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How much would it cost to finance the development is a low graphics MMO like Eldevin?
MMOExposed
Member RarePosts: 7,400
How much would it cost to finance the development is a low graphics MMO like Eldevin?
Just curious.
I dont have AAA level money to make my dream MMO. but I dont mind starting small, very small. I am trying out this Eldevin MMO and for a browser MMO, I like elements it has so far for its limitations. I was wondering how much it would cost to get a MMO like this or perhaps less graphical made in you'll opinions?
Just curious.
I dont have AAA level money to make my dream MMO. but I dont mind starting small, very small. I am trying out this Eldevin MMO and for a browser MMO, I like elements it has so far for its limitations. I was wondering how much it would cost to get a MMO like this or perhaps less graphical made in you'll opinions?
Philosophy of MMO Game Design
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Then depending on your technical skills, contract some folks to update graphics, systems, etc.
Building from scratch would be waaaaayy more expensive.
Very acceptable.
I have no idea on costs, can't help you there.
However, you could do like UO did. The characters were made in 3D, then sprite images were captured to put together the sprite animation.
Meanwhile, all the other art if 2D, and a huge cost savings.
The drawback is that you are stuck in one view direction.
UO had a small radius around the character that made any art in front of them transparent. Buildings, tree canopies, whatever. So the Player could see what was immediately around them.
UO also "broke" the angles, and made whatever was standing upwards at more of an angle than the camera perspective would otherwise show.
So you could get a better view of characters, buildings, and anything else where it made it better.
Edit to add:
For most items, like those chests in the picture, they made them with two directions by simply copying them and reversing the image. So you could place them on the left side of the room, against the wall like those you see on the right.
Here's a pic so you can see it.
Once upon a time....
Respect, walk
Are you talkin' to me? Are you talkin' to me?
- PANTERA at HELLFEST 2023
-You'd be stuck with a lot of tech that was in use and supported a decade ago, but is outdated today
-You wouldn't know how the game works since it was built by someone else
You would get the game running quickly and cheap, but afterwards you'd pay it by having to do extra work every time you want to change or update stuff.
IMO, you have a strong asset, and that is communication. I know hardly anything about you but I can say with complete certainty after a decade's worth of reading your posts and interacting with you, that you could hit a home run in the community building aspect of an MMO.
You're knowledgeable about MMOs and you seem to be able to read people rather well. You know how to engage people (positively or otherwise), and if your development/management skills are like your conversation skills, you know how to keep the focus where you need/want it.
That's a big part of the battle for an indie MMO dev. It's how you'll attract talent. It's how you'll build a core community. It's what will make people invest in your project - financially and emotionally.
There are enough solid engines out there, that you should be able to put together a prototype of what you want to do. Get a basic vertical slice with a handful of users connected so you can showcase what the game experience will be like.
Notice I haven't written anything about money yet. That's because we don't need another Divergence Online or Star Citizen. Get that first pre-Alpha FaF slice built, and see if you have something worth making. THEN, and only then, should you even ask what kind of money you're looking at.
Unless you're independently wealthy, of course. If so, get started.
Personally, if I had the cash, I would do as @TwistedSister77 suggested. I'd buy Celetania, Taikodom, Black Prophecy, Auto Assault, Earth and Beyond Online, or Firefall. I'd then get with the game's core players/clans that were into PVE to create a re-imagining of the game (different approach for each of those, of course)
- RPG Quiz - can you get all 25 right?
- FPS Quiz - how well do you know your shooters?
Hahaha we'd never get past PVP or PVE.....
- RPG Quiz - can you get all 25 right?
- FPS Quiz - how well do you know your shooters?
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
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When I posted I had no idea of the experience of the OP (still kinda unsure).
To me though, he likes a specific browser mmorpg in another thread (that is player dead). Not sure if a private server approach would be best.
Take the developers of Warhammer Return of Reckoning for an example, they did a great job (even though they still had to re-engineer a lot because they didn't straight up buy the code).
I would love to buy Age of Conan and revamp it.. but the IP is on full lockdown.
Can't remember the details but I remember Derek posting some pretty incriminating stuff.
"Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee
The x years are less if you are a programmer, even less if you are an experienced programmer. If you are not, hopefully you are at least an artist or project manager. Point is you have to bring some skills to the table, as being the idea person is not going to happen..besides I can assure you that without game development experience your ideas will suck. And if you don't have those skills right now, you have to do the learning part first.
And THEN you can think about the funding.
Which I would recommend that you spend on paying yourself a salary while working on prototypes for a few years. If you are not a programmer it will be expensive to hire someone qualified aka experienced...basically if you can not make at least your own prototype concpts as a starting point, you are screwed.
Cost? Pulling numbers out of thin air... Anywhere from 100k up to a mil for a very basic game (if you manage it well).
"I am my connectome" https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HA7GwKXfJB0
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™
"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon