<s>
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Darkness	I-Protocol
,	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Darkness	I-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
,	O
was	O
a	O
massively	B-Protocol
multiplayer	I-Protocol
online	I-Protocol
role-playing	I-Protocol
game	I-Protocol
(	O
MMORPG	B-Protocol
)	O
in	O
development	O
by	O
CCP	O
Games	O
from	O
2006	O
until	O
its	O
cancellation	O
in	O
2014	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Darkness	I-Protocol
series	O
of	O
tabletop	O
role-playing	O
games	O
by	O
White	O
Wolf	O
Publishing	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Darkness	I-Protocol
was	O
considered	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
highest-profile	O
games	O
to	O
have	O
been	O
canceled	O
in	O
the	O
2010s	O
,	O
the	O
cancellation	O
and	O
layoffs	O
were	O
not	O
unusual	O
for	O
the	O
video	O
game	O
industry	O
,	O
something	O
The	O
Guardian	O
considered	O
a	O
scandal	O
in	O
itself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Darkness	I-Protocol
was	O
planned	O
to	O
be	O
an	O
open	O
world	O
,	O
single-server	O
massively	B-Protocol
multiplayer	I-Protocol
online	I-Protocol
role-playing	I-Protocol
game	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
meant	O
to	O
take	O
place	O
at	O
night	O
and	O
have	O
a	O
supernatural	O
horror	O
theme	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Darkness	I-Protocol
series	O
 '	O
setting	O
–	O
the	O
shared	O
fictional	O
universe	O
of	O
several	O
of	O
White	O
Wolf	O
Publishing	O
's	O
tabletop	O
role-playing	O
games	O
,	O
including	O
Vampire	B-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Masquerade	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Darkness	I-Protocol
character	O
types	O
such	O
as	O
werewolves	O
or	O
mages	O
were	O
not	O
planned	O
to	O
be	O
playable	O
at	O
launch	O
,	O
but	O
would	O
possibly	O
appear	O
as	O
non-player	O
characters	O
(	O
NPCs	O
)	O
or	O
as	O
player	O
characters	O
in	O
an	O
expansion	O
pack	O
or	O
in	O
a	O
separate	O
game	O
;	O
ghouls	O
were	O
planned	O
to	O
be	O
included	O
as	O
minions	O
to	O
the	O
player	O
characters	O
,	O
which	O
could	O
be	O
sent	O
on	O
missions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
to	O
emulate	O
the	O
politics	O
of	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Darkness	I-Protocol
tabletop	O
games	O
,	O
allowing	O
players	O
things	O
such	O
as	O
achieving	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
a	O
vampire	O
prince	O
by	O
being	O
voted	O
into	O
office	O
and	O
rule	O
a	O
stylized	O
version	O
of	O
one	O
of	O
several	O
real-life	O
capital	O
cities	O
,	O
and	O
communicate	O
with	O
other	O
cities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
in	O
Vampire	B-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Masquerade	I-Application
,	O
combat	O
and	O
killing	O
was	O
not	O
going	O
to	O
be	O
necessary	O
,	O
as	O
players	O
instead	O
were	O
to	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
reach	O
their	O
goals	O
through	O
creating	O
alliances	O
with	O
other	O
players	O
;	O
player-versus-player	O
and	O
player-versus-environment	O
combat	O
was	O
however	O
also	O
going	O
to	O
be	O
to	O
an	O
option	O
,	O
and	O
permanent	B-Application
death	I-Application
would	O
be	O
applied	O
to	O
player	O
characters	O
who	O
die	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Darkness	I-Protocol
was	O
developed	O
by	O
the	O
Icelandic	O
developer	O
CCP	O
Games	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
directed	O
by	O
Reynir	O
Hardarson	O
and	O
produced	O
by	O
Chris	O
McDonough	O
,	O
with	O
concept	O
art	O
by	O
Erling	O
Sævarsson	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
next	O
year	O
,	O
CCP	O
Games	O
laid	O
off	O
20%	O
of	O
its	O
staff	O
,	O
about	O
120	O
people	O
,	O
as	O
they	O
had	O
been	O
stretching	O
their	O
resources	O
too	O
thin	O
;	O
they	O
moved	O
their	O
focus	O
to	O
their	O
MMORPG	B-Protocol
Eve	B-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
,	O
but	O
did	O
not	O
cancel	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Darkness	I-Protocol
,	O
instead	O
letting	O
its	O
development	O
continue	O
with	O
a	O
significantly	O
reduced	O
development	O
team	O
;	O
by	O
2012	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
still	O
in	O
its	O
pre-production	O
phase	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
team	O
of	O
60	O
working	O
full-time	O
on	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Darkness	I-Protocol
staff	O
,	O
the	O
cancellation	O
came	O
after	O
a	O
troubled	O
development	O
,	O
which	O
they	O
described	O
as	O
having	O
issues	O
relating	O
to	O
management	O
and	O
organization	O
;	O
staff	O
often	O
had	O
to	O
switch	O
to	O
working	O
on	O
other	O
projects	O
for	O
3	O
–	O
6	O
months	O
,	O
and	O
at	O
times	O
the	O
entire	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Darkness	I-Protocol
team	O
was	O
working	O
on	O
Eve	O
projects	O
,	O
particularly	O
leading	O
up	O
to	O
the	O
2009	O
Eve	O
expansion	O
Apocrypha	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
staff	O
kept	O
getting	O
moved	O
between	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Darkness	I-Protocol
and	O
other	O
projects	O
,	O
progress	O
was	O
significantly	O
slowed	O
down	O
,	O
and	O
partially-finished	O
features	O
and	O
systems	O
ended	O
up	O
getting	O
abandoned	O
and	O
re-started	O
several	O
