My Sandbox MMO - Game Concept

Here is a sandbox MMO idea I have come up with about a year ago. The details have been stripped for IP protection and the headings were left to give you an idea of the many unique game features.

The main purpose and difference of this MMO idea is to create a living and growing world that a server-full of players can inhabit and interact with. The story is created by the players and the dynamic world, not theme-park MMO writers. I strongly believe that a sandbox MMO must be very dynamic and player-driven in order to truly be a sandbox. It should not have theme-park storytelling and quests that limits narrative content and sets a false purpose of playing the game; vertical character progression and levels that introduce the need to grind; game-economy restrictions that specify the minimum and maximum item prices; established and unchanging settlements that keep the world static; and a clear separation between PVE and PVP that creates unrealistic safe zones and undoes the purpose of a dynamic, player-driven MMO.

I am sharing this idea here to hopefully inspire some game/MMO developers. 

Enjoy!

Settlements

●     Guards (NPC)

●     Mercenaries (NPC)

●     Mayor (player)

●     Founder (player)

●     Shops (NPC)

●     Auction House (NPC)

●     Status

●     Housing (NPC and player)

●     Military structures

●     Taxes

●     Trading Caravans

●     Farming

●     Mining

●     Forestry

●     Morale

●     Population (NPC)

●     Settlement Take-over

Politics

●     King

●     Advisors/Council

●     Nations

●     Guilds

PvE

●     Extinction

●     Sensible Loot

●     No respawn

●     Procreation

●     Evolution

●     Migration

●     Hunting

●     Taming

●     In-game bestiary that players can add-onto as they come across new creatures and write their notes on the observed strengths, weaknesses, and strategies.

Artifacts

●     Only source of magic

●     The reason why there is no perma-death

●     Found in secret, well-protected caves

●     Can give major advantages

●     Range from wearables to stationary power sources

Zone control

●     Settlements add zone control to the faction occupying them

●     Benefits

●     Fog of War map

●     Tactical map

Communication system

●     All deliverable written forms of communication can be sealed with a sealing ring to assure authenticity and integrity of the message. They can also be retained in letter form, making it vulnerable to thieves, or destroyed.

●     Messenger (Player and NPC)

●     Bird (NPC)

●     Local

●     Whisper

●     Bulletin board

●     Town crier (NPC)

●     Modern means of communication are to be expected but can be prone to infiltration just as much as in-game.

Crafting

●     Forge

●     3D tools

●     Weapons

●     Armor

●     Durability

●     Dye

Building structures

Quests

●     Player-created contracts with a player-written description

●     The reward is set and deposited during the creation of the quest.

●     Found on bulletin boards or can be given in person

●     Can set a limit on how many people can cash it in or how many quest-related items can be traded for the reward

Combat

Thievery

●     Concealing the face of the character with a mask or helmet conceals the character’s name. Good for thievery and anonymous tasks.

●     Success as a thief depends on the player’s, rather than character’s, skill and their equipment

●     Players can choose to break windows and doors or silently infiltrate them with the use of lockpicks and other tools

●     Players and NPCs who witness the crime may alert guards or intervene themselves

Environment

●     Day/night cycle

●     Seasons

●     Naturally hot(south) and cold(north) areas

●     Forests

●     Caves

●     Deserts

●     Mountains

●     Bodies of water

Death

●     If a player dies, they will need to wait a while (1 hours? more if its a political official that has been revolted against) to respawn. They will not be able to login into the game or use the mobile app for communication. The respawn time can be decreased or increased(curse) with use of certain artifacts. 1 character is allowed per account.

●     A dead player’s corpse can be looted. (possible alternative to having to wait for hours)

Logging Off

●     Makes the character go to sleep. The character travels to the designated-by-player property owned by the player and sleeps there until the player logs back in. Can sleep in deployable camp. Teleportation artifacts can be used to speed up and make the process safer.

Mobile App

●     Have access to most of the communication systems on the go, excluding local and whisper. Access to the map that you would see while in-game. Give permission to players to do actions that you have the authority to do. Monitor character status while logged off in-game and execute contingency commands.

Would you be interested in playing this game? Got any comments or suggestions? Let me know what you think.