Sam Ruggieri from Voyager Games loves MMORPGs, but in the many years he’s been playing them he’s seen a bit of a trend. Though the NPCs aren’t playable characters, that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t give the impression of one! Many NPCs are soulless and predictable; completely bland and lacking in personality. Plus, the worlds aren’t open enough. You feel as though you’re stuck inside of a theme park and everything interesting is just in one place.
Sam has plenty of experience with programming and artificial intelligence, so he decided to incorporate that into game design; specifically, a game he’s making called The Far Reaches. He wanted to make something much more immersive, open, and oriented around realism. It’s not just the main player that is changing things, everyone is. It’s a world of its own that is malleable.
NPCs will finally build things and communicate with personality. The Far Reaches is designed to give the player the feeling they’re never around NPCs, but real people. Each of them has a backstory and personality that gives them little quirks. No NPC is alike. Classes, levels, etc. aren’t all that relevant since everything centers around your skills and choices. Players will be responsible for item creation and crafting. Whatever usable item you find, a player made it.
As for professions, there are over two dozen to choose from, each nonlinear. Players are able to customize houses, factories, you name it. It appears that this sci-fi world is their oyster.
Sam Ruggieri is seeking funding for The Far Reaches though Kickstarter to the tune of $60K, with the campaign expecting to conclude July 11th.
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