Okay so I decided to write this topic after being inside the Glitch for the last three tests.
I discovered it months ago, but only figured out recently it was now open for testers.
That's a fun game and I'm enjoying playing it, but as I could see in other topics, I'm also wondering what will happen in the long term to keep the game interesting.
I mean, all those badges are very nice, and everything in the game keeps the player flattered with happiness and rainbows, but what will be the point in the end?
For the moment, the short test periods keep the players from being bored, but before Glitch gets out of beta, I think it really needs a major goal and a purpose to play towards.
A game of giant imagination
That's what the loading page says.
So what do you mean by "imagination"?
I can see that the designers have used a lot of that to create amazing and varied environment for Glitch, but what is left in the end for the player and where are we supposed to use it in the game?
Play Glitch and you'll have a chance to shape the world
There has been some mentions of that aspect in the trailer, home page, and in a few blog posts, but even if the game is still in beta, I'm surprised not to see a single glimpse of it in the current version.
What we can do for the moment is to participate in "projects" to "help build" the streets. I haven't had the time to do that yet because of my fresh account, but from what I understand it's at the opposite of a creative and collaborative process.
It seems to be just like a coloring book for kids. Everything is decided at first by the developers, and players would just have to gather random materials to fill the holes...witch seems pointless in the end because a level designer obviously doesn't need "game materials" from players to design a new street...
Okay maybe there's that idea for the devs to see which project is more popular, and develop more of that part of the world in return. But again, you could achieve this with some in-game voting system, letting the players use their time on less pointless tasks, and more (really) creative projects.
One enormous, ever-changing, persistent world
So that's what Glitch is according to the about page.
There are some aspects that seems really innovative already, like the ability to bring animals to other places, and give them a name, or play with trees in limited areas.
The recent "foodwriting" thing in Plexus also unveiled some possibilities, and showed the need for players to leave their mark and be creative. I could also read about home decoration, or customized groups halls, and I can't wait to see those happening.
But all of that is still a bit limited, and apart from players owned locations, the main word itself won't be "ever-changing", or will it be?
There have been some great games lately with ever-changing worlds.
One of them is Minecraft, but unfortunately it's not an mmo with a single world.
Another one is Love from Quel Solaar, but unfortunately it needs a powerful card, a monthly fee, and a bunch of tutorials.
What I love in those two games is that ability to modulate the world itself, in a true sandbox way of gaming. The nature of Glitch, and its 2d designed elements, probably won't offer the same level of liberty as cubes or procedural environments, but even if the landscapes can't be altered, I believe there's still some room for player-made constructions inside the streets.
There's a mention of "architectural endeavors (later)" in a blog post from April, is it possible to know more about those plans?
Taking the example of "Love" above, the idea of the game is to create settlements somewhere in the world, and develop small player-designed constructions.
The game is well-balanced, because the AI will start to attack the buildings as the base gets bigger and bigger and as it gets annoyed by the intrusion in its world.
Going back to Glitch, we have the rooks as negative force to balance the game.
But why do they attack us? No reason.
For example, players could be able to build constructions (in favor of the gods?), using their skill and helping each other in the process. They would eventually get favor or experience points proportional to time and size of the construction. But that wouldn't last forever, or without teamwork, because the rooks would be around, defending their territory...
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The above is just a possible example, but to make it short, we need something to make use of our hardly learned skills in the future, something that could be creatively player-designed, and at the same time that gathers people together for a worth purpose.
I know that such wild stuff is hard to code, and I don't care much about the launch date, or less tests sessions, if that can give you more time to create an even better Glitch!
And if you already have some plan around those concepts, I'd love to hear more about it.