MMO neophyte designs MMO by himself
by Kyle Orland 
{ Aug 17th 2006 at 1:55PM }
Gavan H. Woolery isn't letting his inexperience with massively-multiplayer games stop him from designing one. The 24-year old computer programmer from California recently made public Genesis, a game that aims to be the "first truly dynamic massively-multiplayer online game." Woolery spent the last two years designing Genesis on his own, despite his admission that he has "never played a MMOG in my life."Though the game is still a work in progress, a video demo shows some impressively powerful yet intuitive world-creation tools being used. Creation is the focus of the game, in which characters will have "the power to create or destroy any aspect of your environment." Users will supply all the content in Project Genesis (a la Second Life) and users' actions will supposedly "reshape living conditions, political structures, economies, ecosystems, and all other aspects of the world," (a la Spore).
A bit ambitious for one lone programmer? Perhaps. But since going public, Woolery says he's received support from hundreds of interested parties willing to help with the project. Whether or not it all comes together as planned, it's definitely something to keep an eye on.
[Via Clickable Culture]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Chris @ Aug 17th 2006 2:00PM
1 person made that... WOW!
Tyler @ Aug 17th 2006 2:07PM
That is quite an amazing engine that guy has been able to design, especially considering he did it all himself. I see a bright future for him in the next few years.
Agent MOO @ Aug 17th 2006 2:10PM
Very cool, I'm interested in seeing how this sandbox concept turns out in implementation.
http://agentmoo.com
benjamin @ Aug 17th 2006 2:12PM
One name comes to mind:
Derek Smart, Derek Smart, Derek Smart! Desktop Commander!
ejflex @ Aug 17th 2006 2:24PM
Wow. That's amazing.
Anonymous Hero @ Aug 17th 2006 2:36PM
yeah, seriously. I hope this guy starts another long drawn-out series of flame wars about how his project never lived up to his ambition, was released without his consent, etc. etc.
Blake @ Aug 17th 2006 2:55PM
Wow this looks just awesome. I really hope it comes together, it would be an industry setting benchmark.
greatslack @ Aug 17th 2006 3:15PM
Hmm, I have the feeling that unless he can get this on a portable system, a lot of people won't want anything to do with it simply because it does not have 3D graphics. Sad but true.
Probot @ Aug 17th 2006 3:24PM
@7,
PCs are really the domain for MMOs, so I doubt it'll be on a portable system. In that case, there are no requirements for what needs to be in the game to get it made.
It looks like an incredible amount of planning went into the game. As long as the game stays true to the original vision, it could turn out to be something cool, even if it isn't the first to do it.
I AM DEREK SMART @ Aug 17th 2006 3:32PM
@#5: No one understands Derek Smart's vision! This young upstart will never outshine Derek Smart!
TopaZ @ Aug 17th 2006 3:39PM
Boy, we could use something like this in PC first-person-shooter level designers. So far, only Cube comes close, but the graphics are so antiquated.
Johnny Hundo @ Aug 17th 2006 4:00PM
Any relation to Chuck?
We'll be back in 2 and 2.
WizarDru @ Aug 17th 2006 4:19PM
greatslack said: "Hmm, I have the feeling that unless he can get this on a portable system, a lot of people won't want anything to do with it simply because it does not have 3D graphics."
Uhh...did you actually WATCH the film? It WAS in 3D. With a really nice lighting engine, too.
32_footsteps @ Aug 17th 2006 6:16PM
You know, unless all other MMO games stayed the same no matter what you did with them, I truly doubt this will be the first dynamic game. But let's not let a mastery of the dictionary stand in anyone's way.
My gut instinct is that the Derek Smart references will be more and more apt as time goes on.
boneyard @ Aug 18th 2006 3:55AM
nice for sure, but he certainly should explore the mmorpg genre or have people doing that. there are many mistakes that shouldn't have to be repeated.
matjet @ Aug 18th 2006 4:56AM
crap.
this guy stole my game idea.
grrrr. arg, dam.
now what..
Elethiomel @ Aug 18th 2006 6:07AM
When designing a large game just by yourself, this is most probably the smartest - or only - way to go about it. Make the engine, and design it to be user-modifiable so it can, as the article says, have content added by users. Content creation is definitely the most arduous process in game development, so letting the userbase do that makes it possible for one person to make a game.