In a different timeline, I think I would’ve been one of those players who entered the MMO space through Asheron’s Call. I remember going to Media Play in the early 2000s and being curious about this title but nervous about its weird fantasy vibe at the same time. So I never did take that early opportunity to learn the ropes in that quirky world and only lightly played it shortly before its sunset.
Yet I feel that I got a second chance with Project Gorgon, an indie MMO made by two of Asheron’s Call’s principle co-leads — Eric Heimburg and Sandra Powers — as a sort of spiritual successor. And it’s been through dipping in and out of this incredibly creative and objectively strange title that I’ve experienced this couple’s unique take on the genre.
There’s a good reason that Project Gorgon gets trotted out as a rebuttal every time someone starts whining that there’s no originality in the MMO space. This is a title that acts as if World of Warcraft never happened and thus has no pull upon development. Instead, Gorgon does its own thing to the max, and that’s either the greatest argument to play it or the biggest red flag for those wanting the comfort of familiarity.
Taking a high viewpoint of this MMO, I see Gorgon as a setting in which your character grows in a variety of ways by adventuring through the world. But instead of lumping everything into a single leveling progression system, this title elects for a whole bunch of independent skills that have their own leveling path, complete with requirements and bonuses. By fracturing the experience this way, the devs provide a better sense of roleplay and give players a greater amount of character development to pursue.
There are skills that range from the utterly mundane (sword) to the obscure (mycology) to the ridiculous (poetry reading). There are skills that are leveled up by dying or psychoanalyzing your enemies. There are skills that can be raised only if you become a cow or bat and exist in that form.
And the game world offers many special interactions that make you think about what you’re doing other than blindly clicking on the nearest exclamation point. You can raise favor with certain NPCs and even spend time offline hanging out with them. You can be cursed by a boss and have to live with a certain condition until you find a cure. And you can explore a world peppered with secrets, riddles, and mysteries.
It’s not the most eye-fetching MMO out there, but Gorgon’s depth of gameplay more than makes up for it. (Plus, I don’t even think it’s as ugly as its reputation suggests.) It’s a title that’s been in some sort of open alpha or beta state for a good decade now, inching ever nearer to an actual 1.0 full release.
However, it’s been a tough road getting there. Project Gorgon’s remarkable structure and lack of an official release has limited it from widespread or mainstream appeal. This is a niche of a niche game, with only word-of-mouth as its marketing driver. The population’s always been on the small side, which is only financially feasible because the team is so very, very small.
Yet even with that low overhead, Gorgon has struggled to make ends meet. In late 2023, the title completely ran out of money and was facing a future content drought as a result. Fortunately, the community came through — at least for a time — and donations poured in to help out.
Part of those money woes came about because of medical bills to treat Sandra Powers’ terminal cancer. Yet even with such a battle taking a toll on her, she continued to contribute to the game’s progress throughout 2024. If nothing else, this tells you how passionate this team is about seeing its vision brought into reality. This was her life’s legacy, and she was bound and determined to see it through.
The death of Sandra Powers last month represents a tremendous loss on many fronts, not the least of which is the grief and pain that it now causes to her loved ones. But it’s also taken away half of the leading force behind Gorgon and put a big question mark over the game’s future.
I’m certainly of the opinion that Eric Heimburg should be given all of the time and grace that he needs to grieve, and he should be under no obligation to operate under a time schedule for this project. I know he’s said he’s full-steam ahead on the game, but a part of me wonders whether working on Gorgon might be too painful for him without Sandra there. I don’t know; everyone grieves differently. That’s his call to make, and I won’t judge him no matter what he does.
But based on his statements so far, he means to continue on with this vision – quite literally, as there’s a major patch queued up for next week. Ideally, players will rally around him and this game, finances will increase, and Project Gorgon will finally get the full launch it deserves. If and when that happens, it could become a living monument to Sandra Powers’ life: a space in which all MMORPG players can explore the creative touches that she put everywhere.
The thought of that makes me smile.
Do you love spectating and speculating about upcoming MMOs? We do too! Every week, Justin tackles another upcoming title on the MMO Hype Train with opinions, analysis, and blind fervent hope. Choo choo all aboard!
