Oh Nintendo, you so crazy. The Big N, never one to follow the trends, has filed a patent for a “massively single-playing online game.” If you are like us, you are probably asking: “what in the heck is that?” Nintendo provided a few details as to how something with such a seemingly absurd oxymoron of a name would work out.
They are envisioning an online single player game in which players affect elements of the world, but do not directly interact with other players. As such, the publisher believes that this would offer players the traditional benefits of an MMO without what it perceives as the genre’s inherent drawbacks. That’s kind of odd because most MMO players like what that second ‘M’ represents, but a queer approach to online has always been Nintendo’s forte.
“Those who want to play games that are more dynamic, not-based on Al and not-pre-scripted like multiplayer games, however, don’t want to ‘deal’ with other people, appreciate the privacy it provides,” reads the patent application. One way in which this would work is if the game had an economy that reflected the supply and demand of items by players. The Kyoto-based company used a purse in a fashion game or oil prices in the wildly [un]popular global commodities trading communities as an example of this.
Nintendo also went into detail in regards to the construction of structures in the game’s environment. For instance, one player might come across a pile of wood and some tools. He would then get his Bob Villa on and build a house. Other players would never see the builder in their world, but the supplies and tools would disappear in everyone’s world and be replaced by a house.
The lone exception to not being able to interact directly with other players comes in a form that sounds extremely in line with Nintendo philosophies and past policies. Players can “friend” one another to see each other in the game.
Finally, the patent implies that this type of game could appear on “a home video game system such as the Nintendo Wii 3D video game system, a Nintendo DS or other 3D capable interactive computer graphics display systems.” That’s a lot of options and opens up the possibility of cross platform play. Additionally, it seems to imply that the Wii U will have 3D games support. The company previously admitted that the system will have the capability for 3D gameplay, but is not sure whether or not that will be taken advantage of. Stay tuned to MTB for any future developments related to this rather odd patent.
[Source: GameSpot]
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