Kickstarter title Mooncrest features ‘Souls-style’ combat, made by former BioWare devs

Four former BioWare staffers have got together to try and crowdfund a story-driven RPG with combat inspired by the Dark Souls series.

Mooncrest is hoping to raise $400k, of which it has currently had $18k pledged.

The single-player adventure promises branching dialogue and character development and real-time combat that studio KnightMayor itself refers to as ‘Souls-style’. Stamina management is important, while players will also be able to parry or evade attacks.

The game is led by two female protagonists – Sera, a Paladin, and Pirotase, a thief. The game is inspired by Neverwinter Nights module Twilight.

The world of Nocturne can be a dangerous place. It will take more than quick reflexes to survive your enemies; you’ll need wits, courage, and the ability to adapt on the field of battle,” the project stated. Mindlessly hacking and slashing away at your foes will accomplish little in a system that rewards measured action.

Inspired by the Souls series style of combat, those that carefully consider their movements will survive while the impetuous and short-sighted will earn only a place amongst the dead.”

Let’s be honest: game development isn’t cheap. We need additional funding to bring our vision to life. We could have sought a publisher but that would have introduced a number of potential restrictions to the vision. Mooncrest is a game made the way we think a game should be made; no publishers telling us the lead character needs to be male, that the game is too complex and needs to be dumbed down for mass market appeal, or that we require a multiplayer component to boost sales.

Removing a traditional publisher from the equation also means that we can tear down the wall between developers and players. It allows us to directly interact with our community in ways that will help shape the final game. We’ll have the freedom to share knowledge and development stories during the process rather than afterwards in some half-baked making of” video that’s been thoroughly PR-cleansed.”