Open Source Metaverse - Why failed MMO

Uru is a fantasy MMO that has failed as a business venture.  Repeatedly.  It failed once in the fall of 2003 with Ubisoft, again in 2007 with Gametap, and by most accounts is considered a financial disaster.

Yet it was and is a good game and I'm a fan of it.

Now the creators of the game, Cyan Worlds, are (gradually) releasing the game as an open source title.  The game engine, world editing tools, and the full content of the game itself will now be freeware, and anyone who wants to will be allowed to add to it.  This seems to be a concession from the company that the game has no business potential.

Maybe it doesn't.  Maybe it never did.  But as a game, it has a lot to offer.  Cyan CEO Rand Miller has said that the game "failed well", and it seems that what he means is this:  It never made a profit, but it has a very devoted fan following of people who really, really like it.  As a business venture, it was a mess - Perhaps $30 million or more invested, much of it never made up - but as a game it's a good product.

Uru was an extension of the Myst series - which was respected for its stellar visual and sound design, as well as its narrative depth, but was maligned by many for its difficult puzzles, loneliness, and limited interactivity.

Uru, by contrast, is realtime 3d and multiplayer, with intuitive social networking features and some non-puzzle minigames, in addition to its massive number of puzzles.  Since its earliest version in 2003, more and more has been added to it, to the point where it's not only good quality, it's a large metaverse - a collection of diverse and imaginative virtual worlds linked together.  The visual design is solid, as is the sound, and it holds up well for its age visually - partly because the game typically aims for many fairly small worlds rather than a few bigger ones, allowing for lots of attention to detail and very careful use of the 100,000 or so polygons per level.  Even if you don't solve any puzzles at all, Uru is worth visiting just to explore and gawk at the beautiful artistry of the worlds it contains.  Dozens of worlds.  (Of course, if you do solve puzzles, you get access to new areas, new worlds, and bonus items.  Progress in Uru is defined more by the places you've gained access to than by money, skill, kills, or numeric leveling of any kind)

Point #1: It's actually a good game.  Granted, the gameplay format isn't up everyone's alley, and some of the physics-based elements are annoying, but overall?  It's a good product.

It's dated, yes, but one of the reasons it failed in its first version in 2003 was that its system requirements were too high for most computers.  Now it still looks great - with better attention to detail than many successful MMOs - but it's also compatible with most PCs, as well as most macs.

That's point #2: Most people can run the game today.  Even people with cheaper or older computers.

Of course, back to the fact that it failed - yes, it did.  The creators of the title were developing it for Ubisoft and later for Gametap (with a span in between where it was dormant and all the expansion of the game was in two single-player expansion packs.)

When it was active, there was a new world each month, and an evolving storyline, on top of everything that had been added up to that point.  But Ubisoft's business plan called for charging players $10-$15 per month, and Gametap charged $6 or more per month.

The content wasn't bad, but it didn't show up rapidly enough to justify the cost to people who were only curious about the game and weren't already fans of Myst.

Even the non-growing Until Uru had to be purchased, and required having bought the singleplayer game first.

But now it's going to be open sourced.  $30+ million in development and now it's going to be free.

Point #3: It's free.  There's no risk in trying the game (or dabbling in it for extended periods of time)

Also, there are a lot of fans making their own worlds for the game, using tools they've collectively developed themselves.  And many of them are pretty poor, granted.  With access to the professional tools used by the game's developers, though, there's no reason they (at least, the more talented fans) couldn't match or exceed the quality of the original work when they add new worlds to the game. 

They could make higher-poly worlds that take advantage of modern processing.  They've already developed a dynamic loading feature that allows massive worlds, multi-million poly worlds, even, to be made.  And since the engine itself is open source, programmers can and probably will add new features to it in an effort to bring it fully up to date.

Point #4: Anyone who wants to can add to the game.  Many already are.  The game will probably grow and improve in quality as all of its technologies are open sourced.

Finally, this is an extension of a series that has collectively sold over 15 million game copies and 600,000 books.  The Myst franchise.  There are a group of guys, known as the Mysteriacs, who are trying to get a Myst film production underway.  They have connections to "Lord of the Rings" concept artist John Howe and ILM VFX supervisor John Knoll.  Last I checked, they were pitching to Dreamworks and Wingnut.  No clue what kind of funding they'll end up with, or who will pick up the project, but it's certainly a good time for the fantasy film genre, and they've got a decent shot at success.

In which case, there may well be a surge of interest in all things "Myst", including Uru.

Point #5: The Myst movie may (possibly) drive growth for Uru's userbase.  Even if it doesn't, the fact that Uru is now becoming  freeware should spur growth.

Just a few thoughts on why the announcement on http://www.mystonline.com about Uru's open sourcing may end up being a big deal.

See you in-game!