VISIONS - MMORPG set in the 2nd century holy land
by Sparkling · 08/09/2005 (4:21 pm) · 12 comments
The original idea for the game sprouted from watching my children, and how they could memorize all manner of useless details about the games they played, but were uninterested in memorizing things which were important and vital to the success of their rapidly approaching adult lives, like history, language, scriptures, science and math. I thought that, if perhaps we could harness that level of interest into a game that was foremost fun and captivating, but also with an educational content so that they would be able to learn without realising they were learning something, we would really have something. And because so many games currently on the market today are not particularly suitable for children, yet still find themselves in homes where children live, and played by children, this game should be made suitable for people of all ages. And while it was always somewhat part of the concept, as the idea grew it became more and more clear to me that this game needed to have God at it's very core foundation if it was to fulfill it's purpose completely. Once these basic principals coalesced into a single goal, the game began to take form in my mind, and has been growing more detailed and more inclusive with each stage of growth.
The more this game idea matures, the more precisely I have defined the underlying purposes for creating the game in the first place: #1. To make the Bible and the Holy Land come to life for the player in a real and meaningful personal experience. #2. To encourage the players to read and learn the Bible in a fun and enjoyable environment. #3. To create a family friendly game that will be suitable for children while still challenging and stimulating enough for adults. #4 To make a game that is FUN, that appeals to gamers who like the stimulation of playing games with other people, but just haven't quite found what they are looking for in other games currently in the market. #5. To create a game that I would want to play, one that does not feel like a waste of time, that has a larger purpose to it beyond just loot & levels, and yet is still enjoyable and one that I do not worry about letting my children play it also. #6. To step outside the box, and create a game that perhaps has not quite been done before, to reach an untapped market of people who are still searching for a game that speaks to their heart, that challenges them on an intellectual, social and spiritual level that other games have not attempted to accomplish.
I believe Visions will accomplish all these goals, and perhaps more. Visions is a 1st person 3D mmorpg that will immerse the player into the 2nd century Holy Land environment. Players will experience life as a citizen in the day shortly following the era that followed the writing of the last book of the Bible, and will encounter quests and persue life skills that carry them through the game. They will face dangers, build homes, and perhaps even establish family groups within the game world. It is my goal to make the game available to all who wish to play.
We have upgraded to the Torque Game Engine: ADVANCED to develop the game. The Visions Team is looking for volunteers in programming, art, writing, and music. If you feel a leading of your heart to contribute to this project please contact me! To learn more, join the team, chat, post messages and participate in the experience online visit our website at www.visionsgame.com
Blessings to you.
-Sparkling
The more this game idea matures, the more precisely I have defined the underlying purposes for creating the game in the first place: #1. To make the Bible and the Holy Land come to life for the player in a real and meaningful personal experience. #2. To encourage the players to read and learn the Bible in a fun and enjoyable environment. #3. To create a family friendly game that will be suitable for children while still challenging and stimulating enough for adults. #4 To make a game that is FUN, that appeals to gamers who like the stimulation of playing games with other people, but just haven't quite found what they are looking for in other games currently in the market. #5. To create a game that I would want to play, one that does not feel like a waste of time, that has a larger purpose to it beyond just loot & levels, and yet is still enjoyable and one that I do not worry about letting my children play it also. #6. To step outside the box, and create a game that perhaps has not quite been done before, to reach an untapped market of people who are still searching for a game that speaks to their heart, that challenges them on an intellectual, social and spiritual level that other games have not attempted to accomplish.
I believe Visions will accomplish all these goals, and perhaps more. Visions is a 1st person 3D mmorpg that will immerse the player into the 2nd century Holy Land environment. Players will experience life as a citizen in the day shortly following the era that followed the writing of the last book of the Bible, and will encounter quests and persue life skills that carry them through the game. They will face dangers, build homes, and perhaps even establish family groups within the game world. It is my goal to make the game available to all who wish to play.
We have upgraded to the Torque Game Engine: ADVANCED to develop the game. The Visions Team is looking for volunteers in programming, art, writing, and music. If you feel a leading of your heart to contribute to this project please contact me! To learn more, join the team, chat, post messages and participate in the experience online visit our website at www.visionsgame.com
Blessings to you.
