EverQuest Next Landmark is now simply Landmark, a change made to clarify that this isn't just a toolset for creating EverQuestlike environments. Landmark is a set of tools designed to enable people to create landscapes, and then to populate them with adventures and AI that they can share with other people.
Even with a bit of Minecraft and 3D modeling experience, getting used to Landmark's tools is daunting at first. It's a paradigm shift in terms of tool complexity: not only can you place shapes other than cubes, you can resize those shapes, twist them, and use them to carve chunks out of other blocks.
These tools have a crucial role to play in shaping the next generation of MMOs. “One of the reasons we made the choices we have is we don't believe we can keep up with demand from players," says producer Terry Michaels. “We know that we can't create it as fast as players can consume it. It's just not possible."
At the moment, Landmark only has building tools. Combat and more detailed survival mechanics are coming next, followed by an AI system that players will also be given the power to tinker with. It is being developed in conjunction with London-based game design consultancy Storybricks, whose modular and languagebased approach to AI throws out the restrictive and heavily scripted approach of past MMOs.
In Landmark and EverQuest Next, NPCs will navigate the environment based on simple desires and an understanding of the world based on simple symbolic terms a temple area might be “sacred," for example, while a road might signify “civilization."
“Everybody works together to create systems, not finished ‘content'," says Storybricks' Stéphane Bura. “That means that everybody is part of an experience that will be realized when the player uses it. We are providing a vehicle for the
player's creativity."
In EverQuest Next, these systems will be put in place by the devs. With Landmark, the developers are giving players the tools to create MMOs of their own.
For the MMO hardcore, this technology promises a more interesting, responsive world to explore. “Before, when we made a dungeon encounter we tested all of the ways in which you could break it," says Michaels. “Now, we test the systems and we accept that there are actions that we can't anticipate. We allow the game to play out the way it would."
SOE is making big changes to the MMO model. “Some of our long-term players might not like this game," Michaels admits. “We hope they do, but we're not going to hinder the design by conforming to what we've done in the past."
Chris Thursten
DEVELOPER: SOE
PUBLISHER: In-house
LINK: www.landmarkthegame.com
