For those unaware, Storybricks is closing its doors and shutting down - which isn't a complete surprise considering their largest known contract and work was in dealing with Sony Online Entertainment on their EverQuest Next project. Taking on new, emergent AI in this joint venture, a lot of their hours and resources went into this project (if not all of them).

I can't say I expected them to close shop after Daybreak Games (formerly SOE) announced that the two companies wouldn't be working together any longer. I was hoping they would take their emergent AI tools elsewhere, but it just didn't seem to be in the cards. From the official statement made by Storybricks, some of the core team members had aspirations outside of the gaming industry - which should be an indicator as to how truly dynamic and revolutionary their AI systems actually are.

Still though, amidst all the shocking news, nothing was more shocking to me than hearing that Storybricks had actually attempted to buy SOE from Sony Japan (with investor support) while the company had been for sale (prior to it getting purchased by Columbus Nova). With so much invested in EverQuest Next already, it makes perfect sense that they would have an interest in doing something like that. Who knows what could have been had it happened (I imagine things beautiful and wondrous for EverQuest Next), but now we'll never know.

What I really didn't expect to read, however, was that Storybricks also had their sights set on the intellectual properties of the former 38 Studios with Kingdoms of Amalur and Project Copernicus. For those with a finger on the pulse of the gaming industry, they might know that the former lead content designer for EverQuest Next was Steve Danuser (co-creator of the lore and IP of 38 Studios). Which leads to all kinds of intriguing questions of what kind of ambitious plans that team had been discussing behind closed doors.

Having recently had a good long chat with Steve Danuser, or Moorgard as you might know him, on Theory Forge Friday a couple of weeks ago... I can completely understand how Storybricks attempting an ambitious move like this almost happened. Steve is passionate about his work at 38 Studios (and for very good reasons), and he has written about his work there at great length on his personal website and blog, Mobhunter. Had Storybricks managed to buy-out SOE from Sony and somehow wrestled the 38 Studios IP away from the politicians and other parties holding it over in New England, I can only imagine what they might have done with it.

For those who got the chance to play Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning, we got to see a tiny snapshot of the massive amount of world-building, character creation, and storylines that 38 Studios was secretly working on for several years with renowned fantasy author R.A.Salvatore. With so many lead-developers on that project who were Storytellers at heart, you can be certain that had some interesting character, NPC, and story concepts created. Concepts that Storybricks probably had the technology to actually bring to life.

I'm not sure how much they would have pulled from that IP and put into EverQuest Next, but had the epic move actually been pulled off I don't think it really would have mattered. Whether Storybricks reinitiated Project Copernicus or whether they used the strongest parts of its systems to inject more innovation in EverQuest Next  - we would have seen a pretty amazing game come to the surface either way. Now? I'm not so sure.

Daybreak Games, as a co-owner of most everything Storybricks has been working on for the past couple years, has a chance to carry that tech forward with their continued production of EverQuest Next. As good as the game can still become, I tend to think the losses of parties like Steve Danuser and Storybricks are extremely significant. I'm not saying that the remaining team there can't still come up with something awesome - I'm just saying that whatever they do come up with won't be as awesome as what could have been accomplished with Moorgard and Storybricks at the helm of the Content and AI Systems.

It's unfortunate that Storybricks wasn't able to undertake their grandiose plans in the purchase of SOE and 38 Studios IP, and even more unfortunate that the company is closing shop completely and splitting up to work on other projects - but at least they gave it a shot. Better to have loved and lost than never loved at all right? Storybricks had a dream, and maybe one day they will return to that dream, or a newer, greater dream - but that day is not today.

R.I.P. Storybricks.

As someone with a keen eye on design, development and innovation in the gaming industry, I will greatly miss their contributions. I sincerely hope they come back soon; the gaming industry needs more people like them - and they know it. Now all that remains is a sliver of hope. Hope that Daybreak can still achieve greatness and innovation with EverQuest Next sans Steve Danuser. Hope that the gaming industry can still push Emergent AI forward sans Storybricks (they will eventually, but probably not as quickly as they could have with Storybricks help). Hope that one of these days soon, someone, anyone, can finally deliver an MMORPG that truly is dynamic.

With static, traditional AI - I don't believe that will ever be possible. Emergent AI is an essential ingredient to dynamic story-driven content, and one of the pioneers and front-running studios leading the charge just got forced out. (I say forced out, because clearly they were ambitiously trying to accomplish great things - those things just didn't work out for whatever reason.) Emergent AI must blossom for a truly great MMORPG to reach full-bloom.

That's why I've not got my eyes fully fixated on Revival. It also is hinging on Emergent AI as core feature to drive it's dynamic content, but whether they can actually accomplish it or not remains to be seen. If EverQuest Next manages to succeed (even partially), then the odds that Revival can push things a step further will raise significantly. I've got my fingers crossed for both of them.

I try not to imagine what might happen should one or both of them fail; because I don't think I'm ready for that kind of heartache.

I literally cannot comprehend a future for MMORPGs without dynamic, Emergent AI - or at least, I can't comprehend a future for MMORPGs in that way that I would want to be a part of. The kind of static AI that currently exists in MMOs today makes my soul bleed, and no amount of graphical improvements or other unique systems or going to make that palatable. As a storyteller myself, it is the narrative that drives the whole machine - and right now, the systems behind those narratives are revoltingly robotic and have no chance of immersing me whatsoever.