Gamasutra - Tabula Rasa To Go Out With A Dark, Unusual Bang

NCsoft's sci-fi MMO Tabula Rasa finally reaches its planned shut-down date on Saturday.

But the development team at NCSoft Austin seems to be taking the opportunity to create something almost unheard of in video game story: a final, absolute ending to the narrative in which the good guys ultimately die.

According to an in-character message posted on the game's official site, the world of Tabula Rasa (which apparently dropped its Richard Garriott's prefix in the wake of the designer's departure following his return from outer space), will become overrun by an unstoppable tide of alien enemies, with humanity's only response being mutually assured destruction.

"We request that all military personnel begin fortifying defenses at every AFS base in preparation for a massive Bane assault," reads the post. "If enemy troop movements are as large as we fear, and the Neph are truly prepared to lead all out war against us, this may be our last stand.

"Penumbra has been informed of the situation and is standing by on the use of their last resort weapon. We can not afford to be complacent or uncertain, but if it is truly our destiny to be destroyed, we are taking them all with us."

In the months leading up to the game's closure, Tabula Rasa became free to play, and its developers admirably continued patching the game -- even releasing brand new content with only two weeks left to go.

Few single-player games, let alone online games, end on such a dismal note, particularly with such finality and with no alternative ending or obvious setup for a sequel. (It seems unlikely NCsoft will continue developing the franchise, with its failure to make a splash within the MMO space, and its public figurehead gone.)

But when Tabula Rasa ends, its in-game world will have been truly doomed, adding a unique resonance to the moment when its real-world servers shut off forever.

Comments

brandon sheffield

27 Feb 2009 at 4:00 pm PST

that's pretty amazing, and they should be applauded for it. hopefully it'll come off well.

Oliver Snyders

27 Feb 2009 at 4:10 pm PST

Man, I would love to see that first-hand. Maybe someone will take a video...

Chris Remo

27 Feb 2009 at 4:22 pm PST

Oliver,

Assuming I can get my account set up and the client downloaded in time, I plan to FRAPS it.

Russell Hughes

27 Feb 2009 at 4:33 pm PST

Cheers NC! In this case it's definitely better to burn out than fade away from nothing. :) I look forward to the Fraps!

Nels Anderson

27 Feb 2009 at 4:57 pm PST

That's awesome Chris. Please post a link to Twitter if you get a FRAPS video.

Yannick Boucher

27 Feb 2009 at 11:16 pm PST

That sure is an interesting move ! Indeed, would love to see a capture !

Roberto Alfonso

28 Feb 2009 at 9:58 am PST

Few games or movies end like that because of policies. Hollywood doesn't allow bad ending, and publishers like Wizards of the Coast state that while novels may end in despairing situations, there should always be a glimpse of hope (which would ultimately end in victory in a continuation).

Ending a franchise like this, though, sounds like a great way, and hopefully more will follow this example.

Ken Nakai

28 Feb 2009 at 11:48 am PST

The only problem is going to be the lag...there already was plenty of it last night and it wasn't like the server was flooded with people then...

Edward Vertigo

28 Feb 2009 at 1:01 pm PST

Very impressive! That's a bold decision on their part, and though I'm saddened to see it end (I live in Austin and wanted to see the game succeed), I think the decision is an excellent one.

L King

28 Feb 2009 at 1:01 pm PST

Is General British going to appear tonight, and go down in honor with his men? Or is he still nursing a hangover from last week at Mardi Gras?

Daniel Lawson

1 Mar 2009 at 9:27 pm PST

I'd like this not to become a regular thing. Endings without hope are for the real world so I'd like to see it kept to a very few cases.

Soren Andersen

2 Mar 2009 at 3:26 am PST

There should be a price for the very last man (or woman) standing!