The dream of a true legacy starts here.
Discover the mechanics that makes Spirit Relics an immersive experience.
Chapter 1 - Basic Concepts
Covers the overview of the project, character creation, logging in and out, and world start.
Chapter 2 - Construction Mechanics
Learn how construction skills, resources, and claims lay the foundation for visual and contextual history.
Discover how a dynamic ecologic survives and how crafts from modified resources allow stats to represent player and wildlife activity.
Chapter 3 - Wildlife Mechanics
Chapter 4 - Monster Mechanics
Learn how monsters change the world, and how players can fight, appease, or even worship to stop or perpetuate conflict.
Chapter 5 - NPC Mechanics
Contains everything about NPC, and their understanding of the world, and their place in it.
Players will unlock abilities and teach others to strengthen their community, and info on how to increase buffs.
Chapter 6 - Combat and Crafting
Chapter 7 - Outpost Mechanics
Players can choose differences between outposts with a founder who sets the rules, or a public outpost based on voting.
Chapter 8 - Crime, Bounty Hunting, Trials
Crimes use riftmist for crime trails, which allows magic to balance crime frequency and leave evidence for trials.
There are different ways to buy, sell, and trade. Now dynamic markets and culture can add flavor to outposts throughout the world.
Chapter 9 - Economics and Merchants
Chapter 10 - Legend, Life, and the Afterlife
Legend experience culminates until the death or retirement of a character, which transfers to spirit relics to create your continued history.
Chapter 11 - PVE and PVP Mechanics
See the differences between PVE and PVP worlds to select a place with your comfort level, or need for aggression in mind.
This is where I put everything else.
Chapter 12 - ETC
Read for Free
Everything on this website is a direct mirror of the version 1 book. You can also access the full book as a free, printable, digital copy at the link below. Feel free to print and share.
Spirit Relics Version 1.0
Preface
Growing up, I fell in love with the MMORPG genre. When friends would introduce me to the next newest MMORPG, they would often send me a cinematic cutscene, and hype would ensue. However, it didn't take long for me, as a player, to understand that there are differences between cinematic cutscenes, and gameplay footage. To this day, as hype around a new MMORPG builds, my skepticism increases.
In my adulthood, I've come to view many forms of fantasy media in general. Even if a game has solid mechanics, I feel a disconnect from what the player can do, versus how everything from NPCs to monsters function in the world. When I watch a cutscene or a movie about a game, I want to be able to feel their interactions between each other are possible in-game. While that was also an issue during my childhood, the immersion issue gets worse, as adulthood and life experiences added more complexities to the world as I know it. Thus the demand for more immersive experiences increases to meet the difference between childhood perspective and adulthood perspective. However, MMORPG creators are stuck in a loop of chasing that feeling, using the same mechanics as they experienced in childhood. But I believe the result will always be the same. An MMORPG that doesn’t quite hit what they, and their players, are looking for.
For many MMORPG players today, theI can't seem to hit the full escapism I need in my adulthood, and I wait for trailer after trailer, every year, hoping that the game will have what I am looking for. But I’ve finally come to believe, this is not possible unless I try to do something about this.
For everyone, what an MMORPG needs is different, and the core of mine is the following. Allow players to actually perform actions that can affect the world in a way that is fair, but can lead to challenges from monsters, NPC, and players with opposing dynamics. Many considerations must be considered for this to be a success, such as a full escapism from real world dynamics. Players also need to be able to experience a full immersive experience with different classes within and outside of combat, such as crafting, and other roles. Combat has been the sole focus of social dynamics in MMORPGs, but crafting, fantasy-faith, and nature or monster based cultures need to be included in the full social experience to create true depth and escapism for a full solo and community immersive experience. Allow players the system to strategize and communicate, that allows espionage and crimes to not be head-canons, and actual events that can change experiences. Have monsters and creatures feel alive and dynamic without feeling like moving target practices. Impossible, some will say, but with the right goals in mind, focus, and ability, this can be possible.
However, I understand the efforts to create such a game would be more than unlikely for any studio or company to pick up. Thus starts my lifelong adventure to fantasize the possibilities.
This document outlines the mechanics designed to support that vision, with clear systems for those who want to shape the world, and leave a history that has the potential to truly affect NPC, players, and the world, depending on the mark they leave behind. This website is a living document and will update over time. (For as long as I am able.)
WAIT... What is Spirit Relics?
This project is shared openly to inspire future developers. Spirit Relics is not currently a game being created. If this confuses you, I highly recommend checking out this video by
Super Eyepatch Wolf.
It's about art/documentation about video games that don't exist.
(I'm not affiliated with him, I'm just a fan!)
It's a MMORPG design concept in website form.
North Stars
The key motivations behind the mechanics
All real-life mechanics should work in-world, as canon events where possible. Menus and logging out are examples that need in-world integrations. Terms like AFK and AFK mechanics work seamlessly in lore.
World, monster, nature, crime, and faith mechanics create balanced tension by design, but is guided by player action, choice, and needs, in a way that is challenging, yet fair.
The world must create history. Interactions must be felt by the world, or players, or both, in a way that is coded and felt. Stop head canons.
Make an authentic escapism experience with each character creation. Allow players to feel their full escape from reality. Whether fantastical, or mundane, with a sense of authenticity.
Make it so that players maintain roleplaying without them trying to. This is so that both roleplaying and non-roleplaying users maintain an immersive experience.
Maintain identity along with flexibility. Find a way for characters to identify their goals and role, without restricting features arbitrarily. All while creating an environment where casuals and hardcore players can find their place cohesively.
About me
My name is Jimmy Slaughter.
I like to write, draw, and dream.
I am addicted to this project.
That's not important, but this website is.
Contact Me
Questions, comments, feedback?