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Showing posts with label MMORPG. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MMORPG. Show all posts

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Bloodlines : An RP Success Story - Seersha Heart Reporting...






            Celebrating eight years in SL, Bloodlines is the largest and the most popular of the vampire RP currently found in SL.  Bloodlines is a MMORPG played completely within the confines of Second Life.  There are people playing as Vampires, Lycans, Hybrids, Humans and Warriors all around other members of Second Life society as they go about their everyday metaverse lives.  This RP game has not only been on the grid since 2008 but has doubled it’s membership and is an ever evolving dynamic MMORPG experience.

            When Bloodlines began in 2008 it was exclusively Vampire only RP [The Thirst].  It is brought to us by a group that was new in game development the time, Liquid Designs.  During the year prior to the release of Bloodlines, Liquid Designs had been making and selling items on Second Life Marketplace.  The most popular items they designed were their vampire accessories.  It was a natural progression for them to investigate and to design RP in this genre.   In a 2009 interview with Wagner James Au, the CEO of Liquid Designs, Mars.Bracken, told him “that the move was because his group sensed a need for goals, structure, and consequences of a RP game to be joined with their products.  He also said it would be an interesting social experiment.  Their group has learned and improved their product through observation of the emergent behavior of the players”.


            Liquid Designs has been very observant.  The Lycan component [The Rage] was released about a year after the initial Vampire release.  Then in 2010 The Human HUD was released, then most recently Bloodlines War HUD.  A player can also participate as a “Hybrid” by using both The Thirst and The Rage HUDs.  Liquid Designs maintains a dynamic website with statistics that may literally change at any time.  The top of the main page displays membership in each group, then lists several accomplishments by player and by family.  There are also Gods, Demigods, Royalty, Bloodline and Blood Wealth on display.  This RP has evolved well beyond the original The Thirst. 

            I caught up with Mars Bracken to talk about where Bloodlines is at the eight year mark to discuss Bloodlines.  I began the questioning first after seeing the statistics of the Blood Doll [The Human] population.  It is over 100 thousand, more than three times the amount of vampires listed.  I was also curious about his thoughts on the growth of the game, which is now double the population it was in 2009.  Joining me now is Mars Bracken:

Seersha Heart: I noticed that Blood Dolls are the greatest population.  What does your team think about that?

Mars Bracken: It’s an interesting development. Since the Vampires and Lycans need victims in order to sustain themselves, a healthy population of Humans or Blood Dolls seems to be a good thing to have. However, it has definitely prompted us to work on more options for the RP; we initially didn’t anticipate such a large Human population, and had originally focused on tools for making the Vampire and Lycan roles possible. It’s been fun to see the game population dynamics change over the years.


Seersha Heart: Has the level [membership] of participation hit a ceiling?  Are new players joining the game?

Mars Bracken: The population is always in flux, but generally those who bow out of the community are replaced by new players interested to join. We’ve had a rash recently of people who originally played in 2009 coming back to participate in the community again, and we still haven’t quite figured out what that’s about. We are having more and larger events now than ever before, so that might have something to do with it.

Seersha Heart:  In 2009, you remarked on the emergent behavior of soul importance becoming prominent.  What emerging behaviors has your team experienced since 2009?

Mars Bracken:  Other than the growth of the Human / Blood Doll population, we’ve definitely seen a shift of priorities. Initially the game was all about getting the most souls or bites, but once we introduced Achievements, the activity in that sector of the game quickly overwhelmed the rest. Admittedly souls and bites are included in some of the achievements, but people definitely seem excited to collect things. In general, with Gacha and Rare items becoming so popular, I’d say that a collector mentality has blossomed in Second Life in general. 

Seersha Heart: You have said that the clan structure has become very complex.  Will you share with me what you mean by complex clans?

Mars Bracken: When we first started the game, there was just Vampires, so clans were homogeneous. Then we created Lycans, then Hybrids, and finally Humans. As each population exploded and then found its equilibrium, the composition of clans changed. We’ve also added Roles which can be assigned, so in addition families becoming less homogeneous and more complex in terms of RP dynamics, they’ve also gotten more intricate in their hierarchies. 


Seersha Heart:  What would you love our readers to know about Bloodlines?  Do you feel Hunger has presented a serious competition?

Mars Bracken: We’re excited about some new releases coming up, but I can’t talk too much about those. I can say that we’re almost done updating our 5 RP sims, and we’re aiming to have a lot more community events there. Also our weekly parties have gotten kind of massive, partly due to the great DJs and our amazing theme artist AnnaMargeaux, and partly because we’re doing Rare item giveaways now. And we've got a Bloodlines University sim where people can come and take classes and learn about the nuances of the game. All of this of course can be found in notices on our blog at http://blog.slbloodlines.com


Seersha Heart:  Thank you for answering my questions and congratulations on the success of Bloodlines.   


Population statistics from the 2009 interview were at approximately 69,000 players with an estimate of 23,000 doing day to day RP.  At the eight year mark there are slightly more than 157,000 players  [Vampires 33K, Lycans 6K, Humans 102K and Hybrids 17K] assuming the same relative relationship that would be an estimated 52,000 doing day to day RP.  Liquid Designs has every right to be excited as their RP continues to evolve and be not only an aspect of Second Life but a force of Second Life nature.

