Lord British (aka Richard Garriott) is back from the dead after having died in Ultima Online, and with a brand new game in tow. Titled Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues, the game is being developed by “a team of proven industry professionals” with more than 10 years of experience in the industry. The catch 22? They need your help funding it.
Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues promises to bring back the roleplaying in roleplaying games by focusing more on player story, exploration, and discovery rather than constant grinding. Like his Ultima games, the game will feature an overworld map that you can use to travel from one location to another, in addition to being able to play the game by yourself offline or online with friends. From what was shown on their Kickstarter page, the setting seems to draw from a lot of medieval fantasy, but the mere mention of Tesla towers as a means to defend a town might hint at something else entirely. Portalarium, its developers, say that while much of the pre-production of the title was used to create the demo and much of the concept artwork presented, there’s still much to be done in order to finish the game. The team aims to get the game done by October 2014, but they’ll need $1,000,000 from Kickstarter to ensure this becomes a reality. As of this writing, there’s already pledges of $209,917 with 3,383 backers supporting this Kickstarter.
I’ve met Richard Garriott at E3 several years ago while he was promoting Tabula Rasa, and I gotta say that the guy has some incredible ideas. Ultima IV: The Quest of the Avatar was the very first western RPG I truly enjoyed, and his ideas of being able to fully and completely tell your own story in this world sounds very compelling. If you’re not convinced yet, check out the trailer below and let Lord British tell you what Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues is all about.
Related Link(s):
Gamer Horizon 