La innovación en el mundo de los videojuegos ha estado limitada por el uso de herramientas, especialmente software, cerradas. Este problema puede ser especialmente relevante en los casos de proyectos no comerciales que no cuenten con los recursos ni experiencia necesarios para abordar un desarrollo "cerrado". Pero empiezan a aparecer herramientas y plataformas de desarrollo que permiten acelerar y abaratar el desarrollo de juegos, favoreciendo proyectos colaborativos. Un buen ejemplo es el del Experimental Gameplay Project, En Slashdot comentan ahora (Build your own MMOG) una iniciativa aún más sofisticada dirigida a Massively
Multiplayer Online Games y otros mundos virtuales o sintéticos:
CNet reports about a company called Multiverse that has just begun beta testing of its platform for creating and integrating online virtual worlds. They are allowing developers and companies to use their online framework to expedite development of online games. Their network is free to use as long as you don't make any money from it's usage, but they also provide open source client applications to use or modify as you see fit." From the article: "'The business model is long-term,' said Richard Bartle, one of the pioneers of online games and an editor of Terra Nova, a leading Web site about virtual worlds. 'Although Multiverse's software will help speed up the to-market time for companies, it's still going to take developers ages to create content.' While Bartle is cautious about Multiverse's business model, he's fascinated by its potential.
