Game developers seem increasingly interested in the MMORPG genre lately. Amazon is famously contributingNew Worldto the genre, which has gone in and out of beta testing and now seems like it’s finally set to release. WhileNew Worldrepresents the MMO standard, being intense and action-packed, there’s also games likePaliain development, which feature combat but focus more on customization and crafting. It’s great to see so many different perspectives coming to the thoroughly populatedMMORPGgenre, and it doesn’t stop there. There’s another indie MMO in development calledBitCraftthat promises a very different type of multiplayer RPG experience.
BitCraftis the work of Clockwork Labs, a new indie studio based in San Francisco that claims to have MMORPG veterans on board. That’d bode well forBitCraft’s somewhat unorthodox premise. Above all,BitCraftappears to be a settlement-building game. Each player starts the game as a magical humanoid being that wakes up in the wilderness before joining a settlement and starting to build it up. Players will hone their character’s skills as they gather resources, strengthen their settlements, and develop new civilizations inBitCraft’s huge world. If Clockwork Labs delivers on this colorful and mysterious game, it could be a refreshingly tactical take on the MMORPG model.
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BitCraft’s Online Settlement Building
There’s plenty of elements ofBitCraftthat’ll sound familiar tofans of established MMOs. For instance, there are lots of ways to gather resources inBitCraft,from hunting to fishing to mining. Gathering resources is about more than just getting crafting ingredients, though.BitCraftplayers have skills associated with many of the game’s central activities, allowing players to build up expertise in their favorite aspects of the game. In other words,BitCraftplayers who focus on the activities that they enjoy the most will also become particularly good at contributing to their settlement with that activity.
The aforementioned settlements are arguably the main reason forBitCraft’s resource gathering and skill development. The game emphasizes the player’s ability to start a small camp and build it up into an empire that can span continents. Unliketraditional MMOs likeWorld of Warcraftwith predefined maps,BitCraftuses a huge procedurally generated map, giving settlements tons of room to grow. It’s one big sandbox that players are at liberty to change to their whims as they develop economic and political power and expand their cities and nations. Even though Clockwork Labs says thatBitCraftdeemphasizes combat, it sounds like there’ll be plenty of non-combat ways to compete with other players.
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The Mysteries of BitCraft
Aside from all the settlement-building aspects, there is something of a narrative inBitCraft.Clockwork Labs says that, as players progress, they’ll discover the ruins of previous civilizations that existed here, as well as secrets that lie within those ruins. Although Clockwork Labs hasn’t provided many details on the process of finding and exploring these ruins, it sounds like they’ll be the source of valuable resources like ancient technology.Rival MMOs likeNew Worldmay also feature ancient ruins full of secrets, butBitCraft’s sandbox city management approach to the concept sounds like it’ll really change the tone and purpose of its ruins.
BitCraftis in development.
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