A first look at the Love alpha

by Krystalle Voecks Oct 6th 2009 at 6:00PM

Filed under: Video, MMO industry, New titles, Hands-on, Love

Ever since I first heard about Love at GDC, I've been hoping to get a chance to check it out. The graphical style floats somewhere between impressionist and Abstract, with only the suggestions of people and things. Gone are the "customize your character heavily" moments of an MMO. You simply log in and your character is immediately created - an amorphous entity ready to take part in all that Love has to offer. If you like to explore, Love has that. If you want to help build a mighty settlement, you can do that too. Alternately, if you want to run around blowing NPCs (and their settlements) off the map, that's also an option.

While it is a paid alpha - something some may balk at, and others find quite reasonable considering Steenberg is developing Love solo - the game offers an interesting twist on MMOs as we know them. It's a little bit adventure game, a little bit cooperative civilization building, and a little bit FPS. How you get through the game - through fending for yourself or working with others - is entirely up to you. At 3 EUR per 30 days of paid time (approximately $4.50 US) it's worth checking out if you're curious. If, however, you're just interested in looking in on Love from afar, we have two videos full of our very own beautiful alpha Love exploration footage behind the break.

Tags: alpha-footage, eskil-steenberg, love, open-alpha, preview, procedurally-generated, video

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

brakar said on 6:59PM 10-06-2009

still wondering what to make of the game but all india radio was pretty rad.

Krystalle Voecks said on 7:38PM 10-06-2009

They were nice enough to put their music out on Music Alley (http://www.musicalley.com/) for use, so be sure to check out their site if you like their stuff:

http://www.allindiaradio.com.au/

Flow said on 7:16PM 10-06-2009

I just loved the drawing, very unique, it was like watching a painting exhibition.

Teddix said on 3:43AM 10-07-2009

i think with the videos are very beutifull a prof that it doesnt have to be "good" graphics to be beutifull like this game is imo

pogger said on 7:55PM 10-06-2009

Tempted to fork over the "euros" but not sure yet. While the artwork and idea does seem groundbreaking, I'm wondering if there's an increase in eye fatigue if played over time.

The good side is the game's graphics can probably never be described as "outdated".

dok said on 11:58PM 10-06-2009

I found playing it a little bit straining on the eyes. It seems like a good idea and looks great in videos, but I'm not sure how well that transfers to an extended gaming session.

Maybe it's a good way to help fight game addiction?

Sean said on 9:34PM 10-06-2009

The contextual, floating information about items in the world is an elegant solution for introducing the player to new mechanics. More games should adopt something similar in lieu of or instead of a traditional tutorial.

Krystalle Voecks said on 2:11PM 10-07-2009

I should note that you can turn those off.

Also, they're a bit of a pain in the arse to read during the daytime when the sky is bright yellow since the text is white.

steve said on 1:49PM 10-07-2009

very nice may get some game time not sure yet

HexDSL said on 5:30AM 10-07-2009

this game is so fantastic, the story of its develpment alone would make a fantastic book, best of luck to 'love'

Aetrix said on 11:22AM 10-07-2009

It turns out that the best and most innovative games I've played over the past year or two have been from independent developers. Even if the game turns out to be a dud, I've got mad respect for this guy just for having the ambition to take this on. I'd donate the five bucks even if it didn't include the opportunity to try the Alpha!

burdenday said on 1:16PM 10-07-2009

Very interesting concept, thanks for the videos, Krystalle.

A number of writers have been critical of most recent MMOs due to their cloneness of WoW or EQ. This definitely breaks the mold, and while it may not be the fish that takes the hook, it should help to better bait the next one.

Sean said on 9:22PM 10-07-2009

I was hoping that their default mode was to appear the first few times you encountered an object and then only thereafter when you hovered for, say, 10 seconds over an object. The descriptions themselves could probably be shorter, or even voiced. Still the basic concept seems well founded, even if not well implemented yet.

Irbis said on 1:32AM 10-13-2009

hmmm. "feels" like Wurm Online but perhaps more artistic. Increadily how just one person is working on this. But i do support that "payed alpha" idea. this way he can spent all time need to work on this game without going part-time job. i wish for him to make a living out of it. such a brave game makers should be awarded.
and the music is just sweeeeeeeeeeet - i absolutly need to get it!
cheers!

irbis

gikku03 said on 12:51PM 10-13-2009

Well I watched them both and I guess I am just missing something here. I sure didn't see anything that made me want to try this one out.

What is the purpose? What do you do besides move around a very dark and dismal world or area?

Firestem4 said on 11:11PM 10-13-2009

Actually there is quite a bit involved in the game. Check out the website and look at some of the videos available. They're quite large files but the game is essentially a combat-sandbox

gikku03 said on 10:28AM 10-14-2009

Thanks. I went to the site and read up on it. Some of the ideas and concepts are interesting. What you do changes the world. A world ever changing. I often wondered about something like that in some of the big MMORPG games. One has done something in that direction with phasing.
I mean you complete a quest line and what you did has changed something but then you can't see as on going. But using a phasing this has to a degree become possible.

Anyway. This is not my type of game but I have to admit it sounds like an interesting concept.

Good luck to those who play it.

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