Elder Scrolls modders launch Kickstarter for original fantasy RPG, Unwritten

A group of Elder Scrolls modders have launched a Kickstarter campaign for their independent studio's new open-world fantasy role-playing game, Unwritten: Echoes of Twilight.

Druid Gameworks is developing a "Skyrim-esque" game on the Havok Vision Engine with branching storylines that will be determined by player choice. The team is forgoing the traditional Elder Scrolls quest architecture of main quests layered with side quests to allow players to explore the world at their leisure. Different quests and pieces of storyline will be unlockable based on players' decisions, and the page describes Unwritten as more like a "choose your own adventure game" than an RPG.

"Most RPGs out there today would be considered story driven, where a main quest line is presented as the overall premise for the game play," reads the post. "Even when it's possible to delay the main quest, it's not usually possible to avoid it and still progress within the game. In the Unwritten series, game play is player driven, meaning you create your own game experience as you play and develop your avatar's story. As you explore our universe and make your choices you will lock and unlock different experience pathways with every play through."

Echoes of Twilight is a "precursor and introduction" to the Unwritten series, suggesting Druid may produce more content for the franchise in the future. Players will enter the world of Arthanswold, scattered with marshes, jungles and mountains, all equally dangerous. Players will be able to discover locations and other characters on their own, collect and customize pets and companions, buy from and even own shops, join factions and learn magic, just to name a few of the world's activities.

Players will also be able to start as one of six playable races, each with their own history — and may have a choice of more, should the allotted stretch goals for new races be reached. Characters will keep an in-game journal chronicling their travels as the game map opens up with each unique decision players make. Unwritten also features an economy that makes use of crafting and trading, and will give players the opportunity to go dungeon-crawling or hunt for resources in the wild for a more survival-driven aspect. The campaign page also notes that the game will be fully moddable.

The campaign, which launched over the weekend, is asking for an initial funding goal of $500,000 to expand the development team, fund promotional materials for Unwritten and cover all licensing fees. At the time of writing, the campaign has earned around $4,000 of its goal.