Oort Online
I wish I could tell you everything I learned from Oort Online by playing this early access game, but I haven’t had the time to try it out. So far and from the different videos I have seen, it looks like Oort is taking the open world and instant travels design to a new level of polish and adventure. They even utilize a system that helps things run smoothly; it basically reduces the graphical impact of far-away objects, similar to Ryzom’s mob system.
The game offers – or promises to offer – different character races, jobs and abilities, a full player-driven economy, instant travel between worlds using portals, equipment for your character, combat, PvP and a very lovely voxel look. It also features some called the Oort Terraformer World Tool. Sounds cool. Check out the website. Now, please.
Landmark
For a while, it seemed like Landmark was the hypest thing on the planet. Now, after time has let things settle and players have gotten their hands on the open-world builder, the steam has cooled a bit. Players continue to build some amazing things in the game, however. Landmark is called just the “first part” to EverQuest Next, but many of us are wondering just how much further the game can go. Sure, there is a massive amount of development that obviously needs to be done, but some of the fans have done such wonderful things with the title that, at this point, it could be written off a very successful art experiment and everyone would nod their heads and go “Yeah, that was great.”
Players explore the beautiful scenery, claim areas of land, customize items and build pretty much everything. You can also sell your creations in the game’s “Creator’s Studio”, a unique offering in games like these. Sure, SOE’s recent financial wackiness and key-employee layoffs might appear to indicate a rocky future, but with a game like Landmark and, later, EverQuest II, the future might not be so dim. Sign up for beta on the official website here.
TUG
TUG is probably the most indie-feeling game of this bunch. Sure, its graphics feel slicker than, say, MyDream’s (see below) but MyDream is a much more complete package. File TUG under “to be seen,” alongside Windbourne.
The game is pretty cool, and its list of features is admirable. The developers are building the game engine themselves, with full terrain generation and modding support to give players opportunity to mod the game. There will be some interesting crafting and survival aspects in the game, and plenty of different biomes and situations to survive. The game will even offer a good background of lore, complete with an official language that gamers can translate. I haven’t seen the language while in the game, but it’s still early. Check out TUG right here.
MyDream
I recently covered MyDream by interviewing its lead developer, Allison Huynh. It has a lot of the features that you might expect from the games on this list, but the developers also promise a bit more of a family-friendly community. What makes it different? I’ll let Allison’s words answer that one:
“We think there are multiple reasons why a Minecraft player would want to play MyDream. The most obvious reason at a glance would be graphical superiority. For some players it's not something that's important but for us and many others it's a much more satisfying experience to manipulate a more realistic environment. Along with this theme includes the terrain manipulation and the interesting landscapes you can produce with it. Another reason Minecraft players would want to play our game is because of the connected community we've managed to achieve with how easy it is to access any world at any time and share experiences with other players. Also, a lot of creative people love the idea of creating quests and adventures in MyDream. We definitely have kept Minecraft in mind while making MyDream, as well as the many other games that focus on User Generated Content.”
Check the game out at this website. The one right here!
I love putting lists together like this. It’s my hope that you will find at least one new game to check out. Even if you’re not really a Minecraft fan, the games on this list offer something. The most interesting aspect I want to share from these games is the ability to jump in and out of different worlds, worlds that players have even created or customized themselves.
Enjoy!
