"We believe we are offering something that no one else is - a return to classic-style game play that encourages more social interaction and rewards effort," explains the Kickstarter pitch. "We believe that the player should dictate how far they progress and not have everyone with the same quality of character, despite the amount of effort put in. To us effort = reward and there will be a difference between players that have a lot of dedication versus those who can only play a little."
Pre-alpha footage and screenshots have already been shared, showing that development has begun in some capacity. The money Visionary is seeking "will be used to hire additional employees and bring this project to completion."
$800,000 has proven to be a very reachable target for the Kickstarter campaigns that have attracted a great deal of support -- campaigns like those for Broken Age, Project Eternity, and Wasteland 2 have each brought in millions. But that sum is not enough to fully fund an MMO, something addressed in the FAQ.
"Our intent for this Kickstarter is first to prove that there's enough of a demand for a group focused game that believes in the experience of the game instead of handholding, and to get the ball rolling on development. If we can get to the goal we will have proved that and will have enough to get this game started and be able to get our studio set up and operational.
"If we only get to the goal and little more, then we will visit other funding opportunities but first and foremost we wanted to make it possible to be completely crowdfunded so that you, the players, have more to do with what goes into the game than other powers would should we need to turn to those options later."
As of this writing, just over $90,000 of the $800,000 goal has been pledged. Stretch goals that will guarantee the addition of new classes, features, and races have already been outlined up to $6.7 million, which Visionary will have up until February 22 to raise. While any amount from $1 on up can be pledged, the rewards are pricier than those of many others Kickstarters: $20 earns the backer a beta invite, among other things, while a minimum $45 pledge is what's needed for a digital copy of the final game.
The estimated delivery date for the rewards and the game itself is currently given as January 2017. Chris Pereira is a freelance writer who spends his spare time agonizing over the final seasons of The X-Files. Check out what he's saying on Twitter and follow him on IGN.