-Sparkling
About the author
Laurene Wells is the owner of Heaven's Blessings Tiny Zoo (HBTZ). She is Producer of Chariots (2008) and Visions (in production), leading a team of volunteers who collaborate online from around the world. Learn more about the company at http://tinyzoo.com
#2
i had a pretty good point, in my opinion, but someone do not want it to be read i guess.
08/09/2005 (6:41 pm)
Fuck it! someone edited my post, i belive the author of this .plan did, so i erased everything instead.i had a pretty good point, in my opinion, but someone do not want it to be read i guess.
#3
08/09/2005 (7:41 pm)
... what the? who edited my post? 
#4
Oh wait...you can also edit your own posts as well. Sometimes even hitting the refresh or backspace on a browser can do something. But on .plans, posts can never be deleted... only edited.
08/09/2005 (8:03 pm)
.plan authors can't delete posts... a user cannot delete other people's posts.Oh wait...you can also edit your own posts as well. Sometimes even hitting the refresh or backspace on a browser can do something. But on .plans, posts can never be deleted... only edited.
#5
08/09/2005 (9:53 pm)
The only people who can edit/delete posts are admins, which the poster is not. Don't be too paranoid. :)
#6
08/09/2005 (10:41 pm)
will you be able to stone to death prostitutes?
#7
Laurene, good luck with your project.
08/09/2005 (10:46 pm)
Quote: ... what the? who edited my post?roflmao.. the-evil-post-edit-ninja strikes again ..
Laurene, good luck with your project.
#8
but still i wrote stuff that i wanted to be anwered. and no it was not anything mean.
08/10/2005 (1:55 am)
oh yeah that has to be it, the post editing God/ninja took control over the admin just to piss me off.but still i wrote stuff that i wanted to be anwered. and no it was not anything mean.
#9
Maybe they should face lions in the arenas and stuff. Except that you'd always lose. Man am I tired.
01/26/2007 (11:33 pm)
I do believe that Christians were more common in Greece and Rome and that general area around the time period that your game will take place in. The Jews were in the Holy Land. Don't know if that matters at all...Maybe they should face lions in the arenas and stuff. Except that you'd always lose. Man am I tired.
#10
02/25/2007 (9:24 am)
Hi there. I just thought I would leave a post here. I am on Laurene's development team. We are chugging along and it is going farely well. I cannot wait for the day that we see people other than us logged into Visions and playing around. It's going to be exciting!
#11
RE: Stoning to death prostitutes... that was more pre-roman times in Old Testament days moreso than 2nd century. The Roman soldiers were rather fond of the prostitutes and I don't think there was a whole lot of stoning them to death going on. Though many other heinous acts certainly were happening. If you will read my .Plan thoroughly however you will see that this is not meant to be game saturated with blood & gore, vile depravity, and hack & slash bloodbath. There are thousands of games on the market already which cater to those player interests, I don't feel compelled to compete with them.
RE: the spread of Christians and Jews, the Romans actually banished the Jews when Titas destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD. Our game starts in 100 AD with the reign of Trajan, who was much less concerned about Jews and Christians than he was concerned about battles in Europe and Persia, so he more or less let them do whatever they wanted as long as they didn't start any trouble. It was during this time that Jews began to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the city. Christians also spread the Gospel of Christ throughout Judea, Gallilee, Asia and Rome. But there was definitely still Roman hostility toward both Christians and Jews, so both factions would keep quiet, and meet in secret more often than they would meet in public. Little is known (at least in our research - if someone has skills in these areas please apply! We are always accepting volunteer applications!) about the influence or spread of Persian, Egyptian, and African religous beliefs. The Romans pretty strongly enforced worship of their Roman gods (Jupiter, Venus, etc.) and suppressed opposing religions. That much is known for certain, as evidenced by the writings of Josephus and a the few other surviving historical texts of the era.
