Introduction
What is Mirage Realms?
Simply put, Mirage Realms is an abitious solo project to produce a free to play MMORPG for the Android, Desktop, and eventually IOS platforms. My vision is to create a massively multiplayer game you can play at home or waiting at the bus stop, reminiscent of old Super Nintendo classics in look and feel but with a wide variety of game mechanics found in modern online games.
The project has been around for quite some time now, progressing in fits and starts as I found the time and energy. As of January 2021 I have taken the big step of quitting my job and have gone full time on the project… this game really means the world to me and I want to make it as awesome as I possibly can.
Who are we?
Meet the team behind it all
Art & Content Designer
Bruno Stanziola
GM Mombi
Chief Morale Officer
Harvey
DEV Support
Who are you?
About the developer
My name is Liam Stewart and I’m a 32 year old Java Developer from the UK. Mirage Realms is the realisation of a dream I’ve had ever since I lay awake at night thinking about the Zelda:LttP cartridge for the Super Nintendo and racking my brains as to how somehow there was information in it that translated to an amazing playable experience on the TV. A few years later I would bump into an online game called Tibia and it would hold my fascination for nearly 10 years, the idea of taking something that hinged entirely on multiplayer community interaction and smashing it together with one of the old Zelda games on a small portable device has been something I have always thought would be amazing.
Fast forward a bit and I have been working as a Java developer for over 10 years, my early interest in games fuelling my passion for code – the thing is, I haven’t ever written any games in Java before and I know absolutely nothing about socket programming. The idea is there in my head but individual people don’t create successful massively multiplayer online games! Especially if they don’t know anything about making games… It’s far too much work! Isn’t it?
5+ years after I had those thoughts, here we are. I’ll be the first to admit I still have absolutely no idea what I’m doing… but it seems to be working. If you chart the progress of the game from the beginning to here it is a rollercoaster of highs and lows, epic failures and successes, community outrage and triumph – step by step something is coming into focus… I can’t be fully sure what, but it’s really exciting.
I hate pay to win, I despise micro-transactions, I don’t believe someone should have a cooler appearance than you because they spent money and I think player loyalty is earned through developer transparency. At the end of 2020 I quit my job and at the time of writing I am working my notice… in January 2021 I go full time on the project, a dream realised thanks to the absolutely fantastic player community that has rallied around me. We now have Max helping take the weight of the community off of my shoulders, Bruno is taking on the graphics, Harvey is preventing me from having a stress enduced heart attack and things are looking really bright for us.
The game is still very much in Alpha, and there are going to be a heck of a lot of big changes over the coming year. I am sure I have a lot more mistakes to make, and there will be rough releases, broken patches, balance issues, you name it I’m sure I will screw it up. I don’t know when version 1.0 will be released, or if it ever will be released… but I sure appreciate you guys coming along for the ride and I am so very greatful to everyone who has found this project and fallen in love with it.
The community is the heart and soul of Mirage and I feel I have a tremendous responsibility to deliver on the potential everyone sees in it. Wherever we end up, the journey so far has been amazing.
Best get on with it then 😉 See you in-game!
Liam