Reuters have revealed some of the first details on the LEGO Universe MMO, having talked to project director Mark William Hansen. From what we’ve managed to gather from this article and early discussion of the project at GDC, this could be the first children’s MMO with mass appeal. Crucial to its success will be getting this bit right:
Most social online worlds have their own currency or monetary system, and Lego Universe will also require users to spend virtual money to buy virtual bricks. But rather than winning or beating an opponent, players build capital by spending time in the game.
“The more a child plays, they collect more coins and more bricks. The more you play, the more you get to build things,” Hansen said.
If it can be a game purely of building and simply economics, it might just avoid the level-grind trap. What’s most fascinating, however, is the news that there will be a fully fledged LEGO building system in the game, and that users will even be able to order their creations and have the actual plastic kit delivered to their door…
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Ooooh!
im gonna collect me some pink bricks for my vagina house. who wants to help me grind to get the wheels for the penis car?
seriously though this is the new in thing user created content. I’l like to see more of what love is doing, how does that for FPS, or even a standard RPG. remember dark chronicle 2 anybody?
wait, is that a BEHOLDER?
I am stupidly excited about this.
I just hope it don’t go the way of auto assault :’(
That picture looks like a Lego version of Watchmen.
I really hope this works. Lego was one of my favourite toys when I was younger, and something like this sounds really promising. Rabbitsoup raises a slightly worrying point, as it will be a shame if the game collapses under the weight of moderation required. In many ways it would be nice if they provided child and adult servers, however I fear too many people would read adult to mean adult and you’d end up with a slightly blockier version of second life.
Was anyone else slightly miffed by the line: “Lego has expanded its line to include kits tailored for girls, featuring princesses and horses and castles.” Lego has always struck me as a fairly acessible, non-gendered, toy. To begin branding certain packs as ‘Lego for girls’ seem to be a retrogressive step. (I’ve always been uncomfortable with the idea of gender marketed toys anyway.)
.::: Actually the ‘build and order your creations’ thing has been going on for quite some time already:
http://factory.lego.com/default.aspx
It’s going to make more sense within the MMO though. :)
Now if only they’d resurrect Fabuland through this…
In line with rabbitsoup’s comment, what’s going to prevent the antisocial fuckwads that run the internet from making giant tentacle rape monsters, or statues of two anime wolves yiffing?
How quickly we forget the lessons of Second Life. Total anonymity + ability to create content = furries and greed.
This will save Lego.
The idea of creating things being at the center of a game is very exciting because it means the possibilities are pretty much endless. But since this is an MMO I am curious to see how interaction with other people will play out. What is ones incentive to work with other people when conceivably you can just build stuff yourself? I guess you could have building comps: Choose a theme, provide a limited number of blocks, give rewards to the best inventions (similar to player held costume comps in CoH) but I love working with other players rather than against them…
@Phuzz: That was my first reaction too.
i’m guessing they’re throwing out the chat engine (if they’re really planning on marketing this to kids), which should by itself make it a huge improvement over the typical mmo.
i’ll keep my eye out.
My mouth has been struck agape at the site of this.
Agape I tell you!
I think it really IS a beholder.
Bitchin.
how do i play it?
i dont get it