For the past several months, the IndieZen crew has been very busy putting the finishing touches on the game engine client and extending the capabilities of the game development tools and the MMO server software.

This has been great because it has also given us time to continue developing back-stories, enhance the game design and improve the gameplay.

The goal is to create a game that’s deep and complex, yet still be easy to play.  It should be comfortable and familiar, yet innovative and unqiue.

My previous What is Fractured Universe? article gave a lot of details on the inner workings of the game, but after some feedback and a whole lot more digging into the game design, I’ve decided I’m going to focus a little less on the player contributed AI.  (I think it scared some people away.)  I will not be discarding that feature, but it will not be the primary focus of the game.

Gameplay - Families

One of the game features that we have been kicking around for the past year and we’ve finally decided it’s a good idea is the use of Families and player-managed land.  (I’m going to use the word “managed” because it’s virtual and players can’t really own it.)

The thought has been that player-managed land would be fun, but what happens when the player takes a PC off adventuring for extended periods of time?  Does the land sit idle, eventually becoming decrepit and worn down?

Adding a Family with which the PC’s can interact and who will stay behind and take care of the family land sounded like a great idea.

Beyond that, we decided that we could take it a step further.  The family doesn’t just piddle around and do nothing, they continue running a family business, earning some gold that the player characters can eventually spend.
Another great side-effect is now players have someplace to return after a long series of quests.  Relax for awhile, piddle around the garden, etc.  Of course, if you own a tavern, it makes for a great place to return with your friends and re-tell some of the tales of your quests and possibly make plans for your next big adventure.

Gameplay - Free to Play / Dual Currency

Although this is a commercial endeavor, I want as many people to be able to play it as possible.  The more the merrier.  But one must still pay the bills.

As a result, we have decided to go with a dual currency system.  For now I’ll call them Credits and Gold, although this may not be the final names of the currencies.

Gold can be used to trade and barter for most in-game items that have an impact on gameplay.

Credits on the other hand are used for paying rental fees for player-managed land.  Credits cannot be exchanged with other player characters.  The only two ways you can get credits is by purchasing them using real-world currency through a secure payment system, or by exchanging them for gold through the in-game Currency Exchange.

The exchange rate for exchanging Credits for Gold (and vice versa) are set by the players.

Facebook

I have recently added a Facebook page for Fractured Universe.  Go there and become a Fan!
Weekly Blogs

Now that some of my development plate is being cleared, I’ll resume my weekly blogs.  Quite likely I’ll post game-play related blogs here and keep the technical blogs on the IndieZen and Garage Games websites.

Thanks for reading… sign up on our forums or become a fan on Facebook so I know you’re still out there paying attention.  That’s the only thing that keeps me going.