This is to be a living document. It describes the motivation and design principles for an open source multiplayer video game.
Games are important. Really, really important. It's just hard to overstate how mindbogglingly important games are. Humans have been engaged in the creating and playing of games since the dawn of creation. Every animal small and large also engages in play of some kind. Some theorize that a lion cub's play prepares it for the hunt, sharpening it's skills so that it may fend for itself one day. However, a cub that is denied play doesn't become a less effective hunter, but rather an asocial adult.
Games are an essential part of socialization. Games do more than challenge our intellect. Through games we learn how to interact with our peers. Games teach us to be human. They are just too damned important to be owned wholly by for profit organizations.
- Content designed to be social. Players Have to rely on each others unique abilities to progress.
- Classless system centered on weapon wielding
- No minimap, or mapping is a player skill. For GPS a spell must be cast.
- emergent gameplay
- Persistent single instance Multiplayer Sandbox
- A elected governing body and voting system
- decentralized currency
- Generalized tooling for remixing game systems. Make it easy to add a new skill tree for fishing or a new weapon, or w/e.
- core gameplay that is fun on it's own (mining in worlds adrift, swinging a hammer in dauntless, gun play in destiny)
- joining your friends for group content without allowing people to teleport all over your world
Currency and prices are outside the control of the governing body.
This could be it's own essay.
This idea may be a stinker, and may create a pay to win scenario that cannot be fixed.