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Wendel Gascoigne · 10-01-2008, 08:48 AM

Eurogamer has got a 3 page preview of the Otherland MMO in development in Singapore and with the help of Tad Williams. From what I read, it sounds like they are trying to follow the ideas of the book quite closely. Back when I joined SL, I had read Otherland and not Snowcrash. So this is the kind of mesh of virtual worlds and user generated content I was hoping to see.

Quote:

You start the game as one of those consciousnesses in a place called the Land of the Lost, a nightmare scenario which you're trying to escape. You'll run, be killed, and reborn in a "baby" state as a simple, low-rent sim (though we suspect the game won't be using that term, for obvious reasons) - a blank, featureless avatar that can be male, female or even neither.
'Otherland' Screenshot 2

As you increase in power, you learn to manipulate the appearance and properties of yourself and the world around you, and you learn to work with the "code" that underlies and defines everything in the Otherland multiverse (well, it's one hell of a rationale for levelling up). Only then will you be able to take on a more defined appearance, and this could blend you in with your surroundings, or express your wildest imaginings.

On rebirth, you'll arrive in what Real U calls "a chunk of real estate", a virtual space that becomes your own and that you'll return to in order to rebuild yourself - from scratch, but via shortcuts - every time you "die" in Otherland. This is connected to the game's hub, a neon-edged, Bladerunner-style virtual shopping and entertainment complex called Lambda Mall.

Lambda Mall will be the social centrepiece of Otherland, and provide its most scattershot, lightweight and casual gaming. Real U doesn't want the fractured nature of the setting to lead to a fractured game - the largely co-operative massively multiplayer gameplay will be the same across most of its realities - but in Lambda Mall, it is indulging itself in an orgy of minigames. Bars and shops with names like Alien Sex Friend host simple games with online leaderboards - we're shown a rhythm-action dance game in a miniature club where every avatar is shrunk to two inches tall. Real U promises 50 or 60 of these for the finished game.

These social areas also act as a stealth lobby system, where "hosts" will cross-reference players' data, and suggest quests in Otherland's multiple realities to them. Most quests will be set by NPCs, and have risks associated with failure - a reluctance on the NPC's part to offer it again, for example. But there will be player-generated quests too, which you'll be able to charge an in-game fee for access to, in a sort of lottery system.

Read more in the preview. The many screenshots certainly look cool and different from the usual MMO fare.

Here is the official press release: Otherland // Press Release

Personally, Otherland has always been a kind of ideal for virtual worlds to reach since I read the books in the 90ies. Whether they can do it justice will be interesting to see.

Quote:

Real U is only showing one world off at the moment. Mars - or rather, some Otherland characters' fictional, virtual interpretation of the red planet - is an ornate steampunk-cum-sci-fi world with Asian and North African overtones. There's a huge tower containing a labyrinthine Bazaar marketplace, sky-barges sailing around, beautiful aliens reclining in otherworldly gazebos.

It's alluring enough, but we're hoping - and to be fair, expecting - that the full range of worlds in Otherland will provide much more striking stylistic variations from the MMO norm. Some of the teasing hints we get include Egyptian mythology, contemporary settings, cartoons and a "wind tunnel" world, and it's noted that, these being virtual spaces, physics can vary hugely from one world to the next. That's not all - each world's rules are entirely defined by its owner, so in some, combat may not be possible at all. There will also be another space, outside of the worlds, where there will be a reason for player-versus-player conflict - but Real U refuses to be drawn on the details.

It's currently due for release on the PC in 2010 though. So no need to hold our breath.

Also:

Quote:

The potential for expanding the Otherland universe is, naturally, also limitless. Williams' books contain enough raw material for years of game content, but he's ready and willing to expand the story beyond them. "This is my sequel," the author says. There will be a "post-story" game, after you've completed the phases of the existing worlds, where players could actually amass enough wealth to become the world-running evil in the system. User-generated content, anyone?

Oh, and if you haven't read Tad Williams' Otherland yet, what are you waiting for?

Wendel

Ayu Sura · 10-01-2008, 10:56 AM

They're great books

Thick, though!

Phant Nabob · 10-01-2008, 04:06 PM

WOW, just... wow. This is quite an undertaking. I will be eagerly awaiting any more news on this. For anyone who has never read the series, DO IT. It is even more relevant to virtual worlds than Snowcrash(mind you, I love snowcrash). Tad Williams really showed an ability to write something other than fantasy with these books, and he deftly weaves a tapestry of plotlines together in a way few authors can manage.

Cindy Claveau · 10-02-2008, 10:56 AM

Otherland ranks as one of my all-time favorite fantasy/sci-fi series ever.

This could be incredible if they implement it correctly!

Tranquility · 10-02-2008, 11:39 AM

Otherworld was definitely a good story, but a bit too drawn out for my tastes (should have been a trilogy at most). It will be very interesting to see what the MMO turns out to be. User generated content is nice and all, but the problem is that the really good user content can be difficult to find (think about how much crap is out there in SL for every good designer). I wonder if there will be a rating system (preferably by the devs).

Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is still my favorite Tad Williams series. Shadowmarch is good too, but for the life of me, I cannot remember if I read the second book or not...I guess I will see if the library has it.

Edav Nomad · 10-02-2008, 02:49 PM

I tried to read the first book, but just couldn't really get into it.

Here are some early screenshots:

Big Download Blog

10-01-2008, 10:56 AM	#2 (permalink)
Ayu Sura nom nom nom is about to num on some cherries Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: under the sea Posts: 2,919 My Mood:	They're great books Thick, though! __________________ "The hammer is my penis."

10-02-2008, 10:56 AM	#4 (permalink)
Cindy Claveau Favorite color: clear What Sarah said! Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 7,406 SL Join Date: May, 2005 My Mood: Awards: 1	Otherland ranks as one of my all-time favorite fantasy/sci-fi series ever. This could be incredible if they implement it correctly! __________________ "Treble is for pussies." - Saints Row 2 DJ

10-02-2008, 02:49 PM	#6 (permalink)
Edav Nomad King Edav I Nomadicstan or bust!! Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: L.A. (Lower Alabama) Posts: 2,569 SL Join Date: June 12, 2003 XBOX Leaderboard: 3^rd My Mood:	I tried to read the first book, but just couldn't really get into it. Here are some early screenshots: Big Download Blog __________________ "Please do not nuzzle the instrument of my vengeance." - Rok'tar

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10-01-2008, 04:06 PM	#3 (permalink)
Phant Nabob Gentletiger of Note Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Inside a tophat Posts: 60 My Mood:	WOW, just... wow. This is quite an undertaking. I will be eagerly awaiting any more news on this. For anyone who has never read the series, DO IT. It is even more relevant to virtual worlds than Snowcrash(mind you, I love snowcrash). Tad Williams really showed an ability to write something other than fantasy with these books, and he deftly weaves a tapestry of plotlines together in a way few authors can manage.

10-02-2008, 11:39 AM	#5 (permalink)
Tranquility Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 379 My Mood:	Otherworld was definitely a good story, but a bit too drawn out for my tastes (should have been a trilogy at most). It will be very interesting to see what the MMO turns out to be. User generated content is nice and all, but the problem is that the really good user content can be difficult to find (think about how much crap is out there in SL for every good designer). I wonder if there will be a rating system (preferably by the devs). Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn is still my favorite Tad Williams series. Shadowmarch is good too, but for the life of me, I cannot remember if I read the second book or not...I guess I will see if the library has it.