I've been developing a game & game engine for the last 6 months, here are the cliffnotes:

* Permadeath (Character is deleted upon death).
* Always ingame (Every character is always present in the game world, when you 'log out' your character is still ingame)
* Scriptable avatar (Your character, hirelings, spells, etc can all be custom scripted using an in-game script editor)
* Skill-based advancement using achievements/milestones.
* WASD tile-based movement with semi-automated combat.
* Ability to build/destroy anything in the game world if you have the resources.
* Full PvP / Full loot.
* Script marketplace to allow players to share/sell scripts (for ingame currency).
* Customizable on-the-fly game engine, all in realtime.

The idea is that players will play the game manually, but when they 'log out' their avatar will be taken over by scripts that the player has set up. So while offline your character may continue to chop trees, grow crops, fight monsters, etc. You can also hire 'henchlings' that will perform scripts for you.

All scripts are created using Javascript and are 'always running'.

Here are some screenshots of the game client. It is currently using placeholder graphics.
Let me know your thoughts, or email me if you would like to discuss it further: joshrmt@gmail.com

Seems nice. Will the player be able to code the character to automatically use a return to base scroll or something when in danger? That could help get rid of a lot of grief.

1. Players can code pretty much any sort of script for their character, including a 'run/recall when in danger'. Characters will automatically defend themself when in danger as well.

2. All scripts are executed synchronously in a tick, and must process within a certain number of CPU cycles. Typical MMOs are filled with mobs that are processing scripts, whereas a multitude of population in this game will be player-run entities. Server hardware is cheap, and the game server is meant to scale using node.js and mongodb.

I don't like the idea of offline perma-death. Imagine the "joy" when you log on in the morning to find yourself dead. Would you even know why? Perhaps have a lesser death penalty when offline, but an anti-cheating feature such as perma-death still applies if you log off while in a fight?

I don't like the idea of offline perma-death. Imagine the "joy" when you log on in the morning to find yourself dead. Would you even know why? Perhaps have a lesser death penalty when offline, but an anti-cheating feature such as perma-death still applies if you log off while in a fight?

Indeed, there would be a problem if someone could avoid the consequences, or at least found it favorable, to log off and not get back on? I think it would be better to have it such that there's a system where killing random people is punished by society, and a system where normal mobs can't stop you from escaping.