Cultivating Your MMO Ideas - Wizards and Warriors: Massively Multiplayer Online Game Creation - page 46

In this topic you are learning about making your own MMO, so you might be
able to get ideas from the following:

n Playing other MMOs: This is definitely a good place to start. You are
making an MMO game, so it is a good idea to find out what makes a
good MMO. I have played many MMOs over the years and some of my
favorites are Ultima Online, World of Warcraft, and City of Heroes.
n Playing certain game genres: Even though you are making an MMO,
there are many other games that might be useful in playing. For example
if you are making an MMO about a world that has been ravaged by
nuclear war, playing Fallout would be useful. Or, if you are making a
game about medieval times, you could look at the Ultima series of iso-
metric single player games.

While playing these games, make sure you have a notepad and pen handy to jot
down any good ideas that you come across, or things that you like (or don ' t

like!).

Researching Ideas
Playing potentially competing games is a good way of getting ideas, but it

'

s not
the only place to get great ideas for your MMO games. Some other ways to
research ideas are as follows:

n Topics : There are many sources of great information available at your
local library. These topics could be historical, fictional (stories), or techni-
cal books, such as army uniforms, gun types, maps (city and topogra-
phy), architecture, and vehicle guides. Games companies usually base
their games on real-life places or equipment. For example, the world in
GTA (Grand Theft Auto) is based on real places (with the names
changed for obvious reasons). These types of topics are essential if you
are trying to come up with ideas or at least create a believable world.
n Magazines : Magazines can provide useful insight into a particular subject
area. Although they contain less detail than topics, they can still be a
good place for inspiration. If you were thinking about making a medieval-
based MMO, magazines such as Wargames and White Dwarf (with its