MMORPGs, where you really cannot do any retreat tactics because the enemies have already respawned in the places behind you, which you just moments before went thru -- ducks standing back up in the "Shooting Gallery" those games degenerated into ).

Even stupider, is when they respawn right next to you while you are watching. Its such simple programming to block such blatant respawning, but even some big name MMORPGs have a deficit in caring about stupidity like this. This BioShock MMORPG has just about everything built up out of objects and would need to carefully build everything rather BEFORE the Player can see it 'pop' into existence.

This MMORPG has a much more involved and 'lower body count' style of encounters based on the Players ( and the Programmers ) cleverness, rather than on Zerg-Rushes by endless opponents ( any Moron can simply add more generic opponents to a game scene to make things 'Harder' ).

MMORPG - Any/All locations in Rapture will have a population count of local inhabitants based on the ambient environment and what faction controls/disputes the area ( and be based on what might have gone on there before - changeable ), and once the location is cleared ( often not via 'deaths' ) there is no 'respawn'. The retreating Splicers might come back and possibly bring reinforcements, but that is still limited by the simulation system, which also might have them come back after you are gone ( or have someone else move in to use the space/resources the original Splicers were there after ).

Of course, the MMORPG map is to be large enough such that Players wouldn't all be overly close, and their 'Quest' areas can be isolated to prevent constant interference ( You KNOW there are tards who will try to do cause trouble intentionally ).

Rapture is a huge place, and the Player population cannot possible occupy all of it, so the Splicers will be continually trying to take back territory where the players leave a vacuum.

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MMORPG - WYSIWYG ( What You See Is What You Get ) :

In too many levels on the Solo games (and DLC) you have exteriors seen thru the windows which clash with the actual interiors you travel thru. Walls too thin, simple Skyboxes rendered ( repeatedly out each compass facing ), views ignoring walls of adjacent buildings existing in the level, non-existent exterior windows shown on structures you go into, caricatures showing far too many floor levels on 'impressive' false fronts of buildings, and bottomless scenes on one side with an immediate seafloor seen at the level of other nearby windows. Typical gaffs when cohesive/consistency isn't a concern/priority.

There will be no problems like this in the MMORPG, as everything you see will be real objects in the game ( with a bit more 'murk'/obscuring detail dropoff as would happen when looking thru hundreds of feet of water ). Some distant views would still be 'baked' (static) backgrounds ( used as an optimization for rendering ) but those would be created on-the-fly (in proper scale) and reflect the actual cityscape and distant objects ( when anything significant changes they would be regenerated ).

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That "Lack of Player Decisions" in Infinite BS Brings Up the Idea To FIX THAT :

Of Mission scenarios with different sub-plot Paths used to allow the Player some decisions to vary the adventure (select their Goals, or how to achieve the Goals). This would HAVE TO BE more handmade than any Auto-generation combinatorics ( though that system is still used to create variances of the Mission Scenes utilizing some locked-in Scene Directives used to shape those Scenes ). It is more a "Mission Plot Tree" (not just a linear sequence), where results and decisions lead to sending the Player down different Event Paths and through different Scenes ( Terrain/Scenery/Props/NPCs/Sub-Plot ).

Storylines ( mini-plots of 'story' ) with the typical empathy/glory/feel-good happenings.

Important is NOT to have so few such Missions in the game, as for them to be repeated/reused too many times by the Player. And even then the designer must, while having sufficient randomness and many variations ( to make them different for each Player ), retain the cohesion/depth of the Mission's plot ( It is Hard to doi - It is why you don't find that mechanism in most AAA games ).

Follow-on Arcs of Missions are needed because of limited Player time/attention-span ( they need to be broken up into time manageable chunks ) -- but not be the typical MMORPG "Restart the Arc a few Months Later cuz I forgot About It" typical operations ( The plague has started, you have to save everyone, but you go off on a long adventure to obtain your Flying Unicorn, because its so neat ... ). Some subsequent Missions can possibly be delayed ( being played sometime in the future ), while other Missions need an immediate follow up.

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For Solo games created using this MMORPG's System ( games independent of Rapture Reborn ) the same mechanism (mentioned above) can be used in a larger way to create whole games with a Plot Tree -- with sufficient varying Plot Paths. This IS currently hard to do, and takes alot more Work than your usual AAA game ( reason why THEY mostly use linear Plots or have laughable 'choices' like BS1/BS2, or none like Infinite BS ). It might be more possible then by employing the MMORPG systems Tools and Processes to improve game productivity (UTILIZING the fact that using that system, IF you've already made something (many things) work in one game, then reusing it (them) in another is MUCH MUCH easier and cheaper.)

The idea would be to greatly improve RE-playability, even if the game is relatively short in total hours ( wasn't the WHOLE game of Infinite BS downto ~8 measely hours, and I saw many reviewers complaining that there was little reason to want to play it a second time -- or some said even to bother finishing the tedious gameplay ). SO you want to have lots more options on a VARYING Plot Path, with different sequences of scenes/levels to play through ( including optional sets of terrain/scenes/props NOT in every game play-through ). Each of those Scenes then can ( using the magic of Templates and Auto Generation ) be varied in its Terrain-obstacles, Scenery-look, Usable/available Props/Tools/Weapons, NPCs (opponent mix/flavors/themes, spawn locations, THEIR props/tools/weapons/tactics), Portals between the Levels, and Special Effect Events. The game should/would play differently each time. Different weapons and resources each play-through would require using different tactics ( and not just sticking to 'favorites' and optimal options ). This is definitely NOT being a "Sandbox", as there is a definite Story/Plot which the Player is Challenged to directly Complete (There can even be variations of THOSE if you make the Plot Tree big enough ... )

(( REMEMBER those optional "Elizabeth using her Powers" special scenes ( shown in the early Promotional Trailers ) you WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE in the Infinite BS game, which they subsequently REDUCED/GUTTED into complete stupidity with those always-the-same/repeatedly-reused set of canned battle props you had 'choice' on selecting ??????? REMEMBER HOW DISAPPOINTED YOU WERE TO FIND HOW THEY FARTED AWAY THE GAME THEY MADE BELIEVE/PRETENDED IT WAS GOING TO BE ????? ))

One of the aspects of Classic Great Games is their ability to SURPRISE the Player ( and also to NOT let them win every time ). Replaying CAN be helped when the game length is shorter ( so that the Player doesn't have too much invested in ONE play-through -- 'U FAILZ' just means "Try Again" ). Secondarily, the Player can LEARN tricks and improve their playing for subsequent replays.

It is actually a shame when there is little desire for replay, as most Players are the first time intent on learning to play the game, and to handle all the new adversaries ( who WILL kill you if you DON'T pay attention ), and will largely ignore the setting ( "Oh that's nice.. pretty. But NOW wheres that next thing gonna leap out at me ???? ", " WTF do I do now ?? ", " What The Bleeding Hell is THAT !!?? " ... )

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In the MMORPG, Everything Should Interact and Have Detail :

You should be able to go through the pockets of Old Corpses, but most (should) have been picked over, but still Clues to some new adventure still might be found. ( Of course : Freshly Killed Corpses - much more rewarding to 'loot' )

Carve up that rat corpse for a quick snack ( more often a thing when in Splicer-mode )

NPCs and YOU shouldn't be able to run thru each other - very disconcerting - body slam would be a typical attack - at least to disrupt the opponent

Nuisance opponents just to keep thing from getting to complacent - minor things that bother/attack you, but not constantly (gets tedious)

Skill use ...

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A Thousand Different Kinds of Crap to Find As 'Loot' :

It should be possible to make the 'Loot' you find actually funny - an occasion for amusement ( or shock/surprise ). This would require VERY MANY different Loot items (Assets) to exist. Certain types of Loot are found together, and such ( script auto-generated ) sets would be scripted into the 'Loot hauls' that Players find.

Since each 'Loot' Object needs a '3D' shape and the many Attributes to make them interactive, that will be quite alot of work. But with Player Asset Creation and the MMORPGs advanced Templates methodology, large numbers could be easily reached and surpassed. The problem might be trying not to duplicate and replicate things too similarly ( though lots of auto-generated location-specific variations would still be a good thing ).

The Player figuring out what things are good-for-what might be a problem/challenge - though having Real World recognizable attributes can help alot with that ( assuming Players KNOW ANYTHING about simple items in the existing World - which many people haven't a CLUE about these days ).

Some things you only need at certain times (or for particular types of Fabrication), and you can only carry so much at once (encumbrance). Players tend to accumulate various things hoping they will be useful one day :

Half a closet full of USED tissue paper ... Ewwwwww ...

Odd things used as containers ( rat skulls make great paperclip caddies )

Ultima Online (an early MMORPG) 20+ years ago, had unique blank book objects you could actually write/edit into. ( including Map 'paths' that could be set and followed automatically by transport )

Someone's X collection ( all kinds of different item types - Bottle Caps ... )

- Sander Cohen Memorabilia ( Yay, Collectibles !!! )

- Toenails ( someday you will clone a Sander Cohen of your very own - Yeah Riiiight ... )

Assemblies of parts for some device ( which may have a working function or not, or half completed or something completely delusional ). Parting useful things out will be a common activity.

