Show HN: MMORPG in 55KB of Javascript

VonGuard 12 years ago |

Hey, this is really terrific! Extremely impressive, especially the fact it's so small (code size). This expresses a real retro sensibility that most "retro" style games miss: pixel art shouldn't take up megabytes of space.

I think you should do something with this. You've actually got something you could spread far and wide, in this. It's shocking how few Web-based MMO experiences there are like this. This is the point where I say "quit your day job." Unless this is your day job.

To whit: such a small MMO could become a nice little business for you. People will pay for cosmetic stuff, and they love to idle in virtual worlds...

simple1 12 years ago | |

Wow, thanks for the encouragement! I am indeed making a business out of this, and so far I sell memberships, character customizations, vault upgrades, and name changes. The income has not reached "quit my day job" yet, but I am still actively developing and marketing the game, and I'm hopeful for the future! Any ideas on how I could "spread this far and wide"?

VonGuard 12 years ago | | |

I think you've got a few options. Route 1 is to spread it by hand, post it on 4chan /v/ or on Neogaf and ask for advice there, as you did here.

Second option is to buy actual ads on those same sites, Facebook, Twitter.

But the best option, though the hardest, is for you to begin making the game show off your personality a bit more. Make it more unique. Think Kingdom of Loathing or Candy Box: both have totally unique writing and worlds, and aren't just the standard orcs and goblins. What are you into, personally? What's some private joke you have with yourself you can spread across this game like a layer of butter?

Finally, giving people more ownership of the game world will encourage them to invite friends. Perhaps an "invite 5 friends, get your own house in the game" type thing. Growing it via social networks is half of that, but the other half is allowing players to have something in the world they'd want to show to someone else.

Good luck! You're already doing a great job. Watch player growth religiously. It's your guide to where advertising works.

lotyrin 12 years ago | | |

Kickstarter? If the goal is free to play with cosmetic items, then you could maybe do well to have chunks of game functionality as (stretch) goals, with cosmetic items as rewards?

babuskov 12 years ago |

It seems that this started in 2010:

http://www.aberoth.com/whats_new.php

Comments from other people trying out the game are hilarious:

    - I was alive once... it was awful
    - This is way better than GTA
    - How do I give you my money
    - Which way's the strip club

simple1 12 years ago | |

I first released the game in 2010. There was originally only one small area to run around in, and it was running off my DSL line, so it could only support 5-10 players. Also, the client was only available as a Java applet. Websockets made it possible to create a Javascript client. There is also a mobile version available which includes controls for touch.

flexd 12 years ago | |

The first comment is a quote from Dark Souls.

Fantastic game.

Kiro 12 years ago |

Where can I read more about the technologies used? I'm especially interested in how you are using WebSockets to achieve such smooth real-time. I was always under the impression that WebSockets was unsuitable for multiplayer games like this.

tinco 12 years ago | |

TCP is pretty well suited for MMORPG's, World of Warcraft uses TCP too.

UDP is needed for games that need more consistent accurate response times, like FPS and racing games.

Hopefully when WebRTC datachannels get browser support we'll finally see those too :)

gcb1 12 years ago | | |

there are fps games with more people in the same area as mmos...

cfontes 12 years ago |

For me it's only showing this message.

"Session has ended"

simple1 12 years ago | |

I'm not sure what the causes this. I always get this error when trying to run Aberoth from Apple stores (and I have tried 3 different stores). I can't debug or fix the problem because I have not seen it anywhere else. The Java version might work.

mkesper 12 years ago | |

Is this a proxy issue, maybe? Don't know enough about WebRTC and proxies, yet.

xerophtye 12 years ago | |

same here. maybe the "login" button at the bottom does something

elohesra 12 years ago |

Um, when I try to access the site, I get this:

http://gyazo.com/8b0d0be033b42c789cbfde821fc7a7e1

For posterity's sake, I'll explain the image: it's Norton blocking the site, citing an extremely vague 'drive-by download' threat:

http://safeweb.norton.com/report/show?url=http:%2F%2Faberoth...

The site owner may want to get in touch with Symantec to figure out what's going on.

simple1 12 years ago | |

Thanks for pointing this out! I went ahead and registered and disputed the 'threat', so hopefully this warning will go away once they have manually reviewed the site.

sabalaba 12 years ago |

Would like to see:

    - Mining
    - Auction House
    - Scripting language
    - Player driven economy like crafting

You will eventually need some kind of gold sink to balance out the inflationary nature of in game currencies.

