GDC 08: Buildling Lego Universe

While I'm an avowed (former) Lego junkie, I had forgotten that a fully dedicated Lego game was still in development. Announced in 2007, the MMOG Lego Universe promises to differ from the licensed Lego games such as Lego Star Wars and Lego Batman; instead, it's more of a return to Lego's roots, allowing players to build and create collaboratively. Henrik Lorenson, VP of business development, headed a panel today on how the company has been enhancing the Lego brand over the years, and Lego Universe looks to be the next step in that process.

While the session was mostly light on actual gameplay details, Lorenson did say the focus of the game would be the same that the company has held on to with its physical toys--gaming, socializing, and building. And unlike the licensed Lego games (where, beyond the visuals, the actual Lego affiliation is not always that apparent), Lego Universe will be all about doing the kinds of things you did as a kid with Legos, only this time in a virtual space.

(Read on for more)

During his presentation, Lorenson mentioned three of the pillars he expects Lego Universe players to take part in. First will be having a fun play experience with the basic tool sets that will be found in the game. Second, players will be ablee to build and play their own mini-games using virtual Lego bricks. Finally--and the ultimate goal--will be in players creating entire worlds within the game, all built with the familiar Lego bricks. Lorenson showed a brief video from a recent fan convention in Denver--where dedicated Lego professionals and fans came together to try out the tools in the game to see how it will work when the game is released.

Beyond a few pages of concept art (and some vague shots of gameplay during the video), not much was shown of Lego Universe. However, according to Lorensen, the company (along with developer NetDevil Studios), the game is due for release at the end of 2009. While he wasn't willing to discuss the economy of Lego Universe, Lorensen did say the company was exploring a subscription model for the game, which was sort of surprising to me. Back in the day, I used to have to beg my parents to buy some additional Legos so I could finish my masterpiece (a dragon shaped like the Millennium Falcon).

Not sure if I'll be a dabbler or a regular subscriber in Lego Universe, but I'm curious to see how it comes along.