What would it take? A Pokemon MMO

[Rattata Guy]

The desire for a Pokemon MMO is somewhat mixed in the Pokemon fandom community, for good reason. It would be something of a big undertaking, and no two people have the same idea of how it would, could or ought to work out.

But I was thinking that us older Pokemon fans could form a company, work on the infrastructure and pitch the idea to Nintendo (and/or GameFreak). I figure that even if we don't get the opportunity to make "The" Pokemon MMO, we'll have the foundation set for a pretty good online game anyway. Plus the experience would be helpful, especially on a resume.

I don't have much in the way of computer experience, but I do have some entrepreneurial and writing skill. I have an eye for detail, and a love to see the fandom continue to develop grow and (possibly) mature, over time. If we can get enough hardworking, knowledgeable Pokemon fans together, I'm sure that more than enough would have the expertise, or the connections to make some headway. We'd probably even have loads of fun too!

I have a text file full of ideas that I think would be key in marking a genre change from single player RPG to online multi-player, while still being true to the heart and soul of the Pokemon franchise.

More importantly, I believe that there must be a way to structure a Pokemon MMO so that that handheld games remain lucrative for Nintendo. That is the only way that Nintendo would even start thinking of endorsing an MMO to begin with.

 

[ImJessieTR]

Wii's can use the internet, right?

Let your Mii be your trainer if you want. Have classes: trainer (which would be the "everyman"-type class), coordinator (akin to mage, since it's more about appearances anyway), Team member (start as grunt and work your way up to executive), pokemon (because sometimes it's more fun to BE the zapping rat), researcher (why let NPC's tell you how things work ... why can't YOU be the poke-guru?).

Let the handhelds be like arcades in the Wii. Then, as the plot wears on, a sub-plot could make it possible for your handheld pokemon to become "real". Having handheld pokemon in your party could make NPC's say weird/funny things.

Have "design your own item" contests. Download them back onto the handheld (I guess this would only work if the item is changed only cosmetically, though I don't see why a patch couldn't make it real on the handheld).

Make Legendaries legendary. At most you could manipulate them into a battle ... but no catching. And have them royally screw with the world.

Get full pokedex credit by visiting a researcher who has information on that pokemon or observing it as a researcher or by catching it.

Any teams are completely made up by its members. Existing Teams would exist as rival NPC's. Cameos would abound.

 

[Flaming Charizard]

The majority of casual Pokémon players would love a MMORPG related to Pokémon. Although there are issues that would have to be looked at during the development stage, there's no doubt that hundreds of thousands of people would buy one to play it.

Remember Final Fantasy XI? Before it, I could never imagine a MMORPG for the FF franchise...

If FF has it, why not Pokémon? It's very well suited and has great reputation due to pop-culture icon status. Heck, even the Warcraft series has one and look at how many billions it's already made...

 

[ShinyFlareon]

ImJessieTR: I don't know about Wiis, but I know PS3s can use the internet. However, I'm not sure if they are able to connect to any handheld consoles, except maybe the PSP, which isn't a Nintendo product. Besides, Miis look lame...and I worry that the 'Design your own item' contest would simply develop into a disaster of overpowered items. I like your other ideas, though.

Rattata Guy: I like your idea. It seems very sound, and definately a great opportunity -- if you don't mind, I would like to 'get in on this', so to speak. I don't have a lot of technological skills, but I do have a basic working knowledge of the internet, and what I lack in technological prowess, I more than make up for in writing skill. This fall, I will be majoring in Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside, and have been writing stories since the 7th grade. I have been a fan of pokemon since it's debeut in America, and though I have only recently gotten back into writing the fandom, I am confident in my abilities to do well.

 

[dragonite24]

It would work well if you have to clear a region first(which has traditional gameplay that we know),and then go to some huge international region.
The crowding would make legendary events a bit messy,you see.
Then the sky is messed up all the time.

 

[bell02+]

The Wii can connect fine to the internet, the only problem with the Wii and Making an MMO is that it lacks a proper hard drive so if a person made an MMO it would have to run mainly from the disks like Phantasy Star Online. Nintendo will probably address the storage problem soon though.

