World of Mixed Martial Arts 3
Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts:
Global Combat
What is This?
Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts:
Global Combat
What is This?
This is a franchise diary based on GAMMA, which is one of the default promotions in the World of Mixed Martial Arts 3 game.
World of Mixed Martial Arts is an MMA booking simulator. Created by Adam Ryland (of EWR and TEW fame), it was released at the start of December. The game consists of running an MMA promotion, which primarily consists of creating fights and cards. There is much more to it, as it also requires financial management, handling contracts, and so on.
The primary in-game information portal is a fake website called "Blurcat", which is a not-so-sutble take on "Sherdog".
What is the "CornellVerse?"
Creating a game that you charge people for that used real organizations and fighters requires licensing rights. The "CornellVerse" was first created in 2004, when Ryland took his wrestling booking simulator from freware to a paygame. The "CornellVerse" was the defaut world that came with the game. In the years, it has expanded and grown, gaining significantly detailed backstory and history. When WMMA was first released in 2007, the default data was based on the same fictional universe.
The name CornellVerse comes from one of the primary characters in the wrestling world, Tommy Cornell. Both the data in the wrestling game and the MMA are very roughly based on reality, with the MMA one probably more similarly. It’s a bit easier to look at certain "fictional" fighters and see who they were based on. Almost no one is a direct transplant, however.
The default data starts in January 1998. I would say the best real world approximation would be about the 2003-2005 period. There a big promotion in each of the US and Japan, though neither of these have really gone outside their own national borders much yet. In terms of the fights, it’s a transitional period where more diversely-skilled fighters are becoming more common and one-dimensional fighters are becoming less common.
What is GAMMA?
GAMMA is the Global Association of Mixed Martial Arts, which the primary American-based MMA promotion. Started in Arpil 1994 by reclusive millionaire sports fan Lance Decker. It was GAMMA that brought mixed martial arts out of the wilderness and into the mainstream in America. The promotion has worked tirelessly to get the sport regulated, with Decker using his political connections to get Nevada regulated back in mid 1994. Other states have done so since.
The promotion has five weight classes - lightweight through heavyweight. Though there are rumors of a Featherweight class being added. GAMMA operates under the unified rule, which means the 10-point must system, no stomps or kicks to a downed opponent, and no standing 10-count. The fights are held in a cage rather than a ring.
GAMMA might strike some readers are quite similar to the UFC, and that is likely intended. It is, howeverr, not an exact replica of the UFC. GAMMA makes no claims to having created the sport.
As the game starts, GAMMA is the #2 promotion in the world, behind the Japanese powerhouse promotion ALPHA-1. GAMMA lacks the financial might of A1 (which is backed by a major video game corporation) as well as the slick production aesthetic. But GAMMA is ambitious and looking to grow.
Why not the Real World?
WMMA, like TEW, is made to easily work with "mods" (custom databases). There are real world mods for WMMA 3 already available. So why not do a game based on one of those? A few reasons, actually.
One is that the default data is designed to work with the parameters of the game. So its balanced and smooth, which allows for long-term games to work well. While a lot of work is put into the real world mods, most of them lack the polish and depth of the default data. Especially this close to the release of the game.
The second is the time periods currently available for real world mods. There is one current day one (based in January 2011) and one "from the birth" mod, which begins in late 1993. So you either start from the very beginning (a fun though) or deal with the global monstrosity that the UFC currently is. And while booking the current UFC has its appeal, that is quickly lost when one takes a look at the depth of the roster currently. Add in that there aren't too many prospects to build up who aren't already in the UFC or a star in another promotion and it just doesn't seem as fun. Running Pride 2001 or UFC 2005 might interest me more. But at the moment, GAMMA just seems more fun.
Will anyone bother reading a diary about fake fighters having fake fights? Maybe not. But I will make an effort to breathe a little life into things. If nothing else, it’s a fun writing exercise.
The graphics used for this will be almost all taken out of the game. I am very slowly learning to use Photoshop, so I will try putting together event posters using game graphics. They will be simple and probably suck balls, but hey, it is what it is.
Try the Game?
Anyone interested in checking out the game, go to www.greydogsoftware.com. There is a demo available. Check the forums for available mods (databases).
