If you’ve often promised that you would support online RPGs that broke from tropish traditions and took risks, well, it’s time to put your money where your mouth is. Book of Travels, a lovely and highly artistic title from Swedish studio Might and Delight, launched its Kickstarter campaign today with the goal of raising at least $25,500 to help flesh out the game.
“Venture out into a hand-painted fairytale world and become part of a collaborative and friendly roleplaying experience,” Might and Delight, which already has seven released games under its belt, says. “Inspired by genre classics, this is an online adventure that sets you adrift in an intricate fairytale world… but it’s also an invitation to roleplay without the restraints of linear quests and plotlines.”
While the whole world is 3-D, every element of the game is hand-painted to create a very lush and beautiful style. Skills, crafting, trading, equipment, and combat will be present, but more in the context of roleplay and personality than strict levels. Emotions such as grief will be stressed, and players will communicate with emotes and symbols rather than text chat. Magic will be highly unconventional via things like Knotcraft and tea.
The team wants to stress that the “Tiny Multiplayer Online” Book of Travels is a much different experience than your typical kill-o-box: “Right from the start, our ambition was to take the conventional elements of traditional RPGs and use them to make something new — specifically, a world where players can enjoy calm exploration, discovery, and quietly forged companionships.”
Book of Travels is targeting a 2020 release as a buy-to-play title with no subscription. Might and Delight is giving out extra bonuses for backers who pledge in the first 48 hours. Additionally, every backer will be memorialized with a flower in a special Travellers’ Meadow.
