Ultima Online Creator Richard Garriot's Kickstarter For Shroud Of The Avatar Hits Funding Goal In Just 10 Days

Richard Garriott's Kickstarter campaign for his next game is off to one heck of a start. Titled Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues, the project is meant to be a return to form for the legendary game developer.

The game has surpassed its $1 million funding goal in under 10 days, with nearly 18 days remaining in the campaign. With so much time left on the clock, Garriott and his team have set a few stretch goals to encourage additional donations.

If funding hits the $1.1 million level, the studio will add social and combat pets. At the $1.2 million level, weather systems will be implemented. Extra stretch goals will be announced if funding nears these initial ones.

The game's Kickstarter page describes the ambition project:

"Richard Garriott guided the Ultima Series from its inception in 1980, through the "trilogy-of-trilogies" of solo player games and later, the highly successful Ultima Online. Under his leadership, RPG's evolved from simple dungeon crawls to immersive worlds where you could easily suspend your disbelief. You cared about the world and its people, and you cared about the actions and deeds you accomplished within that world.

Since then, most every other RPG has focused more on level grinding than on "role playing", which has been reduced to a few initial character choices. While advancements in graphics and sound have been phenomenal, in many ways the virtual worlds we play in have become less real. Less open. Less immersive.

With Shroud of the Avatar, Richard and his team will again reinvent the classic fantasy role-playing experience. Using state-of-the-art tools and technology, the game will focus on what made his seminal Ultima Series great. Once players are introduced to the game, they will discover their own story woven into the immersive world and lore surrounding them. Players may choose to follow the life of the adventurer or, if they prefer, focus on exploration and discovery. Players may even choose the life of a homesteader; either nestled within the safety of the settled lands, or on the dangerous but potentially lucrative frontier. The world is full of opportunities and challenges!

The familiar psychological profiling used to create your character, organically derived game-play responses to player behavior and fundamental virtues and consequence of actions will all play a huge role in Shroud of the Avatar. Players will be free to choose their path, but must then live with the consequences of their actions."

Shroud of the Avatar will be released as a PC exclusive sometime in 2014.