It’s an endless mantra of many that are deeply-embroiled in the game scene; if you’re looking for unique and refreshing game mechanics, you look at indie titles. Massive studios place exponential layers of polish on mechanics that indies have found to be creative and successful, and it happens constantly.
One such title that’s bringing a unique take to the management simulation genre is VectorStorm, with a title that places the player in charge of crafting their MMORPG of their dreams. MMORPG Tycoon 2 was originally a successful participant of Steam’s Green-Light program, so this release into Steam’s Early Access program is either fantastic or concerning, depending on your perspective.
How players build a successful MMORPG is up to them, and they are given the reigns early on in the title to control almost every aspect of their own unique MMORPG. Players must fill their worlds with crafted towns and cities, NPC’s, quests, monsters, events, and everything in between. You start by sculpting the terrain, a veritable foundation for you to lay your masterwork upon. Oceans, lakes, rivers, mountain ranges, islands, forests, and almost anything else you could conceptualize can be brought to life.
You’ll need to build your games classes and abilities, trying to ensure that there’s a general balance between them all, lest all of your subscribers build the only over-powered class your game offers to steam-roll your content.
Monsters must similarly be carefully crafted, offering enough of a challenge for combat to be interesting, but not so much that your players become frustrated. Alternatively, buff all of the monsters while nerfing players and watch them die until they rage-quit.
Speaking of your players and subscribers, you can choose how you want to monetize this bad boy; whether you go the traditional route of a monthly fee, of free-to-play with microtransactions on potions, keeping your subscribers happy with your ever-evolving content is a vital proponent of gameplay, as it ensures you can keep the lights on.
You will catch cheaters, and choose whether or not to ban them (it’s a loss of a subscription, after all), help players get unstuck, hire game masters, issue warnings to trolls, and all the various tasks that must be considered when you’re inviting the world to reside in your virtual realm.
What the title offers already is fascinating, and you’ll find yourself crafting complex quest-chains for players to struggle through along with various one-off tasks for a quick experience gain. If VectorStorm can find purchase in Steam’s Early Access program, and develop new content quickly enough to keep fans appeased, this may very well turn into a massive hit.
