Poll: Open-Source Community RPG

[cosaides]

I think what the gaming world needs, is a good open-source RPG project. Similar games have been released, but they have just been completed games, with the source code freely available. I'm talking about a project in which gamers around the world, contribute ideas and programming, for a single RPG.

It would need structure of course. You couldn't just have everyone's submissions make it into the game, but if a central developer for the game would pick and choose what to approve, then an RPG with the best ideas from gamers worldwide, could be created.

The source code would be available to all, so aspiring contributors could see what is already in the game, and submit ideas they feel would improve it. Updated source would be released to public on a weekly basis.

Then again, it might fail, but I think that would be an interesting project.

What's your take on it?

 

[Ionami]

If someone is willing to invest the time and money into it, why not give it a shot I say?

 

[Same River New Water]

I voted "probably", but I've changed my mind. As RAKtheUndead said, the examples of great open-source games like Westnoth wouldn't translate to an RPG. An RPG, more than any other genre, needs to be creatively coherent; any open-source RPG would jump around in weirder directions than a pirate in a trampoline competition.

 

[DreamKing]

This could work. But when it came to user submitted content, the people picking and choosing the content would have to be very lentient or very strict.

 

[sp0rk]

This could work. But when it came to user submitted content, the people picking and choosing the content would have to be very lentient or very strict.

What about option 3, very modular? I'm not hugely familiar with the modern Neverwinter Nights, but my limited understanding is it's basically an engine upon which stories/plots are placed via modules. An open source RPG engine with an accessible toolkit to allow campaign/story creation might work. Then a central/base module could be created under the very strict method, to get things started.

 

[Shabubu]

Game design by committee has rarely gone well, at least in the retail game sense.

Perhaps one could make a thread and run all the decisions by forum polls - three days to respond. That way a central figure who holds the game in their head can fine-tune the poll options to give a somewhat coherent plot/gameplay.

What ever happens, good luck to those who want to participate - making a game isn't easy, especially when starting from scratch.

 

[SimuLord]

An open-source game would do well if the community were organized along the same lines as a commercial product. Someone would write the lore, someone would do the art, someone would do the nuts-and-bolts coding, and testers could be recruited from sites like GameFAQs and the Escapist. Mod ability would be a must; alongside the development of the game the devs would have to release the tools they used to create content (think Elder Scrolls Construction Set or GECK.)