With Pillars of Eternity, Shadowrun Returns, Baldurs Gate HD, and Wasteland 2 all released, it feels like a new age of cRPGs (computer role-playing games) has dawned. Another such cRPG is making its way onto the scene: Kickstarter project Seven Dragon Saga, by Tactical Simulations Interactive (TSI). In this title, you control up to six party members in service to your country’s Emperor, cleansing the lands of evil and threats to the peace.
The focus was on a deep appreciation for the old-school Strategic Simulations, Inc.’s Gold Box role-playing games, some of which paved the way for titles like Ultima Online. The team at TSI is made of veteran developers from Strategic Simulations, EA, Path of Exile, and SEGA. However, the results from the campaign were mixed. The project garnered a lot of interest, but not enough to cross their $450,000 USD Kickstarter goal.
Still, the team did pull in enough prospective backers to raise nearly a fourth of their Kickstarter goal, and they had this to say on learning from their first Kickstarter campaign. They acknowledged in their latest update that they need to show more new content and to show why younger and new gamers should be interested in their project.
In light of this, they have planned a new Kickstarter (which will be coming very soon) that will include not only more content and information on the game, but a playable demo from the prototype they demonstrated in their original Kickstarter video. And on response from the gaming community, TSI president David Klein had this to say:
“We’ve had incredibly positive results from this Kickstarter. The press awareness, fan response, and community feedback has been tremendous. We’re taking that feedback and what we’ve learned to refine our work further. We’ll be coming back as soon as humanly possible, with a better, more refined Kickstarter, and some code you’ll actually be able to play, along with killer videos and artwork.”
The project itself has some very ambitious goals, such as The Gateway, which would allow you to import and export your party between inXile’s Torment: Tides of Numeria and Shadowrun: Hong Kong by Harebrained Schemes. This was a feature in several older cRPGs like Wizardry and A Bard’s Tale. Considering Shadowrun: Hong Kong is a cyberpunk RPG and Seven Dragon Saga is a fantasy game, it leaves one to wonder how this would work.
The game’s opening bit of story, provided on the Kickstarter page, indicates multiple sides trying to settle a trade agreement. Instead of being a dull Phantom Menace affair though, the indications for serious moral decisions between the two opposing races and some elder dragons hints to a larger plot waiting to unfold. Factional politics like in Fallout: New Vegas are also referenced in the gameplay section.
What do you think Seven Dragon Saga? Do you wish for more cRPGs in the vein of Ultima and Baldurs Gate? Let us know in the comments below!
Trailer Credit: IGN/TSI, PC Gamer
Image Credit: TSI
