Great article from Fast Company on the U.S. Navy and Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) gaming trying to solve the problem of piracy on the waterways such as near Somalia.

I’m seeing more and more examples of the gaming and real worlds crossing over in cases like this.

The connection of two EA events seems to be causing a stir of another Ultima MMO. Not much to go on really but please let it be sandbox style if it’s really on the go. Certainly Ultima has a fanbase but would badly need something fresh to keep alive in the market. I wonder where Lord British or what kind of replacement will fit in with this, if at all.

complex, post apocalyptic sandbox MMO which will only get better

Xsyon, by indy business Notorious Games lead by Jordi Grau Davis is a Massive Multiplayer Online (MMO) game. As such, it is designed for large numbers of people to interact on. It is a complex sandbox game with a post apocalyptic setting. There’s resources to gather and make things with, a basic needs system (think the Sims), a crafting system which is coming along nicely as well as all the usual MMO content, namely people, a chat system, fighting, movement and so on.

Xsyon, like most MMOs, has social connections ranging from personal to tribal and wider. Also adding to the game’s positive nature is that it is a sandbox game, thus encouraging open creativity. You can build, modify terrain and deplete resources. There’s some scope for learning as well from its reality-based terrain and the crafting system. Xsyon is also a rapidly changing game with quite a lot of innovation built-in.

This first thing to know about Xsyon is that it is very much under development. There are changes every day. Most MMOS change quite a bit over time, after all that is part of the service you are paying for. However, Xsyon is brand new at pre-launch and is just getting started at the Prelude phase which is the simplest one as the beginning of things after the Apocalypse. It is also more or less beta as features are added, improved and bugs ironed out. Later on there will be more complex phases. The pre-launch beta state ends soon and that’s easy to see from the glaring bugs being rapidly squashed.

The other thing to know about Xsyon is the feature list. Really. The original list is what hooked a large number of pedantic and jaded gamers like myself to dare to be excited. The list was so close to our wish lists for a game, it was a bit of a shock and naturally, since the game hadn’t been made at the time, there was an enormous dollop of scepticism.

Most of those features are implemented! The current feature list is what has been implemented so far. This includes things like dynamic environments, natural creature spawning, free economy, a skill basis (rather than level based like WoW) and a workable item system with decay. It’s a good idea to check the list out for yourself as it’s quite extensive.

By now it should be clear that Xsyon is complex and it helps to be socially connected with others who know how things work. Joining a tribe is an obvious way to do this. Ultimately that’s where the fun starts, after all an MMO is supposed to be about having fun interacting with other people. A situation which many MMOs seem to actively avoid!

Xsyon’s graphics are presentable, not top notch but not really lacking either. There’s two good things to mention. The panoramic views are more natural due to the use of real world topography. This is lake Tahoe which lies on the border of California and Nevada, USA. Also, though this game is post apocalyptic, it is not like Fallout’s dreary deserts where one has to shoot a wastelander just to see some colour. Xyson is a land rich with colour and life still.

Xsyon has bugs and there’s plenty of scope for improvement. Perhaps the most irritating thing is really quite silly. You have to log in twice. Once at the launcher and once in game. Xsyon is also a bit low on content right now due to its new nature. As such that detracts from its value. I don’t expect that problem to continue though.

Xsyon runs on Windows only and there are no plans to roll out further at this stage.

Xsyon is available for $US40 from their website as a preorder which includes early access and 2 months extra play.

Game : 3/5   Positive:

SecondLife is one of the most remarkable Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) games I’ve ever played. I’ve played quite a few too. In many ways it’s like what the Sims Online should have been only better.

Better because it’s more freedom oriented and not nearly so slow and also better because anyone can contribute to creation in the game world. Therefore it has a plethora of objects, clothes, houses etc and if you’re not happy with it you can make your own.

To some people calling it a game is unwarranted and they take the idea of it being a true second life quite seriously but most people are more casual participants. To those that desire this rebirth into a new digital life there’s an escapism experience that is relatively rich compared to anything I’ve seen before, the closest being Project Entropia. In a sense this is a bit like the Matrix and in many ways even more insane. For the severe escapism naturally attracts people with issues who want to leave them behind to be happy.

There are actually quite a few things to do in SecondLife (SL) and I’ve given a few of them a whirl myself. Anybody who is at least slightly aware of this MMO knows that the optional sexual element is very strong in it. Let’s face it, it’s a risk-free way to explore any fantasy you like, even ones which are simply not physically possible on this planet. But you know once you pass 18 or so sex can’t really fill the whole day any more, can it?

To alarmists it would seem sex is all there is on SecondLife but actually the main activity is social networking. It’s like a 3d Facebook really letting you connect and chat and share with other people online either anonymously or matching the real you.

Another thing many do is shopping. Both sides of the coin. Which means buying the stuff other people make as well as selling the stuff you make and actually creating it and the shops you flog it off in. In case you didn’t know already everything bought in game is done so with ‘Lindens’ which are currency exchange matched with real US dollars. The shopping is truly extensive. In some ways even more than the real deal on Planet Earth. The marketing ideas I’ve seen are really rather advanced.

There’s also exploring which I enjoy thoroughly because I like to see the clever, flashy or beautiful things people can create in such a medium. And I have indeed seen some wonders. Holodecks, theme parks, a model of a computer, hypnotism balls and a remarkable project showing you how a schizophrenic experiences life. These are just a few.

There’s a strong presence of education here and even some real employment. I haven’t delved into that such. So far it seems to me the education aspect is too quiet and they are building it up in the hope of bigger things to come. A kind of online classes experience where you can become educated anytime anywhere.

During my time I’ve also delved into religion which has long been of interest to me. Many are represented. Universal Unitarianism, Paganism, Wicca, Christianity in various forms, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism for example. These are seriously spiritual places where people attend services, pray, preach, meditate and connect to others of their religion, especially where the religion is not locally popular enough for real life interaction. Some of the places of worship are spectacular.

There’s also quite a strong presence of dances and DJs. The dancing is naturally clever animations, no sweat broken but the DJ activity is real, streamed live via the internet.

However for me it’s true like the Sims there’s a point where it gets too shallow and boring and real life beckons. I have no idea where things will go for me in SecondLife but I can say without doubt that it’s been one of my most fascinating experiences.

Update: This review was originally done before the move to positive entertainment.  Not all of these games are positive entertainment.

Game : 3½/5   Positive:

The only misgivings I have on such a high postive rating is the intense commercial nature of the game and the repetition it can be.  However, proactive exploring greatly helps in this regard.

What if World War II was an online multiplayer game?