The MMO industry is huge, but surprisingly not full of variety. For the longest time every MMO simply followed the templates set by trailblazers, and only recently have begun to come out of their collective shells. Shards Online looks to be a familiar MMO but with a very unique twist. Instead of simply allowing the expected fantasy RPG character leveling and battling, players themselves will be able to create their own worlds as well as make up new gameplay modes and objects. Oh, and you won’t have to pay a subscription fee to access (or create) any of this!
That’s not to say Shards Online will be complete anarchy, either. You’ll always be able to enter an official Citadel Studios server where the game plays out as expected. This is where most players will likely start out, anyhow. It’s only once you begin to understand the gameplay and formulate tweaks that players may start flexing their creative muscle. There’s little restriction imposed on this aspect. If you want to modify an existing world or create something totally weird then that’s up to you. Once you open your server you’ll be able to invite friends and strangers to play in the modified world.
Of course, making any MMO is a monumental task. Creating a user friendly toolset which will fulfill these goals is another challenge the developer will have to work out. The Kickstarter goal of $50,000 is just the start. If they reach it, Citadel Studios pledges $50,000 of their own funds to go into the game as well. All of this will push Shards Online toward alpha state.
Track the progress of the Shards Online Kickstarter in our Campaign Calendar.
