Pioneering: Episode One is a first person RPG/Adventure game set on the early American frontier during the period of the American Revolution. Utilizing open world campaigns and multiple routes to completion, Pioneering immerses players in the world of the wildest of wests, bringing to life one of the most dynamic and complex periods in American history:

“In the mid-1770s, as war broke out between Great Britain and thirteen of its American colonies, settlers of European descent began to surge beyond the Appalachian Mountains, the previous limit of Anglo-American settlement in North America. Settling upon lands which the King of Britain had previously reserved for the Indians in 1763, the settlers helped to spark an Indian War on the frontier which came to dominate life in that region. Enraged by this invasion of their lands, many of the Indian tribes residing in the Ohio Valley allied themselves with the British in order to repel the region of the settlers who moved into the region. Tribes such as the Shawnee, Miami, Wyandot, Cherokee, and Delaware fought a long, protracted campaign against this wave of settlers, fighting as much for their own independence as anything else. For their part, the settlers were also fighting for their freedom – freedom from renting lands and dependence upon others, and in many cases, freedom from the British Crown.”

“The upcoming release of Pioneering: Explore the Early American West is an exciting time for us as players will finally have an opportunity to engage with this incredible period in history through a new interactive means. First and foremost, Pioneering is a game but it one that we have chosen to set in an authentic world based upon firsthand accounts of frontier life, not sensationalised film or TV depictions,” commented the game’s director.

Pioneering is an RPG set during the American Revolution, in the chaotic world of the early frontier. Players control a settler who has recently arrived on the frontier who must attempt to prosper by achieving a number of life goals - these can be gained by purchasing property, marrying, or completing certain missions. There are three ways to win this game - gain enough life goals, horde a large enough amount of cash, or gain a high enough conscience level. Cash is earned mainly by in the wilderness, whilst life goals are earned through marriage and property ownership. Conscience is affected by conflict, adding an extra dimension to the game that sees players actively engaging with the historical world in which they are partaking.

As with all of The History Forge’s planned episodic content Pioneering: Explore the Early American West aims to provide around 2-4 hours of game per episode in an open world environment. Exact pricing for Pioneering has yet to be determined by The History Forge is working with its digital distribution partners to ensure that the price of each individual episode is kept as low as possible. Although no final pricing has yet been set each episode will likely cost less than $10.

Episode One of Pioneering is set for release this September exclusively on PC as a digital download with subsequent episodes due throughout 2009 and 2010. Each episode contains a single open world campaign with a number of missions and routes to completion. Over the course of the next few months three episodes are planned for release with more planned in the coming year. A retail release of Pioneering that collects several episodes together to form a complete gaming experience is also being planned for 2010.