Imagine a Chess MMORPG

No, Rael's got a point about the competitiveness of chess.com.  I definitely wouldn't be rated 1850 if I actually went and played in tournaments, but seeing the high rating could lull me into complacency.  

I think Zenchess has a vey strong love for the game. I agree with almost all of what he says, however as much as I want to do just that and indulge my life in the game I love and feel is possibly the most intricate and involving game created, its difficult to find the time necessary, the people that share the same passion, the benefits for the effort that goes into such a task. People don’t pay you to endeavor after a dream unfortunately. I’m only young as far as the game goes, playing 7 years now and I have run a few clubs and played a few tournaments, but the players were fairly basic and required little thought to dispatch of. I tend to play much better in real life than online however which is disappointing due to the only real players that give a challenge are all online for me.

Chess is an enigma made for the mind. Whether you’re serious about the game or just in it to meet others with a similar interest it matters not. You’ll find someone at some point that shares your love for the game or simply your desire to play for the intrigue of one game. This virtual chess world will have people of all sorts in it and it’s not reserved for any kind of player. It takes all sorts to create a world not just the best in the field. There’s a good quote “The forest would be a very quiet place if only the best birds could sing”

I hope we can make a world for all kinds of players

  I just had a long argument with Rael about this post and he seems to think the same thing you just mentioned.

  Look - I'm not saying you shouldn't have a good time.  Yes, chess is fun.

  That rant was directed at a single person, even though it probably applies to a great many of the new apathetic generation who detest anyone who puts effort into stuff.

 I want to make this clear so that any further arguments are refuted right now, then this should just die down and resume discussion on the mmo:

  #1 I am not claiming that social chess is a bad idea, as long as it's recognized that the art of chess is far deeper than that. Actually, who cares what you recognize, but please don't insult people who have decided that chess is 'more than a game'.

 #2 I am not saying you should not do a chess mmo, but I am saying this:

  #a Hire, or seek counsel from experienced chess players who have a deep understanding of the history of the game (which can be placed into the mmo very effectively) and the knowledge of the game (which can be used effectively to create quests and or themed areas that make sense).

Buzzkill?  Fine.  Why?  Anybody experienced with marketing and or video game development here?  If so, you may know a certain effect that probably has a name: 

 Basically, game publishers are very disinclined to experiment with new game genres.  Most publishers make games that are a very small to none incremental development of the actual gameplay of a game.  Most games take place in well established genres.

I'll use an example from chess itself to demonstrate my point: Lets say Kasparov plays a game in a line of the sicilian naijdorf.  Lets say he loses this game. 

For the next 10 years, nobody will *ever* repeat that line again.  No matter the objective truth of how good the line is, because Kasparov lost in the line, everyone will think it is unsound.  MAYBE a free-thinking dude like Bronstein or Fischer will come by and bring it back, but most likely it will be relegated to the dustbin for ages.

The exact same thing happens in game development.  Lets not kid ourselves here:  Making a chess mmo that is successful is a MAJOR project that will take a ton of man-hours and or money to successfully make.  Not to mention advertising, publishing, whatever else goes into a game. 

So if someone experiments with a genre-breaking experiment, it better be successful or it will never get tried again.  Peeerrrioood.  I've been thinking of a chess mmo for years, and I purposely did not release a shoddy game-engine hack that would let you play chess in a mmo environment because there's really no point. 

I'm not saying discussion about a chess mmo isn't good.  It's great.  In fact it'd be absolutely great if there was a website, facebook group, etc.  Alot of them.  That gives a lot of people the idea and shows that there's interest. 

But throwing together a chess mmo off the scraps of a game engine that wasn't intended for it, and not spending the money required to make it succeed would just destroy the idea for the next 20 years. 

Why do I care?  Because a chess mmo is a huge concept.  It's the kind of concept that could be a new revival of chess.  That's obviously very important to me and anyone else who loves the game. 

I'll admit my rant was pretty misplaced.  Actually it has nothing to do with this thread at all.  Sorry =) 

But as for the chess mmo, I suggest you explore the idea thoroughly with as many people as possible and then take your huge portfolio of ideas to a game developer. 

The chess anime idea is just what the developer needs to make the game succeed.  It's like how when you have star wars you also have star wars merchandise, or when you have pokemon you also have pokemon card game.  If you have chess anime chess mmo makes money off itself.  Anything that changes the image of chess from 'geeky' to 'cool' like the movie 'Searching for Bobby Fischer' helps accomplish that.

To answer the question about how long it took to write: not very long.  I can type pretty fast. 

