Bossa Studios Launches Worlds Adrift, the world’s first Community-Crafted MMO

Worlds Adrift is a game like no other, marking a totally different approach to game making. And it’s finally taking flight into Early Access this week, signifying the beginning of a long and ongoing journey.

Created by Bossa Studios, it came to life as a two day project during one of the company’s well-renowned Game Jams; a monthly event whereby the studio split up into small groups, and dedicate 48 hours to the creation of a new game, at the end of which they vote on which ones should go into development. Scrapping over 95% of all projects, Worlds Adrift is one of the few that made the cut, but what would the community think?

As per the Bossa way, the studio published a short video showcasing the initial build on Youtube and asked the community whether they thought the game should go into development. It was the beginning of a new kind of relationship between studio and community, and formed the foundations of Worlds Adrift’s future development; a journey of co-creation which the community would continue to help shape every step of the way.

“We couldn’t have envisioned the sheer level of contribution we would receive from our inspiring community – whether it was feedback via the forums, designs from the Island Creator tool, or simply how deeply they interacted with the world” commented Henrique Olifiers, CEO and co-founder of Bossa Studios. “At times, this completely shifted our production’s scope, and as a result, helped us truly hone Worlds Adrift’s vision.”

The Community-Crafted MMO was born. But as well as the direction of the game, players would also help shape the game itself thanks to Bossa’s Island Creator tool; free to download on Steam, players could use over a thousand assets to create their very own island, which would then have the chance to make it into game. Shying away from procedural content – a buzz word at the time – Bossa decided to again put its faith in the community, as it had done with previous titles such as Surgeon Simulator and I am Bread. And now, two years later, with over 10,000 designs already submitted, Worlds Adrift will launch with a world boasting 300 floating islands, nearly all of which have been created by a community member.

But a Community-Crafted MMO is not the only world’s first that Worlds Adrift can lay claim to, as it’s also the very first game to have been built using Improbable’s SpatialOS, allowing players to adventure in a rich, persistent online world. If a player abandons their ship, it will remain in place forever, that is, until another player ultimately commandeers it.

Part MMO, part PVP, part Survival, Worlds Adrift is beyond categorisation, built with a singular vision: to give players the freedom to redefine a genre. Offering an entirely user-generated environment, with a completely unscripted style of play, the sheer scale of its scope, and beauty of its design, is an invitation to experiment. Bound only by the laws of physics, the sky truly is the limit!

Explore. Build. Unite.

• After three years of development, Bossa Studios, London’s leading indie gaming studio, is launching its Worlds Adriftinto public Beta on 17^th of May.
  
• Bossa Studios recently opened an office in Seattle, Portland to mark their takeover of the U.S. market

• The eagerly awaited game marks a turning point for the gaming industry by putting co-creation at the heart of the gamer experience.
• Bossa’s vision for an expansive, life-like universe where all actions have permanent impact, is made possible by Improbable’s SpatialOS technology.
• This massive world is built purely through actions of people playing the game.

• No less than 10,000 islands have already been built by gamers during the closed Beta, many with intricate designsBossa never expected to see.
  

• Bossa’s vision is for the games of the future to put people in the driving seat completely, and is already applying new AI technologies towards its vision beyond Worlds Adrift
• Bossa believes its approach mirrors the global cultural shifts in how people wish to be entertained – by being in charge of their experiences – cue in creation of videos onYouTube, or music on SoundCloud
• While multi-player games have been alive and well for a while, Worlds Adrift is the first game that does away with narrative restrictions altogether, its world being driven by actions and interactions of the players within the game. Exponential possibilities exist in terms of what may happen with the game.
• Every action in the game complies to the real-world laws of physics, demanding of the players to embrace their own real-world vulnerabilities and deep involvement with any actions they take.