[Each day, Worlds in Motion will be taking a closer look at individual virtual worlds. We'll start with a nuts-and-bolts overview, then move on to an in-depth tour, to be followed up with a conclusion-- all with the aim of bringing you all the essential info and details on each world in the rapidly-developing virtual landscape.]
Whew! We got distracted by E3 and forgot to keep updating our Online World Atlas -- a mistake indeed, especially when we're covering something as interesting as ForumWarz, a polished and popular browser-based RPG that satirizes internet culture while including community features such as leaderboards, clans, forums and player vs. player challenges.
So first things first -- I'm going to make no bones about the fact that ForumWarz is by far my favorite browser RPG. I've already played through the entire single-player campaign and had a great time doing it, and as a result my level 10 troll has been languishing unplayed for quite a while.
Unlike Kingdom of Loathing you can reach the level-cap of your character by playing through the main quest quite easily (though it does require some level grinding) and as there's no "new game+" mode there is roughly no reason to keep playing the single player mode over and over again, with or without input from the community. It's very fun once, however.
As a result, most of the things which are going to keep you playing are the community features. These aren't what I would consider especially well integrated with the main game. Incit, for example, is essentially a multiplayer mini-game that has little connection to the main game of ForumWarz and is still in test phase. In the game you compete against other players to write amusing captions for "motivational posters" (random images) until a voting stage, where you can vote on the one you think is best.
ForumWarz Domination is a more in-depth multiplayer mode. A player versus player mode, each week there is a new round and you compete against other players by earning "scoops" -- achievements earned by doing certain things in the game or the community, such as defeating a number of forums in a row, or especially fast. The winner with the most scoops of a certain flavor, most in total, or highest minimum (yes it's slightly complex) wins a medal, but you can spend your scoops during the round to purchase "domination cards" which will allow you to screw over your opponents. Medals have no meaning other than status within the community.
For more creative players (or players who'd rather just play more forums) there's the Forumbildr v2.0 Beta, which allows players to collaboratively build new forums for the single player game, or simply play these created forums. Players who create the idea for a forum, or sections of the forum – for example enemies, thread titles or posts, etc -- that are accepted receive Flezz (ForumWarz' in-game currency) and all players can take part in the collaborative process, from simply voting on which submissions are good or bad, or creating themselves.
These three sections make up the majority of the multiplayer on offer in ForumWarz. There are several other features, such as a friends list, "Klans", a forum, and leaderboards --some players are perfectly satisfied battling for supremacy of their chosen ranking (such as most popular or most forums defeated) -- but much like the rest of the community features, they don't play a significant role in the main game.
ForumWarz is an interesting browser RPG -- it's incredibly polished, and the single player campaign is incredibly fun, for example. But wha is especially interesting about it is that it has chosen to work under the operating idea that most players will happy playing a single player RPG, but also offers separate community features who'd like to talk or compete with other players. As I've said already, I think the single player game is beyond compare, but how do I feel about its community? And does ForumWarz truly count as an MMO? Find out in the upcoming conclusion.
