Core may be Manticore's Vegas-style game creation platform, but it is packed with tons of things to do.
Core is a self-described endless arcade. It feels like a 90s Cyberpunk Fever dream coming to life. The new platform, which is half a playable and half a no-code game creator, has all the neon lights. It's a surprising well-realized vision for this metaverse thing that everyone seems to be talking about lately.
Core claims to be your gateway to the multiverse and is ready to prove the age-old belief that if you build it they will follow. Core is a compelling platform for both creators and players, despite the fact that Facebook and Roblox are hugely established companies.
Logging in takes players to Cores central hub. This is a mix of a theme park and high-tech mall, and offers entertainment and shopping just a few strides away. Players are enticed to explore the many user-generated virtual worlds by giant neon signs. It takes just a few clicks to swap out clothing or in-game gear, and it's easy to cruise around and observe people.
Core is a very similar game to Fortnite. Manticore Games created Core. It runs on Epics Unreal Engine, Fortnite's creator. These ties go deeper than that: Epic led a $15million round of investment last year in the company. The Epic Games Store for Windows is the only place to access the platform. Manticore also raised $100 million from major investors in March and launched its creator platform.
Although Core may not be well-known, it has already solved one of the most difficult challenges any metaverse aspirant must face. Core was so easy to use that I often ended up in the wrong location. This could be attributed to user error. However, instantly being transported to a Deadmau5 episode, to a dystopian wasteland, and to a isometric pirate video game after walking through several portals was one the most seamless online multiplayer experiences I've ever had in over a decade of playing those games.
Core looks great. Roblox is one strike against Core, one of the most popular companies creating a vision for the metaverse. Cores graphics look cartoony, but not too cartoony, much like Fortnite. Roblox's younger crowd is ageing up, a factor the company is actively planning for. Those not so young players might soon be searching for a new virtual home that has more mature vibes.
With Core's large selection of avatars and custom outfits, any aspiring edgelord will be able take their work seriously. You could also be a cat.
Metaverse resident Deadmau5
UGC (a.k.a. Cores content) is the majority of Cores content. UGC, also known as user-generated content (or simply UGC), is a term that describes an online phenomenon of era-defining importance. Manticore has the potential to work with brands and musicians for rich, themed in-game experiences.
Deadmau5 is a DJ and EDM festival veteran who launched his own website this week. It features a variety of user-made games but also offers entertainment and education. Some users have even started hosting game development classes.
#oberhasli now available via @CoreGames at @EpicGames first show kicks off tomorrow at 3pm PT with additional concert times running through the weekend :D https://t.co/i1sKwYnnlp pic.twitter.com/eMkbVzN2Nb Goat lord (@deadmau5) October 14, 2021
Unlike other shows like Lil Nas X in Roblox and Ariana Grande in Fortnite that have been featured, the Deadmau5-themed content won't be removed once it is available for everyone to see. Manticore compared this to the way that performers such as Penn and Teller stay in Las Vegas for their ongoing shows. The metaphor is quite appropriate. However, unlike Vegas, artists can be in more than one place at once. Deadmau5 announced that he would participate in Decentraland's music festival this week.
For an early preview, I saw the show with Deadmau5 n Joel Zimmerman. One of his trademark giant animal helmets (I believe it was a cat?) was worn by him. He wore one of his signature giant animal helmets (I think it was a cat?) while I chose a simple black hoodie, which is the little black dress in the metaverse.
Zimmerman said that what attracted me to Core was its modularity and the fact it provides more tools for creators. Zimmerman pictured himself hopping in Core while sitting in a gaming chair with the Deadmau5 mouse.
The interactive concert is packed with psychedelic visuals and mini games, as well as a Chain Chomp-esque mouse equipped with turntable ears. Zimmerman and Core cofounders Frederic Descamps and Jordan Maynard, who ran around the show along with me, had seen it at least ten times each. But everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun.
I fell into lava, or was smashed on the conveyor belt by a huge metal fist. A Deadmau5-themed villain stood nearby. Maynard stated that it is the only interactive concert where you can actually die. It was interactive, visually engaging, and reminiscent of Fortnite concerts. This sets the bar high for other shows.
Oberhasli is a complex virtual experience that showcases some of the worlds fans have created, from a haunting jungle ruin to a world filled with floating space debris. Core Deadmau5 will perform on Friday at 3:00 PT. For anyone who would like to get smashed into an EDM pancake, it will replay throughout the weekend.
Creators need the core
Later, on the call held on Discord Core tour turned into everyone running through a secret gateway behind a wall and world-hopping through different game genres. Each game is remarkably polished considering it doesn't require any programming or game development experience. Even with poor Wi-Fi connections, moving from one game world into another took only seconds. I even ran through a portal that looked similar to World of Warcraft's dark portal, and ended up sailing an isometric pirate vessel.
It is unlikely that the WoW nod was a coincidence. Descamps reminisced about the glory days of WoW Machinima, which were narrative movies made from captured gameplay. This was something that only a long-time player would be able to do. Maynard and Descamps also worked together on Rift, a fantasy MMO with a loyal following that has remained popular for ten years. (Maynard was the No. 7. The metaverse is all the rage these days. However, very few companies in this space can trace their roots back the seamless virtual gaming environments that have brought people together for many years.
Core is so easy to use, Maynard quickly built a first-person shooter. It was a drag-and drop process and took only two minutes to build. Pick a few 3D objects from the list and choose a game mode (battle royale or racing, or dungeon crawler). You'll soon be able to create a professional-looking, playable game in Cores modular sandbox. It's as easy as dragging and dropping to give your environment a spacious feel.
Out of the box Core games are a world apart from their gameplay. They look a lot better than any UGC found in Roblox, even though Roblox users seem to not mind. Anyone who has tried the same UGC on different platforms will be amazed at the variety of game genres and visual styles available.
Manticore describes core users who create content as having a wide range of monetization options. These include selling Fortnite-like battle passes, charging for premium games and implementing a subscription model. Roblox gives 25% to creators, but the revenue split is 50/50. This seems generous. Core is like other modular game-making platforms in that everyone can create, no need for any development experience.
Core is currently PC-only, but Manticore plans on bringing it to other platforms starting next year. While game creation will remain on PC for now, Manticore plans to make Core games available on other platforms, including iOS. This is a platform-agnostic vision which has helped Roblox and Fortnite in the past.
Descamps explained that game development is a lot like baking. A very precise, technical formula can take weeks to perfect. Core removes all technicalities, so a process that might normally take weeks can be completed in minutes. This leaves time for experimentation, play, and the rest of the work.
Maynard wondered what would happen if you put a portal weapon into Mario Kart. I'm pretty certain that we would have discovered the answer right there.
