Interoperability; was: [sldev] Call for requirements: ISO MPEG-V ...

[Dale Mahalko]

I don't play much D&D, but I know exactly what sort of thing you are
referring to. A good example is called Neverwinter Nights. It has its
own built-in story plus a construction environment where you can build
your own D&D environment with your own story and your own rules, using
two-dimensional tiles containing 2.5D objects. There are hundreds of
private Neverwinter Nights servers where you can login and enter a
custom virtual world created by a small group of D&D fanatics, each
with their own story but built on the common virtual-world platform,
just like how the old text-based MUDs worked.

I thought the construction concepts of Neverwinter Nights were
interesting.... and yet so limited. Builds are always limited to the
2.5D tiling system and as a builder you are essentially stuck with
whatever predefined 2.5D tile sets exist, and with limited
event-scripting and environment-customization ability.

What SL and/or MPEG-V needs to offer to D&D MMO GMs and players is
something like Neverwinter Nights, but taken to a full-3D experience
with fully customizable virtual environment not limited to a tiling
system. It needs to be able to include the storytelling and
environmental possibilities of Everquest, WoW, Eve, and all other
MMO's combined, to allow whatever virtual scenario a crazed D&D GM
wants to dream up.

- Scalar Tardis / Dale Mahalko

On Tue, Jun 3, 2008 at 9:34 PM, Argent Stonecutter
<secret.argent at gmail.com> wrote:
> As virtual role playing environments evolve, people playing in the
> equivalent of Gamma World and Champions and D&D and Runequest and Car Wars
> are going to eventually want to get together, as their avatars. You're going
> to have the online equivalents of Munden's Bar, where all the metaverses
> come together.