Furcadia

Furcadia
Developer(s)	Dragon's Eye Productions, Inc.
Publisher(s)	Dragon's Eye Productions, Inc.
Designer(s)	Felorin/Dr. Cat, Talzhemir/'Manda, Emerald Flame, and Fox
Version	28b "Tied up with a string! - Double Knot"
Platform(s)	Windows (Windows ME, Windows 98, Windows 95 no longer supported), Mac support, 10.4 or later, iOS 3.0 or later, Linux using Wine
Release date(s)	December 16, 1996 (1996-12-16)
Genre(s)	Massively multiplayer online game
Mode(s)	Multiplayer
System requirements Windows 2000 or Later, Mac OSX 10.4 or Later, iOS 3.0 or Later.

Furcadia is a MMOSG/MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Social Game/ Roleplaying Game) or graphical MUD,^[1] set in a fantasy world inhabited by anthropomorphic creatures. The game is based on user-created content, socializing and free-form roleplaying. Furcadia is not entirely In Character; however, the background world ('The Dragonlands') and rule system ('Furre!') exist for those who wish to participate. Furcadia is claimed as the longest continuously running MMO.^[2][3]

Gameplay

Characters

The character, or avatar on Furcadia is called a "furre", pronounced "fur", or occasionally "furry". The in-game avatar can be set to one of several species of anthropomorphic animal that Furcadia offers. A furre can be one of three genders: male, female, and unspecified. These genders modify the default portrait, as well as specitags, icons seen to the left of players' names in chat.

Customization

Players can customize their avatars by choosing colors from a palette. These colors are shown on both the walkabout and portrait. The walkabout has a basic walking animation with the ability to stand, sit, or lay. There are default portraits for each avatar, however, one may upload a 95x95 custom portrait for a small fee.^[4]

Each character can also have a brief description, which can include character details, or external links to websites. Some players choose to link to third-party websites to extend their descriptions beyond the character-limit the standard Furcadia description allows.

Digos

There are dozens of graphical and functional enhancements ("Digos") that can be bought from the Digo Market to support Furcadia's development. Digos can be bought with a monthly subscription, yearly subscription, or bought permanently. These include a variety of pixelised species, including cats ("Catten"), dolphins ("Flutterphins") and even the newly released ponies ("Poneighs").

Player Numbers

As of May 2007, Furcadia has over 70,000 regular players^[5] and regularly sees between 4,000 and 4,500 players at peak times, depending on the day of the week. The record number of players on Furcadia at once is 4920 as of January 25, 2007.^[6]

Furcadia and the furry fandom

Although Furcadia's anthropomorphic animal characters are related to those of the furry fandom, and the game was inspired in part by FurryMUCK, Furcadia has never been intended as an exclusively 'furry' game. A significant portion of Furcadia's player-base do not identify as 'furries' or have any interest in the furry aspect of the game. Furthermore, players can use hyooman (human) avatars if purchased.^[7][8]

Dreams

The primary focus of Furcadia is user-generated content. To this end, the Furcadia game download includes an art editor, a map creating program and a script editor. Users are encouraged to create their own virtual worlds, called Dreams, using these tools. These worlds can be uploaded to the Furcadia server and used for a variety of purposes, examples being role playing, a place to hang out with friends, or a number of other purposes. Dreams remain open to the public area in which they are uploaded, so long as it is inhabited, and, if unoccupied, it is eventually unloaded automatically. Dreams can include the use of audio files in the WMA, Ogg, MOD, S3M, WAV and MIDI (.mid) formats, to name a few.

Dreams take advantage of a coding language known as DragonSpeak, or "DS". DragonSpeak allows users to develop interactivity into their dreams, ranging from a simple action like opening a door, to far more complex uses, such as a complete game of chess or laser-tag.

Dream owners are allowed to make and use bots to accomplish things that DragonSpeak cannot, but these are not officially supported by Furcadia.

While there are several types of dreams that are popular, users continue to create new things with the tools they are given. Furcadia hosts a variety of roleplaying dreams, ranging from strict-continuity roleplay (in which the dream is its own independent world) to persona play.^[9] Roleplaying dreams also come in a number of different forms, ranging from feral (wild animal) to furre (anthropomorphic animal) to human. Many dreams revolve around fantasy plots and themes, based on popular books, television programs, ancient mythology, or original creations of Furcadia players.

Furcadia itself is basically made up of several dreams, the ones made by its users and the main maps.

Dream standards

Although Furcadia itself is unrated, individual dreams may specify a standard which details what kind of behavior, language, and content may be allowed. Before March 2007, Furcadia used a rating system akin to the MPAA film rating system. Since March 2007, Furcadia uses its own dream standards system which allows users to define exactly what kind of behavior should be allowed on a per-dream basis. The dream standards are based on age groups, ranging from Everyone8+ to Adult Only, with specific behavior, language, and content restrictions. Some main maps—FurN and Hawthorn (previously Haven/New Haven)—immediately block the user from entering the main map if they are not within the specified age group and parental controls are enabled.^[10]

Development

First opened to the public on December 16, 1996, Furcadia is developed by Dragon's Eye Productions, Inc (DEP). Its engine was developed in 1994, originally for a preliminary graphical MUD project called DragonSpires, which featured very simplistic real-time combat, and used a DOS-based client limited to the 16 EGA colors. At its public release, Furcadia featured a graphical improvement: art with a 256 color VGA palette. New support for 24-bit non-remappable portraits (the first art to extend beyond 256 colors), and Windows Vista support were implemented in the April 6, 2007 "Kitterwing Edition." On December 16, 2006, Furcadia became the first-ever MMORPG to celebrate ten years of continual service.^[2][3]

Furcadia was originally designed and programmed by Dr. Cat (known as Felorin in-game) and Manda (known as Talzhemir in-game). Two additional people have since been credited as part of the creative team for their work: game producer Katie Bazor (known as Emerald Flame), who developed (and still coordinates) the Beekin volunteer staff project, and Aleksi Asikainen (known as Fox, formerly sanctimonious), who created the game's editors and is now involved in coding the client and the server as the game's part-time programmer. Two others that assist with programming are Ryhn and Farrier.^[11]

The developers continue to make several minor updates to the code per year. Major updates to the code (such as the addition of new character avatars or improved DragonSpeak commands) occur approximately once per year. As of 2007, the game remains in a public alpha development stage.

The iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch client was released on July 19, 2010.^[12] Players cannot enter adult dream standards, due to Apple's conditions on Apps.^{[citation needed]}

Business model

Downloading and playing Furcadia is free of charge. DEP has publicly stated that Furcadia will remain free of mandatory playing charges. To fund staff and cover the costs of running Furcadia's servers, DEP sells several game-enhancing products, known in the game as Digos, sold in an online store known as the Digo Market (named after an in-game location). Possession of these game enhancements can last anywhere from one day to 'life' (an indefinite amount of time), depending on the product and package one purchases.^[13]

These Digos include premium avatars, in-game wings of several types, the ability to upload custom in-game character portraits, in-game roses, and small images, such as cupcakes or even engagement rings, that display in a character's profile (known as Desctags). Additionally, players may purchase 'Silver Sponsorships', which provide a number of game-enhancing abilities and features.^[13]

DragonScales are an in-game currency that may be used to purchase Digos. DragonScales may be purchased in the Digo Market, or received in-game as competition prizes or gifts.^[14]

Another limitation of the "free" part of furcadia is the size of user-created maps - Maps must be limited in size to 208*200 tiles. This number can be expanded only after buying the "group package" item at the digomarket.

Awards

• Finalist for the 5th IGDA awards^[15][16]
• Honorable Mention in WarCry Network Editor's Choice Awards 2006 (Indie Game of the Year)^[17]
• Softpedia Pick Award from Softpedia^[18]
• AllApp.com 5 Star Award^[19]

See also

• Aleksi Asikainen
• Dr. Cat

References

1. ^ Koster, Raph (1999-10-13). "Recent News". Raph Koster's Website. http://www.raphkoster.com/1999/10/13/recent-news-3/. Retrieved 2010-05-01. "Also, I have to say that I think Furcadia is probably the most successful non-gaming, socially oriented graphical mud I’ve seen." 
2. ^ ^{a b} Dragon's Eye Productions (2007-12-15). "Furcadia Celebrates 10th Anniversary". Multiplayer Online Games Directory. http://www.mpogd.com/news/?ID=2279. Retrieved 2009-05-20. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "2006 Town Meeting transcript". Dragon's Eye Productions. http://www.furcadia.com/tenth/townmeeting.html. Retrieved 2009-05-20. 
4. ^ Personal Portraits, Furcadia website. Dragon's Eye Productions. Retrieved November 26, 2007.
5. ^ "May 2007 Newsletter", Dragon's Eye Productions, May 5, 2007.
6. ^ Furcadia.com home page.
7. ^ Forum post by Furcadia creator Felorin (Dr. Cat) concerning the furry fandom. Retrieved April 27, 2007.
8. ^ Furcadia 2005 Town Hall meeting notes, quote by Talzhemir regarding FurryMUCK (April 16, 2005, retrieved April 30, 2007)
9. ^ "Roleplaying in Furcadia". Dragon's Eye Productions. http://www.furcadia.com/roleplay/. Retrieved 2010-07-28. 
10. ^ Dream Content Standards, Dragon's Eye Productions.
11. ^ "Furcadia credits". http://www.furcadia.com/credits/. 
12. ^ Ayluro, Inc.. "Furcadia for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad". Apple Inc. http://itunes.apple.com/app/furcadia/id335357613?mt=8. Retrieved 2010-07-28. 
13. ^ ^{a b} "Furcadia Digo Market". Dragon's Eye Productions, Infire Business Ventures. http://www.digomarket.com. Retrieved 2008-01-19. 
14. ^ "DragonScales". Dragon's Eye Productions. http://www.furcadia.com/community/dragonscales.html. Retrieved 2008-01-19. 
15. ^ Independent Games Festival (2003). "2003 IGF Competition Finalist". Think Services. http://www.igf.com/php-bin/entries2003.php?entry_id=22. Retrieved 2009-05-12. 
16. ^ Harris, Tricia (2003-01-13). "Furcadia". GameSpy. http://archive.gamespy.com/articles/january03/igf2003/Furcadia/index.shtml. Retrieved 2009-05-12. 
17. ^ "2006 Indie Game of the Year". WarCry. 2006. http://www.warcry.com/content/editors_choice/2006/studio_indie. Retrieved 2009-05-12. 
18. ^ "Furcadia 2.7B". Softpedia. http://games.softpedia.com/get/Freeware-Games/Furcadia.shtml. Retrieved 2009-05-12. 
19. ^ "Furcadia". AllApp.com. http://www.allapp.com/Furcadia_download_49107/. Retrieved 2009-05-12. 

Further reading

• Kathryn Stam; Michael Scialdone (2008-03-18). Where Dreams and Dragons Meet. An Ethnographic Analysis of two Examples of Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs). 03.1. Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet. ISSN 1861-5813. http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/volltexte/2008/8290/pdf/Stam_and_Scialdone.pdf. Retrieved 2009-05-22. 

External links

• Official website
• Gamedev.com interview with Emerald Flame and Felorin (21 February 2003)
• Furcadia fansites and utilities at the Open Directory Project