What do you think of this idea of mine? (warning long post)

WARNING! LONG POST!
(IF YOU DO NOT WANTO READ WHOLE POST THEN JUST READ QUESTION UNDERNEATH)

***Poll At Bottom of Post***

(Please also post in your reply whether you read the whole thing or just the question)
Note: all the names used in the post are merely for the purpose of illustrating the concept or how the story would work and feel. They are not the actual names that will be used in the game if it is made.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you think it would be a good idea if a mmorpg implemented an evolution system where you would change appearance as you gained levels? If not please post the reason. Thanks
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

** BTW, if you can’t read it all please scroll down to the very end of the post and read my question number 4. (It should be in bold and italics with a 4) preceding it **

Merely for clarification purposes, for example everyone would start out as blob. By the end game each person would look different. Sort of like how EVO did the evolution thing. Most importantly it would be done in a way that caused the least amount of lag possible (there wouldn't be infinite evolution possibilities, just a set amount).

Based on both evolution choices when certain levels (ex: 1, 5, 7, 10, 15, 20, etc) are gained and random evolutions that occur over the players life, the system could ensure that to a certain extent, people could not effectively find out and copy a cookie cutter evolutionary pattern. The random evolutions that occur would be just that. They are random and increase a random stat of the player by just a tiny amount (not enough to really make much of a difference).

Both evolutions and random evolutions would also have appropriate animations to accompany them. The regular evolutions chosen at the end of certain levels have a basic animation. For example, you hit level one and grow an eye. After choosing the eye, a little spark that would look similar to a tiny version of the "fire" spell from FFXI would explode over the place where the eye would go. The eye then appears there.

As you gained levels the evolutions would become more and more fun to watch. Where at level one it was a simple "poof" there's your eye. At level 50 a small little cloud would come down from the sky. It hovers in front of you and rain starts falling from it to the ground. (All of this is done in a very basic way). Then it stops raining and goes back up into the sky. In that little spot is a bloomed flower.

The pistil of the flower, shown below, is now your new eye.

Picture of flower pistil

The flower holding the eye disappears and a few moments later, the eye appears on your face. Even in some obscure areas the animations would work. Pretend you happen to be in a deep cave adventuring at the time of leveling and choosing the type of eye you want when you ding. The cloud would appear at the top of the ceiling of the room you are in, and follow the same animation pattern. This is able to be coded in rather easily. However the animations will not work everywhere. The only conflicts to these animated sequences would be if the character was on a moving object (train, flying thing) or under water. In these cases the player would still level as usual, but would not be able to confirm selection of the eye until on level ground. This will be explained to the player through a message every time he/she tries to click "confirm part selection" while under those circumstances. Again, the player will still gain the level and the stat/hp/mp/skills etc increases when they ding. The only thing that will be delayed is the visual evolutionary change on them.

With random evolutions the animation will be more involved than the standard evolutions. They will also become even more involved as the character nears their last random evolution. The number of random evolutions (ex. 10-20) will be determined the moment a character is created. Again, the same rules will apply to random evolutions. If the player is in one of the areas listed where an animation cannot occur, they will gain the small stat increase but not be able to visually evolve until in an appropriate area.

The amount of times these random evolutions occur would also be random (to a certain point). While one player might experience 15 random evolutions by the time he/she hits the highest level, another might experience 18 random evolutions. This amount would have a cap on it, so a player could only receive anywhere from 10-20 random evolutions throughout their journey to the last level. During random evolutions, one person would grow a blue smooth tail. Another would grow a short spiky red horn. Later on in my post, I mention how regular evolutions provide choices of patterns and stat increases. A random evolution’s visual look is never permanent. A player has a limited time frame from the time they receive the random evolution to decide whether or not to revert back to the previous look they had on that part. If they had no part on before (random evolution is a tail and player had no tail before), then the same rule applies. They can choose to revert back to nothing but the decision is final. If this decision is made, it is irreversible and permanent. Most importantly, the player will gain the stat boost by the random evolution regardless of whether he/she chooses to keep its look.

The regular evolutions will also exist to help mold the player into a certain class. This will be done in such a way that there is no guess work involved in choosing the class you want. If "Player A" comes into the game wanting to be a healing class they won't have guess the right combinations of evolutionary patterns to land themselves into that class. When a person dings on an evolution level (level where they can choose how to evolve), they are presented with a variety of different options. Think "EVO"s options.