Objects can have 'labels' on them ( and be strange in themselves )

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"Gathering" Being Fundamental to the MMORPG Games Story :

Assuming it ('Gathering') 'ADAM Biological' -- IF that aspect is thrown out of the MMORPG ( including the Big Daddies involvement ), we don't have alot left for this game - you lose that whole iconic thing - as bad as Infinite BS. Thus certain things have to work a certain way :

The component substances must be in blood (fluid) to be obtainable the (ick) way shown. They ain't gobbling down chunks of flesh/brains there.

To fit the Canon 'Story', the Level inside an ADAM-user's body builds up *quantity*, but is no longer being effective, or the components no longer are active in most Splicers ( the ADAM components might be 'reactivated - they are NOT 'Stem Cells', but something that induces Stem-Cell formation ).

Gathering must be a shortcut to recovering/re-generating (sufficient) additional ADAM ( or WHY do the whole complex thing in the first place ? )

Gathering from corpses makes more ADAM sufficiently to justify the cost/difficulty of whole operation ( Or else why ?? Lets just assume its more than "Cuz the Plot Requires it" )

Quantities :
- Slug Production 1
- Slug + Host Production 20-30 X (nice and safe, stay at home)
- Slug + Host + Gathering ???? (significantly more )

Slow original production being insufficient, necessitating reclaiming ADAM to meet (a perceived) emergency ( or did Fontaine kill off as many Little Sisters as he could to hamstring Ryan's fighting him, or to just cause trouble ???? )

Gathering is possible *ONLY* when there were enough corpses. ( and those being ADAM users ) After a while there are enough ? ( SORRY Ken and sloppy BaSx writers, before Kashmir there could NOT be ).

A Slow deterioration ( a backlog laying about as 'corpses ), some preservative effect possibly.

Simply raising more Sea Slugs (farming) apparently hadn't been an answer ( or it would have been simplest/cheapest solution ).

'Gathering' may have been partially developed earlier as means of controlling Insane Incarcerated Splicers ( Using blood transfusion/replacement to remove ADAM components and Neutralize their dangerous abilities ). That would give this Regeneration Methodology a longer development time ( instead of it being some lame 'wave of the hand' plot device ). Then it was found that imbibing this Splicer 'blood' increased Little Sister production significantly (HEY!!! maybe THAT'S the root of those "Fontaine Clinics" - where there were the bags of 'donated' blood everywhere.)

What biological mechanism ? - originally a Sea Slug venom ? ( but with an interesting action upon the Human physiology as Tenenbaum discovered ). Sorry some weird 'radiation' or whatever mysterious glow don't 'cut it' in Sci-Fi (and NO not Lutece "Tears" and all that later bullshit - "radiation" simply kills, and magic gloweyness only works for Unicorn Pharts .)

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Every MMORPG Player Early-On Should Have Their Own "Butt-Monkey" Team NPC :

( Even if it is just initially the Reception Clerk in the City 'Cure' Dormitory )

Repetitive/Tedious (make-work) stuff is the bane of MMORPGs -- To be chronically employed in place of the Player interacting with MORE Unique content. SO in THIS MMORPG, lots of routine stuff you would get done (mostly) automatically - defined/setup/controlled/guided/tracked ( to still give some control/choice/priorities ). Tasks are identified as available and are "checked off" on a list ( queued up, ordered by priority ). Other tasks can be enabled to be done automatically when the circumstances or an opportunity arises to do them.

This systems gives some direction for many NPCs who would populate the New City ( NPCs who would be seen moving about and carrying out work -- when the Player isn't even online ).

OF COURSE this presumes there would be huge piles of interesting 'unique' activity to keep the Players occupied -- to take the place of tedious/bothersome/uninspiring routine stuff (in many/most MMORPG simple tedious stuff is employed as filler to absorb the Player's game time).

MMORPG - With the Player's game experience/advancement, additional 'Team' NPCs would be acquired to extend the Players automatic operations ( and also serve to make up their Adventuring Party to expand the possibilities/capabilities there ).

One consideration : Exactly how many people (realistically) can there be IN New Rapture with all these NPCs added ontop of the Player count ? Well, that's a problem anyway if there were to be tens of thousands (or more) Players - separate 'worlds' are required to fit all of them ( Sorry, no Multiverse allowed - This game ain't Fantasy-oriented ). Hmm, should have 'tourist' char slots to allow players to look-around in the 'worlds' other than their own.

The activity of 'employed' NPCs then might make the hours when few Players are 'ON' make New Rapture look more populated.

Too many Players all on AT the same locations (overloading Servers), and now also we have lots of NPCs interacting with them (and doing their own thing) - that is the eternal MMORPG problem ( Peak Server Processing Capacity -- look how many time major problems have happened on New Content Release Days on most MMORPGs ).

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MMORPG Mechanisms

Player Flashbacks in the MMORPG :

A residual result of the Players Character's previous Splicer Addiction ( Before the "Cure", Splicers had these psychotic episodes much worse ).

During these Flashbacks, things seen by the Player look weird ( happens periodically and suddenly to Players - sometimes at the most awkward of times ). Can happen at any time ( is this a residual effect like LSD ?? ) and have their own 'Mini-Game like situation ... ( You need an inducement for Players to 'play along', and not just ignore them ).

Players may have a 'relapse', and need treatment (triggered by ???) if they don't "handle the Flashback" ??

SO ANOTHER Game Asset Type - the Flashback Attack with diverse and strange, even shocking sensory effects - and plenty of new ones created by imaginative Players.

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Custom Bosses - A Whole Lot of Them :

Most individual (or group) opponents should be treated more like a 'Boss' in the game, where you have multiple interactions/incidents with them ( which progress along an story Arc ).

Thus alot more 'unique' detail and backstory could be had in embedded locations ( associated with that Boss - Lair/Hideout/Territory/etc ... )

Templates would be used to assist in creating all these 'Custom Bosses' which have persisting details for the Players involvement. (Alot of Bosses have similar Behaviors ...)

A way ( with some/most of them ) to NOT have the Players be interfered-with in this Boss personality's interactive progressions. Nothing like you doing all the work, and THEN some 'Johnny Come Lately'/random Player finishes them off before the whole story arc (or tree) is finished.

Other such NPCs can be mass shared experiences (but they would be of those 'Dracula Always Returns' recycling within the game ). Example - interaction like Gil Alexander, who you never face directly - so you can't blast him to fish-guts ( or have him be too obviously invulnerable ).

Really we should NOT even have 'pop-a-mole' Boss Minions to fight ( meaning FAR BETTER programming of them and more flavored variations ). It DOES get ridiculous when you yourself, after playing for a long while, wipe out more enemies than the original 20000 population of Rapture -- ALL BY YOURSELF (( I've seen MMORPG where the total body counts would have resulted in entire large continents being 20 feet deep in corpses/bones if they didn't conveniently disappear )).

Branching Tree paths for many of the 'Bosses' story arc ( guided by your 'choices' of actions with them ).

Player might have a personal Arch-Nemesis ( ??? how to program that to be sufficiently unique ? )

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Player Activity - Maintenance :

Cleaning your guns and equipment ( prevent them jamming at the wrong time, which can be embarrassing ).

There is Escalating Malfunction Risk the longer things go without maintenance - with increasing chance of malfunction (and situational excitement) - but with a reasonable tolerance.

Kludged/more-complex items can have greater risk ( better quality/improvements is better ).

You should get Comments from NPCs when it is getting problematical ( warning you, but not nagging ).

Routine stuff can be assigned to Team NPC lackeys (at home) who are qualified ( more unusual equipment requires additional training/skills ). NPCs would maintain their own normal equipment ( and for some sloppy/green NPCs YOU may have to remind to do their Maintenance ).

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Useful Signs in New Rapture :

Signs Point the Player towards useful locations within the new city (New Rapture) and its connecting infrastructure

A Player's Job (City Mission) would be putting up such signs (Doing it correctly, please)

AN IDEA ---> 'Auto Walk' that you can click on a sign and your Avatar can start walking in that direction - done with proper Path Finding ( AI running on the Client), and proper Etiquette Auto-Traversing (avoiding walking thru NPCs and other Players, and the many prop obstacles).

A Similar Idea would be the Player's personal 'map' having similar 'click-n-go' ( for locations/destinations they have previously found going through terrain they have already traveled routinely ). Walking and using conveyances would be done automatically. Best-pathing selection would be done when multiple paths are available.

'Composure' would have the Player Walk ( instead of the constant Avatar running most games have to help skip their boring scenery ), and the MMORPGs Auto-Traversing would be walking/heeding traffic/etc. But Lets assume the Player can be working other routine game interfaces ( Newspaper/Mail/Orders/Tasks/Missions/Inventory/Sightseeing ) while they are getting to their desired destination.

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Players Have "A Player" :

A Feature Within the game Application. Allows the Player to pipe their own music ( on their private computers to be heard by them in their Residence -- but only by them and only on their Client as per Copyright restrictions ). Player Objects 'playing' in-game authorized music and other stuff is something separate.

"Music In Their Heads" was a frequent Splicer complaint.

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Players Trophy Case ( alot of Games have these ) :

Many games have a Player 'House', but it is pretty much useless and just a storage space and token Trophy Case for various contrived nick-nacks collected from various 'missions' ( Players having exactly the same Trophy things as 10000-100000+ other Players have ). Even when MMORPG games had 'communities', people rarely used their houses as meeting places and many intentionally omitted placeable crafting facilities because it would make their largely deserted cities/bank locations even more deserted.

Except here in MMORPG Rapture there would be much more varying/unique things to be put there (and to do there). Clever Auto-Generation can be employed and Quests/Missions would generate such 'Trophy' things even if just as mementos ( with the advantage of mutating them to make them more unique ).

