   New here!!
  Good day all: I am new here as I am in the initial planning stages of an MMORPG. To start from the beginning, I have always wanted to write books and I have been supported by every English teacher I ever had. I have had an idea for about 12 yrs for a series that I could easily do 4 trilogies on. Instead of going the route of writing them I am going to bring my ideas to everyone via an MMORPG...the easy way LOL. Anyways, I have come here to get started. In all seriousness I easily believe that this game will be the WoW killer and I am not even kidding. Please don't believe me ignorant when I say that. The only reason why I cannot process it the way I want is because I do not have $20 million dollars to get this underway. And I don't want to go and sell this idea because I heard from a friend of mine that even if the idea was SUPER MEGA AWESOME they would give me a max of $250,000.00 for it. I don't know if this is true but I truly feel that it would be highway robbery if I accepted that. Anyways, like I said, everything is going down on paper right now. That in itself is going to be a huge process as this world is going to be gigantic. Since it will take awhile to get my thoughts collected and written down I can learn bits here and there to get the next steps done. I truly believe that I can learn a ton here. Anyway, that is it for now. Does it cost money to use this forum or just to use the software?   
  I believe the Sloperama FAQ is an excellent starting point for people like you. Make sure you read it all, it's full of great insight about beginning game developement.Most game development tools are free (only the best ones are paying). And this site is free as well.   ;  It doesn't cost anything to use the forum.As for the MMORPG;  [opinion]There are thousands of people out there that believe the same thing you do.  There are hundreds of groups currently working on the next WoW killer.  How many have you seen come out?  There are very few MMORPGs that are released from small groups.  Of those, they are not anything special.It is great to have an idea, but without the money or demand to get it done you are not going to get very far.  Now my suggestion if you really want this to happen is to head the opposite way you are currently heading.  Write the books instead to start.  If the books are really good and end up with a lot of fans then you can get the support to get the MMORPG done.  [/opinion]theTroll   ;  This forum is a free resource but because of that you cannot expect to be spoon fed, you really need to show that you are trying yourself.You mention you've had the idea for 12 years, have you had much luck writing any of it down?  I know you don't want to write a book but have you wrote short stories, littles intersting snippets etc.What's your programming experience?  I think if the answer is none then you may well be waiting another 12 years before you realise you're dream, not to try and put you down, it's a long road ahead.Expect a lot of bad respones because we see these posts all the time here, everyone wants to make an MMORPG, have a look at some of the other posts and you'll see why this is inevitable.  If you're serious though have a browse for some of the good information here and set yourself some realistic goals.   ;  Hello OICE. The forumn's are free to read and write from what I can tell. I am not trying to be rude by saying this but you thinking writting a game opposed to a book is the easy way? If this is the case my friend I think you should do some research on gaming. I personally am fairly new to gaming but I know its not easy. Also I would not suggest selling your Idea to anyone, I have many great idea's and I will not tell anyone about them in the fear of loosing them.As to the process from what I understand once you have your design documentation complete you then need to start planning functions character design etc..I wish you the best of luck in your endeavours.Good Luck;XXChester   ;Quote:Original post by OICEInstead of going the route of writing them I am going to bring my ideas to everyone via an MMORPG...the easy way LOL.I think writing a trilogy of novels is a bit easier than writing a large scale multiplayer game.Quote:Anyways, I have come here to get started. In all seriousness I easily believe that this game will be the WoW killer and I am not even kidding. Please don't believe me ignorant when I say that.Pretty much everyone who's said that so far has been demonstrated to be delusional, ignorant or self-absorbed. It doesn't mean they won't listen to reason.Previously, I've said here that WoW is the way it is because of the nature of a large-scale multiplayer game; it's largely static to reduce exploits, it has different "shards" to improve scalability, and they are generally conservative at feature implementation to reduce bugs, support issues and avoid the reputation for instability that other games have received.It's also unexpectedly popular with the casual market, most likely because it has a wafer-thin world and plotline, so it's not too hard to skip past the plot and go right to the dings.Quote:The only reason why I cannot process it the way I want is because I do not have $20 million dollars to get this underway.Yes.Quote:And I don't want to go and sell this idea because I heard from a friend of mine that even if the idea was SUPER MEGA AWESOME they would give me a max of $250,000.00 for it.I doubt they'd even listen to your idea, lest you sue them later when they produce something vaguely identical.Quote:Anyways, like I said, everything is going down on paper right now.I suppose that's a start. Is there anything technical going down on that paper, or just dreams of the world and its characters?Quote:That in itself is going to be a huge process as this world is going to be gigantic.I see.Quote:Anyway, that is it for now. Does it cost money to use this forum or just to use the software?Uhh, it doesn't cost money to use this forum. I don't know what you are referring to by "the software". We don't provide or support game creation tools.A single-player version of your game seems more attainable, but is still remarkably difficult for a newbie game developer. I would recommend scaling back your "dream game" somewhat (we've all done it), and start learning to program games so you can tackle this dream game five or six years down the road.   ;  TY for feedback. If you reread the post I said LOL after saying that going the path of writing an MMORPG was the easy way. I fully understand, and I thought I was making myself clear with the sarcasm about myself, how hard this undertaking is. I have zero programming experience at all. Yes I may be going about this the completely wrong way but until I have everything down on paper and all the bugs worked out, (with the game itself) there is no way I am going to put it into programming language or I will be rewriting the whole thing just to correct sloppy errors that I could have figured out, on paper,  by taking my time from the beginning. When I take the time to write all this stuff down is when I will also be taking the time to learn the technical aspects of the gaming industry. I understand that this is an absoluetly, retardly, humongous project. I am not ignorant on that topic. I think that as the end of the writing (the end of the tunnel) comes more into focus then I will be going from there into the actual progarmming. I already have a computer networker, two computer programmers and a graphics friend willing to undertake this with me. I am doing nothing with them until the whole shebang is down on paper. That way they can gain a better understanding of the final project and we can all bounce ideas off one another to better the overall game. Someone said that I should write the books first. You are not the first person who mentioned this and I truly take it to heart and TY for that feedback. And you are probably right, this will cost $20 million or more and it may not even take off from paper but if I do not give it my all and attack every angle of this I do not know if I will ever be successful. But what if I am? At that time I will let you know what OICE means. See you guys around with tons of questions that I don't doubt you have the answers for.   ;Quote:Original post by OICEGood day all: I am new hereWelcome.Quote:as I am in the initial planning stages of an MMORPG.No, you aren't.Quote:To start from the beginning, I have always wanted to write booksThat much is admirable.Quote:and I have been supported by every English teacher I ever had.Well, your command of the English language is actually a lot better than what we're used to dealing with from similar newcomers, so I'm not surprised.Quote:I have had an idea for about 12 yrs for a series that I could easily do 4 trilogies on.Then why haven't you spent that time attempting to write them?Quote:Instead of going the route of writing them I am going to bring my ideas to everyone via an MMORPG...the easy way LOL.Even if you were successful in making the MMORPG, people aren't likely to "get it". Presenting a master's thesis via interpretive song and dance doesn't tend to work terribly well either.Quote:Anyways, I have come here to get started. In all seriousness I easily believe that this game will be the WoW killer and I am not even kidding. Please don't believe me ignorant when I say that.......... Sorry.Quote:The only reason why I cannot process it the way I want is because I do not have $20 million dollars to get this underway.Sorry again; I don't happen to have that much on me.Quote:And I don't want to go and sell this idea because I heard from a friend of mine that even if the idea was SUPER MEGA AWESOME they would give me a max of $250,000.00 for it. I don't know if this is true but I truly feel that it would be highway robbery if I accepted that.To be honest, I'd be surprised if they gave you a dime. Implementation is everything.Quote:Anyways, like I said, everything is going down on paper right now. That in itself is going to be a huge process as this world is going to be gigantic. Since it will take awhile to get my thoughts collected and written down I can learn bits here and there to get the next steps done.Great; once they're written down, get to editing, and good luck with your book.Quote:I truly believe that I can learn a ton here.You can. I hope you already have.To summarize: Creativity and imagination are wonderful gifts, but they are not exceptional, not particularly valuable on their own. Programming is an art or craft, more or less just like writing; and like writing, it takes years just to become accomplished at it - at which point you can consider beginning a serious work. Don't torture yourself like that simply to "present your ideas"; do it the way you already know how to.Quote:Anyway, that is it for now. Does it cost money to use this forumNot for the basic service, of course. You'd have been asked to pay already, otherwise.Quote:or just to use the software?What software?   ;  Absolutley nothing to add on the subject of MMOs of any kind. I just wanted to thoroughly encourage the OP to write his/her trilogy of books.What if JK Rowling had decided to forget books and turn her Harry Potter ideas into a MMORPG? Even if she'd succeded with the technical aspects of programming, I doubt she'd be as well off (or encouraged as many kids away from the computer screen).The world needs good books far more than more MMOs. [smile]   ;Quote:Original post by ZahlmanQuote:Original post by OICEGood day all: I am new hereWelcome.Quote:as I am in the initial planning stages of an MMORPG.No, you aren't.Quote:To start from the beginning, I have always wanted to write booksThat much is admirable.Quote:and I have been supported by every English teacher I ever had.Well, your command of the English language is actually a lot better than what we're used to dealing with from similar newcomers, so I'm not surprised....This has got to be the most hostile 'beginners' post iv seen so far..   