Kickstarter Shards Online is offering a unique proposition for its backers that not every crowdfund is capable of doing. Back the game now and you can play the game in a matter of weeks!
Citadel Studios can offer this up because they already have a fully playable build of the game. In fact, they already have such an event planned out. This coming Saturday is Battle of the Backers, where certain select backers are joining in for a free-for-all battle to the death, all streamed.
This other end of the deal is where it gets sweet though. Back the game for at least $ 20 and you will get a CD key after funding is completed to play the game immediately. As they cite, this is the first time such a deal has been setup for an online game on Kickstarter.
As for the game itself, well, it’s an online RPG along the lines of the original Ultima. Much like Ultima, you’ll get a lot of freedom in terms of what you can do (build a house, tame creatures, craft, go to other worlds) and what rules you live by, as you literally have your pick of unique rule sets for your game.
They already have a fully functional client and server, and a PVP minigame, as well as mod support. You can even choose to run your own custom server, aka shard.
Truthfully, my description doesn’t do full justice to Shards Online’s scope, but really, their pitch to get the game immediately after funding is all you need to know. Shards Online is slated for PC, with Mac and Linux ports in the works. You can watch the pitch below and fund (and get more details) here.
