MMO Strategy Mobile Game Development
Budget: $3,000 – $5,000 USD
I'm seeking an experienced game developer to create an engaging and strategic MMO mobile game. The game will incorporate real-time multiplayer battles, building and management elements, and an alliance system. It should be available on both iOS and Android platforms.
Gameplay Overview:
Dreamlands Conquest is an RTS MMO set in the surreal and terrifying world of H.P. Lovecraft’s Dreamlands—a shifting, mysterious realm where cosmic horrors, ancient gods, and dream-like landscapes collide. Players will build their nation, command armies, forge alliances, and wage war, all while grappling with the ever-present threat of Lovecraftian monsters lurking in the shadows, waiting to devour those who dare to challenge the unknown.
As a leader in the Dreamlands, players will have to manage resources, develop their cities, train units, and engage in strategic battles. But the true challenge lies in surviving the madness of the Dreamlands, where sanity is fragile, alliances are fleeting, and the monsters are always watching.
Core Mechanics:
• Nation Building & Management:
o Players begin with a small settlement in a dreamlike region of the Dreamlands. They must gather resources, construct buildings, and expand their territories. Cities will need to be upgraded with arcane structures, such as shrines to the Old Ones, libraries of forbidden knowledge, and bizarre factories to create otherworldly weapons and units.
o There are multiple resource types, including Dream Essence, which is a magical resource unique to this realm, used for building powerful artifacts or summoning ancient entities.
• Unit Creation & Breeding:
o Units in Dreamlands Conquest are inspired by Lovecraftian creatures and strange hybrid beings. Players can breed and mutate creatures by combining different species or by channeling the powers of the Old Ones.
o Units range from humanoid soldiers and eldritch horrors to mythic beasts like Night Gaunts, Deep Ones, and Shub-Niggurath's offspring.
o Breeding is a core mechanic, where players can combine creatures to create stronger, more deadly units. However, this process is fraught with risk—sometimes producing horrifying aberrations that may not always obey their creators.
• Combat & Warfare:
o The game’s real-time combat system allows players to command armies in large-scale battles. Army composition is key—players can deploy swarms of lesser horrors or unleash massive, ancient abominations capable of devastating whole cities.
o Strategies include both traditional military tactics and the use of arcane powers, such as mind control, summoning of eldritch forces, or unleashing madness-inducing rituals that can drive enemies to insanity.
o Players can raid other players’ territories, conquer their cities, and gather resources—but risk drawing the attention of the Dreamlands’ darker forces if they push too far.
• Madness & Sanity:
o As players delve deeper into the Dreamlands, their sanity becomes an important resource. Engaging in battles, uncovering forbidden knowledge, or interacting with cosmic horrors will decrease a player’s sanity.
o Low sanity can cause units to act erratically or even rebel. Over time, a player's nation may succumb to the madness, and regions of their land could descend into chaotic, nightmare-fueled states.
o The balance between maintaining sanity while advancing is critical—players must be careful not to unleash too much of the Dreamlands’ dark power, as this can cause their downfall.
• Alliances:
o Players can form alliances with others in the game, pooling resources, sharing knowledge, and combining forces for greater power. However, in true Lovecraftian fashion, alliances are fragile—backstabbing, betrayal, and paranoia are common.
o There are opportunities to engage in diplomatic diplomacy, or players can choose to plot in secret, using spies and subterfuge to sow distrust and fracture alliances from within.
o When alliances crumble, the resulting wars can be vicious, as those who once fought side by side become enemies in the struggle for ultimate dominance.
• The Monsters & The Shadow of the Old Ones:
o Lovecraft’s monsters are not mere units on the battlefield—they are terrifying, world-shaping forces that can emerge from the shadows at any time. Entities like Cthulhu, Nyarlathotep, and the Great Race of Yith may show up to directly interfere with player progress.
o Some events are randomly triggered, with an Old One awakening and sending waves of destruction toward the player’s cities, forcing them to either fight back or seek temporary refuge.
o Players may attempt to communicate with or even harness these ancient beings for power, but doing so often comes with terrifying consequences.
• PvP and PvE:
o PvP (Player vs Player): Players can battle other players for control over regions, resources, and power. However, attacking or raiding other players may stir the attention of the Dreamlands’ horrors.
o PvE (Player vs Environment): Players can also explore the Dreamlands’ wilds, uncovering strange temples, ruins, and forgotten cities where cosmic artifacts and powerful creatures lie in wait.
__
Art Style:
The game features a dark, atmospheric art style that blends eerie, surreal visuals with gothic horror. Cities have a dreamlike, distorted quality—buildings may twist and shift, and strange cosmic symbols glow faintly in the night. The creatures and units are designed to evoke both awe and terror, with grotesque, alien features that are only partially comprehensible to the human eye.
The map is an abstract, shifting landscape where players’ territories are constantly in flux, surrounded by unsettlingly alien terrain. The sky is perpetually twilight, with a strange and unsettling celestial backdrop. (Up for debate still)
__
Monetization:
Dreamlands Conquest follows a free-to-play model with small optional in-app purchases. Players can buy resource packs, special skins, or even temporary boosts for their army’s sanity. However, the game’s core strategy mechanics are designed to be balanced so that skill and careful management are the keys to success so f2p players stick around
__
Story & Progression:
The game’s narrative is woven throughout player progress. Early on, players will learn of the Dreamlands’ history—an ancient struggle between the Old Ones and the mortals that inhabit the realm. Over time, they will uncover hidden truths, form alliances with powerful factions, and discover secrets that may hold the key to escaping—or mastering—the Dreamlands.
