Wiki

Wiki (also known as Project Wiki and Wiki: Master of Tales/The Beginning of the End) is a MMORPG which was planned to be released by Webzen.

Story
It is said that it is the World Tree that binds time, space, and dimension. Its leaves contain a substance that can be used to travel to the past, but anything one does in the past will dramatically affect the present. (see Butterfly Effect) Once, time and space crossed each other. The Six Roots, sons of the World Tree, were forcefully disbanded. They now wish to reunite with their beloved World Tree and only you can help them find the path!

Gameplay
Webzen is calling Wiki a "casual" MMO with "intense levels of cooperative interactions between all the in-game environments". The game was playable at E3 2006, but reports of the interface and playability are still forthcoming. In many ways Wiki follows suit with the standard MMO format:


 * Players assume the role of an adventurer.
 * This character is custom built from a selection of races and classes.
 * The character progressively gets stronger through fighting monsters and performing quests.
 * As the character gets stronger, it becomes possible to travel to new areas and embark on new adventures.
 * Hundreds or Thousands of players share the same game world and play simultaneously. Players can meet new people, adventure with friends, and form large groups (typically called guilds).

In addition to this, Wiki seems to be more of an action oriented system than a passive strategy style of play. It focuses on social interaction, and character development. Webzen has said it will include elements of time travel, which implies an evolving game world and multiple instances of any given portion of the world.

Leveling and experience
Relatively little is known about this aspect of Wiki, but it is a pivotal feature of most MMOs and RPGs.

Quests and NPC Interaction
The factor that will set Wiki apart from other MMO's, according to Webzen, is the way characters develop. Wiki is described as a "social" world where a character's actions determine their demeanor, how NPC's interact with them, and what quests they are exposed. Consequently what actions a character takes during play determine the options they have later on. These features are not necessarily new to Wiki. Other MMOs such as World of Warcraft contain rich interconnected quest trees and other RPG's such as Fable allow the player to develop their character through their actions.

Setting and player-controlled characters
Wiki is set in a bright and colorful fairy-tale world. Its 3D Cel Shaded graphics bear a strong resemblance to the art style of Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. This created quite a stir during Wiki's original unveiling in 2005 and invoked a public warning from Nintendo about copyright infringement

There are three known playable races: Human, "Beast", or Elf. "Beasts" are taller than humans and have darker skin. It is unknown if "Beasts" implies they are a race of savages, or perphaps some closer connection to nature. The Elves are a short and light skinned race resembling fairies or brownies. According to Webzen, each race has four playable classes (presumably distinct), so in effect there may be as many as 12 different types of characters to play initially. Webzen promises additional advanced classes (though it's unknown if this is a one track specialization or branching ala Ragnarok Online) and there will be special classes that can only be attained by a quest.

The setting of Wiki also has "8 assemblies", which sound a bit like in game factions (static groups that are based on the setting). It is not yet known how friendly or warlike the competition among these assemblies is, or if the lines that divide them are geographical, racial, professional, ancestral, or some based on some other factor. Aside from this and the ability to form guilds within the assemblies little is known about social structures in game, but with the social aspect of Wiki being so high it can be assumed the game will include Parties and a Friend's List.