[MUD-Dev2] [Design] Design challenge: Bed-time game

[Daniel James]

On Mon, 4 Aug 2008, Peter Harkins wrote:

> On Fri, Jul 18, 2008 at 11:14:36AM -0600, Acius wrote:
> > One style of game that seems appropriate is the Ikariam/Travian style of  
> > web-based empire building.
> 
> On a tangent, does anyone know of a nice name for this class of games?

I think the folks making them call them 'Browser MMOs' or 'Browser-based 
MMOs'. I am not sure that this really covers it, particularly the 
asynchronous and graphics-light aspects which are the defining 
properties in my mind. 

'Asynchronous Stat-based Browser MMO Strategy Games' is ahem pithy.

> I'm continously surprised by how large some of the crude games get. They
> feel to me a lot like muds of the early 90s: hobbyists running world
> games with a slowly rising trend of commercial products.

Many of these games are very successful, especially in Europe (often 
spreading east and south), and incredibly lucrative. GameForge and 
BigPoint are both making tens of millions of Euro annually from their 
stables of games, often re-skins of the same basic engine. A lot of the 
revenue is apparently generated by selling 'protection' for your empire 
whilst you're logged off.

Fascinating and definitely a prime avenue of exploration for an indie 
developer, as the barrier to entry to seems very low.

- Daniel