Dofus

Not to be confused with Doofus (disambiguation).

Dofus
Developer(s)	Ankama Games
Designer(s)	Mathieu Bourgain
Platforms	Flash
Release date(s)	FR: September 2004 WW: September 2005
Genre(s)	Fantasy MMORPG
Mode(s)	Multiplayer

Dofus is a Flash based massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by Ankama Games, a French computer game manufacturer. Originally released solely in French, it has since been translated into many other languages. It is primarily a Pay to Play game, though it still offers a limited amount of free content. Its success has led to the marketing of spin-off products, such as books, art, comics and a movie which was planned for release in 2013. It has also led to the development of two continuations: Dofus Arena, released at the beginning of 2006, which is an alternative "tournament" version of Dofus; and Wakfu, a continuation of Dofus. The game has attracted over 10 million players worldwide and is especially well known in France.

Gameplay

Dofus takes place in "The World of Twelve", named for the 12 gods that inhabit it. Players control a 2D avatar belonging to one of 16 character classes in a third person view. Each class has a unique set of spells that other classes can not obtain. As with most other massively multiplayer online role-playing games, players gain levels by obtaining experience. Experience can be gained by defeating monsters and completing quests. With each level, players gain points that can be used to improve their avatar's characteristics and spells. Players can access new spells and equipment by advancing in level. Players receive a special 'aura' when they reach level 100, and gain a different aura at 200, the maximum level. Players may also decide to take up professions and frequently band together to undertake dungeons. Many also become part of guilds, to more easily coordinate with others. Players complete quests to gain experience and other rewards

While the game takes place in real-time, combat in Dofus is conducted more like a turn based strategy game – where each player takes it in turns to make a series of moves and attacks within a time limit. As such, when a player attacks monsters – they are transported to a 'copy map' where the fighting takes place. Once a fight begins, no other players may join that fight. Players use a series of spells (which are unique to that character class) to, amongst other effects, attack, heal, buff or drain one's Action Points (AP) or Movement Points (MP). All actions done in combat (by both players and monsters) consumes an amount of AP and all movement consumes MP. In combat if a character loses all of their health points (HP) they're rendered dead.

Characters in Dofus can learn up to three professions. There is a special type of profession called a specialization that can be obtained after a player gains enough experience in certain professions. Collecting professions involve players going out into the wilderness and collecting natural resources, such as certain wood and flowers. These can be later made into breads and such that restore health. They may also be sold as many of them are needed as quests items. Crafting professions involve the player piecing collected resources together to make a vast array of different items. Players gain experience in each profession by gathering the resources of that profession and/or by crafting items, depending on the type. As a player's collecting profession gains levels, they can collect new types of resources and obtain resources quickly. When a crafting profession levels, the player can create more powerful items and create them with a higher success rate, meaning that crafting will fail less often.

The currency used in Dofus is called "Kamas" (k). There are three cities that contain a marketplace where people can buy and sell goods and equipment for a fee. The kamas from these sales deposit directly into the player's bank account. Accounts are separated into two categories, Free-to-Play and Pay-to-Play. The game includes a zone accessible to Free-to-Play accounts. Free accounts have access to the new player zone of Incarnam and access to the city of Astrub and most of its outlying areas. This makes it possible for a new player to enjoy seemingly full game play, unbounded by time restrictions. Access to the entire world of Dofus—including access to other cities, participating in factional Player vs. Player battles and being able to raise profession levels above 30—requires a monthly fee, with discounts given for longer term subscriptions.

Development

Since its release, Dofus has seen more than 25 million accounts created, including 90% of the subscribers from its release and distributed at least 41 servers. Dofus has roughly 500,000 active subscribers.

As of December 2008, game administrators have banned as many as 1,850,000 bots per month, subsequently noting a 30% increase in the price of in-game currency offered by unauthorized websites.

Critical reception

Reception
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings 74% Metacritic 74/100

The game received "mixed" reviews, according to video game review aggregator Metacritic. Dofus has also received international gaming awards including the Bytten Ernie Award for Best Graphics And Concept Art in 2007 and the Audience Award at the Independent Game Festival in 2006.

• Best game and Public Choice at the Flash festival in France in May 2004.
• Game of the month by the Edge Magazine in July 2005.
• Best game and Public Choice at Flashforward Film Festival of Seattle in February 2006.
• Public Choice at the Independent Games Festival (IGF) of San Jose in March 2006.

Animated series

In 2013 an animated series entitled Dofus aux trésors de Kérubim (English: Dofus: The Treasures of Kerubim) based upon the game began airing on France 3. The series is set 200 years before the beginning of the MMORPG and follows the character of Kerubim throughout various points in his life. The premise has Kerubim narrating several of his adventures to his adopted son Joris and their housekeeper Simone. Dofus consists of 52 episodes, each running 13 minutes apiece. A movie adaptation of the TV series is slated to release in early 2016.

External links

• Official website