Ember Sword | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Bright Star Studios |
Publisher(s) | Bright Star Studios |
Director(s) | Maxim Zimnukhov |
Producer(s) |
|
Designer(s) | Maciej Ostrowski |
Artist(s) |
|
Writer(s) | Samuel Horton |
Composer(s) | Jannick Damkvist |
Engine | Project SERIUS |
Platform(s) | |
Genre(s) | Social sandbox, Massively multiplayer online game |
Mode(s) | Multiplayer |
Ember Sword is an upcoming massively multiplayer online (MMORPG) social sandbox game developed & published by Bright Star Studios. Set on the fictional Galilean moon of Thanabus, players are able to progress their characters by battling creatures & completing quests, while also having the ability to trade with one another, acquire land and build settlements. Powered by the Ethereum blockchain, players are able to use non-fungible tokens to acquire items. In development since 2018, Ember Sword gained attention for its multiple virtual land sales, with over $203 million pledged in a single series in 2021. The game is slated for early access release in late 2024 for Windows & macOS, with browser accessibility.
Gameplay
Players control a character avatar from a three-dimensional isometric perspective. With the camera locked onto their character, players may venture the landscape and engage in different activities. Characters are factionless; combat may be with hostile non-player characters (NPCs) called "mobs" or with other players in designated player versus player arena spaces. Abilities are tied directly to the types of weapons that are equipped, with armor complementing their respective character statistics. Items & currency may be acquired by looting corpses of slain NPCs or by trading with other players. Professions may be developed by earning points by participating in respective activities, such as mining, fishing and logging.[1]
Ember Sword follows a pay-to-earn business model; currency earned by slaying mobs, selling items and trading with players may be exchanged to ERC-20, which converts to Ethereum cryptocurrency. Players may acquire land, which they can use to build structures, crops and dungeons on.[1]
Setting
Ember Sword takes place in the year 3460, on the fictional Galilean moon of Thanabus, which is tidally locked with Ganymede. The moon is divided into four nations: the forested Solarwood, the desert of Duskeron, the jungles of Sevrend and the arctic tundra of Ediseau.[2]
Humanity was once a space-faring race that originated from Mars & Io and united under an interplanetary dominion called "Pangaea". After terraforming and colonizing the terrestrial worlds of the Solar System, a godlike entity named Starzhen who wielded a reality-bending weapon called the Ember Sword arrived in 3220, claiming to sanction a rising threat. In 3225, he attacked Jupiter, prompting reprisal from Pangaea. Starzhen was destroyed in the subsequent battle, but his death triggered an apocalyptic event called the "Catastrophe", which devastated nearby Thanabus into a dark age and led to the collapse of Pangaea.[3]
Development
Production of Ember Sword began under the Danish developer So Couch Studios, led by chief executive officer Mark Laursen, in 2018, with its announcement being in October of that year. Initially developed on the Unity game engine, Ember Sword was intended to be for Windows & Android operating systems. powered by the Ethereum blockchain, allowing for players to acquire tokenized cosmetics through gameplay, which could be traded for the in-game currency called "PIXEL".[4][5] In April 2020, the venture capitalist firm Galaxy Interactive announced a $700,000 pre-seed investment alongside Play Ventures into the game's developer, renamed Bright Star Studios, with Unity Studios' former chief executive officer Allan Kirkeby joining as a senior producer.[6] An initial virtual land sale was held in May 2021, which had its four thousand available plots selling out within six hours of going live.[7]
By July 2021, the in-game currency was changed from PIXEL to the ERC-20 token "Ember". Bright Star held a subsequent virtual land sale, resulting in over $203 million being pledged. From the approximately 35,000 applications received, 6,000 would be selected for plots in Solarwood.[8] Shortly after the conclusion of the initial land sale, a $2 million investment deal from the previous May was announced, consisting of contributions from twenty individuals, including former chief creative officer of Blizzard Entertainment Rob Pardo, head of YouTube Gaming Ryan Wyatt, pseudonymous streamer Dr Disrespect, Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin, G2 Esports founder Carlos "ocelote" Rodríguez Santiago, chief operating officer of 100 Thieves John Robinson, Night Ventures, co-founder of Xfire Dennis Fong and co-founder of The Sandbox Sébastien Borget.[9]
Due to issues with Unity's capabilities for sustaining an MMORPG, Bright Star opted to explore a proprietary engine that would favor browser accessibility & streaming media in 2022.[5] According to Bright Star, the company initially contracted with a prolific engine developer, but due to misaligned expectations, decided to develop a proprietary engine in-house. Five game engines would be attempted, before Bright Star created Project SERIUS, which proved to be more acclimated for fast loading times in-browser.[10]
Release
In April 2022, virtual land owners & VIP badge holders were given access to a pre-alpha technical test set in Solarwood.[11] A year later, an alpha test was held, focused around the area surrounding Solarwood's capital of Burkhalter's Academy and featuring rudimentary core mechanics and weapon classes.[12] A subsequent vertical slice alpha demo was released in October 23, taking raiding parties to the Ultra Deep dungeon.[5]
References
- ^ a b "Immutable Games Spotlight: Ember Sword Announces Alpha Land Sale". Immutable Pty Ltd. July 28, 2023. Archived from the original on August 1, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ Nambiampurath, Rahul (January 25, 2022). "Top 14 Play-To-Earn NFT Games". BeInCrypto. Archived from the original on January 25, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
- ^ Horton, Samuel; Ivanov, Svetlin (October 25, 2021). "I Believe in Myself". Bright Star Studios. Archived from the original on April 26, 2024. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
- ^ Daniel, Matt (October 18, 2018). "New mobile MMO Ember Sword is another cryptocurrency game". Massively Overpowered. Archived from the original on October 18, 2018. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ a b c Hassfeld, Niels (October 26, 2023). "Ember Sword Hands-On Preview – Potentially great MMO, but worries about Blockchain". IGN. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ Sheehan, Gavin (May 1, 2020). "Galaxy Interactive Part Of $700K Investment Into Bright Star Studios". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on May 3, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ Takahashi, Dean (July 13, 2023). "Bright Star Studios launches land sale for Web3 MMO Ember Sword". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on July 13, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ Ligon, Cheyenne (August 4, 2021). "Gamers Pledge $203M in 'Ember Sword's' Virtual Land Sale". CoinDesk. Archived from the original on August 30, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ Kaser, Rachel (December 6, 2021). "Bright Star Studios attracts new investors following in-game land sale". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on December 3, 2022. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ Laursen, Mark (January 24, 2023). "Bright Star Studios: Forging Better Experiences in Gaming and Technology in 2023 & Beyond". Bright Star Studios. Archived from the original on September 21, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ Gonzalez, Christina (March 3, 2022). "Ember Sword Will Hold Pre-Alpha Technical Testing in April". MMORPG.com. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
- ^ Whitmore, Ralph (April 24, 2023). "Ember Sword Alpha Impressions - Did Bright Star's MMO Show Potential?". MMORPG.com. Archived from the original on April 24, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2024.