14 DAY TRIAL // Sony Online Entertainment, the MMO-oriented division of Sony, has announced that it is introducing a new feature to all its MMOs. This is called Player Studio and will allow anyone to create and then submit custom items that can be approved by the developers and then made available to the entire community.
According to SOE, the system will allow “players to download sample geometry files for actual in-game objects and through the use of standard third party art tools, learn how to develop, design and personalize items of their own – from re-coloring and re-texturing, to reshaping an item’s geometry.”
Players can also create a description and then name the items, as well as telling SOE how the new creation fits into the philosophy and narrative of the MMO.
The Player Studio is linked to the already available EverQuest, Vanguard, EverQuest II and, when it is officially launched, Planetside 2.
Players who create items that are approved will get 40 percent of the profit generated by them.
It seems that gamers will have no input on the items that the developers approve for use in their game.
SOE says that the Player Studio will only be offered in North America at the moment.
John Smedley, who is the leader of the Sony MMO division, has stated via Twitter that, “We’re working on doing this for EU too.. It’s very complicated due to tax and legal reasons. It’s coming!”
The Player Studio seems pretty similar to the Steam Workshop, which allows PC modders and item creators to quickly put their content up and deliver it to fellow players.
It will be interesting to see whether the Player Studio will encourage more players of the Sony-made MMOs to get involved with content creation or the small potential profits will discourage the time investment required.