mmorpgs go Anime with DOMO
Published by on February 14th, 2008
No, this post’s title is not meant to deliberately confuse the uninitiated, but let me translate in case you need to catch up:
mmorpg - “Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game” You know the kind of fantasy-style (usually) online game in which you do what we original aficionados of Dungeons and Dragons back in the 80s never even conceived would be possible one day. In our defense, would you see this future when your personal computer had a volatile 48k memory and arcades were stacked with Pacman and Space Invaders. Yes, I am showing my age now.
Anime - (the ‘e’ is not silent) That very recognisable form of large-eyed Japanese animation. OK, that is a fairly narrow description, but to the unwashed in such things it is the simplest way to describe. You may aso have heard the term ‘Manga’, which is the printed comic art variety.
DOMO - Short for Dream of Mirror Online, a new, free, mmorpg which is doing things a little differently.
Classically - if one can use that term for anything online - mmorpgs have been trying to develop high realism in their on screen worlds and characters. Believability over style. Games such as World of Warcraft Online and Lord of the Rings Online, both fall into this category. But as those of us of the old school of gaming know all too well, it is gameplay that wins at the end of the day, hands down. It can look as realistic as one’s graphics card can spew out, but the gameplay is the key to the reward of playing.
Dream of Mirror Online is in most respects just like any other mmorpg. It has all the elements of character classes, skills, fighting, trading, travel, exploration, quests, relationships, pets (yes, I said pets). But what it does differently is the way it looks. Just like a typical Anime movie, Dream of Mirror Online is - to coin a technical term - cel rendered. It looks like an animation, and as a result, stands out visually amongst the range of mmorpgs available today.
It’s free?
Most mmorpgs are, of course, subscription-based. After all, there is huge investment wrapped up in creating and running games and servers capable of handling hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously. But the good old geek open source community have plenty enough members with idle hands itching to recreate for free what the ‘big boys’ spend millions building.
DOMO is free to download and free to play, and there is a rapidly growing, highly active community growing around its users, too. DomoCamp.com has one of the most actively maintained DOMO resources - the DOMOWiki - plus a useful community forum where players can get help and advice from others, and connect with other layers to form guilds, groups, take part in adventures, and just generally hang out.
I have fiddled a little with mmorpg’s and I have to say thinking back to those long nights (often weekends) of D&D I think I miss the level of imagination, the immersion in the physical group activity with like minds. Online RPGs feel a little more like simply reacting to things on the screen lots of clicking around and a great deal of trying to find the correct phrase to eek the required information from another character. But as I said earlier, I’m just showing my age. If games like these were available when I was a teenager, I would have lost years of my life!
8 Responses to “mmorpgs go Anime with DOMO”
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February 14th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
If you want some face to face tabletop roleplaying, you only have to say. More than happy to travel up to run something.
Will have to wander off and try this though.
- Neil.
February 15th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
A very kind offer, thank you, but if only I had the time for such play. Would be cool, though. Perhaps when TR is complete!
Do let me know what you think of DOMO, I’m interested in how it measures up considering it’s ‘free-ness’.
February 15th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
Well if you find yourself with a few hours to spare, a one shot scenario can be played in 4 hours. Maybe when I’ve done some work on my TR concept.
As for Domo, it’s winblows only, so I’m holding off trying it out.
- Neil.
May 12th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
keep on playing man this is cool
May 27th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
Lineage is still the best.
May 29th, 2008 at 1:12 am
Cant wait untill they come up with a MMO based on some of the more popular series.
June 12th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Does anyone know how much grind this game has? I prefer Dungeons and Dragons Online to World of Warcraft and Lienage for that reason, I dont want to kill 4,000 wolves and bears, and murlocks to
get to the good stuff, or spend 500 hours raising the money i need for gear.
August 22nd, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Grinding is a traditional element of these games and i doubt it will ever truly be gone, personally i don’t like it and it led me to quiting WoW, i could never buy.. a flying mount.