Persistent world
Encyclopedia
A persistent world is a virtual world
that continues to exist even after a user
exits the world and that user-made changes to its state are, to some extent, permanent. The term is frequently used in the definition of the massively multiplayer online
video games and can be considered synonymous with that class of games, including other narrative
forms of a media franchise
.
are not playing their character
s. That aspect is similar to the real world where events do occur regardless if they are directly or indirectly related to a person, as they continue to happen while a person is asleep, etc. Conversely, a player's character can also influence and change a persistent world. The degree to which a character affects a world varies from game to game. Since the game does not pause or create player-accessible back-up files, a character's actions will have consequences that the player must deal with.
Elements of persistent worlds can be found in computer games from as early as the 1980s, including Trade Wars
(1984), Wasteland (1988), and Orb Wars (1989). Several video games from the 1980s also featured elements of persistent worlds with their own day-night cycles and non-player character
s going about their own daily routines, including Konami
's Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
(1987), Nintendo
's Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
, T&E Soft
's Hydlide 3: The Space Memories (1987), Fun Factory's War of the Dead (1987), and Chunsoft
's Dragon Quest III
(1988). Certain aspects of persistent worlds become more and more prominent in the Pokemon
franchise beginning with Pokemon Gold.
The term "persistent world" gained popularity in the late 1990s with the growth in popularity of MMORPG
s. The term is also frequently used by players of Neverwinter Nights
(2002) and Neverwinter Nights 2
(2006) to refer to MMORPG-like online environments, such as Arkaz, Avlis
, Dasaria
, and The Known Lands (TKL)
created using the game's toolkit.
series. Even though nothing happens while the game is off (due to the obvious technical constraint), the illusion of persistence is created by advancing events as soon as the game is turned on. The game generates events that could have happened during the real-world time in which the game was inactive. NPC
development is also seen as a key factor in maintaining offline and online persistence. A method for creating NPCs that evolve and adapt to gameplay is seen in research done on motivated reinforcement learning agents. Further persistence is possible if NPC interact with players in an adaptive way rather than a static method without regard to prior experiences.
Another good example of offline persistence is in Metal Gear Solid 3. If one is to stop playing long enough during the boss fight with the End - he will die of old age in game.
Perhaps the first game to use that technique is the game Noctis
, where the players are advised to turn off the game when refueling (something that takes a long time), or when someone stops playing and returns while landed on a planet, and can see some visible changes, like sea level changes or daytime/nighttime cycles.
Virtual world
A virtual world is an online community that takes the form of a computer-based simulated environment through which users can interact with one another and use and create objects. The term has become largely synonymous with interactive 3D virtual environments, where the users take the form of...
that continues to exist even after a user
User (computing)
A user is an agent, either a human agent or software agent, who uses a computer or network service. A user often has a user account and is identified by a username , screen name , nickname , or handle, which is derived from the identical Citizen's Band radio term.Users are...
exits the world and that user-made changes to its state are, to some extent, permanent. The term is frequently used in the definition of the massively multiplayer online
Massively multiplayer online game
A massively multiplayer online game is a multiplayer video game which is capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously. By necessity, they are played on the Internet, and usually feature at least one persistent world. They are, however, not necessarily games played on...
video games and can be considered synonymous with that class of games, including other narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
forms of a media franchise
Media franchise
A media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
.
Overview
The persistence comes from maintaining and developing a single or dynamic instance state of the world in the game around the clock shared and viewed by all players. Quite unlike other types of games, the plot and events in a single permainstance world game continue to develop even while some of the playersPlayer (game)
A player of a game is a participant therein. The term 'player' is used with this same meaning both in game theory and in ordinary recreational games....
are not playing their character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
s. That aspect is similar to the real world where events do occur regardless if they are directly or indirectly related to a person, as they continue to happen while a person is asleep, etc. Conversely, a player's character can also influence and change a persistent world. The degree to which a character affects a world varies from game to game. Since the game does not pause or create player-accessible back-up files, a character's actions will have consequences that the player must deal with.
Elements of persistent worlds can be found in computer games from as early as the 1980s, including Trade Wars
Trade Wars
Trade Wars is the title, with some variations in spelling and capitalization, of a series of computer games dating back to the early days of personal computing. Based on influences from Star Trek, Star Wars, and early BBS strategy games, Trade Wars was an early example of the appeal of online games...
