Crowfall is a seamless blend of an MMO with a large-scale Strategy game, where players control the universe, to shape as they see fit. Characters are persistent, but the campaign worlds are not. players are Immortal Champions, traveling between realms to fight in an eternal War of the Gods.
Each Campaign World is a server or "realm". It exists for a limited time – typically 1 to 3 months -- or until some win condition is met. During this time, the World will change. Each Campaign has four stages: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. With each passing season, the World grows more deadly as the land is consumed by an unstoppable legion of undead -- The Hunger.
At the end of Winter, the Campaign is over. A victor is declared, the map is wiped and that World goes offline forever... ...but the characters are NEVER wiped. Instead, the participants take their winnings back home to the Eternal Kingdoms, to prepare and strategize for the next Campaign.
Crowfall is a designed to push the boundaries of online social dynamics. “In some ways, it sounds revolutionary – but our goal is to rediscover what we lost.” explained J. Todd Coleman, co-founder and Creative Director. “Politics, Trade, Empires, Alliances, Betrayal – the ability for players to have a real impact on the game world. In the rush to make these games appeal to the mass market, we lost the elements that made them great.”
Fans of the game can back the kickstarter campaign. Backers have a chance to fund the project via multiple levels of giving, are of which are documented on the Kickstarter page. Depending on the backer levels, fans who contribute to Crowfall on Kickstarter can be involved in the games pre-release testing, purchase the game at a discount, and secure castles and fortifications for their personal kingdoms.
“Crowdfunding has revolutionized the game market, allowing developers access to funds and customers,” said ArtCraft co-founder and President Gordon Walton. “The traditional publishing model works for mass-market gaming, but fails to serve many of the more experienced and discriminating gamers. Crowdfunding allows us to serve these customers directly with experiences crafted specifically for them, using their direct feedback and funding.”
“With crowdfunding, we can finally build this game – the game that we have all been waiting for – without having to compromise our vision. With the support of our fans, this team can make Crowfall a reality.
The Worlds are made of voxels (like Minecraft, only much less blocky) – which means the entire World is destructible. Crowfall's campaign maps are procedurally generated -- meaning that the process of creating every mountain, forest, river, castle and abandoned village is automated. Each World is different, which means that the game of territorial conquest will be different in every Campaign.
The beginning of each Campaign is like the first round of Civilization: players are dropped into a harsh environment, surrounded by Fog-of-War. The Worlds are filled with deadly monsters, haunted ruins, abandoned quarries... and the most dangerous predator of all, other players. Craft weapons, scavenge armor, secure a stronghold, forge alliances and conquer the World.
There are two types of Worlds in the Crowfall universe: the Campaign Worlds, which produce materials (stone, iron and wood) and the Eternal Kingdoms, which are barren of resources -- but last forever. If each Campaign is like a soccer match, the Eternal Kingdoms encompass the entire season! Unlike the Campaigns, these Worlds are permanent -- and they are completely managed and owned by the players.
Players act as rulers -- they can divide up their domains into provinces and grant those lands to other players. Benevolent monarch or iron-fisted tyrant, what kind of kingdom will you rule?
The Eternal Kingdom can be massive -- with mountains and rivers, castles and villages, dungeons and ruins. They are also devoid of resources: stone, iron and wood. To gain the resources necessary to build structures and craft items, players will have to participate in Campaigns... or treat with those who do.
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