Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands

Infobox VG| title = Achaea MUD


developer = Iron Realms Entertainment
publisher = Iron Realms Entertainment
engine = Rapture Runtime Environment
released = 1997
genre = MMORPG, MUD
modes = Multiplayer
platforms = OS Independent
requirements = Internet with Port 23 open, Telnet or other Client

"Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands" is a roleplay-intensive, text-based multi-user dungeon (MUD) released in 1997. It was published by Achaea LLC, now known as Iron Realms Entertainment. Achaea is operated by collecting the revenue through a microtransactions-system, which allows payment for the acquisition of in-game benefits.

Gameplay

In the game, players explore a fantasy sword and sorcery world revolving around six city-states and their respective Houses. As in most role-playing games, players can fight monsters for experience points and treasure, perform quests for non-player characters and interact with other players. One of the major forms of interaction is player vs. player combat, where the dynamic conflict, especially the conflict between Good and Evil plays a dominant role in Achaea. The other play mechanics include the free market economics, which allows the players to design and craft goods, and the player-run social structure, including guilds and politics.

The world consists of over 20 thousand locations, known as "rooms", ranging from common countryside to more exotic and surreal environments. Players may choose among 15 classes, ranging from familiar fantasy elements such as paladins to more unusual options such as Tarot-using Jesters.

Recent structural changes have enriched the environment of Achaea further, by opening up the seas to player controlled ships. This has made available many minigames including diving for treasure, deep-sea fishing and even a form of piracy.

Revenue

Achaea's controversial revenue structure has received attention from the game development industry. Although Iron Realms Entertainment provides a custom MUD interface for the game, there are neither up-front costs, nor monthly fees typical for the MMORPG-genre. Instead, players may spend money for "credits" that are then used in-game to acquire skills and superior equipment.

The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) has noted that Achaea has been successful in this "revenue from object sales" model, "report [ing] substantially higher average revenue per customer ... than the usual subscription prices."cite web |author=James, Daniel et al. |title=2004 Persistent Worlds Whitepaper |publisher=International Game Developers Association |year=2004 |url=http://www.igda.org/online/IGDA_PSW_Whitepaper_2004.pdf |format=pdf |accessdate=2007-01-17] . Achaea's use of this model was compared to higher-profile releases such as "" and "Project Entropia"cite web |author=Jarett, Alex, et al. |title=IGDA Online Games White Paper, 2nd edition |date=March 2003 |publisher=International Game Developers Association |format=pdf |url=http://www.igda.org/online/IGDA_Online_Games_Whitepaper_2003.pdf |accessdate=2007-01-15] and has been highlighted by game developer Daniel James and researcher Richard Bartle [cite web |last=Bartle |first=Richard A. |title=Pitfalls of Virtual Property |date=April 2004 |publisher=Themis Group |url=http://www.themis-group.com/uploads/Pitfalls%20of%20Virtual%20Property.pdf |format=pdf |accessdate=2007-01-17] as a possible solution for the problems other online games face involving commodification and .

Reviews and reactions

Achaea has received generally positive reviews for both its mechanics and social complexities, including a review from Leo Laporte on the June 10Fact|date=April 2008 , 2004 episode of "The Screen Savers" on TechTV that was reported as favourable. [cite web |last=Feris |first=Buck |title=In Defense of Retro Gaming: A Discussion of Abstraction |publisher=Armchair Arcade |url=http://www.armchairarcade.com/aamain/content.php?article.56 |accessdate=2007-01-17]

The combat system includes "hundreds of different ways to attack an opponent", leading to a "complex array of strategies"cite web |last=Hardeman |first=Kurt |title=Achaea |date=1999-08-30 |publisher=MPOG |url=http://www.mpog.com/reviews/software/rpg/achaea/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20000818060020/www.mpog.com/reviews/software/rpg/achaea/ |archivedate=2000-08-18 |accessdate=2007-01-17] that is a "true test of skill" [cite web |last=N. |first=Stephen |title=Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands |publisher=MPOG |date=2000-04-01 |url=http://www.mpog.com/reviews/software/rpg/achaea_2/ |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20000816001218/www.mpog.com/reviews/software/rpg/achaea_2/ |archivedate=2000-08-16 |accessdate=2007-01-07] . The game's engine was adapted for use as the medium of an "e-summit" staged at the 7th Annual World Summit of Young Entrepreneurs with the United Nations. [cite web |last=Yap |first=Diana Michele |date=2000-09-28 |url=http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,38340,00.html |title=A Summit of Young Entrepreneurs |publisher=Wired |accessdate=2007-01-15]

The role-playing and social aspects of the game have also led to Achaea being cited as an example of "political game design". That political system, along with the game's dynamic events and "player narrative" are remarked on in "Designing Virtual Worlds", Bartle's examination of the history of multiplayer online games. [cite book |last=Bartle |first=Richard A. |title=Designing Virtual Worlds |publisher=New Riders Games |date=2003-07-15 |id=ISBN 978-0131018167] Iron Realms Entertainment quotes id Software founder John Romero as saying he "doesn't believe there is a deeper game in existence".Fact|date=June 2008

Nevertheless, some aspects of the game have met with criticism. The game's revenue system, in particular, has faced mixed opinions. Players playing for free "won't be able to advance as much as the person who has the funds" without a considerable time investment, which often sparks controversy between free players and those who paid for in-game bonuses that can cost as much as 2500 creditscite web |title=Stat Altering Artefacts |publisher=Iron Realms Entertainment |year=2007|url=http://www.achaea.com/irex/helpview/help.php?id=634 |accessdate=2007-09-28] , the equivalent of $725 per item.cite web |title=Achaea credits |publisher=Iron Realms Entertainment |year=2005 |url=http://www.achaea.com/credits.htm |accessdate=2007-09-28] The IGDA acknowledges that the system requires "delicate issues of design balance".

The 2004 introduction of "gleam", an in-game addictive drug, created controversy, angering some players [cite web |last=Terdiman |first=Daneil |title=Virtual Dopers Crave High Scores |publisher=Wired |date=2004-05-25 |url=http://www.wired.com/news/games/0,2101,63578,00.html |accessdate=2007-01-15] and reviewers who felt it sent an inappropriate message about the consequences of real-world drug use. [cite journal |last=Gibson |first=Jon M. |title=Just Say No to Gleam |journal=Computer Gaming World |date=September 2004 |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_zdcgw/is_200409/ai_n7182698 |accessdate=2007-01-15 |format=Dead link|date=May 2008] Finally, results of a public referendum held in-game in early 2007 [cite web |title=In-game survey by IRE in early 2007 |url=http://forums.achaea.com/index.php?showtopic=23659 |date=March 2007] indicated that 21% of the player base felt that the state and progress of Achaea was bad or terrible, 50% thought it was pretty good or fantastic and 29% said it was not bad or so-so.

References

External links

* [http://www.achaea.com/ Achaea Home Page]