A few weeks back, indie developer ArtCraft Entertainment put up a website called ’Play2crush’, which decried the state of the games industry and the prevalence of games that reward the player regardless of how well they’ve performed. “Even if I lose, the experience won’t feel hollow,” the manifesto read. “I don’t want another worthless trophy. I WANT TO PLAY TO CRUSH.”
Now that site’s been replaced with a new one advertising fantasy MMORPG Crowfall, the title ArtCraft is working on which they claim has “a focus on political alliances and feudal conquest.”
For a company that purports to hate the state of the gaming industry, ArtCraft doesn’t seem to mind employing the same marketing ploys it’s so fond of.
“Over the next two months, we’re going to be playing a game,” the developer writes. “It’s not THE game; the name of THIS game is “rampant speculation.” Every few days, we’re going to be dropping hints and teasers for our upcoming new game title. We invite you to jump into our forums and challenge us. Ask questions. Debate our ideas. Make bold pronouncements about what the game might or might not be. By the end, you’ll have an idea what we’re up to… but we’re willing to bet that you’ll still be surprised, once you see it laid out in detail.
If you can’t be arsed with all that, you can wait for a timer on the game’s website to run down, at which point there will be a more in-depth reveal. Judging by the rare glimpses of fantasy art and some prominent heraldry, as well as all that talk about weighty decisions and political scheming, I’m assuming that Game of Thrones might just be an influence here.
Stay tuned. As of this post the timer’s counting down from 47 days. Let’s see if ArtCraft can deliver on its promise of “something deeper than a virtual amusement park. More impactful than a virtual sandbox. More immersive. More real. A game where decisions matter.”