Actual in-game created Artworks have been mentioned previously ( your own or someone else's who actually has some talent ). The usual decorations, but of a wide variety (and flexibility in placement).

Any crap you find out in the Ruins of Rapture, you could stick in your (House) Residence ( and business store and storage yard, anything you can manage to cart there ).

Personalized items ( letters of Appreciation from the City Council ) to put up on one's bulletin board.

A place to put the puzzle pieces you are slowly collecting which will divulge some critical unique Rapture Secret ( like exactly WHO DID actually come up with the Self-Cleaning Toilet ... or what was up with that Plaster-shit of Sander Cohen's ... )

The latest Assemblage contraption/device/Rapture-saving Artifact, one is looking for the missing parts for.

Workbenches, Maps, Lockers for equipment, 'Team' Lackey NPC's having their own stuff/gear/tools ... Collections of 'interesting' rubbish, etc ... (Hobbies ...)

Implement a Free Positioning/Overlaying/Marking of objects, versus a limited/inadequate 'lockdown slot' system ( hardly worth the bother in many MMORPGs ). They did that fairly well in Ultima Online over 15 years ago, and people did incredible imaginative things with that system even as limited as the mechanism still was.

A Game mechanism would be in place to keep Players from breaking into your Residence and filching things or just breaking/trashing them (you KNOW there would be Players wanting/trying to do that, and also how loudly they would whine about winding up an Insta-corpse, or as a 'locked up' miscreant, tied down for the rest of their in-game life in the City Jail or on a Chain Gang.

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Artificial Ineptness of Players Doing Actions In Games :

In-game Skills ( like aiming + shooting, basic maneuvers ) often have artificial clumsiness'/inefficiency applied - requiring Players to repeatedly use skills (ad nauseum) to 'advance' to become better/competent doing the same actions. But all along (even when 'improving') the Player is pretty much doing the action exactly the same way. ( These skill ramps are often added because the actual game mechanics lack accuracy, and 'success is just an approximation. ) This should be avoided with improved game performance. Rather better to use : Standard and consistent (better/accurate) physics, and then have Players make use of THEIR knowledge, cleverness, appropriate tools, tactics and timing to do 'better'. You still can't make it TOO realistic - actions in response to ordinary conditions should be more thoughtlessly reflexive ( micromanaging is tedious and dull to most Players ). It should be for special situations when the extra care/attention/precautions becomes important for the Player to invest.

Learning Curve ? How far do you take this ? It shouldn't be needed much for ordinary things, which initially the Player's Avatar should not 'do badly' ( basic competence in everyday manipulations ) - "NO Oops, need 87 more skill 'XP' before I can drink from a coffee cup without spilling it on myself ..." Specialization requires specialized skills which need training and experience to advance.

The Player's abilities envelope should be affected by proper Tool selection, advanced detection ( to alert player their attention is required ), NPCs doing routine/mundane/boring things automatically ( a major AI achievement ) to avoid Players distraction, Player's overall range of decisions for contingencies of the potential multiple results ( flexibility vs optimization ).

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Yes, Lets Have Some of What Are Called 'Jump-Scares' in the MMORPG :

These are choreographed events where you are suddenly confronted by something ( often dangerous/shocking ) without warning.

Tricky part will be you (the Player) may no longer be alone ( your NPC 'Team' can be there with you ). It doesn't work if they ruin the 'scare' effect most of the time.

You can always have the pop-out-of-hole right-in-front-of-Player tactic ( add the atmospheric effects for 'jump out of fog' and the 'blind corners' ).

True Dark conditions ( no cheating turning the brightness up ... ) for things to loom suddenly out of darkness.

They don't even have to be things that attack, just a sudden "thing there" - Cute little vignettes -- "Oh look, I've never seen someone's head twisted around like that !!"

There's various other 'effects' - Sudden bright flash of light ( and other lighting tricks ), Clouds of smoke, reflections, Strange noises in distance or from behind things ... Things suddenly crashing to the ground ( with good kinetic debris effects ), etc...

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Prevent Inconsistent Game Terrain :

Player when moving gets stuck/blocked by SOME specific scenery (or on obstacles), but the very same type of obstacle elsewhere you CAN get over/thru it. Usually this is done where it is needed for plot (an artificial 'edge')

It must've been too bothersome for them to waste time on making the obstacle something more clever ( ie- creating imaginative terrain to logically block moving off the level there. )

Its very bothersome for the Player to waste time doing something clever - Something YOU spotted and thought you could do - cuz it seems passable by what you've seen before but NOPE you find an invisible inconsistent artificial wall.

The MMORPG would be a 'sandbox' game where the terrain is more detailed and Player's actions upon it consistent.

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Player Getting Radio News Updates as Part of (Immediate) Missions :

Also messages via telephone 'Call Boxes' ( also calling in to your message service )

Messages from a mission coordinator - To help fill in mission story details beyond the briefings

You hear something that changes the nature of the Mission (even cancellations).

Or an update that the Mission is gonna be far harder than you planned for

Or that the schedule has been moved up to achieve it ( or new obstacles ... something you need to now do first )

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Another Template for Radio News Updates

It is not just the message data, its the sub-Templates for 'Interference' and 'Bad Reception' and announcement formats ( sound effect wrapper, annunciation, lead-in/lead-out )

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Question of a 'Company Store' for the MMORPG :

The Game Company wants money (they ARE a business after all). If the game has a Free-To-Play system, then a majority of Players won't pay simply to play and would have to be forced via bought content releases that would intrude constantly on the Players game experience.

A 'Store' usually means endless advertisements in-game/interface for "Deals" and "Sales" specials, and content has to be divided up and 'sold' to Players - a distraction and tainting of the whole game universe. Development work ( and continuous management ) on a 'Store' system takes effort away from making the game better ( or the quality it aught to be ).

Since Players in THIS MMORPG game would be creating content, how fair would it be that so much of their works goes to benefit/line-the-pockets of someone else AND they (as Players) get subjected to the endless annoying/bothersome/continuous sales spew ? The whole nickel and dimming atmosphere of the 'Store' mechanism pollutes/cheapens the game. SO for THIS MMORPG - There Would be NO Free-To-Play and ABSOLUTELY NO 'Store'. Instead, just straight monthly payment - for one character on one Server per account. This 'membership' would of course include the ability to design/create/test/submit game content.

SO NO COMPANY STORE, AND NO MICRO TRANSACTION BS TO TAINT THIS MMORPG.

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Flimsy Excuse for a Floor :

Damaged floors should (in the MMORPG) be able to be 'beat on' to open a hole/passage-way down to a lower level ( getting back up might not be as easy ). 'Stacking things' and climbing would be possible in the MMORPG. The Indian Rope Trick is only for Houdini Splicers. Jumping up and down on weak/damaged floors should cause the Player to fall through a new hole. Many interior parts of Rapture were NOT built like a 'brick shirthouse', and are liable to be significantly weakened by years of elemental damage and crazy Splicer activity.

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Stealth Games We Play :

This MMORPG can offer a wider range of scenarios (missions/quests) to engage in, which can include some that require you to sneak around/infiltrate locations ( instead of simply shooting everything in sight ). The 'build-on-the-fly' server-bubble (instance) zones can make sure other players wont blunder into your mission and interfere when finesse is being used to achieve the goal.

Players might have a mission where they have to 'dress up' as Splicers (including the masks - useful to cover up your now un-marred face) and join a group to get the info/object/free-the-hostage ( hint when you are offered a rat to eat, its probably smart to eat it if you don't want to give yourself away ... )

Other missions might have you infiltrate a criminal organization ( you would think with such a small population, New Rapture wouldn't have so many of these ... )

Limitations on console systems probably means that they wont get the "Lean" movement ability ( but that doesn't mean PC players should be denied that ).

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GAME AI Bots (Client Based) :

Some games discourage (ban) use of 'Bots' ( robot programmed helpers ) to be used for their games. But for this MMORPG they could be encouraged :

First - anything that eliminates Player tedium is good. Minor repetitive tasks being eliminated makes things better.

Second - this can become another channel of Player (Creation) interest, which can also be applied to making better NPCs. The 'Bots' become tools developed to improve the game. In a more detailed interactive game world it will be a much bigger challenge to produce Bots which are versatile enough to assist the Player in the game related activities.

Third - The Players aren't playing directly against each other normally, and if Bots are encouraged and openly published ( and Easy-Use is facilitated in the Players interface ) then most people can have them to compete near equally throughout the game.

The Client programming interface provided WONT be the direct access to game mechanics as is employed by Aim-Bots. The things the Bots can do will be regulated/restricted to work within the game mechanics and NPC limitations ( Ex- the Bot signals to shoot, but can't turn or shoot faster than the Server allows, and the shooting won't be any more accurate/powerful/faster than the weapon being used, or the skill of the NPC ).

Bot logic programming is directly related to non-players NPCs and Opponents who also can get improved, as elements of their control scripting/programming are made open and can be reused/applied ( and foster a larger number of Players developing skill and working on the game's extensive AI programming ).

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Medic !!! :

Need a more pronounced Player HUD Indicator of being injured. In this MMORPG game, it should be a little (alot) harder to INSTA-Heal, so Player need definite indicators that they are being hurt, so they can be alerted to take appropriate action. Too many times I've looked at my BioShock Red Health Bar and saw there was very little left.