IMPORTANT LINKS
SLURL:

Twitter: @slbloodlines
Additional help with Bloodlines, please send a notecard to LiquidDesigns Resident

Reporter Sources:



Monday, February 29, 2016

Battle at Cosmos Master




Cosmos Master is a new interactive RPG game within Second Life. Check out this click showing two gamers engaged in battle with onlookers observing the action.


For more information about Cosmos Masters checkout this link Cosmos Master Spotlight Feature


Monday, February 22, 2016

SPOTLIGHT ON COSMOS MASTER-A Universe within Worlds- Interview with creators NAGA LIONHEART & ALDUOUS MCBURLINGTON



Set to Launch on February 23, 2016, Cosmos Master is a unique (MMO RTS RCE RPG) universe within Second Life where multiplayers can engage in battle, mercenary management, crafting and simple strategy.  Players will interact within a vast universe that is the Cosmos; this includes gathering resources from planets. You can also hire and order mercenaries to gather resources for you, level troops as well as monitoring and maintaining health, fuel and pvp. Players can make real money by selling items they produce and put on the Galactic Trade (marketplace).

Creators Alduous McBurglinton  and Naga Lionheart

We caught up with creator Naga Lionheart & Alduous McBurlington to learn more about Cosmos Master.

 
Naga Lionheart
SLE: Cosmos Master is set to launch on February 23, 2016 at 3pm SLT. Can you give our readers some background on what you do and the overall objective of this new RPG?

Naga: We wanted to give SL citizens a FUN game that they can earn lindens; and a solution for SIM Owners to get more traffic at a lower cost.

SLE: That sounds like a fun incentive! To begin, players have to attach a HUD and Spaceship. It might seem overwhelming for a beginner. Can you walk us through  their functions?

Alduous

Ald: Well, the HUD is just like any other standalone MMO-RPG. You got your pages where you can manage your technologies (talents), travel to randomized sims that provide resources to mine from, and interface with the trading system. It's also used for displaying your target's info.

The ship is an interesting dynamic; probably the closest thing to compare it to would be a player-character. Each ship's experience points, fuel, inventory and build are unique to itself. Only technologies and level are constant between ships.

SLE: I met with Naga and got my HUD and Spaceship. I noticed Health and Fuel are important components to monitor during player engagement. Can you tell our readers what causes fuel and health loss and how it can be repaired?

Ald: It's a pretty simple concept really. Health, also known as build, is increased by repairing with the ship itself. Inside the ship are nanites, which allow the player to repair at the cost of fuel. Naturally you can perform combat so this is a pretty simple mechanic.



SLE: Sounds simple enough.  Players are able to attack each other’s ships. How can they protect themselves so it doesn’t cause too much fuel and health loss?

Ald: And then there's cloaking. Cloaking allows two major functions for this version: the first being the ability to stay hidden and immune to all attacks while afk or mining, and the second is as a means to accurately 'dodge' an enemy's incoming attack.

SLE: I like that feature for denfense.  So, mining and gathering resources is an important part in Cosmos Master because it helps players reach various levels. Can you explain the different types of resources that can be found and what they do?



Ald: Because the game is still in ALPHA version to start, there will only be one resource and one material. A material, by our definition, is just a way of referring to a refined resource. Raw Xendorium, the first and only for the time being, is the resource that players may accumulate, refine, and/or sell to us or other players through the Stockpile game-object.

SLE:  I like that players mine for resources. Players also can create their own resources and sell them on the Galactic Trade (marketplace). Can you give our readers some examples of things that can be made, sold or bought?

Ald: In ALPHA there will only be the two that I mentioned. However since we will always buy resources, and likewise provide materials, there will always be a source and rough estimate as to the variable market costs of these products. Since fuel is simply Refined Xendorium, the player can just buy their energy directly from us.

SLE: Are there special incentives given to the highest level players?

Ald: We went out of the way for this one. Not only is there no level cap (yes, you heard that right), but players are indefinitely able to invest those levels into technologies. Technologies, able to customize the player experience drastically, offers a huge range of options for you to make your own.


SLE: Wow so options are limitless. I ca’t wait to see what players come up with.  Right now Cosmos Masters is in INDEV, are you still accepting players to test the system?

Ald: We are in fact in open-INDEV as we speak, until the 23rd when we officially launch all game-objects to the public. At this time and forward, anyone can play, free of charge.

SLE: Are there any rules or tips you’d like to share with players before they begin Cosmos Master?

Ald: The only rule is not to exploit the system, if making that rule does anything at all. We are an incredibly small indie team working to bring everybody the best possible gaming for the best price or free.  We just ask that any serious errors the player encounters be reported to one of our Customer Service Reps, so that we can keep providing this game and service to the public. And there'll be a reward if you do.




SLE: It sounds like you have created an interesting new type of Interactive Role Play and I wish you the best of luck!  Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers?

Ald: Come try it out and see why Cosmos Master really IS the next best thing in Second Life!
Naga:  I would like to tell readers to stay in SL. It is not dying. New ideas like Cosmos Master is bringing the fun back into Second Life!


To begin, teleport to http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cadillac%20Ranch%20TX/139/166/47  For your HUD and Spaceship!

Additional Information:
Launch Date:  February 23, 2016 at 3pm SLT
:

Contact: Naga Lionheart or ALduousMcBurlington Resident

 
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