As for the issues that probably would need to be addressed for an MMO would be:
- Updating in game missions and activities to maintain interests of the players is one thing. Similar to how the TV show deals with tons of fillers, there will need to be tons of distraction missions for players to do.
- The need to be able to handle varying internet connections to minimize lag time.
- Cheating and people who bend the rules need adjusting to not ruin the game for others, for example, we wouldn't want Trainers with 6 lv100 Arceus attack new trainers from New Bark Town, or something.
- The size of the world would need to be large as with needing to be upgradeable. In fact, everything would need to be upgradeable including the number of pokemon because most MMO gamers don't migrate to the next games as quickly as a Traditional RPG gamer would. The size is important due to player saturation, which places do you want to be crowded which do you not want to be crowded. (And how to handle this with space or servers, considering it is a pokemon game, it isn't out of the question to have 10million people logged into the game at any time)
- A sense of community, being able to easily connect to friends (those who have been playing long before you, those who started with you, and those that start long after you) as well as be able to connect with strangers of like ideals making groups and clubs.

And for a pokemon MMO would be:
- Different from the Gameboy Games, Number 1 priority would be to differentiate itself from others. People have never really been happy with "just something" added to their game. It is going to need to be different. It also would need to be different to just insure the main games and other spin-offs such as Stadium games sell.
- It would need to differentiate itself from other MMOs. An MMO itself has a problem of not being attractive to average gamers in a way that video-games aren't attractive to non-gamers.
- There is definitely going to need to be more than battling for the only competitive focus for Pokemon. Many people get into the series for different reasons, so it is something that may be important to cater to.
- How to handle capturing Pokemon and their Rarity is very important. Should there even be legendaries? How should this be handled is very important.
- Pokemon is a kids game, and with that being true we can't exactly wash our hands of any problem with online with a little disclaimer at the beginning. There would need to be some kind of method to not only monitor for expletives, but for any personal information given to strangers.

---------

Now what I think I'd want to feature in a Pokemon Online game is that, for One, I wouldn't want it to be 100% online. especially dealing with a system like the Wii, I may want to play it when online isn't an option like taking the system on vacation or when there may be issues of connectivity. I'd have the game partially online. This way the players you connect to could be easier to monitor. (connecting more to friends and people around the same level/age as you, as with connecting with strangers more in the same timezone to limit lag)

I'd also want to add verity to the games by adding a class system. Pokemon actually already has something like class system with the badges. I'd just make them a little more obvious and very on other issues. For example, trainers may determine their class rank (aka lv 7 pokemon trainer) by more issues than badges, but also maybe other things like average level of pokemon and percentage of pokedex completed.

I also would use this class system to add a Job system. I'd give every access to a sample of features, but let players delve deeper if they have the job. Pokemon Trainer would be an example of a Job, So would Breeder, Scientist, Coordinator, Vendor, Ranger, Detective, Chef, and such. Without getting too much into details: a trainer would be able to get badges and is able to have many boxes to store their pokemon, but anyone can do a pokemon battle. Anyone could take their pokemon to a breeder and breed their pokemon, but a breeder can own a ranch and design it the way they want as with get more control in the breeding process by being able to customize what egg moves are learned as with buying exercise equipments to automatically level pokemon. Etc, things like that. Of course, they also would all have their own unique competitive elements in it and players would be able to hold 2 jobs at a time.

I'd also the ability to let players build good and evil groups. I may not let the evil groups actually steal from other players, but probably NPC characters that act like players. I'd also put in missions that would resemble the TV show: Your first spot pokemon gets stolen, you have to get it back, you have to help random person train their pokemon or do some minigame side-quest. There can even be guild specific missions of "defeat evil group c" or "steal x from the pokemon center" etc.

As for the battle system themselves, I think I'd make them more real time. Similar to the Anime, but only in appearance. I'd give the computer a lot more control of where the pokemon go. It's just difficult for what I'm thinking now because I think it should probably be simpler than the gameboy games. Maybe make more factors random, a lesser emphasis on getting super effective attacks I guess and making it easier for a pokemon to get tired. I guess..

