How can I create my own MMO?

chroma_key · December 2006

Greetings gentlemen,

this is my first post to your community. I would like to start with a complicated question I cannot answer via web browsing.

How can an idea be transformed into an actual game?

What is the budget required for a MMO's realization?

Who is to be contacted for starters? Do companies that maintain succesful MMOs have the ability - working means to take over a new massive project? If not what firms assemble such teams?

Are there specific fora where such competitions-invitations are anounced?

How do MMOs behave as investments? Are there any general rules as to their paying off time plans?

Hopefully one from the gaming industry would fall upon this post and enlighten me...

Be well!

MiNaAu · December 2006

If would advise you not to go and try making your own MMO, especially a 3D one. For these reasons:

1. You need experience as a programmer and even then it would take absolutely ages for a single person to develope an MMO

2. The cost, is very expensive and even if you somehow find enough money to fund this massive project which is actually quite impossible then theres still the problem of keeping the game up with the needed amount of money. I've known companies to spend millions on developing games.

I would advise you to apply for a job place in a game developing company.

xpyrofuryx · December 2006

So you want to be an Indie game dev?

Well, my advice... buy a book on C++. Learn C++ fairly well, and then research an engine. find out what that engine uses and learn it!

Programming a game is one of the hardest things a person can do, and cannot do without knowledge. Its not a pick up and create thing, you must learn.

After about 2-3 years of programming i am now able to call myself an Indie game dev

Jimmy_Scythe · December 2006

make a MUD and admin it for a couple of years. After that, you'll be cured of wanting to make an MMO.

paulscott · December 2006

if you don't know where to start. it isn't a question to ask.

Ronaruudo · December 2006

Make sure you got the right mentality for making a mmorpg though. First you have to be full of hope, good promises and the desire to make a game that everyone will like.

Let those feelings decay after a while into a general dislike towards gamers, greed for money, and laziness. Hire some people that don't give a damn about others for customer service. Make up excuses for why something doesn't work well in the game, and make empty promises about improvements.

Oh, and never allow informative or helpful input from others. Most mmorpg's don't, and they earn big bucks!

neschria · December 2006

You might get more productive answers posting on the "Developers Corner" set of boards, over there at the top on the left.

zazoie · December 2006

Originally posted by paulscott
if you don't know where to start. it isn't a question to ask.

QFE Its not mean its just really ture and gets right to the point.

chroma_key · December 2006

In other words you know the answers to the posed questions but refuse to share?

Also I'd like to point out one thing, I am not asking how one programs a game, rather how does one fund it.

Thanks to all who took the time to reply.

SnaKey · December 2006

"How can I create my own MMO?"

Simple answer.
You can't.

"Also I'd like to point out one thing, I am not asking how one programs a game, rather how does one fund it."

Got a few hundred grand laying around? Hire a few programmers.

kishe · December 2006

How one gets to fund it:

Write 200 pages of documentary, program working proof of concept..start calling known investors over and over.

SnaKey · December 2006

Originally posted by kishe
How one gets to fund it:Write 200 pages of documentary, program working proof of concept..start calling known investors over and over.

Hi, my name is Matt. I have no portfolio, no experience, and no money. I want to create an MMO, here are a few figures, here is my idea...

Can I have $700,000?

