Even its combat is intentionally against the grain, catering to an audience who want something more than point and click. ThereвЂ™s no leveling via player versus enemy, no traditional raids or dungeons ( though it does have The Depths) and players rely almost entirely on one another to gain weapons and armour (youвЂ™ll find no auction houses here). To date, Camelot Unchained has amassed more than 4 million dollars from backers, with many having bought into the vision of whatвЂ™s effectively an old-school, player versus player product. Promising a spiritual successor to the much-loved Realm versus Realm MMO, it not only blazed a trail for ArtCraft Entertainment and many other small developers to follow, but proved that with a refined vision and a not-too-outlandish set of promises, people were more than willing to part with their money. Instead, theyвЂ™ve chosen to play to their strengths and acknowledge that with crowdfunded budgetary limitations, they need to remain steely focused in their approach to design.Д¬amelot Unchained took to Kickstarter in May 2013 under the stewardship of Dark Age of Camelot designer Mark Jacobs. Where most вЂњthemeparkвЂќ MMOs tend to cover all bases by including PvE, PvP, raids, crafting and everything else in between, CSE and ArtCraft cannot do this they have neither the budgets nor the manpower. The studios behind these projects - City State Entertainment and ArtCraft Entertainment, respectively - are disposing of many tried and tested traditions, carving their own path in the hopes of finding new and fertile ground. The two most notable examples are Camelot Unchained and Crowfall. There is light at the end of the tunnel, however, and it's in games that focus on one aspect of the genre, aiming to innovate or perfect it rather than being a jack of all trades. Swathes of publishers and developers who might once have been interested in creating or releasing an MMO have placed a red cross on the genreвЂ™s door as a no-go zone.

The end result, in many cases, saw bloated products with little focus and with implementation of ideas and mechanics too poor to justify the price tag or subscription fee. While some of the blame inevitably falls at the feet of publishers pushing products out the door too early (notably WildStar and Warhammer Online), most simply promised too much and delivered too little. With a lengthy list of massively multiplayer casualties over the last few years, including Warhammer Online, City of Heroes, World of Darkness and EverQuest Next, itвЂ™s fair to say the genre is in need of an intervention.Д«etween actual MMO failures and the lackluster success of some survivors, thereвЂ™s a frightening level of consistency that connects them all.

Even the resilient World of Warcraft, despite buoyant Legion sales, still isnвЂ™t willing to divulge subscription numbers a sign that things aren't eternally rosey. WildStar is barely scraping an income, Black Desert Online saw a strong start but petered out not long after launch and Guild Wars 2 continues to see a decline in revenues. While thereвЂ™s still plenty of money to be made, the current crop are having a rough time. Massively multiplayer games are in a poor state.

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