Seed Preview

The guys at WorthPlaying have put together a preview of Seed, the upcoming sci-fi MMORPG from Runestone. Check it out:
What may be most surprising to people is that Seed is a non-combat game. This may also be something that will drive many people away, but other MMO experiments have proven that there is a market for socially-driven environments. Titles such as The Sims Online, A Tale in the Desert, and Second Life have all proven that there is a demand for escapism that isn't all hacking, slashing, phase-beaming, and grinding. Runestone hopes to establish their share of the pie via story-driven play mechanics, politically active social mechanics, and fully fleshed out NPCs who have heart and soul. The first step in this direction is the abolition of "character classes." Seed is an entirely skill-based system, and your avatars evolution will be 100% reliant on what you choose to learn. You begin with a few abilities that you can improve by yourself, and you can learn more by finding other players to teach you, or by uncovering certain non-player avatars that know what you need. "Players teaching players" is a great feature, and I would love to see this sort of thing used on a wider basis in other games.