Durango: Wild Lands is a defunct 2019 mobile phone MMORPG developed by Nexon.
You began your journey on a train that was abruptly derailed by a massive rift in time and space. You woke to find yourself on an island populated by dinosaurs and other extinct fauna, along with other survivors from various different time periods. You had to learn how to hunt, cook, craft, and fight to survive Durango, a land of ever-shifting islands.
The game featured a massively customizable skill tree. New players selected a Backstory which gave them a boost in one category or another - for example, a homemaker had an advantage to cooking skills; a farmer to cultivation - but players could specialize in any areas they choose.
You earned skill points naturally as you explored the islands that make up Durango. Islands came in different types: 'Tamed' and 'Civilized' islands are stable, and you could make your home (called your Domain) there, while 'Unstable' islands appeared and disappeared at random. Unstable archipelagos were made up of whole strings of unstable islands.
Along the way, you made contact with various shadowy organizations trying to influence the future of Durango, who wanted you to carry out various tasks for them. Some wanted to find a way to restore humanity's technical prowess, while others wanted to preserve the land as it is. Some just wanted to focus on rescuing as many survivors as possible.
Player cooperation was encouraged. A downed player could request rescue from others in exchange for a small reward, and players could form temporary parties to take down larger creatures. Sending a smiley emoji through the chat system gave a temporary boost to other players' stats. Player Versus Player opportunities did exist, but were restricted to specific high-level islands.
The game was terminated in December 2019 following a wrap-up period designed to bring the various story elements to a satisfying conclusion.
Tropes featured in this work:
- Action Girl: Any female character is required to be this in order to survive.
- Alien Sky: Although at first the warp seems to be a case of time travel, you learn that stranded astronomers have discovered that the stars don't resemble any seen from earth, and Professor Lamar points out that the moon and sun are subtly different as well.
- The Beastmaster: If you so choose.
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Many of your contacts. X especially stands out.
- Eco-Terrorist: Some divisions of the Chlorophyll Forum.
- Fetch Quest: The tasks you will receive from the communication center. Usually requires gathering 20 Bear Asses.
- Flavor Text: Exists for all items.
- Fluffy Tamer: You can tame the various prehistoric creatures with the use of special taming herbs and taming pens. And you can name them whatever you want.
- Hello, [Insert Name Here]: Subverted. The character creation asks for your name, which is then only used in game chat and other references to the player. The various Quest Givers call you by nicknames: To K and Charlie, you are Ancora. To Novak, you are Rabbit's Foot. To X, you are either "child" or 133.
- Little Miss Badass: K, the person who rescues you at the beginning, has been surviving in Durango since childhood and doesn't identify herself as an 'Earthling.'
- Nebulous Evil Organization: The Frontier Coalition and The Committee, at the very least. The Committee in particular seems to include many ex-Intelligence agents of the Stale Beer variety.
- Patchwork World: The warps cause islands to appear and disappear at random, and smaller warp holes transport resources from throughout space and time to the islands.
- Portal Network: Warp Holes can transport you to different parts of the island you're currently exploring (but cannot transport you between different islands).
- The Professor: Lamar, who operates the "University of Durango" via the radio network. Completing "courses" in various skill categories rewards you with titles that confer different bonuses, which can be alternated to best fit your situation.
- Robinsonade: The basic premise.
- Shout-Out:
- One of X's transmissions includes a line that the greatest trick the devil pulled was convincing the world he doesn't exist.
- Story Breadcrumbs: You can learn more about the various organizations by completing their tasks and proving your loyalty. Additionally, exploring unstable archipelagos will unlock the stories of other Durango inhabitants.
- Voice with an Internet Connection: Except for meeting K at the beginning, you will always communicate with your organizational contacts via the radio system.
- You Are Number 6: Almost all of the organizations use some kind of code name system for their members. Company agents are all one letter ('K', 'E'). Most of The Committee seem to have the codename 'Subcommittee (Number),' but your contact is X. Just X.
- You Have Researched Breathing: Averted. Whatever backstory you choose will let you start the game already at Level 20 in the corresponding skill category.