Damage would be localized to parts of the body which will impact different/specialized capabilities ( legs- movement, hands/arms weapon/tool use, etc ...) An Injury interface display would show status with that detail and indicate impairments. Medical procedures would be invoked thru the same interface.

Avatar/NPC/Splicer 3D figures would show better/more Visual Indicators of Damage ( ie- lots more limping animations ... )

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Trade Transactions :

The MMORPG game would have the now standard 'Trade Transaction' interface/mechanism for face-to-face Player trades.

This was found needed YEARS ago in MMORPGs as so many Players cheated other Players and there was no easy way to have proper Repercussions for such Player Behavior.

More complex interactions ( ie- MMORPG New Rapture business deals ) will be thru more involved 'official paperwork' mechanisms/interfaces.

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Need Way to 'Talk' to NPCs Without (or with less of) the typical 'Menu' mechanism :

Too many options (for a greater plethora of interactions), but general interactions it might be faster ( and gateway to the more detailed 'menu' ). Selections for a 'short list' ( and context shortlists ).

Voice input ? Single words work best, followed by simple sentences - Action, Action+Target. Many 'Emotes' might be activated that way and used as common responses to NPCs. The usual problem is activating NPCs you didn't intend ( will have to investigate this issue ... Focus, and Attention being imparted ... ). Dialog Variations could be configured (scripted) to best fit the Players preference/situation.

Pointers (gesture) to objects or signs/placards to make selections specific. ( Particularly if the 'hand' manipulation is much more developed as I would expect for other game interactions. )

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Typical MMORPGs Shortcomings - Static Group Missions - GONE :

Having "Raids" (large Player Group Missions) which are overly pre-canned/choreographed - variation-less. The Players know them so well ( from repetition and their static variation-less design ) that they could go through the terrain/event sequence in their sleep ( They get to know every detail of the spawns of the static scripted events/opponent-activations which happen in them ).

Unfortunately the industry standard 'model' is to have desirable 'loot' ONLY in them, which forces the Players to repeat the same mission many times to obtain the whatzits. Such missions are populated with Bullet-Sponge/Quadrupled-HitPoint enemies ( the de facto difficulty variation methodology of the programmers ) who possess the same lifeless/limited NPC tactics ( mostly based on simple initial position activation, and having more of them ), with a few non-generic bosses ( with specific limited-tactics of their own ), and a few 'goals' of things the Players have to do to advance through a series of the set-pieces encounters.

Of course, that's with the Player difficulties of :

A limited/genericised repertoire of available Player actions

Interlocking 'Role' abilities which must be coordinated ( and get deathly boringly repetitive after a while ).

Difficulties in coordinating with other Players (who are often pick-up groups)

The games method of 'difficulty' simply being jacked-up enemy 'HitPoints' and Damage ability ( versus actual reactive enemy tactical ability )

A longish sequence of "difficult" situations ( which all have to be passed to get the goodies at the end )

It is logical in having that typical static system require Players to have to execute/repeat the same scenario over and over, even just to get a single completion. Otherwise they wouldn't have much else to do (- easier (cheaper/easier/lazier) to have insufficient UNIQUE additional mission, and to just force players to REPEAT the SAME MISSIONs over and over.

Unfortunately its just an extension of the same general design the rest of the game has.

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A Text to Speech (TtS) System (For generating NPC speech and Audio Diaries) :

I've been considering Text to Speech ( 'TtS', speech synthesis ) use for a big 'Next Gen' or 'Next-Next Gen' type of MMORPG which would require alot of voice generation ( synthesized largely 'on the fly' ). That system relies on Player Created Assets to lower 'voice' Asset costs, when large numbers of Voice-Actor-made (Precanned) Voice recordings are prohibitive ( and not versatile enough for a broader game use ). Auto-generation ( being combinatoric script-logic driven ) done at the Client machine would be an important MMORPG element.

Instead of voice actors being required for MUCH of the MMORPG games speech output, computer program generated speech could/would be used. This is Important for this MMORPG if you don't want to have to pre-record ALL the ( very many ) verbatim messages - something unlikely/prohibitive with the number of different phrases/spiels in the MMORPG's expanded game scope. Look at the list of all voice messages the few Splicer-types say in the Solo games ( for the fairly few/limited situations and things they do ). The MMORPG would have far more sayings/vocalizations for the generic NPC behaviors. Written Mission scenarios might be ( a bit ) more likely to be a custom voice recorded, but they too would be easier to produce with a synthesized Sound Asset.

Uncanny Valley problem - Quality is still lacking for voice synthesized intonations and accents. The existing Speech Generation technology IS getting better, but there will be the problem of the "Uncanny Valley" ( Your brain will still react to very subtle mistakes in high quality speech almost as much (or more) as it does to a lower quality presentation ). The Auto-Generation would still have imperfections, and we may just have to train the user to accept the output -- It is a problem that probably really never will go away ( your brain can detect VERY subtle irregularities ).

Creators/Collaborators pre-testing the Asset usage (being subject to significant Vetting part/process of the whole Player Asset Creation aspect of the MMORPG) ... the author would actually be auditing/listening to the output of the On-The-Fly synthetic generation to see if there is any problem made by the scripted speech ( no Program is perfect ). Template driven variations would be systematized. Others (Players) would be doing vetting further along, and would facilitate further improvements. Tweaking various data settings to overcome limitations/odd aberrations might be common in this inspection process.

The Speech transcription data ( scripting language ) used to reflect ALL the game's possible Voice content would be far more than simple word text/phonetics, and would include accent modes/qualities/specifics. For Audio Diary entries, there could be background sound effects included in the 'recording' selected from a large pre-canned set of 'theater' effects. The timing synchronization between the sounds is additional data for such a Game Asset.

The generation itself might be somewhat CPU intensive ( depends on how many go on at the same time for the Player's Client, and what Quality setting is chosen ).

Consider that Localization for the MMORPG could be done almost automatically for Synthesized Speech. Thus every Asset would have a text equivalent for the languages that specific sound recording IS NOT available for (yet). ( All the variations of inflections and such of course come into play for Non-English Languages, and would have to be filled in by somebody ).

The Overlaying/background sound effects ( as often heard in Audio Diaries and such ) being scripted synthesis/mixing ( pulled from sets of existing sound effect Assets ), would simplify such Asset creation. ( Note that Localization vetting for quality would be an important aspect -- You cannot just assume that 'things will sound right', or that proper translations just get done ).

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The processing resource issue - can current 'better quality' TtS (Text-to-Speach) programming do the generation in Real Time ( are they using GPU-assistance yet for this ... ). Procedurally-generated content might handle being much more reactive/versatile to the Player's in-game actions/responses -- not just have limited pre-expected ( locked in ) sets of response verbiage. Some JIT (Just In Time) generation may be allowable to alleviate some timely CPU resource bottlenecking, and various network delays.

Fortunately the general ( all other computer industries applications ) use of this TtS technology will keep its development moving forward ( having some Big Buck$ behind its advancement ).

Now in comes the management of Voice Profile Assets, and whatever embedded Markup Data/scripting is required for the 'text' to impart the desired inflections/tonal/etc ... content added to the synthesis and output.

I recall one thing from the distant past : The Atari 800 game 'Castle Wolfenstein', with its crude lil' Nazis shouting a barely legible 'Achtung!' -- Which might be a nice analogy for where the Speech Generation is today, compared to what it will be like a few years in the future (we hope). If you remember how crude the sound interface was on the Atari 800, it makes me wonder how long the programmer(s) had taken to shape just that one canned sound snippet.

Another issue might be : In an immersive environment, you need MANY NPCs to be speaking at the same time, thus increasing the speech processing load. Far away, TtS conversations can be (cheaply) patched over with mumbles/droning ( preferably to be realistically generated themselves with rhythmic attributes/whatever ), so as you near the source the transition to High Quality isn't jarring.

Yes - Speech LOD (Level Of Detail) could be used like it is for Terrain with Cruder voice generation for distant sources, reserving high-quality (processing expensive) sound for the nearby and having the Player's attention.

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THERE WILL BE NO FRICKING GAME MICRO-TRANSACTIONS IN THIS MMORPG -- NO 'NICKEL AND DIMING' THE PLAYERS, OR BARRAGING THEM WITH !@#$%^&* "SALES" AND "VISIT THE SHOP" OR ANY OF THAT KIND OF INGAME ADVERTISEMENTS SHIT.

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Too much Perfectly-Working Stuff in Rapture :

We needed to see more broken security machines in BS1, and even more in BS2 ( understood that there were game production limitations on 'kludge' machine variations in-game -- but the MMORPG won't have that problem ). The time of the MMORPG is a few years after BS2.

Malfunctioning objects can do alot of interesting things, and can remove the Player's assurance/confidence that they know what will happen in their next step ( generating even more of a state of apprehension, which you kind of lost halfway through the Solo games - once you figured it all out. Example - some Security Scanner which has a periodic 'glitch', and suddenly switches direction on the normal scanning pattern and spots you when you are trying to approach it for hacking. )

In BS1/BS2, it would have better showed the state of the City - more hazards to keep the Player's attention. Many sets of optional/random factors/specifics that change each playthrough would also increase the game's Replay value ( something the MMORPG takes to extremes with the Auto-Generation ). That would be a good idea to help increase the total game playtime ( Note - Solo Games which today continue to shrink their Play-thru Hours ) - you have to watch your step more AND be ready for sudden changes/something different to react or to avoid them.