times	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
Paradox	O
Interactive	O
acquired	O
the	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Darkness	I-Protocol
series	O
in	O
2015	O
,	O
including	O
the	O
produced	O
assets	O
from	O
the	O
video	O
game	O
,	O
they	O
said	O
that	O
the	O
art	O
and	O
ideas	O
that	O
had	O
been	O
created	O
for	O
it	O
would	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
other	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Darkness	I-Protocol
projects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
CCP	O
Games	O
wanted	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
be	O
more	O
similar	O
to	O
live	O
action	O
role-playing	O
games	O
than	O
massively	O
multiplayer	O
online	O
games	O
;	O
to	O
achieve	O
this	O
,	O
they	O
focused	O
on	O
encouraging	O
human	O
interactions	O
and	O
social	O
gameplay	O
by	O
rewarding	O
players	O
for	O
creating	O
social	O
networks	O
,	O
similarly	O
to	O
those	O
in	O
the	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Darkness	I-Protocol
tabletop	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Comparing	O
it	O
to	O
Eve	B-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
,	O
they	O
were	O
hoping	O
to	O
attract	O
a	O
larger	O
number	O
of	O
female	O
players	O
,	O
citing	O
Eve	B-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
lack	O
of	O
accessibility	O
,	O
its	O
complexity	O
,	O
and	O
bad	O
game	O
design	O
as	O
reasons	O
women	O
would	O
be	O
less	O
likely	O
to	O
be	O
interested	O
in	O
it	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
its	O
science-fiction	O
setting	O
compared	O
to	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Darkness	I-Protocol
supernatural	O
horror	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Influenced	O
by	O
the	O
games	O
DayZ	B-Application
and	O
Rust	B-Application
,	O
CCP	O
Games	O
wanted	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Darkness	I-Protocol
to	O
have	O
an	O
open	O
world	O
and	O
unstructured	O
game	O
mechanics	O
,	O
allowing	O
for	O
natural	O
player	O
interactions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
developers	O
chose	O
to	O
set	O
the	O
game	O
in	O
the	O
original	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Darkness	I-Protocol
setting	O
rather	O
than	O
its	O
successor	O
,	O
Chronicles	O
of	O
Darkness	O
,	O
despite	O
the	O
original	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Darkness	I-Protocol
line	O
of	O
tabletop	O
games	O
already	O
having	O
ended	O
;	O
this	O
was	O
because	O
of	O
how	O
Vampire	B-Application
:	I-Application
The	I-Application
Masquerade	I-Application
was	O
what	O
White	O
Wolf	O
was	O
known	O
for	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
the	O
more	O
influential	O
game	O
,	O
even	O
though	O
some	O
tabletop	O
players	O
might	O
care	O
more	O
about	O
the	O
Chronicles	O
of	O
Darkness	O
setting	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Although	O
GameSpot	O
described	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Darkness	I-Protocol
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
notable	O
games	O
to	O
have	O
been	O
canceled	O
in	O
the	O
last	O
few	O
years	O
as	O
of	O
2019	O
,	O
other	O
publications	O
found	O
it	O
typical	O
for	O
the	O
industry	O
:	O
The	O
Guardian	O
wrote	O
that	O
the	O
"	O
real	O
scandal	O
"	O
was	O
that	O
job	O
cuts	O
like	O
those	O
are	O
common	O
in	O
the	O
video	O
game	O
industry	O
,	O
Polygon	O
described	O
it	O
as	O
neither	O
shocking	O
nor	O
unusual	O
,	O
and	O
Kotaku	O
called	O
it	O
disappointing	O
but	O
unsurprising	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Preview	O
impressions	O
of	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Darkness	I-Protocol
were	O
positive	O
,	O
praising	O
its	O
visuals	O
and	O
how	O
it	O
felt	O
new	O
and	O
experimental	O
;	O
PCGamesN	O
considered	O
it	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
interesting	O
MMOs	O
in	O
development	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
lot	O
of	O
potential	O
,	O
and	O
IGN	O
described	O
it	O
as	O
"	O
super-stylish	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
cancellation	O
,	O
Polygon	O
echoed	O
these	O
sentiments	O
,	O
calling	O
the	O
experience	O
it	O
was	O
promising	O
unique	O
,	O
and	O
noting	O
its	O
freedom	O
and	O
ability	O
to	O
manipulate	O
game	O
politics	O
interesting	O
;	O
because	O
of	O
this	O
,	O
and	O
how	O
there	O
were	O
no	O
future	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Darkness	I-Protocol
games	O
expected	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
they	O
thought	O
the	O
cancellation	O
hit	O
particularly	O
hard	O
for	O
fans	O
of	O
the	O
series	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
emergence	O
of	O
leaked	O
screenshots	O
and	O
a	O
manual	O
from	O
the	O
game	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
Rock	O
,	O
Paper	O
,	O
Shotgun	O
thought	O
that	O
the	O
game	O
looked	O
poor	O
,	O
describing	O
it	O
as	O
feeling	O
"	O
too	O
MMORPG-y	O
"	O
and	O
not	O
enough	O
like	O
World	B-Protocol
of	I-Protocol
Darkness	I-Protocol
,	O
lacking	O
its	O
mystique	O
,	O
sexiness	O
and	O
excitement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Gamereactor	O
similarly	O
considered	O
it	O
a	O
good	O
example	O
of	O
the	O
lacklusterness	O
of	O
CCP	O
Games	O
 '	O
projects	O
outside	O
of	O
Eve	B-Protocol
Online	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