CleffyII · December 2006

Originally posted by chroma_key

Greetings gentlemen,
this is my first post to your community. I would like to start with a complicated question I cannot answer via web browsing.
How can an idea be transformed into an actual game?
Its a simple matter of pre-planning and writing alot. I would start on kiddy steps then start to develop the details as you go along. Basic Story and Game play mechanics in maybe 1 or 2 pages. The step it up to 20 pages with races, skills, weapons, description of areas, and maybe a few algorythms to calculate damage. Then the final 100-500 Design Bible where you fully flesh out descriptions of every skill, item, basic story paths, Skill trees, exp charts, detailed maps, monster lists, some drawings to show the atmosphere you are trying to achieve, top down maps of the world and individual area. Truthfully, if you can get to the last step apply for a design position at a gaming company cause not many people can do that. Also if you do, people will be more likely to work with you on an indie project because they know what has to be done. There is nothing worse then not knowing what to do and wasting your time cause the lead developer doesnt know.
What is the budget required for a MMO's realization?
It really depends. If it is indy you can get by with a very meager budget, although production will be alot slower primarily cause your supporting yourself through other jobs. Also the end quality is worse since most of your employees are working for free. If you want something that players are eager to play today, we are talking in the range of 10 million dollars minimum. Probably close to 50 million.
Who is to be contacted for starters? Do companies that maintain succesful MMOs have the ability - working means to take over a new massive project? If not what firms assemble such teams?
Getting a company to sponsor you is pretty difficult for the average joe. Usually they give money to a well-known designer, or one who worked thier way up in the industry for maybe 10 years. If your looking for an investor it is best to start getting in contact with publishers like NCSoft, Vivendi, or Microsoft. However, just getting them to consider your idea for a game, you will need some sort of tech demo to prove your a professional, and in alot of cases plenty of research. One way I just thought of rescently is to create a fake company then generate alot of publicity for it by showing off really nice screenshots and giving alot of promises to the player base on what the game will be. If your lucky, a publisher like Vivendi will try to own your company.
Are there specific fora where such competitions-invitations are anounced?
Yes its called e3, also there is GDC. However, a booth may be beyond your means.
How do MMOs behave as investments? Are there any general rules as to their paying off time plans?
MMOs are the most complicated, most production time, and largest budget drainer of any game genre. To boot it is also one of the least successful and difficult to get people to actually buy your game. So if you go on experience, expect to loose money unless your a top 10 game.
Hopefully one from the gaming industry would fall upon this post and enlighten me...
Be well!

MW2K · December 2006

A guy I played Horizons with is making his own MMORPG.
Valhyre

He maintains a forum and may answer some of your questions.

Or try Worldforge

Lasastard · December 2006

Before thinking of starting your own MMO you should probably first join an ongoing project to see what it actually takes to develop an MMO. http://www.projectwish.com , for example.

Owyn · December 2006

Hop over to http://mmorpgmaker.vault.ign.com/front/ sometime. It's a decent community of indie devs who would like to make MMORPGs. Most are looking at the task from a hobbyist perspective, using inexpensive or free tools to create what amounts to 3D versions of MUDs. Some are looking to try to go commercial; most of those will fail.

There have been a couple of successful small indie games to date. A Tale in the Desert stands out as one of the most noteworthy. Puzzle Pirates is another. Minions of Mirth is a third. For every success story, there are literally hundreds of failures though, so be advised this is NOT an easy road!

Self-funding is hard. Suppose you decide you need at least $200,000 for startup costs and the first several months of operations. That's tiny - less than 1/20th the costs to launch DAOC four years ago, and less than 1/50th the cost to launch WOW. If you wanted to get that kind of money to start a <insert type of business here>, how would you get it? With a business plan and a bank loan, and quite possibly a second mortgage on your house. Do you feel secure enough in your success to risk your home on your business? Some folks at Puzzle Pirates took out mortgages to finance their game, and it paid off, but this is HUGELY risky.

Game companies do not buy MMORPG ideas. They do not buy design docs. They do not fund operations by people and teams without experience in the field. So, drop any idea of that right away. Your only chance to get large corporate funding for an MMORPG would be to work in the field for a fair number of years first, and only then try to do your own thing.

Doing it yourself is tough, but easier now than it ever has been before. Engines like Realmcrafter and the MyDreamRPG Torque expansion are cheap and relatively easy to develop with. Multiverse is coming out, and will be free - although they will take a huge chunk from any revenue you make. There is a movement afoot to purchase Ryzom into open source, which if successful will result in an open source fully functional MMO game. The options today are good and improving.

ammie · December 2006

And if all else fails try this http://www.mydreamrpg.com/

jimmyman99 · December 2006

LOL @ Jimmy_Scythe

@OP Some people mentioned couple of hundred grand... Im saying more like couple of million $$$
A senior programmer/designer earns around 80000-200000 per year. Im guessing you will need several senior programmers to design those main parts of the game and code it. Then youve got graphix artists, PR reps, CSRs, Forum admins, office monkeys, computers, programs, engines, pizzas, QA folks etc etc. All of that cost money and if you try to get amatures to work on any of that part, you may end up with a product like Dark and Light.

If your serious about this and you have several mil green ones ( or your daddy does ) then you can perhaps hire a company to do the work for you or set up your own crew. If you go with the later one, start with a manager who will know where to begin and who to hire first cuase if you just hire a bunch of programmers and tell them I want this and that, then your game will be just that.. something a bit of this and that.

MW2K · December 2006

Or if you're really keen, go to Daimonin and download the Linux source for their MMORPG.

Of course, you need to know code, but that comes with the territory.

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