Vending machines should be optionally broken ( and damaged if combat happens near them - like the Health Stations did ), or be empty, or have more varying inventory ( or it takes your money and jams ) or be hacked in interesting ways. Have that odd-chance they catastrophically jam/shutdown/short-circuit/trigger-alarms, and you lose not just your money. This could include being able to choose to break into them ( but possibly draw attention from Splicers or face the inevitable boobytraps ). The MMORPG would have that kind of thing - as NOTHING there is impervious to persistent toil/efforts ( though you may just have scrap and rubbish left ).

You can have Odd or Amusing things that happen because of the variety of reactions/interactions for most game props ( and various cascading effects that causes further odd reactions with additional props -- ie- spreading fires like in "Far Cry 3" ). ( I remember the 'fumble' tables and open-ended damage potential of D&D games of the past ).

Obvious would be to have more bits of terrain that collapse or fall on you, doors that jam, etc...

Lots of potential for Player Asset Creators to be imaginative.

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It is a Modular World (A Key Rapture Reborn MMORPG Feature) :

As much as possible the Game is made up of reusable/modifiable objects, which allows using them as building blocks to easily build up more complicated things.

Abilities/uses/actions are 'unitized' -- quantified/simplified/generalized to facilitate creating more complicated MMORPG game mechanisms/devices without excessive development work ( avoid custom/hand-written/single-use game scripting to control individual objects -- instead standard attributes that activate general/universal functionality ). New objects inherit some combination of pre-defined attributes which enable their functioning in the game ( example - The "Sittable" attribute defines anything that can be normally sat upon ( and the players/NPCs abilities/actions to do that ), where "Stackable" enables things to easily be stacked upon each other.

Objects of any complexity are compose of sub-objects. Some are merely the pieces which an object breaks into on destruction, Others are modular functional components which are independent objects which can be separately manipulated - inserted/extracted.

The simulation system of Modular construction for all devices in the Rapture MMORPG allows simplified fabrication/repair which offers new interactions but also eliminates tedious (playing) details. Machines are made out of associated modular parts which can be fabricated independently and then assembled. Repairs are done by (Players) repairing Component/modules within the larger assembly. These unitized modular components can be flexibly used/re-used. Making/repairing component modules for a larger mechanism will happen alot in half-wrecked Rapture (fix that little doohickey and that thing starts working again...).

Better quality object/devices can have additional/optional component modules for enhancement/self-regulation ( ie- making them more automatic and able to handle environmental fluctuations which can damage a simpler mechanism - a desirable feature ). Such improvements/enhancements would be flexible. Players can decide to improve devices or leave them in a simpler form with the inherent trade-offs.

Component Modules can be taken from one machine and then used in another ( much of the game deals with salvaging mechanisms from the ruins to employ them in the New City being rebuilt ). A certain amount of work is needed to connect/adapt/tune modules to work together. Higher skill enable doing that operation.

Advanced machine modules can be more capable, but usually then are more specialized/limited in their use for other things.

Additional (optional) Modules can allow remote control/coordination/monitoring of operation. More failure avoidance ( better reliability, less repair ), higher efficiency/capacity

Higher quality components fail less often and can have higher capacities.

Electrical/Mechanical/Chemical, all machines have a function that interacts within the game World - which is ALL itself composed of a set of objects (which interact with each other).

Even things like building structures are Modular with a 'wall section' able to be substituted ( also facilitates operations of the MMORPG server game processing which has limits about how far/fine you can break up the World (into pieces ) to efficiently simulate reality -- There should be sufficient detail, but no excess, and consistency across everything ). And if you think there is TOO MUCH detail, most of this stuff can be ignored - plenty else to do in the game.

Game Interface-wise, this system would be visualized/rendered as a machines module grid of required parts, with optional slots for extra functional modules. Substitutions of improved basic modules can improve a machines function, with substandard parts it might be more faulty and not function at full capacity.

This interface will operate using Drop-in modular components ( from Players inventory/workbench ) with the manipulation actions of work/effort being standardized/unitized ( a simplified caricature - I can see a spectrum of animated approximations - whacking with hammer, poking with a screwdriver, tuning some adjustable bit, etc ... ). Potential failure and damage ( flames, cracking sparks, burst of steam, loud cracking noises, etc ... ) will be part of this presentation ( burned out parts afterward will be obvious ).

For the activity of repairing/fabricating complex 'modules'/components there would be further hierarchical representations (with sub-components and slots) --- Modules themselves can be made from simpler modules/components ( That R-34 Wire Cluster is really an assembly made from simpler wires/fasteners, a metal box, and some electrical regulator components ). Remember how the U-Invent used fairly simple objects to construct ammos/things for your use - we would expand that to make doohickeys for other machine - lots of interchangeable parts ... ) The sub-components for this system disappear - You see the complete unit unless you need to repair it in the games fabrication system. Part of the skill-sets is modifying/building from raw/basic materials the objects/components used to make the modules from.

Tools used by Players/NPC/Splicers vary from doing basic operations, to quite specialized ones which facilitate operations on the more advanced modules ( less failure than a general tool ). Less specialized tools can fulfill the basic need (clumsily) - a tool of a certain general type can do the action.

Skills likewise go from general to specific, with improved efficiency/success for the things they are specific to.

Machines ( most interactive game objects ) are designed with a 'modular' component template/plan/diagram ( in the standard game mechanism). There would be optional component slots for additional functions - like a hardened physical structure, or for aesthetics ( an important commercial feature ) or insulation (for special uses) which may not be part of the ordinary/basic function of the object. These are customizable attributes offering incremental improvement ( kind of like the weapon upgrades we had in the game except a bit more generalized )...

Large complex machines/systems often have numerous sub-machines connected together, which can be manipulated separately, and possibly removed to facilitate repairs ( ie- taking a machines 'control' unit console back to a workshop/workbench instead of having to work on it in place in a less than optimal environment ).

Ad hoc temporary machines (rigs) can be built to achieve some purpose and then be torn down back into separate parts for easy transport. Many of your 'Team' NPCs carry a variety of things which you would use to handle various obstacles. The pieces fit into a plan and are placed/connected in the terrain.

A block and tackle ( hook, pulleys, rope ) might be used to lift debris to free a valuable Vending Machine for extractions. A portable generator and cables might be used to setup a campsite to power lights and security equipment or portable tools or a water pump to de-flood a section of a building.

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Utility Value of Things :

Scenarios should not have rare/expensive/difficult-to-obtain specialty gear that you have to find to complete them and then their subsequent use is so narrow/limited that you probably never use it again. Having ( borrowed ? ) special items like that as part of the Quest can work. The Player's effort/resource cost put into a Mission's preliminaries shouldn't be so bothersome as to delay progress or outweigh whatever is gained by doing the Mission/Quest.

With broader object/tool/weapon interactions possible in the MMORPG, most objects can have quite wide/versatile uses.

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MMORPG Programmable Macros :

"Macros"^[4] For those repetitive tasks which take some repeated input ( useful when there are multi-tiered menus of Options ).

Example - point at EVE vat -click , point at bottle -double click, 'E' select action 'Fill'. Once you watch your Avatar get done doing that action, you activate the 'Repeat' command ( a key combination ) and IF there are more empty bottles nearby and more EVE in that vat, your Avatar will auto-magically repeat that basic sequence until it cannot do any more or you interrupt it (or you get interrupted). You could resume by finding the Macro in your Macro List ( maybe a recently used list ) and activating it again. It would act upon the same type objects in your near vicinity. While the Macro runs, you can do other non-avatar-actions things in the interface ( like look at a map, talk to an NPC to issue orders, etc ... ).

Made to be an easy-to-use (intuitive) interface to create/edit/run Macro actions. Best if there is easy ad hoc creation to create a new Macro 'on-the-moment' to do something specific - where you point at what you are intending to use ( it is often easier/simpler to create a new temp Macro than trying to find an applicable one on some list of Macros you've previously composed ).

Parameterized - Macros scripted to have a fill-in 'parameter' ( using a drag-into-box ) when you run the Macro. Allow doing a similar operation/process/action against some different object and can be quickly activated. ( You select and activate Macro and point to the thing you want it applied to -- like a different vat of EVE for the example bottle filling Macro ). You might even be able to drag the Macro to a Team NPC as an order and let IT do the work.

Tagged things like Tasks, other Macros ( to do sequential compound Macros ), Locations ( custom map markers ), NPC identities - a general mechanism for caching of oft reused things, to facilitate Macro use, and also the issuing of commands to 'Team'/other NPCs, or embedding in communication message, or numerous NPC interactions, ie- at a 'store' drag and drop a 'part' name you've cached for the machine you want to repair ( the 'Mk87A-doohickey-with-leftthreaded-gromits' ). Selection via pulldown list or other visual selection mechanisms - like drag-drop from a token workspace/memo area on-screen.

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How Many Players Per Server World ( Which Each Are Multiple Servers/Clusters of Machines ) :

Out of 1000 paying players how many are on at any one point in time ? How many of those have an in-game presence which is noticeable -- the scenario is for a smaller Ex-Splicer city population, it would be bad to have the place ( One Server World ) swamped with 10000 very visible Residences/Businesses/signs/etc ... Too few and people cant interact as they might. This game's auto-generation mechanism can grow the World, so CAN accommodate reasonably large server population.

