The voxels are out of the bag. After initial speculation, the mystery of the enigmatic name “Trove” has been unraveled. During a livestream last Friday, Trion Worlds ended the speculation that had been fueled by various conspicuous domain registrations. Alongside the announcement of the upcoming Free-to-Play sandbox MMO, an appropriate genre was also created: Massive Multiverse Adventure. Characteristic of Trove is a consistently dynamic (pixelated) world where players complete tasks, explore locations, face monsters, and, above all, have a significant impact on the environment.
The tremendous success of Mojang’s Minecraft and the hype around Cubeworld have not gone unnoticed by larger companies. Thus, it was only a matter of time before a renowned developer exploited a similar concept, expanded it, and tried their luck as well. What the creators of Rift and Defiance present to us seems to attract significant interest within the community.
Curiously, the game was initially just an internal project of some developers. However, as it gained popularity within the company, it rose in the hierarchy and became what it is now: an official project from the AAA developer Trion Worlds.
The Voxel Madness
You create a tiny hero made entirely of three-dimensional data points and a little creativity on your part. Then you send him on a journey into the vast voxel galaxy, where a lot, how else can I say it, awaits him. These voxels are partly randomly generated as well as created by the developer. To build a home or craft items, you utilize resources that, miraculously, also consist of voxels. In awe-inspiring real-time battles, you can prove yourself against scary voxel monsters and thus earn loot and experience points (what the loot consists of is probably unnecessary to mention ;-)). The great advantage of this technology lies in its almost autonomous behavior, extreme malleability, and unparalleled versatility. By the way, the MMO blockbuster Everquest Next also employs this technology.
A Home as Headquarters and Allied Voxel Partners
As mentioned earlier, a major feature is the ability to design your own buildings freely according to your thoughts. You can also build a home and use it as a constant base, regardless of which game world you are in. This makes it possible to continuously expand it and take it anywhere. If you happen to run out of ideas or company, grab your friend and build a small house together or even an impressive castle.
It can also happen that a completely new game world emerges, where once again you can let your creativity run free and create impressive constructions. Not only buildings can be created and destroyed, but also monsters, items, and the environment itself. No matter what you build, destroy, or expand, through your efforts, you can transform the transdimensional adventure world in many ways, continually reshaping it and ultimately impressing other players.
Although this pixel world may seem somewhat familiar, we believe there is nothing against this version. On the contrary: It smells of an exciting and artistic adventure in the galaxy of Trove. After all, many new elements are added here that are not as pronounced in other representatives; for instance, role-playing is a significant factor.
Be that as it may, this video should certainly help you get a glimpse of this charming madness:
If you want to become part of Trove as early as possible, you can sign up for the alpha here: http://www.trovegame.com/
