Uru Re-imagined: Food for thought

[Lyrositor]

I don't like dreaming of what Uru could have been, because I know I can't make it happen. No matter how great the concept, it takes someone to implement it (which, now that I think of it, is more or less what Linus Torvalds said in an interview recently). I like some of your ideas (though, like others, combat is not for me; the factions seem a bit forced too), but they would require an unusually large amount of time dedicated to implementing them - if it's even possible, due to legal restraints.

So... can you implement all this?

[Wamduskasapa]

Anymore it seems as if everyone has become desensitized to the violence that is so prevalent within our world, as long as it is happening to others.

But how would you feel if your spouse was rammed and killed by a drunk driver??

How would you feel if you had ribs busted because some drugged out idiot needed a few dollars for their next hit??

Or what about partying with your best friend one night and then the next morning holding him in your arms as his blood bathed you and his body grew cold??

Would you still enjoy the sensations of watching the blood, guts and gore after experiencing all of this??

Believe me I don't, for it brings on crying sprees and nightmares...

I want a game that allows me to escape from my wheelchair, to be able to jump, climb, run and walk like everyone else and a world to explore with people to associate with.
Truely is that too much to ask for??..

[Gwyn H]

Anymore it seems as if everyone has become desensitized to the violence that is so prevalent within our world, as long as it is happening to others.

But how would you feel if your spouse was rammed and killed by a drunk driver??

How would you feel if you had ribs busted because some drugged out idiot needed a few dollars for their next hit??

Or what about partying with your best friend one night and then the next morning holding him in your arms as his blood bathed you and his body grew cold??

Would you still enjoy the sensations of watching the blood, guts and gore after experiencing all of this??

Believe me I don't, for it brings on crying sprees and nightmares...

I want a game that allows me to escape from my wheelchair, to be able to jump, climb, run and walk like everyone else and a world to explore with people to associate with.
Truely is that too much to ask for??..

I quite agree with Wamduskasapa. There is far too much violence in this world & I don't want it in a computer game either. I have enjoyed the environment of some other games...
right until some weird creature or in-game thug tried to attack my avatar. I am so impressed with what many have done to make improvements to URU. Let us not add violence to it.

Gwyn

[Sirius]

I was thinking about your concepts this afternoon, and tried to think about something else than "nononono don't let it happen"...

I love RPGs. I love fantasy games. I always thought I should play The Elders Scroll someday. I like these games in which you wave a sword and cast badass spells.
But it doesn't fit with Uru to my mind. Some of your concepts were nice, but it just isn't Uru. I know Uru isn't Myst, but I can't imagine a game in which you can deliberately kill someone (although you would never truly die), and call it a "Myst-based game". Myst is the exact opposite.
I think making of Uru a game in which you have the ability to fight any player would be the worst possible idea.

I would rather poke at the GoW for a year or more to get the Garrishon wall working then escape with a video game that involves a manifestation of what im trying to escape from.

I definitely love the idea of "escaping from reality". People invented games to escape from the routine, and stop worrying about real-life events. Not to be constantly afraid of being killed by someone -bahro or player- while they're trying to solve a puzzle. In other games that's kindof the goal of the game, but not in Myst.

Or what about partying with your best friend one night and then the next morning holding him in your arms as his blood bathed you and his body grew cold??

Don't overdo it... It's just an idea for a game. Maybe a game you wouldn't like, but as said Lyrositor, this is not going to happen anytime soon (nothing happens anytime soon with Uru anyway ). And Myst has horrible things in it too (the way Achenar dies, the corpses in Mechanical) - but it just fits with the plot of two mad brothers.


Your ideas weren't completely bad. It could make a fine game. But I don't think it fits with Uru.
Uru lacks a lot of things (especially danger, where is the thrill of danger you get when some mad guy threatens you with his hammer ?), but combat/PvP is not in any way one of them. Even if PvP is severely punished, having the ability to do it feels wrong.
If I want to play a game in which you can fight with a sword, I'll start a new game of Final Fantasy. If I want to play a sci-fi game with puzzles and crazy physics I'll play a level of Portal. But Uru -and Myst- are for exploration and contemplation.