Money $25/$30 a month x 1000 Players ( none of that Store/F2P/DLC crap for this game ). Paying keeps them serious and keeps out the 14-year-old mentalities looking to make trouble/abuse. Keep the Worlds populated ... Casual Player (tourists) vs Hard case -- Try to slow down turn-over of Players, if there is alot to explore/do.

Shared Server resources ( to maximize utility ) - dynamic Server farm architecture to assign server resources to 'load level' Abstract operation ( Running NPCs 'lives' ) of the City (World) with local servers Zones of 'active' places within eyeshot of Players. Having multiple Server Worlds doesn't use excessive extra resources (costs).

Staff requirements to maintain operation ? Even the big MMORPHS have cut this to the bone ( eats profits, and they can't have that happening, resulting in lower quality service and "Pennywise, Pound Foolish" operations. )

If you do things right, there is alot less support (GM) staff required to 'fix' things. Generally this scales to number of Players not Servers.

Player communities in-game ? You need a sufficient number of serious Players on a Server World to make some things work ( but that seems largely gone in MMORPGs these days, when people have alot of trouble being on at the same times consistantly - even for small party groups of only 6 players who need to work in a cohesive way ). High turnovers of Players destroys alot of community building.

How many Players will come play this game ( do you NEED lots of Server Worlds ) ?? BioShock was fairly popular ( can't say yet how many lost interest after Infinite ). The MMORPG has to pay back the R & D and development costs ( the huge Game Making Toolset would/should be used across many other games - only way to probably pay for them to be created/developed ). Lots of continuous paying players would be good ( don't want to spread players out over too many Server Worlds - some games I've seen are virtual 'Ghosttowns' - so at that point you might as well be playing a Solo game ).

If multiple genres and game themes are created ( using the same Tools to create many different 'niche' MMORPGs ), does that water down the effort to get just one game done properly ?? Critical mass of how many Players needed to do the 'Creation' part of game ( thus VERY important to have tools easy-to-use to maximize those Players who can do it ... And if possible, have Assets which can cross-over between Genres - minimizing work to adapt them for additional games ).

Gives reasons why costs have to be kept under control ... Game wont be a childish ego driven, shooting gallery game, or a game with limited/inefficiently produced content and not likely a Mega-game ( only a few of those who have the bucks to generate sufficient constant new content needs - and even on them the Players quit/stop paying for months at a time after playing thru drops of new content ).

Serious effort to NOT have "the patches break more things than they fix" or leave game disrupting bugs in place for ridiculous amounts of time ( or never fix them ). Past MMORPG games lost huge numbers of players because of outright incompetence. These 'better' tools are supposed to help make that possible.

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Option Picker Menus (Shifting to Flat Configurable Menu Interface) :

I get tired of games which have too many levels of Interface Menus and small non-expandable menus with Scrollers - Often REQUIRED to be used for Command Activations done routinely ( wasting the Player's valuable time and trying their patience ). Its all just poor design.

The Need is to get Players to the part of game interface/activity they want WITHOUT the endless/asinine/constant ( mentally-retarded designed ) traversal of multi-tiered hierarchical menus. Frequently used actions/options should be able to be easily/quickly selected and summarized on a 'short-list'/'quick-menu'. Placeable Icon Button controls are OK for simple actions, but many routine actions have additional options which must be set -- each requiring a line of text to make them clear.

Flatter Menus :

Take advantage of the large screen to have more options visible each 'level' of Menu. Most interfaces with List-type Menus might be simply semi-configurable - at least allowing the Player to move/shift/drag the Most Frequently Used options to the Top of option lists.

Local Customization :

This MMORPG will have MANY activities/actions with options ( much more than normal MMORPG, so is even more important to do it right ). Customization with shortcuts is necessary to prevent the Player's prayers for having the game developers "Rot in Hell"(tm) for their negligence/worthlessness in generating needless Player tedium.

More than one version of such Menu can exist for different contexts ( selected via an Icon or Short Text labeled button ) - like one being attached to the Players Fabrication Workbench, Another to a particularly versatile Tool object, or to selected Vendors, etc ...

Ease of Configuration :

The Customization Editing Interface to set up these shortcuts, of course, has to be easy-to-use to Add and Modify/Remove the optimized quick-menu items.

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Idea - Spy-Eye :

Players could have a 'Spy-Eye' controlled by One or More other Players that can follow them ( or a 'Raid Party'/expedition group) around so that the resulting mayhem can be viewed by other Players or recorded for later consumption ( all those TV shows Players could create )

It could be done in the form of a Flying Bot ( being more versatile for getting views - would have to be remotely controlled ) or on a 'Suit Cam' that would collect views from a particular persons perspective.

Some Players will create documentaries 'This is Rapture' and such. The usual problem ( as with the internet where 99.8% is garbage ) will be filtering thru all the recordings players will make to try to find something actually worth watching.

Video is exportable from the game for use on websites, etc...

Probably would need some method to restrict this so that 'everyone and their brother' doesn't simply leave a recorder going on everything they do and swamp the Server system.

- Film limitation ( both as a consumable (cost ? ), but also with limited duration each )

- Comm link for TV feed to recorder ( takes some organization to achieve and limited bandwidth )

- Have the Client handle recording ( Suit Cam from players avatar ) and then have footage imported to Server for use in in-game media ( preferably externally edited with provided tools ).

- Make cameras expensive to buy/maintain ( and/or require skills to operate )

Real-Time transmission to other players for 'kibitzing' activities between players in a watcher group.

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Idea Whose Time Hasn't Yet Come - NPC Voice Synthesis :

NPC Voice output generated 'on-the-fly' from text data - sound generated on Client machine.

Text format is much easier to store/change ( alot less memory to store and transfer to the client )

Synthesis from text would allow huge numbers of variations of speech Assets ( when msg recordings have to be individually done and patched into the server ).

Clients usually have plenty of CPU to do VoxSynth ( consoles though may not have enough CPU left over )

Different Voices patterns ( with tones and accents ) would be needed for the different NPCs.

Expense of a decent system probably prohibitive ( game company has enough to do without adding another major feature project like this )

An alternative is many short phrases mpeg recorded but pieced together to form different messages.

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The Rapture Cleanup Elves (Gnomes?):

There is alot more persistent detail in THIS game ( you make bullet holes in a wall they stay there ... )

After awhile the whole terrain is covered with empty bottles, shell casings, candy wrappers, glass from smashed bottles, various scratches/dents/holes, etc.. if there is no mechanism to control that.

The Client rendering will be able to draw alot of these simultaneously - especially 'fresh' ones the player just caused.

All these details take up data space on the Server ( and have to be transmitted to the players Client when they get near it again later ).

Over time many of these things could be obscured - another layer of dirt/mold covers them up , garbage slowly moulders...

Significant damage/markings would be kept, but lots of small 'blemishes' should eventually fade. Things like graffiti will fade over time or be covered up/defaced, but they would generally last alot longer as 'more significant' details.

Each 'scratch' on the scenery would have its creation date so the Server on reactivating a chunk of terrain ( when a player walks near it and its pulled into memory ) the details in the scene can be filtered for aging and type of 'scratch' or prop and be scrubbed from the data.

Periodic automated sweeps of the City would do this cleanup to compact the Database data when the servers are relatively lightly loaded.

Splicers also like to pick up useful items and walk away with them ( pack-rat mentality of some deranged splicer brains ). That behavior would be built into their general scripting. ( Alot of that kind of thing can go on outside of the players site so only need be done Abstractly and not take up alot of processing resources ).

Likewise bodies will tend to disappear ( certainly all the 'stuff' would be scrounged, and there are rather large rats in Rapture that have to eat something ).

In the New City there are street sweepers and maintenance crews that repair and polish things ( at least in the City Center and players themselves make get such jobs ). Some Splicers may keep their 'home' areas tidy ( some with a mania ).

Alot of things that used to be considered rubbish ( especially for someone on a one-way rampage thru the City ) are now reusable and are worth CASH, so players themselves will be doing some of the removals.

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Example NPC Orders ( Single Word Commands For Voice Recognition or Easy Macros For Text ) :

To Your NPC 'Team' :

Retreat ( 'RUN AWAY!!!' )

Now ( syncrhonize an ambush )

Attack ( target designation )

Loot (That)

Secure ( the perimeter )

Smoke ( take five )

Onward ( resume moving towards destination )

Halt/Stop

Quiet ( team into 'silent' mode )

Help ( please get this rabid Splicer off me )

Capture ( use capture tactic on designated target - needed with netguns that are quite unwieldy )

Non-Team ( said to NPCs ) :

Hello ( general greeting social propriety )

Show ( vendor list )

Buy

Sell

Alarm ( shouted warning )

Help

To Splicers :

Parley ( heh - some Splicers actually will negotiate )

Boo ( used after sneaking up on a Splicer )

Single word commands work the best with low end Voice Recognition(VR) and the limited vocabulary allows for fairly short VR training ( where you say the word like 5 times and the system analyzes and customizes its pattern matching to get a very high word recognition probability >99% ). Another option for a command system like this is to give your 'Team' members distinct names ( single word ), and use that input to select who you are issuing an order to ( you don't have to point at them with your aiming 'reticule' ).

There would be a command word assignment interface similar to the Key binding in options.

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MMORPG Player Conveniences :

Realism for Movement would be part of the game, but some things can be done to minimize wasting Player time. 'Get Around' the 'World' without much Player effort -- While Player is paying attention to other routine/mundane management/status stuff. Players don't have unlimited Play Time, so you prefer to have them where they want to be without excessive in-game delays.

