Double Cluepon Software: Decidedly Different

Chicago-based video game developer Double Cluepon Software is gearing up to release the alpha version of its new massively multiplayer online role-playing game Emerald Kingdom, infusing it with its own unique take on content and game design.

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Microsoft. Google. Bungie. In the histories of many software company giants, you’ll find that they all have one thing in common: they started off in someone’s basement or garage.

Designs for the character Elphie, who appears in Double Cluepon's first game WireWorks.

Double Cluepon Software, a self-described “underground” game company based in Chicago, shares the humble origins of these technological behemoths. This is where the similarities end, however: Double Cluepon Software is a decidedly different game company, one that values pseudonyms over egotism and clothes over the scantily-clad. Their new massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Emerald Kingdom is a by-product of this unique design philosophy, and sets itself apart through its dynamic storyline, engaging characters, and willingness to give gamers features that they haven’t played many times before.

Just a note: saying that Double Cluepon values pseudonyms over egotism wasn’t an exaggeration. The company uses pseudonyms when talking to the gaming community to avoid creating a cult of personality that too many game developers create for themselves. Azrael, Double Cluepon’s “Chief Imagination Officer,” said that the game is more important than whoever is designing it. “By deemphasizing we who are personally, we want our work to stand by itself,” Azrael said, “I want people to look at or products and say ‘this is awesome,’ and not worry about us. We care about shutting up and making games.”

“A Life-Like Content Channel”

That said, shutting up and making Emerald Kingdom is Double Cluepon’s top priority. In production since around 2009 and “rapidly approaching Alpha staus” according to Azrael, Emerald Kingdom is about the state of humanity after a cataclysm that destroys life as they know it. The game’s title refers to the time period the game takes place in. Jocelyn, an artist for the game, describes the setting as “after the post-apocalyptic world, when people are starting to recover.” The game features a linear storyline that will offer different experiences and quests to the players depending on when they join. “In short an MMORPG should be in some ways, a life-like content channel,” Azrael wrote on Double Cluepon’s blog, “A person born in 1952, having gone through the 60′s will have different experiences than a person born in 1993. Why should a virtual world be any different?” Samael, a programmer, agrees that a rolling story is good impetus to get gamers to play. “They want to get in on the ground floor and see the events as they unfold,” Samael said, “It becomes a badge of pride for the old players and it encourages them to stick around as well as people to come in as soon as possible.”

Sprites: “Deities without being Gods”

Double Cluepon's Art Studio, where Sprites are born. Every great company deserves a great basement.

Over time, certain beings known as “Sprites” (not to be confused with the two-dimensional images of the same name) evolved to gain extraordinary powers. Amesha, one of Emerald Kingdom’s writers, describes them as “deities without being gods.” Sprites have the ability to impart “Marks,” onto players that affect their statistics, for better or for worse. While Beatrice the Sprite may give players the Mark of Beatrice to enhance their mental capabilities, a player caught griefing (annoying or harassing other players) may be given Cries’ Mark of Grief, which will alert other players to that person’s evil tendencies. A major part of the game will be exploring the Sprites’ motivations and personalities, and as such, the team has a strong bond with the characters they’ve created. “I knew that I had the characters when I started feeling an emotional attachment to them,” Azrael said, “These are our children.” It’s this connection, Jocelyn adds, that separates a character from a template. In contrast to many RPGs in which the female characters wear barely a stitch of clothing (perhaps to appeal to its, ah, masculine demographics), the team made sure that all its characters were adequately protected. “I’m not going into battle wearing a chainmail that only covers 10% of my body,” Amesha quipped.

Some sample female clothing. Notice the lack of plunging cleavage and inaccurate proportions.

Working off the strength of its characters, Emerald Kingdom will also have its own webcomic series called Twin Perrenial, which will help catch the player up to speed in the constantly-progressing storyline. Azrael said that webcomic is meant to have players feel like they are entering the game world, and that the webcomic will be an establishing point of the game. “Twin Perinnial is designed to get players’ toes wet,” Azrael said, “People will have “Ahh!” moments when they play the game after they read the comic.”

Sketches of male clothing. Notice the lack of Cliff Bleszinski-esque bulging biceps.

A World Without Numbers

Even with a constantly moving storyline, in-depth characters and a webcomic, a MMORPG must do more to distinguish itself from the rest of the pack. Established titles like World of Warcraft dominate the MMO marketshare (According to MMORPG Realm, 62% of MMO gamers play WoW) and show little signs of slowing down. So how does Emerald Kingdom set itself apart? It takes away the one thing that many die-hard MMO players hold dear to their hearts: number-based statistics.

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A stereotype about MMO players is that they are overly obsessed about their avatar’s skill or level number (colloquially referred to as “stat whores”). Emerald Kingdom ditches the number-based system in favor of a rating and ranking system. While there will still be cold hard statistics behind the scenes, they will be invisible to the player. This system gives players more freedom to do what they want, when they want, without being locked into a predetermined character class. “The fact that you can make something fun and entertaining without focusing on number was a huge deal for me, Azrael said. “In order for an MMO to be progressive, you need to get rid of numbers.” Unlike other games, Azrael writes in the game’s forums, Double Cluepon does not expect you to kill off your character and make a new one if you want to take your avatar in a new direction. Eleial, Double Cluepon’s marketing director, notes that it’s not about weaning players off the number system, “it’s making them realize that it isn’t necessary.”

Escaping the Brand

Being an indie game company allows Double Cluepon to take risks that bigger studios couldn’t take—wait, “indie?” Scratch that. “Indie” is a four-letter word at Double Cluepon because the team feels like the term is being co-opted by megalith game companies as a brand. “It’s almost like it’s a genre now,” Jocelyn said, “You go to a gaming convention and they have an indie floor and it’s so, so broad… We’re trying to get away from that branding and say ‘we’re just passionate about making RPGs, but we’re not funded by any big source. We’re doing this on passion alone.’”

The well-stocked Double Cluepon bar, where they refuel their passion. "You'd be surprised how often our meetings turn into drinking contests," Azrael remarked.

Regardless of the challenges posed by giant game companies and getting Emerald Kingdom off the ground (for most of the staff, this is the first MMORPG they’ve worked on), Azrael remains confident in his team’s abilities. “We have a lot of people here who are heavily invested, heart and soul wise, into making cool stuff,” Azrael said, “Indie applies to so many things… why would we compartmentalize ourselves? We’re a company that likes making stuff, and we’re gonna do it and we don’t care what anybody else says about it.”

Concept art courtesy of Double Cluepon Software.