Blade Zenon: How a Collaborative Project Managed to Create a Game Managed by Its Users

Website for Blade Zenon: A website for a MMORPG project from 2015

This entry is as much an addition to my portfolio as an homage to the period when it was developed. As a 12-year-old aspiring game developer, I launched an online forum for a game I was passionately working on using Unity. This forum became a community hub for over 100 active members. Back then, I had only begun programming, I had started doing 3D modeling, and I had hardly any experience as a developer.

Although the game itself never reached publication, the experience of developing this project and managing the community was invaluable. Several skills I have today were developed during that period, not to mention it was my first experience leading a big project with lots of expectations and hype.

Research has shown that when people feel they have a stake in the outcome of a project, their level of engagement increases. This is particularly true in online communities, where members are more likely to contribute to projects they feel are shaped by their input.

The idea that the success of a project hinges on the contributions of its users is supported by self-determination theory in psychology. It suggests that people are motivated when they feel competent, autonomous, and connected to others. Blade Zenon’s collaborative design allowed members to experience all three. They weren’t just passive participants; they had a direct hand in how the game developed, which likely drove their continued involvement.

In game development, especially in a collaborative setting, feedback loops are crucial. These loops not only help improve the game’s mechanics but also foster a sense of ownership among users. The process I went through with Blade Zenon—the cycle of receiving feedback, adjusting the design, and implementing new ideas—mirrors the concept of continuous improvement found in agile development.

It’s an approach that emphasizes constant iteration, and in the context of Blade Zenon, it ensured the game adapted and evolved based on real user experiences. By staying responsive to feedback, the project could refine its design and make meaningful changes in real-time.

Blade Zenon was an online game that featured a community-driven environment, where players could engage in various activities such as forming guilds and participating in discussions about game lore and mechanics. The community, the friends I made in that place—they’re all very important memories to me today, and I hope that wherever they stand, wherever they are, they still remember this project and that it has been as positive for them as it was for me.

The forum served as a central platform where players could discuss game mechanics, share feedback, and collaborate on ideas. Players were encouraged to contribute ideas for game development and lore through public boards. This collaborative approach allowed players to feel a sense of ownership over the game’s evolution.

Members provided ideas, and I executed them. It was a game made by its players. And I think that’s an awesome idea, you know? A game or project where the business decisions, the design, the very structure, is made based on user experience. This is very much what UX Design is, to the core.