Judging by the passionate community that has sprung up around Erenshor, there’s clearly an appetite for an MMORPG that doesn’t come with the typical social pressure and time commitment associated with the genre. Erenshor is a truly single-player MMORPG: it’s a vast, open world filled with quests to discover, dungeons to crawl, and skills to learn, and its population of SimPlayers helps bridge the gap between solitary gaming and being part of an online community. These simulated players have unique personalities, level up and acquire loot on their own, and can form parties with the player for group content or grinding.
Many of Erenshor‘s community members have remarked that it’s precisely the kind of game they’ve been looking for all along. Underneath all the fun to be had with other humans in a game like EverQuest, many players simply enjoy tab-targeting combat mechanics, character building, exploration, and questing. Few games allow players to enjoy these features offline, which is deeply frustrating for gamers who lack the time or social battery to keep up in today’s MMORPG landscape. Game Rant sat down with Erenshor developer Brian “Burgee” to discuss how the game’s single-player approach makes it a perfect destination for MMORPG fans who aren’t looking for a second job as a raid team member.
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Erenshor Interview: Developer Talks Making A ‘Single-Player MMORPG’
Game Rant sits down with the developer behind Erenshor, a unique single-player MMORPG populated with interactive simulated players.
Erenshor Is For MMORPG Fans With Limited Time
Many of today’s MMORPG fans got their start in EverQuest or early World of Warcraft during their youth when they had much more free time to burn away on late-night raid sessions. As time passes, those gamers may still love the genre, but the increasing responsibilities of adulthood and shifting circumstances make MMORPGs nearly impossible to enjoy. Brian says that Erenshor is targeted at busy gamers like this, and many of its systems are designed to be respectful of the player’s time.
The busy gamer was the target, right? I have kids. I work a nine-to-five, and fitting in an MMO just doesn’t happen. I can’t set aside three-or four-hour blocks to play games anymore. That’s who it was originally made for, and that’s the problem I was trying to solve. You can log in, work on your character, and do the grind.
Like I mentioned, the folks who love MMO gameplay but don’t want to be social—they really came out of the woodwork and said, “This is it. This is awesome.” It surprised me, but I’m happy it helps.
For example, Erenshor‘s SimPlayers are “tethered” to the player’s level. Although SimPlayers level up and acquire gear on their own, they’ll never drastically outpace the player and force them into the familiar game of MMORPG catch-up. In many MMORPGs, there’s a lonely stretch in the middling levels as one steps out of the new player areas but isn’t quite caught up with the majority population at the endgame. Erenshor always moves at the player’s pace, and SimPlayers won’t get mad if the player abruptly exits the game mid-boss fight.
Erenshor Feels Like A More Accessible EverQuest
Despite Erenshor striving to appeal to gamers with limited time, Brian noted that it’s still important to capture the essence of EverQuest: a challenging game that notoriously avoided holding players’ hands. Like in EverQuest, Erenshor players should pay attention to quest text, be observant, play skillfully, and explore thoroughly.
The idea was to simulate EverQuest as closely as possible—the tried-and-true classic—so people who have played EverQuest can sit down, and it just comes naturally. That was goal number one.
It was always meant to be a difficult game, a game that trusted the player. That’s something I’ve kept in mind the whole time. I even wrote it down in my notebook: “Trust the player.” They’re smarter than I am. If I can design it, they can beat it. That’s been the approach I’ve taken so far, and so far, so good. The feedback has been really positive.
Brian recognizes that EverQuest could get somewhat carried away with unforgiving mechanics like its death penalty that could set players back dozens of hours of progress, so he’s opted not to include time-padding mechanics of this nature. Since Erenshor isn’t relying on subscription revenue, players stand to benefit from an MMORPG that doesn’t care how long they play. Thanks to this player-friendly approach, Erenshor is shaping up to be MMO comfort food for busy adventurers.
The free Erenshor demo is available now on Steam.