on MMOGs and Design

Emergence: encouraging communication and teamwork in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic world.
Image from DesignObserver; artwork by Philip Lin

DesignObserver had a great post recently about a developing MMOG called Emergence ("Emergence"). While most MMOGS—like World of Warcraft, EVE Online, or Halo—tend to focus on destruction, Emergence encourages players to work collaboratively to further the game:

Emergence’s creators — Lenoir (a professor of new technologies and society at Duke University, who is affiliated with the school’s Center for Peace and Conflict Resolution), Casey Alt, Patrick Jagoda and Harrison Lee — believe that the mastery of diplomatic, economic and social dynamics that is essential to excelling at Emergence will ultimately hold as much appeal for players as clubbing monsters or machine-gunning adversaries. While the game doesn’t completely ignore violence — one can choose to become a bounty hunter, for example — you must, in order to advance, form agreements and coalitions, establish trust, acquire knowledge and employ other nonviolent tactics to resolve conflict. “The game is not going to work like others where there are no consequences,” says Lenoir.

While the game is still in alpha stage and is not scheduled to release until 2011, I wonder if it represents a change in the way games, especially MMOGs, are considered. The design of "traditional" games such as World of Warcraft are misleading: the apparent focus may be on raiding dungeons and slaying beasts, but most gamers who play do so for the social aspect as much as in-game rewards. Nearly all MMOGs encourage teamwork, whether in the form of raiding parties or guilds, and there is often a strong element of communication between teams. Developing a game whose main goal is to create and encourage teamwork and communication seems worthwhile, but runs the risk of falling flat. If there are no broader goals within the game, there is very little reason to interact with others, aside from a pure socialization—and we've already got Second Life for that.

However, the design elements and inspiration ("the cool, dystopic futurism of Minority Report and Gattica with a hint of Denari and Hadid...[with] Obama-era diplomacy and The Wire") are provocative, and seem to be in keeping with the post-apocalyptic visions already established by science fiction. The development of such a game suggests that video games are beginning to be taken seriously as more than just an amusement or even an art form: their potential as a medium for sophisticated communication is starting to be realized.