Back in 2006, one of the strangest MMORPG-slash-screensavers ever made was released and then promptly ignored by the mainstream. The Endless Forest, “a whimsical multiplayer online magical deer fantasy,” transformed players into creatures that couldn’t speak to other players, fight, or complete conventional quests. Instead, these weredeers used sounds to communicate and did whatever they felt like doing, such as partying down, roaming the woods, and rubbing up against trees. It was, shall we say, quite odd and unique.
Last year, the married team of Michaël Samyn and Auriea Harvey departed the game development scene in a rather spectactular rage-quit following the failure of their most recent title, Sunset. However, a year must have been enough to cool them down because they are back to solicit funds from players to make The Endless Forest: The Second Decade.
The Second Decade is an attempt to remake the aging MMO with better technology: “The Endless Forest has been our creative cornerstone and we want to take it further. We don’t want to hide it anymore out of fear that the technology wouldn’t be able to handle an increased amount of players. And we want to add all the ideas that we have come up with together with the players over the years.”
The team is attempting to raise €40,000 through Indiegogo, with supporters getting an exclusive deer costume for the original game. Apparently, development of The Second Decade will stretch over the next 12 to 18 months. There are no plans to kill off the original game, as the devs said that it will remain free following the remake’s release.
