Ten years ago or so, the dream of most gamers was just "to make a game". Now that MMORPGs are so popular, that dream has become "to make an MMO".
While there game development programs available that make it possible for even total novices to make something "game like", if not quite the fully 3D, awe-inspiring experience they're dreaming of, MMO games are something that most people see as being out of reach of even small teams of very skilled programmers.
There are some tools - such as Realm Crafter, that aim to make MMO projects easier to complete, but all of the tools available until recently have been rather limited.
I first encountered the Multiverse Network in 2007. Multiverse is the ideal balance between ease of getting started, flexibility, and power for an indie development project. The client is closed source, but can be skinned and have UI elements added via a simple scripting engine. The server logic is a mix of Python and Java. You can achieve a lot through basic Python scripting, and if you want to add something that the engine doesn't already support, or change one of the existing systems (there's already some basic combat / quest / inventory logic built in, for example) - you can edit the Java code to tweak things to your liking.
Multiverse comes with a basic sample world that has a handful of models. If you want to import others, there are some tools that will help you convert 3D assets from a range of popular formats.
Most importantly, in my opinion, Multiverse does not require you to purchase anything up front. It's free to use, until you make money from it. You can even run your world as a free to play game, without getting charged. Multiverse handle the registration and login process, but you need to run the actual game server yourself. When you're ready to start charging people, you can work out a payment deal with Multiverse. This may work out as an incredibly expensive deal if you end up with a game as huge as World of Warcraft, but for the average indie, I think it's a great idea. You get promotion on the Multiverse Network (so people who play other Multiverse games will hear about yours), and you get a quality engine that will allow you to produce a good 3D MMO, without having to pay anything until you start making money.
The danger is that if Multiverse ever closes down, you'll be left with a game that nobody can play - however I have faith that the company will be around for a long while, and should the worst happen, you'll have learned a lot about MMO design and will hopefully be able to replicate your work in another engine.
Look out for more posts about getting started with Multiverse in the future.
