If you’re looking for signs of what the next generation of MMOs could look like, then you might want to start checking out the work that Improbable is doing.
A studio that’s been generating some serious buzz over the past year, Improbable’s main project is creating a platform that allows creators to build virtual worlds that are far more complex and emergent than the one we have today. A new piece at Wired highlights how Improbable CEO Herman Narula became frustrated with the limitations of MMOs and wanted to create tech that would surpass “player-centric illusion” to utilize physical laws and object persistence.
“We read books and we cry, we laugh, we’re horrified, we fall in love — those experiences matter to people,” Narula said. “Online worlds need to evoke the same thing. In the last few years we’ve seen the abysmal failure of games attempting to mimic the World of Warcraft model of repeating scripted content. The average gamer age is 37, the industry is worth a hundred billion dollars, and people are hungry for deeper experiences. They want their actions to make a difference.”
Worlds Adrift is already being created on Improbable’s platform, which helped Bossa Studios get the game up and running in far less time than previously thought possible. Other projects that are utilizing Improbable include former DayZ creator Dean Hall’s space colonization title Ion and researchers looking to model the UK housing market.
