Whether you know it or not, you've been playing Outside, a free-to-play MMORPG developed by Deity Games, and there's over seven billion active players. Currently, I'm a level 29 journalist progressing down the handyman skill tree since my house is in need of improvements. I haven't PvP'd much — only once or twice at level 13.
The game is not without its issues, but that's to be expected when it is completely player-driven. Everything in the game is made by the players, and they decide the outcome of events, shaping the world. Melee weapons are underpowered and ranged weapons rule all. Then there's some odd quirks to the game. For example, consumables do not go bad if dropped for five seconds, but your reputation will take a hit if other players see you consume the dropped items. And the devs have PvP enabled but ban players that partake in it. Also, you lose your character once you reach a certain level, but that level is different for every player.
Confused yet? I stumbled upon a subreddit called /r/outside. Outside is a deconstruction of the world as if it was an MMORPG. It takes real life events and places and apply logic from it to video games. The devs, Deity Games, is a reference to gods in history. It's genius and hilarious.
There is a guide to the subreddit. Some good ones to remember are:
- It's not a bug, it's a feature.
- Aside from animals, everyone is a player. There are no NPCs.
- Devs don't do much. The game is balanced and they only do natural world events.
- All in-game items and rules are determined by players, not mods or devs.
- There are no in-game moderators, only players with more power. Police, lawyers, politicians are other players.
Some of the funniest posts/comments I've seen are…
Found this in the wilderness, anyone know the lore behind it??
High level cleric in PvP zone…
What is the worst status debuff currently in the game?
How does the Dance skill tree benefit me?
Who was that "Jesus" player?
Bloody Nose random event.
What can I do when I hit level 20?
My experience with the game so far…
Like I said, it's the best free-to-play MMORPG. See you outside.
You can follow Senior Editor Lance Liebl on Twitter @Lance_GZ. Or you can email him at [email protected].