These options might include being able to increase their body size, grow claws, horns, tails. There could also be options to increase the size of your brain, the sharpness of your eyes, the type of feet, and adding scales. You could increase the size of your eyes, and add ears. There would be a benchmark level (ex. level 50) where from that point on more advanced types of evolution become available (visible auras, increased muscle mass, etc). The types of evolution would be categorized into multiple areas. Some types of evolution would be clearly for fighting, magic, and healing etc. Others would be for "Faster swimming, improved sight", and other abilities that are not involved in fighting or direct stats.

Everyone starts out as something similar to a blob. They star with slow walking speed, low eyesight, barely any brain, and pathetic attack power. To take advantage of this and introduce players to the evolution concept, the first 5 levels will be introduction levels. The player will be forced into the few necessary body parts during these first, fast levels. It will be like a tutorial of sorts.

When they jump into the game for the first time they will feel like a baby for a few minutes, only guided by a mysterious voice telling them what they must do to escape their enclosure. This introduction to the game is all offline and takes about 10 minutes to complete. Since lag isn't an issue due to it being offline, a lot more can be going with the environment. When first entering the game you are enclosed in a womb like small area. The walls are gooey, and alive. You can barely make out the other creatures in the womb that are squirming, apparently stuck in the wall.

The voice guides the players. It explains to them how to attack and that they must destroy the leech like monsters slowly killing your breeding ground so that you can escape. This mysterious voice seems to speak to you pessimistically, as if it doesn't expect you to get out alive. During this time the game has an appearance sort of like the new "drunk" effect in world of warcraft. I couldn't find any screenshots of the drunk effect in world of warcraft but it looks cool (blurry yet visible enough to play). Once you kill all the leeches (takes about 5 minutes), a light slowly begins to develop along the wall forming a hole out. A subtle reference at this point will be a barely visible figure of a beautiful woman standing in the light. As you enter the light you hear another voice “Speak to Bleu, he will show you the way”.

--------
* Think of a mix between mother earth and eve (the one from the bible not the singer :P).

I'm trying to create a figure that is motherly yet attractive. Everything about her must shout out "life, nature, harmony". It's very important she looks sexy at the same time. I feel the mythical picture of Mother Earth embodies the attractive, "in touch with nature" look I am trying to go for. The biblical icon "Eve" carries the look of a loving mother, and also carries a natural look as well. I like the way nature is a part of "Mother Earth". The plants are her clothing and the delicate butterflies are her aura. When she walks flowers bloom.

Mother Earth

Eve

--------

At this point there will be the one and only animated cut scene of the game. This cut scene will also introduce you to the story. Following the cut scene you will enter the online world. Once again, you hear that same voice “Speak to Bleu, he will show you the way”. It is here that everyone starts on what is known as “The Farm”. Believe me it is not a farm in the conventional sense. There are multiple “Farms” spread throughout the game world that people start on. “The Farm” is a dark place. It’s an evil place that appears friendly when you first enter as a newbie.

One unique thing about these farms is they will not be like the typical newbie starting area. These newbie areas are in the middle of dangerous higher level zones. Fortunately for the newbie’s they can’t leave the area, and nothing can come in on them. The areas are also done so that the new player can only get a feeling of the danger that surrounds them without actually seeing much of anything. The higher level’s adventuring however will be able to see the newbie’s but will not be able to go into the area they are in.

This is because the newbie’s are in an observation room made to look like an outdoor environment. The only sign that it may not be an outside environment is the black hole in the sky (which will be part of getting out). The observation area is filled with various friendly creatures, newbie’s like yourself, and a few dangerous things to fight. There is a logical story reason for all of this. There is a wily little creature named “Bleu” that both shouts nonsense and will send you whispers very often saying you must speak with him. “Bleu” is easily noticeable too. This is all done because it is critical the player speaks to “Bleu” to find out what they must do next to get out of there. Once conversation is initiated with him, he stops sending the whispers. Once spoke to he lets you in on the situation and tells you he has a plan to get both of you out of there. But before he will let you in on the plan you must be stronger. He says to come back to him when you are level 5, and that there are monsters around you must fight to grow stronger.

