Deep Dive: MMBOX

(Backstory of the game)

MMBOX was once a very popular social MMO game with busy lobbies. However, one day, all information about the game mysteriously vanished from the internet, leaving only its website accessible. When players logged in that day, they encountered the "incident." A decade later, an old player stumbled upon the still-functional website, finding no players online. Intrigued, they logged in to explore the empty plains of MMBOX, seeking to discover the cause of the incident.

This project was very exciting for me, but regrettably, it has been on hold for years. Recently, I've resumed its development. The characters in the game are hand-drawn on paper with crayons, a technique I discovered during my work on Moneycal, and then scanned into the game. I love the aesthetic it gives the game. The characters are also voiced by a outdated text-to-speech engine to enhance the retro MMO game atmosphere. Fake notice boards and side chats adorn the screen, and the player counter twitches between 1 and 2, creating a somewhat "eerie" effect. The game also maintains a silent ambiance, featuring only the sounds of your own footsteps and a subtle white noise in the background.

While MMBOX wasn't initially meant to be a horror game, some elements may appear edgy. However, this design choice wasn't intentional. The inspiration for MMBOX comes from three significant sources. Firstly, Schnell Online, an obscure MMO game with minimal information available. The graphic design of MMBOX was undoubtedly influenced by it. Secondly, Worlds, a forgotten MMO game that ceased to exist long ago, yet its servers inexplicably remain online with a small player base. Lastly, 'No Players Online' on itch.io, a horror shooter about a dead shooter game, is a personal favorite. I've always been interested in developing horror games, but it's no easy task. While I could come up with something in a few months, I know i will feel ashamed of it in a few years. Therefore, when approaching anything remotely horror-related, I always view it from a distance to ensure it doesn't come off as a mere attempt to be edgy, but rather an effort to develop a genuinely good horror game. That's why MMBOX was always intended to be an exploration game.

If you're genuinely interested, I'll share some early development pictures, and get in contact with me there might be a beta key for you!