Mermaids

Overview

Mermaids is a massively multiplayer game (MMOG) developed around the principle of utilizing large-scale emergent group behavior as a design material. The game takes place in an underwater fantasy world in which players are part of a new generation of an extinct mermaid, or merrow, society. Players must rebuild their lost culture and help restore the environment, while at the same time avoiding the fate that met their ancestors. Embedded in the environment are ruins and artifacts with clues to both their history and culture. Spells are deciphered from ancient runes; hunting and net-making techniques are diagrammed on petroglyphs. In conjunction with rebuilding their culture, players must also try to rebuild and regenerate a damaged ecosystem, and learn to interact with it in a balanced and synergistic way.

Research Questions

• What kinds of computational affordances promote emergent cultural practices in multiplayer games?
• How can we develop cultural content procedurally?
• What kinds of play activities encourage cooperative communities?
• How can players learn social skills through multiplayer games?
• How can we spread an ethos of cooperation and community through mulitplayer games?
• What game design decisions lead to virtual ghost towns?
• How do traditional representations of achievement, such as leveling and experience points, reinforce social hierarchy?
• How does one reward and represent personal achievement in game-play without encouraging anti-social behavior?

People

• Celia Pearce, Faculty Director, Lead Conceptual Designer
• Anand TM, Graduate Research Assistant, Game Design, Net Game Mechanics, Programming, Website
• Calvin Ashmore, Game Design, Game Engine Evaluation, Programming
• Tanla Bilir, Game Design, Art Direction, Print Graphics
• Rob Fitzpatrick, Game Design, Spell-casting system, Programming
• Michael Arteaga, Game Design, Art Direction
• Chris Langson, Game Design, Spell-casting system, Mythology, Story & Map Design
• Walter Kim, Game Design, Net Game Mechanics, Print Graphics

Screenshots

Demos

• Net-Building Game Demo - demonstrates how multiple mermaids of a tribe can weave a net.
• Gesturing System Mechanic Demo - demonstrates how players can cast spells using mouse gestures.
• Eco Manager Demo - demonstrates the managed emergence of complex ecological systems.

Resources

• Merwiki - documentation on the design and development of Mermaids.