The next 5 levels, as mentioned earlier, will be part of the tutorial phase and during these levels your evolution options will be the same as everyone else’s.... with a few twists.

You will be given the same types of evolutionary options for the first 5 levels (tutorial-eyes, level 1-mouth and ears, level 2-hands and feet, level 3-brain, level 4-nose, level 5-reproductive organs *even though it sounds like it, there is nothing dirty about this last one*). And yes, your starting level is 0. I feel it is symbolic of you starting out as nothing.

After gaining each level, the mysterious voice will come back and explain to you more of the game play mechanics (The person behind this voice is a very important person in the story).

To give a brief overview, the eyes are for seeing clearly. Everything in the game works off of a blurred vision concept. Regardless of what settings you choose to run the game on, objects a certain distance away will start to get blurry while losing more and more detail the farther and blurrier they get. This parallels real life.

Here's a real life example:

You are in an open field looking at a tree IRL. Standing close to the tree you can make out all of the details. You can see the leaves, the branches, the apples on it (it’s an apple tree). Now walk backwards farther and farther away from the tree. You can still make out the tree, apples, and branches clearly as you move back. As for the leaves though, you can tell they are there but you are so far away they eventually become blurry meshing together so you can't make out the individual leaves. Moving farther back, the same thing soon happens to the apples. By now you can't even see the leaves. They just serve as an outline for the tree. Still treading backwards, the apples soon almost disappear and blend in with the leaves. The only ones you can see are those protruding out from the leaves that lend to the outline of the tree. The branches start to blur. Farther back you continue to move. Now the branches only serve as an outline and all that is left to see is the tree. You know it’s a tree but you can't make out any of its details. Finally after walking back some more the outline of the tree is no longer visible. If you were starting at this point not knowing what you were looking at you would say it was a blurry dark object.

The worst you will ever see with your in game eyes is the intro sequence. Once you finish that and step into the game world, your sight will be the normal sight for most players throughout the game. It will be the standard vision, and very playable. Some may choose to focus on evolving their eyes. Each time the eyes are evolved there is a bonus to agility. The blur distance is extended for each eye evolution as well. The main draw to evolving your eyes is the added agility for thief, hunter, rogue, archer type classes. There will be a clear description by each type of evolution listing which classes it recommends should advance in those areas.

Upon gaining level 1, the player will gain their mouth and the ability to speak with other players nearby. I am still disputing if I should make zone chat available at the beginning. It’s basically the age old dilemma of immersion vs. convenience. Nothing else to add here except that chat bubbles will be optional and will fit in best with the style of the game.

The player just gains level 2. For this level, they gain two evolutions (Other than the first 5 levels, there will be no other times when two evolutions are available to evolve into for gaining a level). The player can now grow hands and feet. The feet will provide the standard for movement speed throughout the game. Like eyes, upgrading the feet can provide a boost to walking speed in addition to the stat increase. Upgrading the feet can also add a boost to swimming speed depending on the type of feet.

With hands, the player is taught how to use skills in battle. While some sort of hands are a necessity for the fighting type classes, magic users and other non fighting classes can choose to remove hands. Anybody can choose to remove the hands. For fighters this would obviously be impractical though. It would be comparable to fighting without any weapons and the damage would vary accordingly. Also, without hands, certain fighting skills are not available(however certain ones open up). Devolving a part is not available until the middle range levels.

The brain gained at level 3 actually changes your appearance too. It is then that the player learns about the world of magic, and how to use it. Everyone can use magic to some extent but unless a specialized magic user, magic is worthless in battle. The common types of magic are more for fun and not useful in any way. Think along the lines of magic a magician would do, like birds flying out of a hat. The serious shit is left for the real magic users that evolve that way.

I have some very original and cool ideas for implementing "the nose" gained at level 4, and "the reproductive organs" gained at level 5. I need to finish a little work on whether they would work or not before I put them down though.

After reaching level 5 and gaining "the reproductive organs", the tutorial is essentially over. You can now speak to “Bleu” and you can escape. Now that you are strong enough, he lets you in on his plan to get both of you out of there. The plan is basically “you distract the guards while I put together the flying machine I’ve been working on”. It turns out he needs to set it up just underneath the “hole in the sky” (which is actually a kind of ventilation duct but he’s to naïve to know it. Completing the conversation triggers the “keeper” to come out. He has overheard your plans and has come to bring you in for your punishment. All that is left at this point is for you to kill “keeper” (he’s made to be easy so basically anyone can kill him). While the fight is going on “Bleu” is cowering in fear. (Guess it turns out he wasn’t the tough guy you thought he was).

