The Endless Forest Enters The Third Phase
A few months ago, I was asked to check out a few independent titles, one being Endless Forest. It was dubbed, “a multiplayer online game and social screensaver.” I thought it was a strange concept, but intriguing nonetheless. Not to be confused with the inappropriately labeled Loco Roco Coreccho, which is not a screensaver, but a short and fun pseudo-sequel to the PSP game Loco Roco, but that’s another article. I digress.
In The Endless Forest, players assume the role of a faun, who grows into a deer with a human-like face, in a forest inhabited by other players. The players roam around the forest, eating berries, bounding about, and communicating by gestures, and animal calls instead of text or voice. The deer can pick up magical powers by eating certain food, or resting next to a deer who already has magical abilities.
The setting is as tranquil as an MMO can get. There are no real goals, just assume the role of a magical deer and explore. You can set the game as your screensaver for your computer, so when your computer rests, you are instantly logged into the game with your avatar. You can then choose to play a while, or just let the game sit and watch deer walk by.
Now the game has entered phase 3 with a host of new features:
"The Forest of Phase Three has doubled in size, so now you can roam even farther and enjoy the new sights and sounds. The new area features a completely new landscape, with birch trees and sycamores, blue berries and little birds that sit on your antlers if you're very very quiet. Which is impossible when you're a Fawn, of course! New players will play the game as a young deer before they acquire the full potential of the well known human-faced avatar. To make sure the Fawns remain amused, a little playground has been added, a quarry of sorts, with big boulders to jump on and hide under.Phase Three also includes a major overhaul of the game engine with better performance and lower memory requirements. Even the file size of version 3.0 is less than that of 2.0, despite of the additional features (under 50 MB!).
130.000 Downloads and 18.000 registrations after the first release 2 short years ago, the artistic MMO project has more momentum than ever. A lively community that actively participates in the design of the game. Ever growing numbers of active players (between 1200 and 1800 unique players every month). With live performances and presentations at museums, community centers, and media art festivals. From its beginnings as an experimental project, The Endless Forest has now gained a place for itself on the daily menu of many online gamers and art lovers."
Join the ever-growing community of players who may not be interested in online bloodshed and legendary armor sets. As of now, there are 18595 deer active in the forest. So download it for free and post your impressions below.
Endless Forest Phase Three [Aeropause]
Toots
Posted to Hot Stuff, Video Games on 26 September 2007
· Comments (5)
Other stuff like this: free, mmo, the endless forest
so is this like supposed to be an homage to the spirit of the forest from princess mononoke or what?
And once again, Mac users are left out in the cold... sigh... (But good call on the Mononoke comparison, motaku)
SQUEE!!! Why, it sounds deLIGHTful! If only one could play as a spunky squirrel or cute bunny!
Wow! I love the idea and the aesthetic. Can't wait to have a look. A HUGE plus for the ability to interact in an MMO environment without having to be subjected to ignorant opinions and idiotic coonversations.
Deer season opens up here in Colorado on October 1. Over 18,000 you say?