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Maestros of the Anthymn begins its Kickstarter campaign
Will the melody be with Maestros of the Anthymn this time around? The rebranded music-based game has launched a new campaign to fund the development of its launch episode, "Dark Tide." The team previously told Massively that the episodic game will hopefully lead into a full-featured MMO. According to the project's new Kickstarter page, "One of the biggest drivers for all of us at the studio is knowing that one day we might have players creating, sharing and wielding music in hopes of completing The Anthymn." The story will follow a musical genius who uses his talents to reunite a country shattered by civil war. String Theory Creative Director Riley McDougall says that this game will use music in a whole new way: "Beat-matching music games are fun, but what if you could literally mold the world around you, solve puzzles and conquer impossible enemies through creating and wielding music itself?" Maestros of the Anthymn is looking to raise $200,000 CAD in pledges over the next month. The team has future plans to create three more episodes to make up the game's first season, as well as a story for four seasons past that. Each episode will contain sandbox, cinematic, and puzzle elements. [Additional source: String Theory Entertainment press release]
Maestros of the Anthymn is definitely still an MMO
MMORPG bard fans, furbish up your lungs! Earlier this week, we posted about Maestros of the Anthymn, a unique music-flavored MMO from indie dev house String Theory (whose name makes us grin every time). Under its original name, Anthymn, the game failed to reach its Kickstarter funding goals, but the developers prevailed and have plans for another run. However, the devs' reference to "episodic content" made us wonder whether the game might not be less an MMO than once planned. MotA's Creative Director Riley McDougall reached out to Massively to dispel those concerns. YES! Our end goal is to still make it an MMO. The episodic format is our way of getting there. I think a lot of people forget the legwork it took for Blizzard to gain such a massive and dedicated community with WC1, SC1, Diablo, WC2, Diablo 2, WC3 before even thinking about launching an MMO. Our intent is to follow the same format, use the episodic to build the brand and our community while dedicating more studio resources to the online RPG as we move forward. Long road ahead but we've come this far, no way we're giving up. The developers also posted an in-depth Facebook introduction on Wednesday. "What we believe makes Maestros of the Anthymn (MotA) so unique is the way in which sound and music are used in game," writes String Theory. "There's a ton of game design philosophies and methodologies out there but no matter what feature or mechanic we're crafting, we begin with the same vital question. What does it sound like? Building from a foundation of sound design has allowed us to breathe an emotional resonance into every part of MotA, from the way our mountain ranges are shaped to the revolutionary 'call and response' musical combat system. This is going to be something truly special and worth your attention come January 15th" -- which just happpens to be when the new launch trailer and Kickstarter arrive.
Music MMO Anthymn rebrands and preps Kickstarter campaign
After falling well short of fundraising goals in 2013, music-focused Anthymn is gearing up for another shot at a Kickstarter campaign in the near future. The title has rebranded itself as Maestros of the Anthymn, and according to its Facebook page, it is getting ready to make the case for crowdfunding. "To all of our amazing friends and fans -- we are proud to formally announce the name of our upcoming Kickstarter project," String Theory posted. "Welcome to Maestros of the Anthymn, a groundbreaking episodic adventure of song, sword, and sorcery for PC and Mac. Stay tuned later today for our big update on the game, our vision and what's next for the Kickstarter launch plans!" It is unclear whether or not Anthymn will be retaining its MMO focus or going another route entirely with this rebranding. The original concept was for an entire fantasy world where music and magic infused entire nations and where every class had a musical focus and theme.
Music MMO Anthymn making progress on prototype
We haven't heard about the musical MMO Anthymn since its unsuccessful Kickstarter campaign last July. But String Theory Entertainment has broken the silence with an announcement that is music to fans' ears: The project continues, and a prototype is currently in development. Anthymn's official Facebook page thanks the community for all its support and assures fans that it has continued to make its unique vision a reality. The announcement also noted that the title will be undergoing a small revision. As a part of this transition, the current site, Facebook page, and Twitter feed will all be closed and relaunched. Once relaunched, the main site will feature a dev blog, artist showcases, and news on progress and highlights.
Jukebox Heroes: TUG and crowdsourcing soundtracks
While I'm still reasonably wary of Kickstarter and the pie-in-the-sky promises that have come out of these fundraisers, I can't deny that there have been potentially exciting ideas out there, especially in the field of MMO music. For starters, we might one day see Anthymn, a fantasy MMO completely based around music. It's a notion so breathtakingly cool that I fear it might never see the light of day while thousands of been-there-killed-that titles trudge into existence. But talking with the creators of that game really drove home the fact that music is such an integral part of our lives and can hold a similar place of honor in our virtual worlds. And then there's TUG, another quirky Kickstarter prodigy, which demonstrated how music and sounds can be used as social glue to pull people together. It showed us this with a wordless video that got its point across perfectly. Now TUG's devs are throwing out a different idea concerning music: Why not outsource some of the game's soundtrack... to the fans themselves?
Making music together: An interview with Anthymn
It's safe to say that many of us on the Massively team were seduced by the promise and potential of Anthymn when we first saw its Kickstarter campaign. The concept of an entire fantasy MMO that revolves around music instead of swords and sorcery is a refreshing approach in this day and age. The folks at String Theory Entertainment are downright passionate about bringing the power of music to online games. While Anthymn is still in an early stage of development, the idea behind it stretches back a decade or so. The developers aren't just using music as a quirky feature for the sheer heck of it, either; this is a studio full of musically talented folks who know how infectious and bonding a song can be. We sat down with the creative leads behind Anthymn to get a better feel for the project and the future of the game, with or without Kickstarter's help. Check it out after the jump!
'Orchestral battle' Anthymn needs money for the music
"For the first time ever, players will shape an online world with music," promises String Theory Entertainment CM Daniel Marrable. He's referring to the MMO-in-progress Anthymn, which is currently in the throes of a Kickstarter campaign. Anthymn is a fantasy MMO that revolves around music for its classes, combat, and way of life. It's set in a land that's divided by musical races that are warring with each other for supremacy. A young maestro wants to create a national anthem that will not only unite his country but bring peace to the land. This quest will fuel players' adventures across the continent. String Theory wants to create a unique feel to the title, including systems such as rhythmic gameplay, apprenticeships, and community collaboration. If the concept art looks a tad familiar, it's because a few of the devs also worked on Guild Wars 2's art. Check out the video pitch after the jump, and drop a few bucks if you feel that Anthymn is a project worth supporting!
