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[Hieloco]

Hello everyone,

We need your input, please help!

We are trying to create a new kind of mmorpg rather than what we’re used to. We've spent a few years "doing research" on Tibia, Ragnarok, World of Warcraft, Guild Wars and The Legend of Zelda. So you will surely notice a resemblance and (what we consider) are the best elements from these games that we deeply enjoyed. We are open to any ideas that you might have and are willing to share, since in the end, we want to create an awesome mmorpg for everyone to savor.

My intention is to keep the post alive and constantly update it with our newest work.

Enter Tales of Auria.

Puzzles. Imagine playing any of the previously mentioned games or any mmorpg, and walking (a very long walk) to get to another area of the game-world, or to complete a quest, get to a dungeon, etc. Wouldn't it be nice if it was a less boring walk, and during the long walk you could enjoy yourself? We believe that we could fix this with puzzles comprised of moving platforms, hidden levers, locked doors, mazes, etc. Some puzzles will require timing, positioning, skill and teamwork.
Video here!

Music. From fluttering flutes to war-inducing drums, these rhythms and melodies will invade your brain. Think Ocarina of Time.
Music!
More music!

Interactive terrain. The world of Auria will stay as real and as natural as possible. We’ll have ledge hanging, cliff jumping, you’ll be able to push/pull objects, break objects, etc.

Non-instanced world. We believe that online games are meant to be played with other people. For us, instances threaten this idea, so we've decided to create a world where others can get in your way, push you around, and become an obstacle if they intend to; of course you won't let that happen, because you'll make his head roll. In our game, you'll be someone and not just a ghost.

Bosses. We want to bring back our fond memories from The Legend of Zelda with bosses that have their own unique fighting system. So bosses in our game won't just be a bigger monster with bigger stats, he'll have a unique way of fighting that you'll have to decipher in order to beat him.

Battle system. We intend to bring a console-like battle system. More of a hack-and-slash than just plain old hotkeys. It will not only require being the most powerful player, but also developing skill.

Free-to-play. We love free games, so our game will be an amazing free-to-play game. However, we need to earn a living and you could help us out (in the near future) by buying vanity items, different sound packs or anything along those lines, but never pay to win.

Evolution. In Tales of Auria leveling does not only mean getting stronger and tougher; it also means growing up (sort of like Pokemon). Every playable race in our game will start off as a child and grow up to its final evolution stage, with the ability of customizing your character along the way.
Arborian in 1st and 2nd evolution.


Races. Maybe you’re tired of having just two legs. Maybe you wish you had a little more muscle tone. Maybe you’re a bit of a tree-hugger. Perhaps pointy ears turn you on. Maybe you wish you were a fluffy little killing machine. Maybe all you want is to transform into something you will never find outside this screen and lose yourself for a moment. We’ve got you covered.

Arborian Sprout in 1st evolution.


Gu'la


Alushe


We are also including all the goodies of common mmorpgs. Different factions, different vocations, character customization, PvP, customizable builds, epic quests and much more.

Tales of Auria is being designed from the ground up with multi-platform in mind. We’ll support PC, Mac, iOS and Android. So everyone gets to play from their favorite platform in the same world of Auria.

We would love to get your feedback, comments, ideas, suggestions, anything. Please step in. Help us create the mmorpg of your dreams.

Please note that all footage, music, art, etc. is in pre-alpha stage (nothing is absolutely final). Also note all videos are actual gameplay!

This is how we work: Video

If you would like to support us please give us a facebook like

Update August 23rd:
Just released a new song, check it out!
http://soundcloud.com/andresvil/awakening

[Quicksand-S]

As a person who doesn't play MMOs too often, I may not be your target audience but I thought I'd chime in anyway. You mentioned that traveling through areas may require teamwork. That is the only part of your post that I don't like.

Not everyone who plays MMOs wants to form groups. Some people like to solo as much as they can, and some people will be "forced" to try a puzzle solo if they can't find a decent team or they run into a puzzle and there's nobody else in the current area. I think it would be good to always have options for solo players.

In my mind, teamwork should be an option that makes the game slightly easier and maybe more enjoyable, but playing solo should still be viable.

But like I said, I'm probably not your target audience so feel free to completely ignore this.

[Hieloco]

Hey Quicksand, thanks for the feedback!

You're right, being able to play solo is a crucial part of any game, even MMOs. We failed to mention that most puzzles will be targeted for solo players and only puzzles that lead towards the hardest bosses (which can't be killed on your own anyway) will absolutely require team work. We were actually discussing this same topic several weeks ago and noticed that we had to keep the solo players in mind.

