One Universe, Many Scales

One epic meta-game design I first remember talking about a decade ago while working on Warhammer Online is the multi-scale online game: a system of interconnected games in which you choose to be a solo operative, work in a small group, or command epic forces or huge space fleets and influence a single universe however you choose to contribute. It’s a recurring game design meme that I’ve talked about several times since and I’m sure many others have had similar discussions around the globe ever since multiple computers were connected together.

So, I’m super excited to see CCP games take a huge step towards realizing this epic game design dream today by linking the internet spaceship game EVE online with the brand new PS3 first person shooter Dust 514. Players piloting giant spacecraft in EVE online will be able to swoop down from space and interact with other players running around on the planet’s surface playing Dust 514. This is very cool.

I’m also very excited that the two games are connected using the CREST API that I helped to build: an API that will be usable everywhere. Not only will you be able to interact with the EVE universe at every scale from the human to the intergalactic, the clients used to connect to the universe will work on every scale of device from phones to desktops and every scale of interaction from web tools built by 3rd parties, through 5 minute casual experiences to epic space battles played out in full 3D over hours and campaigns played out over years.

Today’s connection of EVE and Dust is a historic moment, but it’s just the beginning of what will be a very exciting second decade for the universe of New Eden.