Shangri-La Thread

Wikipedia defines "Shangri-La" as: a fictional place described in the novel "Lost Horizon" written by British writer James Hilton in 1933. In it, "Shangri-La" is a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Himalayas. Shangri-La has become synonymous with any earthly paradise but particularly a mythical Himalayan utopia - a permanently happy land, isolated from the outside world. The story of Shangri-La is based on the concept of Shambhala, a mystical city in the Buddhist religion.

I was listening to the song "Direstraits - Our Shangri-La", and got to wondering what a Shangri La is. It sounded very eastern, specifically Tibetan, and being a Tibetan Buddhist, my curiosity took over and I searched Wikipedia.com for it's meaning. Lately as my Nordic-FX 2D engine has been progressing rapidly, I've been thinking of the cool games I could make with it. After craving a good (MMO)RPG for several weeks and not finding the "right one" yet that doesn't cost a monthly fee, I also have considered learning netcode and making a game similiar to Ragnarok Online (based on the screenshots I've seen, as I have not played it yet).

The concept of Shangri-La would lend itself very well to a game: basically you are a monk in a Himalayan Utopia, secluded from the evils of globalization and capitalism. You would start off as a lowly monk in a small temple, and eventually gain Nirvana, at which point you would travel around, teaching, and eventually fighting the malevolent (for lack of a better word, considering that in Buddhism there is no true "evil") invaders of the western world.

I don't know if using my simple 2D DirectX engine would do this concept justice, so I'd consider a number of engines. The only problem is, there aren't many game engines open to modders that work well for MMORPGs.

What do you guys think?

I think that it's good, except that Buddhism does not endorse acts of violence and hate, so I'm not exactly sure how you would fight the invaders.

Buddhist monks lit themselves on fire to protest war

Frosty raised an important issue there, and I think that the best way to handle violence is to allow it, but regardless of who you kill, you get negative Karma points. You will never reach enlightenment if you don't keep your Karma points up, and bad things will happen to you. On the other hand, if you find nonviolent sollutions, and assist both your friends and your foes, you will gain Karma points.

Can the Dalai Lama really fly? On the Simpsons he could, that was pretty cool.

Its an interesting kind of concept, and depending on how you develop and execute it, could be extremely interesting, and stray from any of the genres out there at the moment.

And Sajt, must you keep up with the annoying comments?

ShortCutMan wrote:
And Sajt, must you keep up with the annoying comments?

Especially with ones that are potentially insulting.

Well, if you think about it, maybe the monk could fight the demons of his soul every time he goes to sleep. He vanquishes them, and therefore raises the power of his spirit until these demons no longer trouble him. You are therefore, for lack of a better phrase, the greatest monk in the land. You also must defend yourself from invaders of your temple and what not

All in all, though, your idea sounds pretty cool. It sounds sort of like Jade Empire.

Karuto wrote: Well, if you think about it, maybe the monk could fight the demons of his soul every time he goes to sleep. He vanquishes them, and therefore raises the power of his spirit until these demons no longer trouble him.

Brilliant! You could then enter the "surreal" world in your sleep. That would be so cool!

The Himalayas are a very beautiful area of the world, and combined with the stunning deities of Buddhist lore, this game could look gorgeous.