Your Character moving to some location ( prepositioned ) while you are offline (using safe 'established' routes ). Various routine locations would be pre-mapped.

NPC 'Guides' that takes you to a place ( not Teleporting, but traversing a 'routine' path to a place/location ), while you can be busy issuing 'Team' orders/checking projects statuses, checking messages and bulletin boards/newspapers, etc...

A decent (and customizable) MAP system to facilitate all this ( probably with movement logs also )

NPC 'Team' that carry out 'Projects' while you aren't Online ( also fetch things, make preparations and meet at X for Missions ). NPCs that move stuff (like loot) while you are "offline"

Have (Your and NPC) Equipment sets pre-designated ( I wish they had this in the original X-Com ), preset by the Player for (quick) 'switching' roles, without alot of interface 'elbow grease' being required over and over (and over).

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There is No 'Stop Time' in the MMORPG :

It was too easy a loophole to have combat stop while you accessed a Vending machines ( including buying more Health-kits while a baddie was beating on you - The 'Hacking' in BS2 was better about that too ). Stop time doesn't happen in MMORPGs, and some substitution of equivalent immunities would be unchallenging ( It is a design issue as to what extent 'AFK'/Logouts/ConDrops should be facilitated ). Player loopholes like logging out just before you die ( run out of HP ) won't be needed when the MMORPG is less fatal and other strange things happen for results ( and will have happened when you log back on ). Many Online games didn't go to the trouble of figuring out when you got disconnected ( or the common network/server-slowdowns/The-Lag-Monster ) and you just got killed off as baddies just kept beating on you while you could do nothing.

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Wanted (for MMORPG) - Targets to Destroy :

Since Splicers are now to be 'Saved', and Big Daddies things are to be pitied, what else might we have NOW to 'blow to smithereens' without having to be concerned with 'disabling the target' and 'disturbing its psyche' or 'Offending the Faction' ?

Various mutant vermin - Rats, bats and cats ( and biggest roaches you ever did see ... )

Insane robots ( who knows what kind of things crazy Splicer Scientists/technicians/hobbyists might come up with that you might run into )

Cobbled together equivalents of the Security devices ( we could have MMORPG contests for imaginative creations of these )

Denziens of the Deep ( the ADAM may have effected them also to produce real monsters and not just the natural ones )

Agents from the Surface - Nazis are always a favorite bad guys to slaughter mercilessly

Criminals of various flavors

Since now we are no longer alone ( in the game, in New Rapture ) and better organized, the City will encourage is Citizens to be trained in the use of weapons. Training facilities ( at a modest cost ) will be made available to any interested Citizen, and will include live-fire at 'realistic' targets with many types of both lethal and non-lethal weapons.

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Leaky Rapture - How Do All Those Cigarettes We See Survive (Hermetically Sealed Packages ?) :

Even 20 years later, all those Rapture dwellers haven't been able to kick the habit, and Tobacco ( or a genetically modified producer of some kind ) is still grown somewhere in Rapture. ( Just like there's always more Booze - But who says the bottles haven't been refilled with homemade stuff dozens of times ... )

Good question is : What happens to all the stuff our MMORPG adventurers carry when they inevitably get wet/soaked.

Ordinary New Rapture items vs Water-proofed explorer/adventurer supplies ( miners food buckets, oilskins/slickers/macintoshes ) etc ...

Better get yourself some good waterproof containers or suffer the consequences. Bandoleers, gun belts, etc...

Spoilage by other means - Things burn/break, are wrecked by explosions, circuits fried, etc... Don't worry, the Splicers have exactly the same problems. That will be something different : Guns jamming and misfiring, and being used as a blunt instrument after it is realized ( Remember the Sergeant in "Saving Private Ryan" throwing his helmet at the German ... )

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No Lame 'Endless Player Leveling' System For This Bioshock MMORPG -- NO Player LEVELS

There are no areas bound to ranges of Player character/avatar 'levels' ( There are no general Player character levels ).

There are things Players, if they can't handle, should run away from/avoid ( Now reasons to sneak around obstacles ... challenging more Players skills )

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The MMORPG will be a system of Individual skill increments gained by doing activities and training. A flatter "get something useful done" experience curve would eliminate the dim grinding that players in other games HAVE to do. There will be many skills, instead of basing ability on a few generalized traits/stats. That would include specific tasks/actions ( a mechanism similar to the 'FORMULA' system used for Crafting/Fabrication that spells out required sets of skills and effect on probabilities ). NPC 'Team' members would use a similar development system. This skill system relies more on what the players learn is appropriate to do, than on (overly and overly) repetitive use of simple actions with fancy names which mostly all have the same result ( That is OK for lame MMORPGs where you have little real variation/choice of actions to do from one end to the other - but NOT for THIS one ).

Also there will be no feeble 'level-appropriate' content. which renders large world areas worthless/off-limits to players at any point in time ( Nasties/Enemies standing there and ignoring you if you are 'too high' is one of the stupidest things I've seen in current MMORPGs ). And none of that "Too high a level difference and they kill you in seconds " rubbish, which is so artificial - Intended to control/direct Players access to a fixed path with 'grindy' level-centric content.

This game will be constant discovering new places and things ( and things to do ) all the time, and not just the same old crap with different names/look and higher Hitpoints.

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Stats

You should NOT have to 'Look it up on the Internet' to try to figure out what advantage a Character 'Stat' (of whatever) has for you. Plain disclosure/visualization to avoid wasting a Players time. Helped by having the MMORPG be FAR less reliant on 'Stats' than on Player Skill/Knowledge/Cleverness.

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The Amusing Rumor System - Create a Rumor Via A NPC and See What Happens :

Rumor is passed between NPCs ( might be an amusement/popular rating made by players that reinforces the recommunication ). Newpapers are infamous for printing many such unsubstantiated 'rumors'. Vetting for invalid/prohibited content would be enforced ( and is traceable to the source ).

The 'rumor' would be in text form ( unless the MMORPG comes up with a phonetic based voice synthesis ) with 'talk bubbles' over NPC's heads. Standard voice clip lead-ins might still be employed ( there aught to be a large number of those ).

All those City Ex-Splicers need something to say ( like the GTA^[5] snippets that fill in alot of ambient walker/crowd activities )

Splicers likewise 'talk amongst themselves' when secretly observed and we can always use more variations.

Years ago I came up with a text-mutator ( a simple script language ) that can (easily) vary 'canned' NPC dialog text with optional/substitution wordings/phrases ( and context fill-ins) that can greatly vary (via combinatorics) the resulting text, to avoid (a bit) the repetitiveness you see in too many games ).

Similarly : a Graffiti system to randomly place odd graffiti would help fill in details in and out of the City.

Hand-drawn images can be generated ( for Pictograms as well as textual content ). With 'graffiti fonts' these can also be auto-generated as filler details. A players 'company' (his gang of 'Team' NPCs and his business interests may have an informal 'mark' to place in their territory ( Splicer gangs/factions have a similar use ).

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NPC Filler Conversations (Not So Random) :

"Markov^[6] processes can also be used to generate superficially real-looking text given a sample document.

"Markov" references an option tree methodology of pattern matching/building ( often used in AI ). Probability along with logic to select appropriate context branches can be used to generate adequate verbiage or background conversations.

When banter is going on between NPCs at a distance ( where you don't hear it clearly ), the dialog only need be accurate flavor to the situational context. The Audio Quality also need not be in 'high detail' mode. At sufficient distance the word need not be discernible which can save effort of having it make sense.

This would be a bit more sophisticated than the 'one-liners' which games like GTA used for all the NPCs they have milling about in the game world. ( Random one-liner often responded to by an adjacent NPC with another random one-liner ).

The 'good stuff' can be saved for when the player is near enough to hear clearly and can be pertinent directly to the game situation and flow of activities. Appropriate gestures and other actions would be needed.

You definitely don't want the conversations to be repetitive, so there has to be alot of content of various sorts and appropriate to any situation present. ( You shouldn't be hearing a vendor shouting "Get Your Hotdogs" or someone saying "Goodday Citizen" in the middle of a Splicer chase in the Town Center ).

Bothersome NPCs following you around yapping at you continuously ( ie- The Beggars in Ultima Online ) should be avoided.

Its a bit different than in the BioShock games where mostly NPCs are 'staged' talking ( cluing you into their presence ) so that you can prepare to kill them.

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Open-Ended Results of Actions :

Memorable game events for Players when something spectacular suddenly happens as a result of something more mundane/ordinary in an activity/action.

Usually (in such a system) there is a table of special events to match specific types of interaction which is invoked rarely (like 1 in 100). Some such systems being "open ended", where if a further random hits another threshold additional (critical) magnitudes of effect would result.

The results usually are choreographed ( special Animation Assets ... ) to match the specific interaction and situation. Logic/programming is needed to interpret the situation to decide what things are to happen (how it fits into the ambient setting).

But this is the kind of thing where imagination is key for development, and I would want this aspect of the game to be able to be added to via Player Created Assets -- done by Players who are qualified game-mechanics programmer level of competency - though suggestions and ideas could be composed by lesser mortals and sub assets like special effects/sounds/amusing reaction verbiage of NPCs could be farmed out (collaboration) to 'Creators' of many ability levels.

With a complex game world, there would be lots of tables for specific interactions. lots of logic. Getting a consistent coverage of all activities might take a while ( there WILL be Players who will do this ). Added with time the game could continuously keep getting 'new things' the Players never saw before (surprise and novelty ...)