Some things you can expect to see are experiences of the daily lives of Roman citizens: The jobs they worked at, the skills they learned, the foods they ate, the diversions that entertained them, the games they played, the wars they fought in, the social stigmas they faced, the animals they might have encountered, the pets they might have adopted, the activities which made up their day to day activities. We do plan to mix in some frivolous fun and silly things too, sometimes things which are not historically accurate, but which make the game more fun, or more educational, or accomplish some purpose which we feel is appropriate to the game and the player audience. Our ultimate goal is to make a fun game. Hopefully one that is educational and uplifting as well. One that brings friends and families together in a virtual world where they can experience history in a way that has never been done before.
Thanks for the interest in Visions! We are continuously working on the game. There is much to be done, but we are making progress, thanks to talented developers like Derik, Mark and others on the team who are making it all happen.
Blessings to you,
-Sparkling
http://www.visionsgame.com
02/25/2007 (11:56 am)
Thanks Derik! Looks like I (or GG) finally got this thread adjusted properly so that it notifies me when someone replies to my .plan post. It wasn't notifying me before. RE: Stoning to death prostitutes... that was more pre-roman times in Old Testament days moreso than 2nd century. The Roman soldiers were rather fond of the prostitutes and I don't think there was a whole lot of stoning them to death going on. Though many other heinous acts certainly were happening. If you will read my .Plan thoroughly however you will see that this is not meant to be game saturated with blood & gore, vile depravity, and hack & slash bloodbath. There are thousands of games on the market already which cater to those player interests, I don't feel compelled to compete with them.
RE: the spread of Christians and Jews, the Romans actually banished the Jews when Titas destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD. Our game starts in 100 AD with the reign of Trajan, who was much less concerned about Jews and Christians than he was concerned about battles in Europe and Persia, so he more or less let them do whatever they wanted as long as they didn't start any trouble. It was during this time that Jews began to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the city. Christians also spread the Gospel of Christ throughout Judea, Gallilee, Asia and Rome. But there was definitely still Roman hostility toward both Christians and Jews, so both factions would keep quiet, and meet in secret more often than they would meet in public. Little is known (at least in our research - if someone has skills in these areas please apply! We are always accepting volunteer applications!) about the influence or spread of Persian, Egyptian, and African religous beliefs. The Romans pretty strongly enforced worship of their Roman gods (Jupiter, Venus, etc.) and suppressed opposing religions. That much is known for certain, as evidenced by the writings of Josephus and a the few other surviving historical texts of the era.
Some things you can expect to see are experiences of the daily lives of Roman citizens: The jobs they worked at, the skills they learned, the foods they ate, the diversions that entertained them, the games they played, the wars they fought in, the social stigmas they faced, the animals they might have encountered, the pets they might have adopted, the activities which made up their day to day activities. We do plan to mix in some frivolous fun and silly things too, sometimes things which are not historically accurate, but which make the game more fun, or more educational, or accomplish some purpose which we feel is appropriate to the game and the player audience. Our ultimate goal is to make a fun game. Hopefully one that is educational and uplifting as well. One that brings friends and families together in a virtual world where they can experience history in a way that has never been done before.
Thanks for the interest in Visions! We are continuously working on the game. There is much to be done, but we are making progress, thanks to talented developers like Derik, Mark and others on the team who are making it all happen.
Blessings to you,
-Sparkling
http://www.visionsgame.com
#12
We've got some screenshots and mini web-movies on our website if you'd like to have a look at what we're doing.
Blessings to you!
-Sparkling
http://www.visionsgame.com
05/03/2007 (2:11 pm)
Just posting an FYI - progress is accelerating and we're definitely still making a game! With Mark as the new Lead Programmer at the helm of the programming team, we've made some significant improvements to our development process and I'm pleased with how things are going. In the past year I've also continued work on the design documents, adding details and such, and have found that having detailed design documents has also helped the team - programmers in particular - to discover the focus and direction that they need to have confidence in what we are doing and to make sure that we are all working toward the same goals.We've got some screenshots and mini web-movies on our website if you'd like to have a look at what we're doing.
Blessings to you!
-Sparkling
http://www.visionsgame.com
Torque Owner nibbuls
How are you planning to get the money to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars a year?
It appears that you're asking for funding. Good luck with that. ;)