AfterWorld - MMORPG Sneak Peek

[Aronian]

Article by Skion, MMORPGFocus Staff Writer

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AfterWorld (not to be confused with the sci-fi series bearing the same name) bills itself as the first virtual world with a real free market economy. What will it take to put these guys in charge of the American economy?

Political jokes aside though, here's what we know- AfterWorld looks very interesting. It's developed by 10tacle Studios, a Russian game studio. AfterWorld is a 3-D MMO set in a post-apocalyptic time period, contrasting high-technology with a rustic almost downtrodden atmosphere. The game looks to be well into development, with the client already in late alpha stage. Client download and registration is open to the public under the Download section of the website.



The game's story is very cryptic, allowing the reader to make sense of it as well as they can. As far as I can tell, there are a number of simultaneous occurrences that have an impact on the world's history starting a mere 20 years from now. An extra-terrestrial spacecraft approaches the Earth's surface and communicates with someone in a complex, encrypted format. The local government is on high-alert, suspicious of anyone who tries to investigate. It is unclear at first whether the government themselves are communicating with this spacecraft, or whether they are looking for someone who is. Regardless, the story indicates that this communication has gone on for a long time, and was only just recently discovered. I know it's just a story, but that's a really frightening possibility, in a good way. Could you imagine people living on earth who have been talking to aliens for a long time without anyone else knowing?



It's not like that's the only thing that happened- A doctor who somehow reminded me of Nazi doctor Mengele developed nanobot brain implants, hoping to boost the mental capacities of his patients. Unfortunately, he sees his experiments go horribly awry. Another 22 year old private named Phil O'Raily (I know!) comes upon secret experiments while being sent to retrieve the mysterious Zeus-55 object. He finds out that Zeus is actually a building of some sort where scientists are doing things they don't want anyone else to know about.



The concept art reflects some talented artists working on this game, and the in-game world is proof of this. The game's atmosphere is beautifully crafted, especially considering the game is still in alpha.



Whether this MMORPG's developers have carried out the lofty goal of a real free-market economy remains to be seen, however. Players of the game have noted the need for economic tweaks. The game is still in alpha, of course, but it has attracted a sizable community of players, some of who are no doubt attracted to the free-economy aspect of the game. We hope that the game will sort out its bugs and issues and continue to make a strong showing in it's beta release, likely coming in 2010. Watch this space!



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