Thanks again for the feedback, if you have any more thoughts on the other aspects of the game we'd love to hear them

[Paul Eres]

how would the interactive terrain work? like if one guy throws a rock and breaks it, would it eventually return to its old spot for new players or will it sit there broken forever? it sounds pretty confusing to imagine a world that has 'breakable objects' and yet is the same for everyone; wouldn't eventually everything get broken, unless it respawns unbroken?

[lynks]

I really like the sound of this, and your models look great! As an MMO developer myself, I know how much trouble you're gonna have keeping that interactive world properly synced across thousands of clients. I really hope you pull it off, because this sounds great - just the right balance between 'tried and tested mmo mechanics' and 'zomg check out our plans for this mmortsfpspuzzleplatformer'. I'll be keeping an eye on this project, good luck

[louisdeb]

those sketches look awesome... i wouldn't mind a game with that kind of art style (the sketch style, instead of modelling it to a bit of realism)

[Hieloco]

how would the interactive terrain work? like if one guy throws a rock and breaks it, would it eventually return to its old spot for new players or will it sit there broken forever? it sounds pretty confusing to imagine a world that has 'breakable objects' and yet is the same for everyone; wouldn't eventually everything get broken, unless it respawns unbroken?

We struggled with this one when we started exploring the possibilities of a puzzle world in an MMO environment. Things like grass and vases just respawn as those don't affect gameplay as much.

For objects that you interact on a collision basis like a moving block to solve a puzzle we have several ideas. One we're working on right now is having ice which as soon as you touch it doesn't let you stop until you hit something (pokemon had puzzles like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hul8uWtuytQ) and having ice cubes that you can push around on the ice in order to change where you stop and complete the puzzle. Ice cubes start melting down when you start pushing them, so after a minute or so they will be gone and a new ice cube will be formed (ie spawned) where it was initially.
Another idea that just came to my mind is to have a big haystack where you can pull out a smaller haystack that dissolves over time with the wind.

Other puzzles won't have interactable terrain but will be mazes (like the mushrooms you saw in the first video on the original post, but obviously a bit harder).

Those are just some ideas and it's definitely a tricky proposition but we think if we're creative enough we can come up with some neat stuff. We'd love to hear yours if you come up with any : >

Thanks a lot for your feedback!

I really like the sound of this, and your models look great! As an MMO developer myself, I know how much trouble you're gonna have keeping that interactive world properly synced across thousands of clients. I really hope you pull it off, because this sounds great - just the right balance between 'tried and tested mmo mechanics' and 'zomg check out our plans for this mmortsfpspuzzleplatformer'. I'll be keeping an eye on this project, good luck

Hahahaha yes, exactly!! I laughed with 'mmortsfpspuzzleplatformer'
Would you happen to have something I can see of what you've developed with your MMO? I'd love to check it out
Thanks!

those sketches look awesome... i wouldn't mind a game with that kind of art style (the sketch style, instead of modelling it to a bit of realism)

Thanks a lot , we wanted it to have a more fun theme and we think the art is coming along great to what we want the mood of the game to be. We'll keep you posted!

[Quarry]

I watched the first preview video and I don't think that this game should be an MMORPG. The grid and possibly turn based (from what I've seen in the combat part) gameplay isn't a very good pick for such genre. MMORPGs often have a lot of action and timing going on (see any MMORPG, especially WoW in this case) and I don't think that this game fits the description.

Sure, there are grid and turn based MMOs (Runescape that comes to my mind first). However they often get boring and repetitive more easily than the "free-er" ones.

Good luck with the project, I'd like to play this as a singleplayer puzzler RPG rather than an MMO though...

[Hieloco]

I watched the first preview video and I don't think that this game should be an MMORPG. The grid and possibly turn based (from what I've seen in the combat part) gameplay isn't a very good pick for such genre. MMORPGs often have a lot of action and timing going on (see any MMORPG, especially WoW in this case) and I don't think that this game fits the description.

Sure, there are grid and turn based MMOs (Runescape that comes to my mind first). However they often get boring and repetitive more easily than the "free-er" ones.

Good luck with the project, I'd like to play this as a singleplayer puzzler RPG rather than an MMO though...

The combat is a bit dull in those video, in all honesty it's because it's not really built yet. It won't be turned based at all, we're aiming for the contrary actually. We think of it as smash brothers since attacks won't be directly targeted. (Say you are targeting someone that's too far away and you hit attack, it will attack whatever is within range). I can see how the combat form the videos would make it look turned based though.

As for grid based movement, we believe it opens up a lot of things which wouldn't work quite as well in an open world like the puzzles, and it also provides an mmo that's very playable on mobile devices like tablets.

We will be updating this thread with more stuff, and soon enough with an actual combat video. Hopefully we can change your mind about this not being an mmo : >, thanks a lot for your feedback!

[Hieloco]

Just released a new song, check it out!
http://soundcloud.com/andresvil/awakening