Ok, I'll try to stop trolling here . This is my point of view, and some people might love your ideas. I don't want to end up in a sterile fight about who's-wrong-and-who's-not.

[gabriml]

Violence should be a non-starter for URU. I even felt that the violence perpetrated against my 'player' in Myst III and MYST IV was over the top. Even though the games had interesting puzzles and and a nice environment I really have no wish to re-play them due to the violent behavior of the characters. Even Escher in Myst V was too in-you-face.

Keep VIOLENCE and pushy behavior far, far from URU.

[Karkadann]

I want a game that allows me to escape from my wheelchair, to be able to jump, climb, run and walk like everyone else and a world to explore with people to associate with.
Truely is that too much to ask for??..

Not at all. I think the none violent format of the Myst Saga is fine the way it is. Granted some of the story in Myst seem to be a bit unusual.
But it makes you use your brain, all you bring is your wits, the only weapon your allowed to have is your mind.
If I wanted a shoot-um-up-dead video game i'll play Bomb Saddam, Baghdad Bowling.
and even then Baghdad bowling nothing sort of hilarious.

Now all we need is some new content to attract more people back.
however all in good time the a down-loadable version of the Garrison wall did not happen over night
I doubt this will

[Yali]

I think you're right, Uru or 'Myst Online:Uru Live' could have been or would be or become 'The Game of the Century' like this ... For the sake of
attracting more explorers, I'd accept the 'soft combat/contest/dispute way' you've proposed if it wasn't mandatory to interact or participate that
way as in other games for any rewards or even to proceed in the game though ...

Awesome elaboration and concept, Yali, thanks for sharing ...

Combat wouldn't be mandatory as I see it, but more of an expected bi-product of the environment and situation that the players dwell in. If the D'ni could own and use weapons, then so could we IMO. Once again, I want to emphasize that combat is not the sole form of gameplay I wish to encourage, but rather a realistic mix of puzzle/adventure and mmorpg mechanics.

[Yali]

Ok, well lets take combat out of the mix for starters since I can sympathize with the viewpoint that it might no fit with Myst.

How else could the game infer a sense of danger or threat? I still think the idea of opposing "factions" (a term which might I add I personally dislike) would provide much of an incentive for roleplay and interesting player dynamics. Look, I think the experience of an MMO should be thrilling and dynamic, not stagnant. Whether or not the game features combat in any way or form to me doesn't take away from the fact that the game experience as a whole should feel dangerous. I want to feel as if the whole fabric of the multiverse is being shaken from the ground up by the events that are happening around me. There needs to be a sense of gravitas.

I don't really envision myself in Uru engaging in acts of violence personally, but the reason why I felt combat seemed an interesting addition was because to me combat could provide the necessary sense of gravitas (emotional weight and realistic sense of danger) that I felt the story of Uru necessitated. Personally I don't play games to escape the world, but rather to better understand and come to terms with the world I live in. I understand that violence is part of our world, and rather than escape it and pretend like it doesn't exist, I study it. To me a game with a bad depiction of violence is one where the violence is either gratuitous or repetitive, which I feel denies the sense of gravitas associated with the concept of violence. I actually find shooters extremely boring for this very reason: there is really no emotional impact one gets from a game like MW3 IMO.

All this to say, I understand where people are coming from. However, what about the other ideas I posited such as player driven economy and no instancing? Or how about the player/actor dynamics with the four sided conflict?

[Wamduskasapa]

As I said originally - I thoroughly enjoyed your ideas on the redesign of URU, it is a well thought out campaign.
The incorporation of 4 different factions and NPC's would be great. Plus, in my opinion, the addition of some "intrigue" would improve the game.

[Karkadann]

they all sound good but instead of violents we could have
competition where the factions get together and compete with one another we have the Garrison wall a soccer field for Minkata
and a few other odds and ends people could get together and use nothing but their wits and problem solving skills