 

[Rattata Guy]

Here are some ideas that I've been mulling over for a while now. I'm not sure how feasible they all are, but you've gotta start somewhere right? (Since this list comes from a text file where I've just been adding idea as I think about them, it's a bit sloppy. Some things may be repeated or worded awkwardly. I apologize in advance.)

* All regions - Johto, Kanto, Hoenn, Shinnoh, Orre, Fiore - including the variety of gaming flavors found in each. (Want to participate in Super Contests? Gotta go to Shinnoh.)
* Having the Underground make a return
* User-made content (trainer appearance, secret bases, personal rooms, etc)
* Crafting system (custom made pokeballs maybe? Seals, ribbons?)
* Different Classes (Trainers, Breeders, Coordinators etc) - Don't want to spend your days and nights simply battling other pokemon? Then perhaps you can be a breeder or a contest goer? Maybe even set up a shop or a wilderness Pokecenter for your other trainers! Farmers = specializing in berries, growing stuff, pokemon herds for crafting materials, quest-related items?

Trainers the general basic job.

Breeders have access to the regional starters, reduced egg-producing time. To "stay" a breeder, you may have to breed a starter for the local pokemon gym.

Rangers - trades the ability to permanently capture a pokemon to be able to freely set up a wilderness Pokecenter for trainers (other classes have to pay in $ and materials)

Coordinators - slightly weakens pokemons' battle power in exchange for increased "Trainer stats" or something

Merchants - Earn more $ from battling trainers, can set up more than a single shop

(More trainer ideas? Professors etc?)

* Make getting legendary pokemon DIFFICULT, needing teams or groups of people working at the same time, though only one will get the pokemon at the end.

* Quests - rewards could be currency, pokemon, "reputation" etc
* Protection against cheating
* Minigames
* Events - seasonal, official Nintendo events!
* Pokemon are given a lot more variety in catching.
* Time based events would have to be worked out differently. A world wide release would be difficult if game time = real time, unless each Region were large enough to encompass various time zones, ie Day in Kanto could mean Night in Fiore
* Trainer levels, "stats" - independent of pokemon stats
* There'd probably need to be a limit on how many pokemon a train can "own" at a given time. I don't think a server could hold 10k players each having over thousand pokemon stored somewhere.
* "Favored" Pokemon system - think Pokemon Yellow's Pikachu, just with any pokemon of your choosing, they get bonuses to their stats, and stay out of their pokeball
* Livable space - for a cost players can buy their own bedroom/apartment (otherwise they have to logout in a POkecenter or some other safe spot to avoid losing a random item, exp, money or something...) Also provides item storage.
(Or perhaps, like the Machoke guy in the Gen 1 games, players can buy land and build their houses from scratch?) Keeping everying pokemon centered, they'd have to hunt down building materials or fight a Zoning Director in a "gym leader"-like battle.
* Players can have a bedroom/apartment, a secret base or an Underground base - perhaps all three after fulfilling the right quests. Can be decorated. May provide instant transportation between the three. (Have a bedroom in Kanto, a secret base in Orre and an Underground base in Hoenn)
* Pokemon Releasing system - Releasing a pokemon makes it live in general area for a period of time (different for each pokemon). If enough of the same sort of pokemon are released in the area, they could become part of the local environment - perhaps even spawn quests if they are deemed to upset the balance
* Random and non-random encounters
* With enough real estate, players could possibly start their own small towns. (Chansey-burg! Pikaville!)
* I'm not sure about 3D gameplay, but I'll include it here.
* Some sort of in game economy to spur on player/player interactions. Sorry folks but the stuff that's typically free will probably need some sort of cost associated with it when shifted to an online context - Pokecenters, accessories, etc
* Players can form Groups (a la DP) which can grow into "unofficial" but League sanctioned Gyms.
* A game flavorful and casual enough for folks who can't invest mega hours into the grind, but can be robust enough for folks who do want to
* PvP - special arenas, a Pokemon League
* PvE - imagine fighting against Lawrence III and his mind-controlled Legendary Birds in a revisioning of the first Pokemon Movie.
* Pokemon swarms, of course
* Shadow Pokemon break outs - perhaps if there's a "world-wide" lake of caring for one's pokemon (or maybe just because Cipher is up to no good) Players may find that a pokemon or two has somehow closed it's heart off. It's more powerful in battle, but can't do a field move, or collect material or help with crafting etc.
* Wii and PC versions, possibly
* Some revamping of Pokemon movesets, battle mechanics...
* Perhaps a DS game that allows some limited leveling of an online pokemon offline (though not in a DS game setting)
* Voice chat or some sort of communication that's more robust than preset phrases
* Upgradability - New pokemon generation? New expansion or (free?) downloadable content for the game.
* Twice a week DS (or Wii?) to MMO transfer - cheat protection though! Trying to transfer a Master ball or the like would net you a berry or a "No Cheating" mail instead.
* Someway to keep the handheld games popular enough where Nintedo would actually say "Yes" to a Pokemon MMO
* Some business model that works, but won't hardship one player over another. Monthly fee? Completely free? Free with a cash-shop?

