Furcadia is a massively multiplayer online social game set in a fantasy world inhabited by anthromorphs. It is often considered a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, but this term is inaccurate because the game has no built-in RPG element. For example, Furcadia has no combat simulation system, a staple of traditional role-playing games. A typical Furcadia session History
Furcadia was developed by Dragon's Eye Productions (DEP), which opened the game to the public on December 16, 1996. The original creators, who go by the pseudonyms Felorin and Talzhemir, based Furcadia on their earlier game DragonSpires, a graphical MUD that used a DOS-based client. DEP makes continual improvements to Furcadia and the game is much more sophisticated than the original DragonSpires. As of 2004, the game is (and always has been) in alpha testing.
Playing Furcadia
Characters
As of 2004, tens of thousands of players have created characters on Furcadia. A character on Furcadia is called a 'furre' (pronounced like the word fur, or less often, furry) by Furcadia's population. In Furcadia's fiction, a furre is an intelligent humanoid mammal. Furres can be one of several species:
In the game, each furre appears as an avatar that can walk, stand, sit, and lie down. A furre can be one of three genders (male, female, and unspecified), but its avatar form is based solely on its species; there is no way to differentiate a male furre from a female furre merely by looking at its avatar. Players can customize their avatars by choosing colors from a small palette. After they've created their characters, players can move around maps and join in a wide variety of discussion and roleplay.
As of 2004, Furcadia regularly sees between 1,000 and 3,600 players at peak times.
Dreams
Players can create 'dreams'—custom maps—and link them to the game world. They can use a simple but powerful scripting language, DragonSpeak, to add interactivity and uniqueness to their dreams. Dreams can use bots to accomplish things that DragonSpeak cannot. Custom graphics, or 'patches', can be used to customize the dream even more.
The Beekins
The game is supported by a structured volunteer group called the Beekins, who assist players and, in some cases, enforce Furcadia's rules of conduct. The Beekin program is divided into several groups based on function:
- Bugge Hunters (http://www.furcadia.com/beekins/bugges/), who discover, document, and eliminate bugs in Furcadia's client and server code.
- Dream Masons (http://www.furcadia.com/beekins/masons/), who provide help with dream creation and DragonSpeak scripting.
- Guardians (http://www.furcadia.com/beekins/guardians/), previously known as the Owsla, who enforce Furcadia's rules of conduct.
- Helpers (http://www.furcadia.com/beekins/helpers/), who provide usability help with Furcadia's software.
- Pixels (http://www.furcadia.com/beekins/pixels/), who provide help relating to custom graphics ("patches") in Furcadia.
- Scribes (http://www.furcadia.com/beekins/scribes/), who maintain Furcadia's website.
- Welcomers (http://www.furcadia.com/beekins/welcomers/), who provide help and information to completely new players.
- Mentors (http://www.furcadia.com/beekins/mentors/), who counsel other Beekins and do one-on-one training.
- Teachers (http://www.furcadia.com/beekins/teachers/), who give training classes to new Beekins.
Players can apply to most (but not all) of these groups via Furcadia's website. Since Beekins are volunteers, they work as much or as little as they please.
Business Model
Furcadia is free. Anyone who can access Furcadia's website can download the game client. Players do not need to purchase a subscription to log in and play. DEP has publically stated that Furcadia will always be free.
To cover the costs of running Furcadia, DEP sells several products to its players. Posession of the special product can last anywhere from one week to an indefinite amount of time, depending on the product and package you purchase:
Wings
Players can pay to add various types of wings to their avatars. These include:
- Classic wings (simple, single-color wings)
- Triwings (three-color wings with more texture than classics)
- Butterfly wings ("butters")
- Bat wings
Premium Avatars
Players can pay to use premium avatars. Premium avatars include:
- Dragons, whose special action is expelling magical dragon breath.
- Phoenixes, whose special action is producting a flame.
- Gryphons (called Gryffes), whose special action is the ability to transform into a smaller, eagle-like form.
Portraits
A furre's portrait is shown whenever a player clicks on an avatar with the mouse; it is usually a default portrait based on the furre's species and gender. However, players can pay to have a custom portrait associated with their furre. Players generally pay a one-time fee to have a portrait that lasts indefinitely.
Sponsorship
Players can pay to be 'Silver Sponsors' for a month. Silver Sponsors get some perks:
- The ability to change their furre's color and species without disconnecting from the game
- A special portrait that can be changed each month, but lasts as long as the player is a sponsor
- Access to private listen-only channels
- The opportunity to preview new software features
Roses
A player can pay to give another player (or himself) a rose. This is a small graphic that appears in a furre's description. Roses come in various colors and last for different periods of time:
- Purple (two weeks)
- Black (four weeks)
- Red (two weeks)
- White (four weeks)
- Yellow (one week)
External Links
Official homepage (http://www.furcadia.com)
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