''Seed'' was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by Danish studio Runestone Game Development. Aiming for a radically different experience than most other games in the genre, the game focused on character interaction and politics to the extent that combat was entirely removed from the design. Beta testing started on February 1, 2006. Open beta testing started on April 25, 2006. The game was released to the public on May 2, 2006. As of September 28, 2006, Runestone decided to file a bankruptcy petition to the court of Aarhus, Denmark. A public statement explained that the lack of money was caused by failing to achieve a partnership deal with publishers and MMO companies.

Story

Having successfully colonized the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

and

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

, humanity was looking to spread far across the universe. The creation of ram scoop propulsion made this dream a reality. Five seed ships were built, each a kilometer long and populated with machinery designed to terraform a suitable planet. Humans would not ride along for the journey; instead, DNA codes,

sperm Sperm is the male reproductive cell, or gamete, in anisogamous forms of sexual reproduction (forms in which there is a larger, female reproductive cell and a smaller, male one). Animals produce motile sperm with a tail known as a flagellum, whi ...

, and eggs were carried along in

cryocooler A refrigerator designed to reach cryogenic temperatures (below ) is often called a cryocooler. The term is most often used for smaller systems, typically table-top size, with input powers less than about 20 kW. Some can have input powers as l ...

s to be hatched by the TAU computers at the appropriate time. The TAU computers also carried a wealth of human knowledge. This was the subject of a long and heated debate on what should be included. Finally, it was decided to make the colonies idealist societies; therefore, references to wars and

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or Power (social and p ...

were not included. After searching the universe for several years, the first suitable

planet A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...

was spotted near the star Beta Hydri 24.4 light years from the Sun. Probes indicated that the planet had an

atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...

, water and living

microorganism A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...

s. It was to be the destination of the first seed ship. However, something went wrong and suddenly the colony has found itself on a planet that has not been terraformed, as was the plan, and without contact to Earth.

Gameplay

Players were colonists and instead of doing combat in the traditional sense the game focused on politics and manual labor. Players politically fought for sectors of the station which could then be equipped to provide services to other players. Using tools the player could manufacture new technology as well as repair parts of the station that were slowly degrading. Letting too many failing systems in the station rendered machinery unavailable until players repaired them.

Technology

Seed ships

Seed ships ships use the latest technology Earth has to offer. Employing ram scoop propulsion, they are able to travel vast distances across the universe. The ship's primary purpose is to find a

habitable planet Planetary habitability is the measure of a planet's or a natural satellite's potential to develop and maintain environments hospitable to life. Life may be generated directly on a planet or satellite endogenously or be transferred to it from a ...

, and to terraform it as necessary for human life. These massive ships are a kilometer in length and carry all the machinery needed to start a colony on a new planet.

TAU

The Terraforming Assistance Unit is the central AI of the colony.

Ring

The "guilds" or "clans" of seed.

Closed

As of September 28, 2006, Runestone, the developer and publisher of ''Seed'', officially announced the game's closing.

References

External links

Developer's siteQube SoftwareForum of the Seed CommunityPost-mortem interview with Lars Kroll Kristensen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seed (Computer Game) 2006 video games Fiction set around Beta Hydri Massively multiplayer online role-playing games Science fiction video games Science fiction massively multiplayer online role-playing games Video games developed in Denmark Windows games Windows-only games Inactive massively multiplayer online games