Novel ways to play games have always drawn gamers in. Whether through advances in technology, innovative peripherals, or entirely new mediums, fresh experiences feel like a breath of fresh air. During my visit to PAX East last month, I discovered exciting new approaches to gameplay, some of which could dramatically influence the MMORPG landscape in the future.
Every time I hit the convention floor at PAX East, there’s something surprising waiting to catch my attention. This year, two early-development concepts stood out as especially promising. The first title that piqued my interest was Nyric by Lovelace Studio, an AI-driven survival-crafting game. Often, when games boast about being “AI-driven,” players have grand expectations. Nyric genuinely intrigued me because it creates its worlds almost entirely from text-based, user-generated prompts.
World-building is notoriously challenging, but Nyric simplifies this by interpreting your ideas and transforming them into tangible digital worlds. In my test session, I asked Nyric to create a world where I could fly through a land of clouds. Although the game is still in very early development and certain functionalities, like actual flight, were unavailable, Nyric did its best and crafted a fluffy cloud-world that even the developers found amusing and intriguing.
The AI employs keyword recognition to interpret player input, constructing imaginative worlds from available assets. You might not explicitly use certain keywords, but the AI intuitively attempts to fulfill your vision by shoehorning what you’re asking for into what assets it has available. Once inside the generated world, I embarked on unique quests built around exploring my new surroundings. As a one-off experience, it did leave a lot to be desired and although co-op gameplay is planned for the eventual release, it wasn’t available during my demo. Lovelace Studios small team is modest yet ambitious, and while Nyric mostly served as a proof of concept, I envision it having significant implications across various gaming genres.
Creating personalized worlds, quests, and experiences without exhaustive manual development has previously been limited to text-based AI games like AI Dungeon. Seeing this visually represented, even with performance hiccups and bugs, offers an exciting look into the future. Vast, personalized gaming universes catering to countless individual stories could soon become reality, and Nyric might just pave the way. I envision building entire quest lines, back stories, characters, and even your own home world instance in MMORPGs of the future. There was a time simply procedurally generating a new level was considered a sought after feature. Now, we may see the limit being the extent of our imagination. Would you love an MMORPG where the worlds you and your friends traverse are uniquely producing challenges suited to your choices?
On my last day at PAX East, I explored another intriguing use of AI through headsetless VR presented by Viziverse. The idea of VR without a headset initially seemed paradoxical, removing the immersive element typically delivered by head-mounted displays. Instead, Viziverse generates an interactive world displayed on a larger screen, reacting seamlessly to the players movements.
The Viziverse booth setup was deceptively simple, it was really just a smartphone connected to a large monitor. At first glance, this might appear basic, but sophisticated AI processes within the app translated my movements into interactions with virtual objects. It felt akin to a smartphone-based Microsoft Kinect, but without needing external hardware.
The key distinction here is the minimalism; all you need is your phone. Although Viziverse isn’t yet available in North America, CEO Malay Kundu highlighted successful multiplayer applications internationally. During my test, I engaged in gameplay similar to Beat Saber, slicing colored blocks to rhythm without any physical controllers. This isn’t entirely new conceptually, yet the convenience and accessibility without additional devices dramatically enhanced its appeal.
Malay emphasized broader implications for social interactions, mentioning successful tests in bar-like environments, transforming casual group scenarios into interactive gaming experiences without pricey equipment. This approach could radically redefine room-based augmented reality games, shifting it from niche, small group play to accessible mass participation, perfect for gatherings and conventions like PAX East itself. Viziverse might very well ignite the next wave of party gaming. It could also revolutionize the way large groups of players are playing together, and how they’re interacting online, like in an MMORPG setting. At any moment you could setup your cell phone, and have your unique, personalized avatar compete with hundreds of other players in a virtual environment. There really is no limit, with the way that Viziverse’s AI works, you can explore worlds by walking in place, without the visual occlusion of an HMD taking you out of your surroundings, but still immersing you in the world itself. It may not be the MMORPG we’ve grown up with, but it could be the MMORPG that brings in an entirely different kind of player. Kinect, as it stood before, just didn’t really have a lot of support, but Viziverse is different. You don’t need to buy anything. You don’t need heavy headsets, an Xbox, or a treadmill. Everything you need is right in your pocket.
PAX East consistently delivers unique concepts, and this year left me optimistic about AI’s potential to offer entirely novel gaming experiences. While widespread adoption, especially in complex MMORPGs, is still years away, Nyric and Viziverse have firmly landed on my radar as exciting, innovative concepts to watch closely.