Upon killing “keeper” you can now speak to “Bleu” who sends you off on a vehicle sort of like a hot air balloon. This is one of the many exciting parts of the game where we can emulate a single player rpg type experience on a mmorpg. As you read before, the newbie area of “The Farm” is a contained observation room meant to look and feel like the outdoors. When you escape through the ventilation duct and move up through that giant pipe, you are able to see things through the duct holes. Each time a duct hole comes by you witness bizarre scenes of other creatures just like you being experimented on. Other holes reveal creatures being tortured. For the careful observer, one will reveal an important evil person in the story. The whole ride up through this factory of sorts is done very slowly allowing ample time to view the scenes through the holes.

While moving up through the duct you pass through an open area in the building where someone below takes notice and sound an alarm. Turns out they can’t get to you in time and you are off to safety. Btw, the alarm is heard by everyone in the newbie zone every time a newbie escapes. This adds a sense of fear to the other players in there on why a creepy alarm keeps going off. The balloon then takes you off to a refuge like encampment where all the other people like you (other newbie players) are at.

It’s on the balloon ride out that the blurred distance concept really shines. Most new players dumped in the middle of a high level zone would not want to get a full blown look at where they will be xping at months down the road. In addition to the blur there are also clouds passing by underneath them to almost totally prevent an accurate read of the landscape.

The mysterious voice will be back throughout your adventures as new things are discovered.

During these first 5 levels, everyone will be the same and presented with the same evolution choices. Throughout the tutorial and the game, with every evolution you make yourself more unique. There are a random group of designs you can choose for each evolved part. For example, let’s take the eyes you gain at the end of the introduction sequence. "Player A" gets to choose from 5 eye designs randomly chosen from 20 total "First evolution eyes". "Player B" then finishes the intro sequence. He is presented with a choice from 5 eye designs randomly chosen out of the same group of 20.

Of course there is a chance that both players get the exact same designs to choose from. In that case unless they both choose the same design out of the 5 they are given they will have different eyes. Each evolution has its own set of designs. So if "Player A" chose to evolve his eyes further when he was at level 12, he would again choose out of a group of 5 eye designs randomly picked from a group of 20 new eye designs. These designs are totally different than the ones he could pick at level 1.

Each set of eyes would have a different themed look to them. While all the eye designs in the level 1 set would look different, when looking at all 20 of them they would have the same feel to them. The 20 eye designs in the level 12 set would look different. If you took and placed them side by side however one would notice a theme to the group. This applies to all of the types of evolutions.

Certain parts available starting level 6 will be class specific. Higher level parts have prerequisite parts.

Each evolved part would have a latter like tree to it that would look something like this. The numbers in each design set are always subject to change depending on hardware restrictions.

Players will have control over which design set they get, but not the random designs out of the set they can choose from.

This is just an example, and does not cover all the levels. As you will be able to see, as you evolve the part into a higher level, more design sets are available for you to choose from but less designs are in the set. I am still debating whether to keep the number it randomly draws from the set constant or to have that number decrease as less in the design set are available.

EYE'S

[LV 24 D.S 1 (14)][LV 24 D.S 2 (14)][LV 24 D.S 3 (14)][LV 24 D.S 4 (14)]
[LVL 12 Design 1 (16)] [LVL 12 Design 2 (16)] [LVL 12 Design 3 (16)]
[LVL 7 Design Set 1 (18)] [LVL 7 Design Set 2 (18)]
[LVL 1 Design Set (20 total designs)]

Again, the previous chart is an example of how this would apply not only to the eye evolution chain, but most evolution parts.

In addition to having a different theme, each design set also holds a different boost to stats and other bonuses. However to maintain balance, the stat increases and bonuses are applied to the set (which the player is able to choose), and not the random designs drawn from the set.

Most importantly, every evolution will create a visual change of appearance on the character. "Faster swimming will be the result of choosing to go with more fish like feet. Walking speed on land will be affected by this.

