Connected Worlds

For those of you who have been playing Mass Effect 3, you've seen how the 'Galactic Readiness' affects the outcome of the game. Playing the multiplayer mode increases your 'readiness' rating which helps you in the final run of your single-player campaign. The message is clear: There is a connection between multiplayer mode and the campaign storyline of Mass Effect 3.

Although some will dismiss this 'connection' as a mere ploy just to keep gamers playing, what I am about to reveal highlights the fact that this kind of simple 'connection' actually gives a hint of a very important innovation in gaming that is coming.

To highlight what I mean I'll need to point you to an awesome game called Dust 514.

Dust 514 is an upcoming shooter game whose settings are on the surface of different planets. It's already enticing that Eve fans and game developers have been discussing how the battle would occur on different types of planet. But what interests me even more is the fact that what happens on the surface of the planet--where all the action occurs--is connected with the persistent universe of Eve Online.

Eve Online is an MMO and Dust 514 is a shooter game. CCP ties them together in one persistent Virtual Universe. To illustrate the connection, just imagine this scenario: While you're in a battle on one planet, you request an airstrike from your pal who is the pilot of a warship hovering above the planet at that moment. You see, connection is a powerful thing.

I recognize this feature as a very important aspect in the evolution of gaming and I am quite excited about it. I'd like to see this innovation in all the other sci-fi games that I play. Kudos to the developers of Mass Effect, Eve Online, and Dust 514. You guys are truly exoplanetary!