EverJane - The Jane Austen MMORPG

[Falconeer]

I am not kidding you. It went through KickStarter (of course) and got more than 100k (of course).

The good thing is that you can actually download a pre-pre-pre-alpha (prototype) right now and see that it is for real. It'll include balls and dinner parties, families and gossip, personal traits and art quests. The person behind it has an interesting pedigree in the industry and well, I am intrigued.

Ever, Jane is a virtual world that allows people to role-play in Regency Period England. Similar to traditional role playing games, we advance our character through experience, but that is where the similarities end. Ever, Jane is about playing the actual character in the game, building stories.  Our quests are derived from player's actions and stories. And  we gossip rather than swords and magic to demolish our enemies and aid our friends. 

Try to win the sympathy of Lizzie Bennet by telling lies about your rival, as Mr. Wickham does, but be careful.  The system will notify someone if they are being talked about too often and a good sleuth may find the player who is spreading such rumors.  If you are caught in your lies, the consequences you intended for your target will hit you two-fold.

Judy Tyrer talking about the game.

The trailer

[Ingmar]

As a fan of rubbernecking terrible RPers, I'll totally take a look at this at some point.

[Sjofn]

I ... I kinda ... want to play this.

[Pezzle]

If people want to play this kind of thing so be it.  We all need outlets.  I can forgive almost everything in that video.  I cannot forgive that unreadable cursive script.  Made my eyes hurt.  What the fuck are they saying and stop hurting my ears in the process!

[Furiously]

I think it needs more Saints Row.....

[Sir T]

Insert "Oh Mr Darcy!" joke here

[Hawkbit]

Finally, the game in which I can hold my balls as I wish.

[Stormwaltz]

I backed it on behalf of my wife, who is an intense Austenite.

[Wizgar]

The prospect of creating an "MMO" on a budget of 100k seems ridiculous to me, and I'd obviously need to know exactly what the gameplay was like on a day to day basis, but in theory I am totally down with this shit. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't admit it to most of my (male) friends, but I would so roll a handsome young naval officer and then go around promoting my career by engineering scandal for my rivals. I would poopsock that shit.

[Lakov_Sanite]

If I can play Alan Rickman or Hugh Laurie I'm in.

[ezrast]

The Goons are going to have a great time with this.

[Sir T]

I was reading an article yesterday on the almost total marketing of games to Males and the assumption that only men play games, which has never been true, but their marketting just said that MORE men played games so they went hell for leather for the biggest demographic. Games like the Sims and Myst were huge successes though, in large part because of the female market who love games.

So, if this is done right I can genuinely see this being a great success. Certainly it's an attempt at something new in a market bereft of ideas.

Now excuse me, I have to arrange a cab for my Gentleman to go to his club.

[Tannhauser]

This just in...MMO's have officially jumped the shark.

 

[Venkman]

Games like the Sims and Myst were huge successes though, in large part because of the female market who love games.

Was Myst originally marketed to women, or did that emerge as the audience after the fact?

[Senses]

They need to just turn Facebook into an MMO and get it over with.

[Nevermore]

This could easily be re-skinned as High School Online.

[Sjofn]

Games like the Sims and Myst were huge successes though, in large part because of the female market who love games.

Was Myst originally marketed to women, or did that emerge as the audience after the fact?

I don't think it was marketed to anyone specifically, which honestly, is practically marketing to women in the gamimg. Any game that doesn't shove THIS IS A MANLY MAN GAME FOR MEN TO PROVE THEIR MANLINESS RAAAAAAAAAAR in people's faces is going to get more looks from the ladies. It took me a long time to actually try Mass Effect because they had such a hard on letting people know what a manly dude ManShep was. Who knew it would wind up being one of the most empowering female leads I've ever played?

[Ghambit]

This could easily be re-skinned as High School Online.

Isnt there already some game that does this?  Was an Asian affair I believe.  (i'm not digging through threads to find it)
Anyways, cute old literature lady wants to make a game so "take my money!?" uhhh, no.   Really, she showed some desire, a frozen screen with some choices, and how to pay her.  That's it.  

[Falconeer]

Really, she showed some desire, a frozen screen with some choices, and how to pay her.  That's it.  

Which is much much more than some other big project have shown before getting millions. That said, you can download the client and see for yourself what they have. Which is far from exciting (I tried it), but it is absolutely honest.

[Sir T]

Just for reference the article I referenced above is here, for those who want to take a look

http://www.polygon.com/features/2013/12/2/5143856/no-girls-allowed

[Paelos]

If I can play Alan Rickman or Hugh Laurie I'm in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J608SdBT3ZI

[raydeen]

Grind and Grindability.

[UnSub]

Grind and Grindability.

Min and Maxability.

[Lakov_Sanite]

Mansfield camp.

[Stormwaltz]

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a gamer in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a lockbox.

[Typhon]

I find the art off-putting.  The women are all flat-chested and there isn't a navel to be seen anywhere.  That said, some of the shoulders are large and puffy, so it's not all bad.

[KallDrexx]

I'm not sure what the big deal is.  It's not the fact that there's no shooting or killing or whatever that makes it look not fun at all, but instead it looks like it has one main gameplay system (gossiping) which doesn't really look like it has any depth outside of the physical location of where you talk your pre-scripted shit talk about someone. 

I think a game with their very very basic idea could work and could be fun, but it really needs to be mapped out from the start on where the depth in the gameplay elements is going to come from.

[Baldrake]

Yeah, I'm trying to imagine what you'd do in this game. I have this image of grinding needlepoint and piano to get enough ladylike points to be invited to dinner...

It's a great idea though, if they can pull it off.

[Merusk]

It's an MMO version of the new Jane Austin movie, Austenland. That's what you'd do: Talking and roleplay.  No need for needlepoint, etc, etc.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1985019/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_5

Honestly, it's like none of you ever had non-gamer girlfriends or wives.

The Goons are going to have a great time with this.

I can only imagine.  They'd come in and show the other side of the 18th century that's always totally ignored by the Austen-fans of that type.  The ones who are so in love with the High Society image they're ignoring any of the criticism of it within.

[schild]

I like that some of you all are tip-toeing around what is very much a pit in which to burn money.

This idea is terrible and the only result will be comedy.

It's Furcadia for an audience that doesn't exist.

Edit: To answer Darniaq's question about Myst: It came out in what? 1993? Back then there were only two types of gaming advertisements - Gender/Age Neutral and Teenage Boys aged 13 to 19.

[eldaec]

IT is a truth universally acknowledged, that a publisher in possession of a IP must be in want of MMO subscription or microtransaction income.

However little known the feelings or views of supporters of that property may be on first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of worthless executives, that the fan wallets are considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their shitty dev teams.

"My dear Mr. Bennet,'' said his lady to him one day, "have you heard that copyright on anything pre-Mickey Mouse has expired?''

Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.

"But it has,'' returned she; "for Mrs. Long has a ridiculous set of female gaming demographic assumptions baked into a powerpoint slide, and she told me all about it.''

Mr. Bennet made no answer.

"Do not you want to know about idiotic extrapolation of revenue projections based on older ladies playing candy crush?'' cried his wife impatiently.

"You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.''

This was invitation enough.

[eldaec]

Actually this is really about kickstarter money isn't it.

[Simond]

This will only work if it's a stealth launch of Saints Row V - Saints in Time THE MMO.

[schild]

The Saint's Row team is smart, but not that smart.

[Falconeer]

You are all too skeptical. They could just go this way...