Each type would be clearly described. For example, when highlighting "increased brain size", the description would state "enhanced healing capabilities". "Increased muscle mass" would state next to it, "raises strength and vitality".

When thinking about conflicts this idea would impose upon the gamer, I came across a few:

[b][i]Question #1)[/b][/i] "During one of the random evolutions the gamer might be presented with a part that was not desired in the look he/she wanted in their avatar."

Answer - To prevent this, random changes could be tailored to be more benign in nature. So instead of growing a tail, a red spot could appear on their existing tail or on their head. This way the random evolutions would act more like birthmarks do in real life. They are unique yet most of the time small and hidden.

[b][i]Question #2)[/b][/i] "The randomness of the random evolutions would make it unfair to players that got unlucky and while creating a magic character through their normal evolutions received mostly strength and stamina increased through random evolutions."

Answer - I thought about this. The whole point of random evolutions is less about separating yourself stat wise from the other players, but more about giving yourself some unique looks that would set you apart from other players. Because of this the changes that occur during random evolutions on the players stats are very small.

Let’s take an extreme example. Suppose Brocke and Raemax (2 warrior type characters), finally ding on their last level. Brocke got shit luck (throughout his 150 days of playtime and 75 levels he received +1 strength and +14 intelligence). While Raemax lucked out (throughout his long 150 days of playtime and 75 levels he received +15 strength and +1 intelligence). Luckily though, do to the fact that level 75 warriors all have a base strength of 1600 strength, Raemax, while receiving a nice little boost, hasn't received enough strength to push his base stats above and beyond any other warrior at level 75. That extra strength still helps, just not that much in the grand scheme of things. So is Brocke going to reroll another warrior in hopes of getting +15 strength this time through his 150 day playtime trek to 75? Hell no, not unless he's crazy. The system is done so it wouldn't be worth rerolling even for someone who plays 24/7.

[b][i]Question #3)[/b][/i] "Geez, still sounds like a lot of lag to me, putting in all those different types of creatures a person could evolve into would be lag city!"

Answer Correct me if I’m wrong, but heavily character customizable geared mmorpgs like SWG and City of Heroes had very involved character creation processes.

* You could alter things such as your physique, shoulders, chest, waist, hips, and legs in CoH.

* And SWG character customization was even crazier!

The lags differed in these games compared to a relatively lag free game like FFXI.
(The ratings for lag are from mmorpg.com and are based on user opinions, not from the site reviewers. I am currently compiling lag statistics from a wider variety of sites on these games. For now this will have to do and may not be completely accurate.)

CoH -->

SWG -->

FFXI -->

CoH has a similar lag rating to that of FFXI. SWG lag falls behind. The reasons for this could be based on a variety of different reasons other than the character customizability.

Everything from the amount of textures used in the game to the variety of equipment has an impact on lag. Different collision detection is put in place depending on the dimensions of the character depending on his/her shape, size, and armor, etc. The palette of colors for use in the game contribute as well. An example would be colors for mountains, characters, monsters, towns, etc. The bigger the palette, the bigger the challenge is to eliminate lag and provide a relatively lag free game experience.

A big part of the reason for low latency in CoH and FFXI and high latency in SWG is the following... "Zoning". While CoH and FFXI's worlds are separated into different zones SWG is a big seamless world. The implementation of zones provides the developers with an option. More textures can be added. Lag varies depending on how many more textures.

FFXI managed to keep lag low by relying more on art design and less on texturing. In a way they were sort of forced into this method because of the technical limitations of a console. But in the end, artistic style, while time consuming and requiring talent, wins over graphical prowess. At least in the field of lag.

CoH kept lag at a minimum by keeping it simple. The textures were somewhat simple. The game mechanics were simple too. This was their Achilles’ heel. But, even though too many sacrifices were made, the lag remained low.

Now back to my idea.

This game would implement a mix between the design of FFXI and CoH. It will hold a strong artistic reliance rather than texture reliance. "Simple and Clean" (similar to the Utada Hikaru song lol) will be our motto. Add a strong artistic direction and zoning to this concept we will be heading towards a lag free direction.

[b][i]Question #4) [/b][/i] "How will you go beyond doing nothing more than taking the character creation process and stretching it out to last from the first to the last level?"

