The Reinvention of Planet Calypso
Roughly six years have passed since the Gold launch of Entropia. During this time MindArk has been busy with adding a lot of different content and systems into the virtual universe. The goal was to have a great spread of activities and content, to see the range of what the Entropia platform could manage, and how it all works with the underlying real cash economy that drives Entropia.
With the release of VU 10.0 the next phase in the life of Entropia will commence. The difference between the Entropia platform as a middleware development tool, the vision of the Entropia Universe as a single space where a multitude of different planets of a wide variety of content exists, and the individual planets will be realized in a much more concrete way. MindArk has already several planet partners signed up and several more in the pipeline. The system that the Entropia participants used to interact with – the planet Calypso – is being developed by a separate company, First Planet Company AB, which only focuses on creating an amazing colonist MMORPG. This entity is called “Planet Calypso”.
The reinvention follows suit with other recent reinventions of older concepts or icons in the media. The James Bond franchise was kick-started again with “Casino Royale”. The movie “Batman Begins” gave the caped crusader a new life after a series of less-than-stellar movies. When Planet Calypso comes alive in VU10.0 you can expect some additional changes, besides the huge graphical update, concerning how Calypso looks and feel. The continents of Eudoria and Amethera will resemble the old and known, but yet will be different. The veterans of before will need to explore the lands again to not lose knowledge to the young and hungry ones. Many of these changes are in line with FPC’s long-term commitment to keep and develop a storyline that follows suit with the development. There is a general idea spanning at least eight-ten years gestating right now.
Storyline is something I consider of utmost importance. I come from a background of gaming and writing and have written and co-written over twenty published books. The drama is key to interest. To deliver “you had to be there!” moments is vital. To experience larger-than-life happenings right before your eyes is fundamental. We have various ideas for future content into Planet Calypso that will make this drama more and more interactive, putting the avatars into the storyline, and thus being part of the creation of history in the Calypso timeline.
I also wish to bring back focus on the role the avatar takes in Calypso, the role the player acts in the adventure. The role of being a colonist on a new frontier world and being part of actually building a new world together with other people from all over Earth.
The corner stone of the Entropia experience has always been the real cash economy. This is one area I feel has been neglected some until now. One of the first steps after VU 10.0 is to focus on adding elements and opportunities to the Calypso economy to take it a huge step closer to the fully realized vision of a true real cash economy with the diversity surpass what exists on Earth today. The crude and rough edges need to be polished. We must add more layers to facilitate much more variants of participation. Planet Calypso should always cater for both those who wish to contribute nothing else but their time to those who are willing to spend thousands of dollars. It has to be an entertaining and fruitful environment for everyone. Anyone should be able to find a corner, find a niche, and grow as an avatar and maybe as a real person as well. Business must be thriving on Planet Calypso.
The final area I am going to address is communication. I want FPC and the community to work together in a mutual understanding of what is going on and what the future holds. I believe that as long as people feel they have final say – are given the choice – then they are much more patient when rough patches arise. I want to have a bigger level of openness than before, because I firmly believe it creates a dynamic win-win situation. Constructive criticism is good; whining and frustration is not.
The above stipulates the general path ahead for Planet Calypso and for First Planet Company. One thing I want to say right now is that I see this as long term overall goals. To add all the components require years of development. Some things will come quickly; some will take a lot of time and will be down-prioritized based on the current situation at the time of decision. If you are patient then we will, together with you, create a kick-ass MMORPG and a no-bullshit atmosphere in the community.
To summarize the four goals I set forward for the reinvention of Planet Calypso:
· The vision of drama and storyline
· The vision of the colonist
· The vision of thriving business
· The vision of community openness
As an added bonus I can today say that when you for the first time log into Planet Calypso in VU 10.0, you avatar will be given the chance of a new appearance. But we have managed to very closely save your pre-VU10.0 looks (including customized work from plastic surgeons, hair stylists, etc) so you can keep your old looks almost intact.
Have a great weekend and I hope you will continue to live the Calypso dream.
Regards
-Marco
- CEO / Creative Director at FPC
