New MMO Game : The Learning

Premise

The MMO environment creates a fantastic opportunity for collaborative learning and problem solving.

The joy of learning.
The joy of teaching others.
The cyclical joy of communal, human growth.

Premise : Learning

Each of the classes levels up to harder and harder levels of difficulty of problems within their chosen class.

Perhaps, by the end of the game, players will find themselves with University levels of understanding in Music, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Art, etc.

Format

The game has a traditional world of exploration feel to it.

Plenty of NPC's to meet.

Format : Competition

Competition in The Learning is based on the Pokemon model :
competition is a chance to challenge yourself,
competition is a chance to learn,
competition is "meaningless" when it is about standing on your enemy's corpse and laughing over it.

Competition : The Duels

Dueling is an essential part of The Learning.

Players of similar levels are given level-appropriate puzzles and try to complete them in a specific amount of time.

The Duels : Spirit Guide Points

One of the most unique features of The Learning is gaining Spirit Guide Points (which can be, of course, cashed in for new gear).

Players who win duels can become Spirit Guides for the losers (losers willing of course).

The puzzles of the duel are repeated, but, the loser completes them alone, with a twist. The other player provides structured assistance :

• The other player is connected to the loser with a special kind of word burst chat. Short bursts of advice can be given, but not full explanations (to keep things still challenging).
• The other player can complete small bits of the puzzle for the other player (e.g. In a Word Challenge, the Spirit Guide can fill in a letter of the word in specific time increments) helping to guide the loser to the answer.
  

The Spirit Guide is awarded points calculated as a percentage of how much they improved the loser's score.

Pretty cool huh?

Both players benefit.
Just how competition is supposed to be.

The Castle Of Dr.Brain

The style of puzzles is similar in concept to those found in the Dr. Brain series.

Classes

The classes in the game reflect the kinds of puzzles the game implements.

Musician Class

Characters in this class solve the game's music puzzles.

Mathematician Class

Characters in this class solve the game's math puzzles.

Artist Class

Characters in this class solve the game's art puzzles.

Literary Class

Characters in this class solve the game's word puzzles.

Mechanical Class

Characters in this class solve the game's mechanical puzzles (e.g. Rubik's Cube, Soma cube, Tower of Hanoi, Burr puzzle and impossible bottles)

Combat

Preamble

Sadly...violence and aggression are still very much a part of the human persona at this stage of our evolution.
This, of course, is a product of unexpressed or poor expressed needs and urges which become sublimated into violence.
A simple way to understand this is a child who throws a temper tantrum :
why does the child throw a violent t.t?
because the poor child has needs which have not been met.
sometimes they are easy needs like food or a hug.
sometimes they are deeper needs of belonging and boredom.
Violence Is A Means Of Bringing Attention To An Unresolved Problem.

Combat Experience

Each player performs the traditional MMO role : tank, dps, healer, etc.
but with The Learning twist.

The Musician Class heals players with soothing music.
The Mathematical Class does dps (it's all about the numbers ^_^)
The Artist Class is the tank, holding enemies attention with chalk drawings.
etc.

What Is Combat In This Game?

Combat is more of a word to describe vigorous disagreement between parties.

Target Audience

This MMO can be appealing for everyone, but it is geared towards being non-violent.

The Goal or "Larger Purpose" Of The MMO

This MMO is a piece of what I call magic mirror software.

It shows its players, and the whole world, what life should be.

Life should be an adventure.
Life should be about constant learning.
Life should be about sharing and cooperating (in adventures and learning ^_^).
Life should be about growing.

The Ultimate Goal Of The Learning

The ultimate goal of The Learning is that after having played the game, experienced what it is like to spend time in endless learning, purposeful collaboration, and the joy of discovery, players want to make the real world that kind of place.