__
In Dreamlands Conquest, the constant threat of cosmic horrors, coupled with the tense atmosphere of a fractured reality, keeps every decision heavy with consequence. The balance of power is never stable, and players must always be vigilant—because in the Dreamlands, even the most secure empire can fall into madness at any moment.
Gameplay Overview:
Dreamlands Conquest is an RTS MMO set in the surreal and terrifying world of H.P. Lovecraft’s Dreamlands—a shifting, mysterious realm where cosmic horrors, ancient gods, and dream-like landscapes collide. Players will build their nation, command armies, forge alliances, and wage war, all while grappling with the ever-present threat of Lovecraftian monsters lurking in the shadows, waiting to devour those who dare to challenge the unknown.
As a leader in the Dreamlands, players will have to manage resources, develop their cities, train units, and engage in strategic battles. But the true challenge lies in surviving the madness of the Dreamlands, where sanity is fragile, alliances are fleeting, and the monsters are always watching.
Core Mechanics:
• Nation Building & Management:
o Players begin with a small settlement in a dreamlike region of the Dreamlands. They must gather resources, construct buildings, and expand their territories. Cities will need to be upgraded with arcane structures, such as shrines to the Old Ones, libraries of forbidden knowledge, and bizarre factories to create otherworldly weapons and units.
o There are multiple resource types, including Dream Essence, which is a magical resource unique to this realm, used for building powerful artifacts or summoning ancient entities.
• Unit Creation & Breeding:
o Units in Dreamlands Conquest are inspired by Lovecraftian creatures and strange hybrid beings. Players can breed and mutate creatures by combining different species or by channeling the powers of the Old Ones.
o Units range from humanoid soldiers and eldritch horrors to mythic beasts like Night Gaunts, Deep Ones, and Shub-Niggurath's offspring.
o Breeding is a core mechanic, where players can combine creatures to create stronger, more deadly units. However, this process is fraught with risk—sometimes producing horrifying aberrations that may not always obey their creators.
• Combat & Warfare:
o The game’s real-time combat system allows players to command armies in large-scale battles. Army composition is key—players can deploy swarms of lesser horrors or unleash massive, ancient abominations capable of devastating whole cities.
o Strategies include both traditional military tactics and the use of arcane powers, such as mind control, summoning of eldritch forces, or unleashing madness-inducing rituals that can drive enemies to insanity.
o Players can raid other players’ territories, conquer their cities, and gather resources—but risk drawing the attention of the Dreamlands’ darker forces if they push too far.
• Madness & Sanity:
o As players delve deeper into the Dreamlands, their sanity becomes an important resource. Engaging in battles, uncovering forbidden knowledge, or interacting with cosmic horrors will decrease a player’s sanity.
o Low sanity can cause units to act erratically or even rebel. Over time, a player's nation may succumb to the madness, and regions of their land could descend into chaotic, nightmare-fueled states.
o The balance between maintaining sanity while advancing is critical—players must be careful not to unleash too much of the Dreamlands’ dark power, as this can cause their downfall.
• Alliances:
o Players can form alliances with others in the game, pooling resources, sharing knowledge, and combining forces for greater power. However, in true Lovecraftian fashion, alliances are fragile—backstabbing, betrayal, and paranoia are common.
o There are opportunities to engage in diplomatic diplomacy, or players can choose to plot in secret, using spies and subterfuge to sow distrust and fracture alliances from within.
o When alliances crumble, the resulting wars can be vicious, as those who once fought side by side become enemies in the struggle for ultimate dominance.
• The Monsters & The Shadow of the Old Ones:
o Lovecraft’s monsters are not mere units on the battlefield—they are terrifying, world-shaping forces that can emerge from the shadows at any time. Entities like Cthulhu, Nyarlathotep, and the Great Race of Yith may show up to directly interfere with player progress.
o Some events are randomly triggered, with an Old One awakening and sending waves of destruction toward the player’s cities, forcing them to either fight back or seek temporary refuge.
o Players may attempt to communicate with or even harness these ancient beings for power, but doing so often comes with terrifying consequences.
• PvP and PvE:
o PvP (Player vs Player): Players can battle other players for control over regions, resources, and power. However, attacking or raiding other players may stir the attention of the Dreamlands’ horrors.
o PvE (Player vs Environment): Players can also explore the Dreamlands’ wilds, uncovering strange temples, ruins, and forgotten cities where cosmic artifacts and powerful creatures lie in wait.
__
Art Style:
The game features a dark, atmospheric art style that blends eerie, surreal visuals with gothic horror. Cities have a dreamlike, distorted quality—buildings may twist and shift, and strange cosmic symbols glow faintly in the night. The creatures and units are designed to evoke both awe and terror, with grotesque, alien features that are only partially comprehensible to the human eye.
The map is an abstract, shifting landscape where players’ territories are constantly in flux, surrounded by unsettlingly alien terrain. The sky is perpetually twilight, with a strange and unsettling celestial backdrop. (Up for debate still)
__
Monetization:
Dreamlands Conquest follows a free-to-play model with small optional in-app purchases. Players can buy resource packs, special skins, or even temporary boosts for their army’s sanity. However, the game’s core strategy mechanics are designed to be balanced so that skill and careful management are the keys to success so f2p players stick around
__
Story & Progression:
The game’s narrative is woven throughout player progress. Early on, players will learn of the Dreamlands’ history—an ancient struggle between the Old Ones and the mortals that inhabit the realm. Over time, they will uncover hidden truths, form alliances with powerful factions, and discover secrets that may hold the key to escaping—or mastering—the Dreamlands.
__
In Dreamlands Conquest, the constant threat of cosmic horrors, coupled with the tense atmosphere of a fractured reality, keeps every decision heavy with consequence. The balance of power is never stable, and players must always be vigilant—because in the Dreamlands, even the most secure empire can fall into madness at any moment.