Answer - The biggest advantage of the evolution concept should be the availability of enough variety where no two characters look the same while minimizing lag. The evolution concept is the only way lag can be reduced while giving each player a unique look. Using the evolution concept, it is far more likely for players to have a unique look. Here is why. Using this method I can take 100 different types of eyes for your avatar. With just a character creation screen a player on a 3000 population server would run into a minimum of 30 people with the same eyes as him. Using the evolution system, that same player would run into 1 other person with the same eyes.

And here's why that would happen. Let’s assume everyone on the server (3000 people) entered the evolution where they chose their eyes. Using my current formula in the game, if there are 100 types of eyes, each person on the server would receive 25 of the eyes to choose from that are randomly selected from the 100.

Now let’s forget that there are 3000 people and just look at 1. For simplicity purposes the eyes all have the same design but differ in color. Assume that 1 person wants to receive red eyes to use on their character. They would have 1% chance on the first color choice they received, then a 1.01% chance on the 2nd, 1.02% chance on the 3rd, 1.03% chance on the 4th, I’ll use a chart for the rest.
5th – 1.04%
6th – 1.05%
7th- 1.06%
8th- 1.08%
9th- 1.09%
10th- 1.11%
11th- 1.11%
12th- 1.12%
13th- 1.14%
14th- 1.15%
15th- 1.16%
16th- 1.18%
17th- 1.19%
18th- 1.20%
19th- 1.22%
20th- 1.23%
21st- 1.25%
22nd 1.27%
23rd- 1.28%
24th- 1.30%
25th- 1.32%

So the best chance you will ever have of getting the color you wanted, is about a 1.32% chance. 1.32% happens to be about the same as (1/75). So about 1 in every 75 attempts will I get my color eyes. But that’s just 1 person. Now let’s apply this to 3000 people. Using some math (I’ll spare you the illustration if you want to know ask me), I will calculate the chances. Ok here we go.

Here are the chances of…..:

2 people getting the same color - .02%
4 people getting the same color - .000003%

I’m going to stop there. If I went any farther I would start getting into powers. Just looking at that alone is insane. On a server of 3000 people there is only a .02% chance that two people will have the same eyes with 100 total eyes available.

Let me put things in perspective. WoW (Word of Warcraft), the most popular mmorpg out there has about 100 total servers hosting around 3000 people per server (probably less per server).

Now let me put things in plain English. My game, using this system, would need to have 5,625 servers each holding 3,000 people for there to be a good chance of 2 people on a single server having the same eyes. The chances of a tornado hitting New York City are more likely than 5 people having the same eyes on my server would be.

This evolution system is so fantastic that I can make only 50 choices of eyes while the regular mmorpg has 100 and still give a more customizable character to the players. The game therefore has fewer textures which helps immensely with the lag. And I can do all of this without taking away a feeling of uniqueness from the player. This is the secret that will minimize lag while making each person completely unique in appearance.

Also, it is integral to the games story. It contributes to a more enjoyable gaming experience. For example, Link logs on and sees that his friend Zelda is on as well. They decide they will form an xp party. When they meet Link says “Damn Zelda you look different today. I just can’t put my tentacle on it. Oh… wait!! Omg you grew a new tail!”

Leveling moves from just seeing your stats go up and getting new armor to growing new parts, and completely changing your look. Evolution also allows for a little more excitement, even when doing mundane things like farming. Since your random evolutions can hit at any time even when not xping. Luck can be factored into a character creation process stretched throughout the whole game that simply can’t be done in a character creation screen. If when starting a character, people randomly got anywhere from 1-15 stat points, most would just create a character again and again until they finally got +15 points. Last, we will be able to implement a system that guarantees everyone will look different while still giving choice to the player.

The evolution design will start out simple. Everyone will start out as a basic blob or something similar. I want the avatar to initially be either intersex ( http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=intersex ) or unisex ( http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=unisex ). I haven't determined which it should be yet.

No character customization (at least when you first start). The customization unveils itself as you play more and more. While keeping it simple, I want to keep the evolution process as anamorphic ( http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=anamorphic ) as possible.

If you read all of this, I want to thank you for reading that much. Took me a while to get all this down on paper. If you have any questions let me know in a response. Time for me to get back to brainstorming new ideas for this game.