(1984), Wasteland (1988), and Orb Wars (1989). Several video games from the 1980s also featured elements of persistent worlds with their own day-night cycles and non-player character
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
s going about their own daily routines, including Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
's Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest
Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, known in Japan as , is an action-adventure role-playing platform game produced by Konami. It was originally released for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan 1987 and for the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America in 1988. It is the second Castlevania...
(1987), Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
's Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, released as in Japan and often mistakenly called The Adventures of Link, is an action role-playing video game with platforming elements. The second installment in The Legend of Zelda series, it was developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment...
, T&E Soft
Technology and Entertainment Software
, fully titled as Technology and Entertainment Software, is a Japanese based video game developer founded in 1982. Although they have made games with a wide variety of genres, they are primarily known in the U.S...
's Hydlide 3: The Space Memories (1987), Fun Factory's War of the Dead (1987), and Chunsoft
Chunsoft
is a Japanese video game developer specializing in console RPGs and visual novels. It was founded by Koichi Nakamura, a video game designer from Enix...
's Dragon Quest III
Dragon Warrior III
Dragon Warrior III, known in Japan as , is a console role-playing game developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix . It is the third installment in the Dragon Quest series , first released for the Famicom in Japan, and then the NES in North America...
(1988). Certain aspects of persistent worlds become more and more prominent in the Pokemon
Pokémon
is a media franchise published and owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1996. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video...
franchise beginning with Pokemon Gold.
The term "persistent world" gained popularity in the late 1990s with the growth in popularity of MMORPG
MMORPG
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
s. The term is also frequently used by players of Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights , produced by BioWare and published by Infogrames , is a third-person perspective computer role-playing game that is based on third edition Dungeons & Dragons and Forgotten Realms rules. It was originally to be published by Interplay Entertainment, but the publisher's financial...
(2002) and Neverwinter Nights 2
Neverwinter Nights 2
Neverwinter Nights 2 is a computer role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Atari. It is the sequel to BioWare's Neverwinter Nights, based on the Dungeons & Dragons pencil and paper fantasy role-playing game...
(2006) to refer to MMORPG-like online environments, such as Arkaz, Avlis
Avlis
Avlis is a campaign setting designed for use with Dungeons & Dragons developed over the past 20 years from a home-grown campaign setting, and branching into a large scale online campaign....
, Dasaria
Dasaria
Dasaria is a human-centric, medium-magic roleplay and story-driven Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting that became an online persistent world using the Neverwinter Nights client in 2002, and again using the Neverwinter Nights 2 client in 2006.-The Setting:...
, and The Known Lands (TKL)
The Known Lands (TKL)
The Known Lands is a 'home grown' world in the Neverwinter Nights 2 role-playing environment that has been developed around the persistent world structure. The self-stated goal of this project is to make a world that is roleplay focused with the feel of a ‘pen and paper’ game...
created using the game's toolkit.
Offline persistence
Persistent worlds can be simulated in offline games, such as in the Animal CrossingAnimal Crossing (series)
The Animal Crossing games have garnered positive response. The first three games are among the best-selling for their respective consoles. Animal Crossing has sold 2.321 million copies; Wild World 10.79 million; and City Folk 3.38 million...
series. Even though nothing happens while the game is off (due to the obvious technical constraint), the illusion of persistence is created by advancing events as soon as the game is turned on. The game generates events that could have happened during the real-world time in which the game was inactive. NPC
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
development is also seen as a key factor in maintaining offline and online persistence. A method for creating NPCs that evolve and adapt to gameplay is seen in research done on motivated reinforcement learning agents. Further persistence is possible if NPC interact with players in an adaptive way rather than a static method without regard to prior experiences.
Another good example of offline persistence is in Metal Gear Solid 3. If one is to stop playing long enough during the boss fight with the End - he will die of old age in game.
Perhaps the first game to use that technique is the game Noctis
Noctis
Noctis is an open source computer space flight simulator featuring first-person visual exploration of an imaginary galaxy...
, where the players are advised to turn off the game when refueling (something that takes a long time), or when someone stops playing and returns while landed on a planet, and can see some visible changes, like sea level changes or daytime/nighttime cycles.