Also this last sentence is a pre-emptive strike against Rael's rebuttal tomorrow: If yer going to tell me how I come off as a stodgy old man and buzz killer, please show me where my words do that, not the overall tone of the article.  A lot of my post was trying to explain to people WHY I take chess seriously and WHY I don't like it being described as less than it is.  I assume it would be equally difficult trying to describe why sex is a step up from kissing.  

=)

If anyone has heard of Regnum they will know that when you reach a certain level, you can battle in a PvP area called the War Zone. How about a War Zone in this Chess RPG.

And I the perfect name for it. Knights. (Get it?)

Well, what about Knight-fighters!

the major issues with a chess server like this where its interactive and played in real time is that a game could be lengthy this could be over come by being able to play a game over a longer period of time rather than play all at once. i think if we take a look at the issues we might face we could improve the game when it comes to making it eventually if production goes ahead. like sponsorship, publicity and hitches in the game that could arise. its an exciting concept

Ok so here are some ideas:

You play in a tournament hall with kids who only play 1e4 e5 2nf3 f6.

Your quest is to find a refutation.  So you travel to another land where you meet a mystical chess monk who teaches you about the Nxe5 sacrifice. 

Sorry I gotta sleep more ideas later =)

There is a difference in a thought and a dream. A thought comes with the intention of action; a dream is but an unfulfilled fantasy.

Help make this potential project come to life! Spread the word!

Join the official Facebook Group here!

I've thought that MMORPGs should incorporate the ability to play games such as chess and poker into their environments and give people another way to interact socially.

so more of a games mmorpg? rather than a predominantly chess world

silly wabbit

 yeah, I support more ideas like that!!

keep it serious, not crap history.

also i woudnt like to begin as a pawn and then evolve...  to be a King? for what?

but here is my idea:

begin as a pawn and play a lot of exercises with 'em,   that excercise where you and your oponnent only have pawns in original position and try to promote!! 

and a lot of puzzles with your 'piece range' in game ??  

the unlockable armour its a good Idea, why not to begin with ruy lopez and something like that?   ill look for the facebook group too!! 

There is a difference in a thought and a dream. A thought comes with the intention of action; a dream is but an unfulfilled fantasy.

Help make this potential project come to life! Spread the word!

Join the official Facebook Group here!

great ideas you got there.. but what will be the purporse of armors?

how about when wandering outside cities, you'll meet monsters that will challenge you in a battle. Then, the background will suddenly change and become a chessboard and your character becomes the King on the board. As a king, you'll order your pieces to move.

Another thing, you can come up with different monsters having different styles of play.

The good news is, we get to define success...

If you go and decide that "War of ChessCraft" should become the new #1 MMORPG and the most played game ever, you are setting yourself for a let down.

If you define it as a playable MMORPG with a cult following and a community big enough to play 24h a day, then success is a lot easier to come by.

Selling ideas by making proofs of concepts, allowing it to grow incrementally is probably the right way to go, but it is doable

- Nice idea BTW

One thing, having armors means there would be Atk and Def attributes to the players, right? So this means the chess battles would definitely be changed.

Since there are ideas regarding armors, this idea came into my mind:

In a battle:

When player's piece attacks an opponent's piece, for example, pawn to pawn, the Att and Def would be calculated. When the Atk of the player's pawn is higher or equal to the Def of the opponent's pawn, the opponent's pawn lose. However, when Def of the opponent's pawn is higher than the player's pawn, the move will be cancelled, the player's turn ends and will be the opponent's turn to move.

Starting players can have "Clothes" as their first armor. For example, Clothes have 1 def. This means that all of your chess pieces have additional 1 def.

The starting Atk andDef of the chess pieces could be like this:

Queen-9, Rook-5,Knight/Bishop-3, Pawn-1 (Kings have 1 Atk and 0 Def)

When there are armors, there should be weapons. Players can have swords and bows. Weapons increase Att attributes of the pieces. Bows have small Atk increase but they can increase a pawn and knight's range by one.

I know this idea is very silly but those things should be considered when having armors.

I know I keep saying this, but I'm just trying to gain some support here. I believe this is the first step on a long road to this idea, but you have to take the first step if you ever intend to get there!

There is a difference in a thought and a dream. A thought comes with the intention of action; a dream is but an unfulfilled fantasy.

Help make this potential project come to life! Spread the word!

Join the official Facebook Group here!

I support this Idea. I suggest two modes of play:

Fighting. In fighting mode you simply play against opponents of your chosing, like what has been discussed before. Some achievements, and their rewards, are unlockable through this mode.

Learning. In learning mode you learn! This is where the quests, etc. would be. Think of chess mentor as a long series of quests... I would love this idea. More achievements would be gain by completing certain quests, or series of quests.

I would play a game like this if it were available.

wow, that seems a great idea!! I'll buy it, so create it xD