We've got these ideas. How do we make them into reality?

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

* PvE - imagine fighting against Lawrence III and his mind-controlled Legendary Birds in a revisioning of the first Pokemon Movie.

Second, and the mind control was in the fourth. Although having him in anything would be awesome.

Although to further that, fighting against the Iron Mask Marauder would be EPIC. Or any Rocket Elite (except probably Domino, since she has no pokemon). Imagine vs Bashou and Buson in an elite Double Battle?

 

[The Fake Psychic]

I actually had an idea for this a while back, and tried (EXTREMELY Unsuccessfully) to code it. the result was a big black screen. All I had was a C++ book and a 5 yr old thought process. (Yeah... I forgot Sprites. Sue me)

 

[The White King]

I think I know more about MMOs than I know about Pokemon so allow me to share my ideas:

*The original game would just be Kanto, expansions will fill the rest of the world. I'll explain later why.
*When expansions are released they won't be adding onto to original servers, instead they will be new ones. 1. Its so that new pokemon can be distributed throughout all old regions and 2. many people are diehard rby fans and this will cater to them.
*No classes, all players are trainers. But they can have 'professions' to distinguish themselves. (Mining, berry farming, pokeball making, breeding, ect.)
*Each pokemon is unique. Expand on gender differences but also give many variations on colors and patterns so that each pokemon looks different. Also; pokemon no longer evolve/learn moves at a set level. More variables are used to decide this (happiness, move uses)
*Real time combat - turn based combat has really gotten old and pokemon has been long due for an update. When the trainer is under attack the player no long controls the trainer but the pokemon that he throws out. Pokemon can run, jump, dodge, and use its four moves.
*Moves are set up like a skill tree. If a pokemon uses bite enough, it eventually learns crunch.
*Moves aren't forgotten. But only 4 can be used at a time.
*Legendary pokemon are end-game raid bosses. Imagine 10 trainers taking on a lvl 500 Mewtwo!
*Wild pokemon are not bound to routes but actually traverse through the wilderness of the entire region. Weaker pokemon are closer to cities while stronger pokemon are much deeper in the wild. But mother pokemon will guard baby pokemon making baby pokemon more difficult to catch.
*Pokemon associations, the guilds of the pokemon world. Join up with trainers that share the same ideals as you whether it be pokemon type, age, region, training mindset, or whatever.
*Tournaments are held in Indigo Plateau frequently with different tiers.

Of course these do provide some problems:
*Nintendo has shown with Brawl that they want to avoid competition as much as possible so that no one ends up crying. Perhaps servers can be separated into family servers and serious servers.
*Real time combat means each pokemon will need at least 200 animations each. Another reason why expansions are needed. Even with a massive development team it would take forever to make over 400 pokemon let alone 151.

I haven't figured out how player housing would work. Perhaps just an instanced house in the starter towns or it could be expanded upon. I'm really not sure.

 

[mcgohan]

maybe you should use pokemonworldonline.net asa example?