Kiro 12 years ago |

Great job. How do you prevent cheating? Are you validating every action on the server?

simple1 12 years ago | |

Basically, the only thing sent to the server are mouse clicks and keystrokes, which should make cheating difficult. In the past, people have used macros or programming to flood the server with mouse / key input, which caused performance issues. I now rate limit input, so if too much is sent too quickly it is just thrown away.

rkv 12 years ago | |

OP Please answer this.

filipedeschamps 12 years ago |

Amazing!

I'd love to see a port of Out of this World to Javascript.

gisenberg 12 years ago | |

http://www.megidish.net/awjs/

camus2 12 years ago | | |

IMPRESSIVE ! did you do that ?

tibbon 12 years ago |

A link to the non-minified source?

fekberg 12 years ago |

Out of curiosity, How much larger would this likely become if you converted this to something 3D using WebGL?

Ellipsis753 12 years ago | |

I would think it depends. If you mean to remake it all in stunning 3d HD then a lot larger. If you leave it really blocky (but 3d) then perhaps not that much...

kayoone 12 years ago | |

depends on the textures mostly, also hed need to write his own (simple) 3d engine which will require lots of boilerplate. If hed use something like Three.js, that alone would be more than the size of the game currently i guess.

newobj 12 years ago | |

Why do you assume it would become larger?

chad_oliver 12 years ago | | |

He didn't. Negative numbers have been around for millenia.

fekberg 12 years ago | | |

Good question. How much larger/smaller would it become? I just figured doing 3D requires more code and that would end up making it larger.

CmonDev 12 years ago |

How much of those 55KB is the server?

friendly 12 years ago |

The title is somewhat misleading; looking at the javascript it appears that the client is just rendering rectangles in the end. Everything is server side. This is a really novel approach and the author has done a fantastic job!

Empathenosis 12 years ago |

This is amazing.

I shared this with my stepdad and his friend, and we started talking about retro-gaming and how things were in the 80's-90's with gaming.

I hope to see this hit Steam :)

shmerl 12 years ago | |

Why do you need Steam for a Web game??

Empathenosis 12 years ago | | |

Well... An easy to download a client, keep a shortcut on the desktop. The user can track the amount of time invested... Achievements. (People love..achievements)... Extending the audience to a wider level. There are plenty other, however the dev said s/he is trying to push for it. So, I wish them luck. :)

gcb1 12 years ago | | |

"easy to download" ... please take your head out of your...steam client. steam is the most obnoxious client. it abuses your machine in several ways. in linux all games can now exploit system bugs as root. screw steam. everyone hates DRM, unless it is an app store.

Cthulhu_ 12 years ago | | |

Well, shortcuts can be made to web apps too. But yeah, Steam offers a bunch of other things to games like this; the ones you mentioned, but also a way to pay for the game, a community, and (probably most importantly), exposure. App store for games.

shmerl 12 years ago | | |

Riddled with DRM though, so I'd avoid it.

gcb1 12 years ago | | |

steam is like paypal for gamers. which would be good if integration was easy... but no, you are forced to depend on their fullfledged client with all the DRM and abusive tactics.

kelner 12 years ago |

Is this open source by chance? I'd love to see an un-obfuscated version and the server side code (I'm assuming there has to be at least some?)

listic 12 years ago |

I have died and I keep getting "session has ended" when I try to log in. Is this expected?

nmeofthestate 12 years ago |

Hmm. None of the keys work for me. Chrome Windows Version 31.0.1650.57 m

michaelchum 12 years ago |

Amazing, reminds me of Runescape, the old days

shmerl 12 years ago |

Very impressive. Reminds Browser Quest a bit.

pratik661 12 years ago |

Wow this is amazing!

arcameron 12 years ago |

There was no key :o

saraid216 12 years ago | |

It's outside the door.

pantalaimon 12 years ago | | |

It's a trap!

I entered the door someone before me unlocked, but when I went back, running from thieves on low health, I found the door closed - they had me cornered and killed me.

lukasm 12 years ago |

awesome! kickstarter maybe?

simple1 12 years ago | |

I've considered a Kickstarter, but I'm not sure exactly what I would use the money for. Perhaps some professional artwork or music. I am trying to get Aberoth Greenlit on Steam, however. You can see it at: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=930412...

moron4hire 12 years ago | | |

You could use it to just live on. That's kind of the point of the patronage system. You need time to work, and you need food and housing during that time.