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Fancy Footwork In the Game :

The MMORPG's Terrain would be more complex - requiring additional motions (command/controls).

You would see yourself maneuver from the first person point-of-view ( activating too many 'fancy moves' is problematic, may have to be automatic/adaptive ).

You can generally see your Team NPCs' moves ( and other Players you are near - within 'veiw' ).

Splicers certainly could be more versatile.

Player Created 'moves' ... ( Figure Animation sequences - lots of refining by those Players with expertise/aptitude and eye for properly realistic motions. )

Skill-based for the 'Intentionals' ( versus Clumsy/Unfortunate 'moves' which will be just as 'fancy' ).

Alot of scripting/logic is part of implementing this, as the 'moves' are limited/restricted by terrain and actions of any 'active'/non-passive objects. ( It is alot of work to make just static cutscenes, and an on-the-fly implementation of this kind of thing is far more difficult to make work. )

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Climb Interface In "Far Cry 3" - Simplified Obstacle Traversal :

Activation key when you are in trigger area of the climbable object ( "Press Space to Climb" when at ladder ) ...

They only allowed climbing rocks/steep terrain spots in a simple limited way ( many places in the scenery I would have liked to climb and would have accepted greatly slower movement or inability to use weapons etc ... )

In the MMORPG there would be more obstacles than in the BioShock Solo games ( which were pretty much 2D runner games ).

Some maze-like puzzles climbing up/jumping down ( the radio towers in 'FarCry 3' were interesting, and the idea could be greatly expanded upon ). Combinatoric building blocks (Templated) of such obstacles to greatly vary the possible 'maze'.

Generalized mechanism that makes more things climbable ( without special climb spots in the terrain ) -- scrambling up slopes, etc ... Probably would need more flexible ability to do something while climbing

Climbing risks 'falling' and 'injuring'. Skill based, Equipment based modifiers.

Possible use of 'Climbables' for defensive ( for and against Player ) potentially in Combat Situations ( ie - barriers very useful against a Splicer 'Zerg Rush' ).

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Machines Are a Little More Breakable In MMORPG :

It was a limitation of the BiosShock Solo games that many machines were not breakable (or Hackable) and this would be different in the MMORPG. It might have added something to the game to make you try to avoid combat near machines you might need to use ( we saw how combat next to Health Stations wrecked them ). Many machines you now find will already be in that broken state from lack of maintenance, various violence or environmental damage.

At least in this game, you have a chance to repair them. Supplies for the machines also can be 'run out' ( meaning you have to find some and reload it ). The City pays for such repaired machines to be moved within its boundaries for the use of its Citizens.

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Game Law #1 - No Locking Out Content by Stupid Timing/Twitch-based Minigames :

I always wondered why "GTA San Andreas" (PC version) never got 'Patched' to get around some bothersome buggy missions they had in that game. I remember the Game's 'Press the button to the music' activities ... easy to do with a Console Controller joystick, but really hard on a normal computers Keyboard - AND THEN the 'Port' ( program conversion from Console to PC ) did NOT 'sync up' properly to the 'timed events' on the screen/sound ( which the Player was reacting to ). It was VERY bothersome/frustrating ^[7] to have to do the same lame FAULTY activity a dozen times just to get to the next Mission in the 'arc').

Was it simple careless greed to allow such a BAD 'Port' ( doing the least work possible to maximize $$$ ) to be given to Players ??? Particularly when they sold millions of additional copies (on the PC) ?? Simply loosening some Timing Thresholds (in the code) would have been sufficient, or even a SIMPLE BYPASS option to get past particularly bothersome 'Missions'. If they had proper Playtesters reporting this issue, the management didn't seem to feel it necessary to 'fix' the problem

There were numerous other similar (buggy) issues^[8] ( all in the 'canned' mission scenarios ) where there had been little/no adjustment made between using a Console Controller and the game PC 'Port' having the Player do the same control commands on a PC Keyboard ( which simply did not operate the way the game was originally coded ).

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It ALSO would have been a nice feature if (in that game ) you could revisit certain Missions ( with no gain except the challenge/fun of trying different things/tactics ^[9] ). Perhaps there should be a Scenario Saver for the MMORPG, which would allow a Player to recreate a particular game situation anytime (and as many times as) they wanted to. The modular and 'create on-the-fly' aspect of this game would facilitate that feature.

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Player's Game Gazette :

A gazette collects stats about what the Player does : How many times the Player has used each weapon and skill, how many of each Monster the Player has killed, what the Player's Avatar has eaten, what they have crafted, what they have gathered, the best time for every timed challenge, etc.

The MMORPG would have the typical in-built game tool/mechanism for generating 'Achievements', and such, which are popular with some Players. Additional counters can be added (programmed if useful).

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IDEA : A Remote Way To Play :

Using the Idea of having a Gaming computer located at Home to do the game's heavy graphics processing, and then stream the output to the Player's remote Palmtop/Smartphone/Tablet. Some segments of the game might have less/simpler input interactions workable for these types of handheld hardware, and also could have activities requiring mostly watching output, where this input limitation could be workable.

Consider that : Many of the simpler handheld devices cannot even do proper typing operations ( very tedious for sending meaningful messages ), and doubtless having many other limitations.

Upline bandwidth limitations (from the Home-based machine) would likely be still be present, so GOOD Video Compression ( for the processed graphical views ) would be a logical addition. ( Unfortunately the Internet providers may restrict upstream/upline bandwidth availability even more in future. )

This Remote method is also fraught with the problems of your remote management/control of the system ( when things on Internetz and Operating Systems go wrong all-the-time, and here you are remotely attempting to fix those things - usually it taking forever -- and having the Player swear it is not worth the wasted time ).

Initially it can be setup (computer turned on) with the Player starting it up at 'Home', and then leaving with further accesses being via the handheld. Various 'smart' server features can be used to self-monitor, and 'restart' a floundering system to get around the most common system glitches.

-

Practicalities ? Handheld machines ARE getting better, so are Internet Connections and certainly the Home Computers...

--- --- ---

'Zerg Rush' on Loot :

Getting Loot ... THEN you have to keep it.

So you have neutralized a Splicer and are about to loot his lair ( or what there is of it or just his shopping cart/wheel barrow or backpack ), but all the other denizens of the area, smelling opportunity' descend like locusts onto the 'stash'. So you'd better be quick, cuz stuff disappears quickly and the other Splicers might not be above various dirty tricks to allow THEM to obtain your hard worked-for goodies. Guard yourself and don't become too intent/focused on that pretty loot, that's when they will strike !

Keeping other players from doing the same thing is an eternal problem for multiplayer games and frequently require 'immersion breaking' game mechanisms/interfaces. Server Bubbles control 'out of group opportunists, Sandbox (open) situations perhaps just will require vigilance and generic loot.

Intra-group 'grabbing' by other expedition Players firstly would be controlled by just not letting greedy people into ones playing associations ( though that doesn't bode well for 'pickup' groups which unfortunately are common ).

--- --- --- --- ---

↑ One of the Early MMORPGs
↑ From "The Omega Glory" episode of the original Star Trek
↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning_chamber - the 'skinner box' that Suchong mentions in-game
↑ A MAcro is a user defined operation which is something that is repeatedly reused and thus becomes a SHORTCUT - used when that repeated operation is wanted to be done
↑ Grand Theft Auto
↑ See Markov chain
↑ To the Point I would have : Smacked whatever manager's ( who made the decision to leave it like that ) head against the wall over and over for so carelessly abusing the Players that way.
↑ (NOTE - I played it in the final version years later when ALL possible patching was completed - So they had plenty of time to do whatever they would (and DIDN'T).
↑ Apparently later GTA games they DID add the 'redo' of mission ability.)

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End of : * Game Mechanisms *

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[1] One of the Early MMORPGs

[2] From "The Omega Glory" episode of the original Star Trek

[3] ttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning_chamber - the 'skinner box' that Suchong mentions in-game

[4] A MAcro is a user defined operation which is something that is repeatedly reused and thus becomes a SHORTCUT - used when that repeated operation is wanted to be done

[5] Grand Theft Auto

[6] See Markov chain

[7] To the Point I would have : Smacked whatever manager's ( who made the decision to leave it like that ) head against the wall over and over for so carelessly abusing the Players that way.

[8] (NOTE - I played it in the final version years later when ALL possible patching was completed - So they had plenty of time to do whatever they would (and DIDN'T).

[9] Apparently later GTA games they DID add the 'redo' of mission ability.)

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

THE MMORPG MECHANISMS (GAME MECHANICS)

Sitemap :

See also Player_Activities

See also Standard_Possessions and Tools

See also Interfaces

See also Player_Chat_System

See also Game Economy

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THE MMORPG MECHANISMS (GAME MECHANICS)

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See also Player_Activities See also Standard_Possessions and Tools See also Interfaces See also Player_Chat_System See also Game Economy

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WHY DO I BOTHER ?

Because I WANT computer games to be better than what we typically get from the Game Industry, and perhaps by pointing out ClapTrap like BioShock Infinite, strong criticisms being voiced might serve to SHAME the makers of such substandard games, and MIGHT cause them to DO BETTER in Future.

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See also Player_Activities

See also Standard_Possessions and Tools

See also Interfaces

See also Player_Chat_System

See also Game Economy

End of : * Game Mechanisms *

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