Some early concept artwork for character evolution. I quite like how expressive the dog and cat families can be but having some issues caracaturing the bird and reptile family. More to come when I've completed the reptile section (deciding between a komodo dragon-like creature or a crocodile!)

The main pattern emerging is each species is evolving from a scavenging creature to a predator, making the evolutionary process far more rewarding. Because of this I don't plan at this time to add a herbivore species for play.

here's a basic oultine of how the volution of each species would work, with each iteration enhancing the abilities of its predecessor, and gaining extra abilities. These iterations do need further research before finalisation, and I have yet to decide whether specialisation will be available (ie, a cat that specialises in, for example, stealth, may evolve into a panther, whereas a cat that specialises in speed may evolve into a cheetah). It is also not clear whether each final evolution will end up being an apex predator (have no major predators) or will still need to defend itself against such apex predators, but I would assume any such apex predator would be too overpowered to be a played character. I am considering adding extra iterations in between so that players find more variety in levelling up. Tasks at the highest trophic level to strengthen your pack will also be required to establish your place in the ecosystem.

Project 2 summary

Project Title: WILD
Genre: massively multiplayer online role playing game
Scope: Pre-production, concept art, story & lore, environment design, character design, promotional material
WILD is a new MMO concept that explores the natural order of wildlife. Both educational and recreational, the aim of WILD is to create an online ecosystem where players can experience first-hand how an ecosystem functions. Animal families, evolution of those families, and survival of that species (including habitat) will be examined. In essence, the game would be a mix of SPORE and a basic MMO like World of Warcraft. The aim of the game is NOT to evolve into a tribal stage, but simply for your chosen evolutionary line to strengthen and possibly specialise.

Basic gameplay would require a player to first choose and customise a species for play. Once in the world, the player would need to complete certain tasks in order to survive and grow. One of the biggest challenges for such an MMO as WILD is the lack of customisation available due to animals simply being unadorned with anything but their natural features. I plan to exaggerate the ability to change and shape these features (ie, markings, horns, feathers, etc) so that the player feels their creation is truly their own, but placing restrictions on these features so that the family of species that a player is playing does not stray too far. Another major challenge is the reward system: Survivability doesn’t seem like a great reward when completing tasks compared to some other MMOs, where items and currency make a more satisfying reward. A reward system that could be put in place could be gaining special abilities, the ability to add NPC characters to your pack (ala SPORE style), or special markings that give your character unique passive abilities (much like the recently added glyph system to World of Warcraft).

As your character does more and more tasks, your character will grow. Once your character reaches maturity, you have the option of moving to the next area, requiring your character to evolve. This would give your character the ability to learn more skills, have more customisation options, and to gain more strength and survivability. For example, an evolutionary species step might be from being a small feral cat to being a lion (but of course there would be many more evolutionary steps in between).