The MMORPG “The Wagadu Chronicles” (PC) is a new game developed by an indie studio from Berlin. It receives support from LoL developer Riot Games and has launched a Kickstarter campaign. We at MeinMMO reveal what makes the game interesting.
What kind of MMORPG is this? The Wagadu Chronicles is an MMO that places great emphasis on role-playing. According to its own statement, many of the developers have learned the old-school roleplay – with pen, paper, and dice.
This is intended to be reflected in the game:
- The focus is not on grind or growing stats.
- Instead, the background story and the current role of your character are at the forefront.
- The entire MMORPG is supposed to revolve 100% around role-playing.
This focus is to be achieved by the MMORPG distributing rewards for good group role-play and offering a special dialogue mode that is activated when multiple players converse. This is intended to resemble dialogues with NPCs. Additionally, the developers plan to provide free updates with additional lore.
For small talk or questions around the topic of role-playing, there will be dedicated “Off-World Lobbies” where players can exchange ideas without jeopardizing role-play. In the game world itself, players will then slip back into their roles. This could make it one of the best MMOs for role-playing.
Furthermore, hate speech and trolling will be curtailed in the game through various moderation tools.
An MMORPG with a unique setting
Who is behind the game? The Wagadu Chronicles is developed by Twin Drums, which is based in Berlin. It is an indie studio that claims to be largely composed of women, half of whom are Black, and a third of whom are queer employees.
This may be a reason for the interesting setting of the game, as it describes itself as an Afrofantasy MMORPG.
What can we expect in the game world? The Wagadu Chronicles offers an interesting setting. Even now, there is supposed to be a deep lore that has been written down in books beforehand.
Gameplay-wise, the MMORPG relies on skill presets, allowing you to assume the role of a druid or warrior, for example. However, you are not bound to this role. If desired, you can also respec and represent another class:
- You do not assign your character to a “race”; instead, you choose from various lines with their own story.
- You should have the option to choose from dozens of abilities.
- These abilities range from levels 1 (beginner) to 5 (master).
- Not all skills seem to be aimed at combat; exploration and cartography are also supposed to be skillable.
- Additionally, players receive a free bundle of XP every day, called Memories, so they can learn new skills even if they are just walking around and talking to other players. This is primarily to combat grind.
- Moreover, there are temporary skills that you can find in the world and can be used for several minutes or up to an hour.
- The economy, on the other hand, is supposed to be in the hands of players, like in most sandbox MMORPGs. All equipment is supposed to be editable by players with the right skill, preventing all armor from looking the same.
- However, your equipment can be stolen if you die.
What does the endgame look like? The game world consists of so-called totems. They serve as:
- Spawn point upon death
- Safe zone
- provide a farming bonus
- allow player housing
Unclaimed totems can be taken over by players so that they can expand there. However, tasks must be completed for this.
These tasks must also be completed weekly and should differ greatly from totem to totem. If multiple groups dispute over a totem, the one that contributes the most to the totem’s task wins.
Kickstarter and Riot Games
How is the MMORPG funded? In June, Riot Games announced that they want to commit more to social justice. They promised to provide $10 million for investments and start-ups focusing on underrepresented founders in the gaming community.
This includes Twin Drums, the studio from Berlin.
In addition to Riot Games’ support, the developers are also relying on Kickstarter. They raised 20,000 of the 100,000 euros for their campaign within a few hours.
This starts off just as successfully as TitanReach, an MMORPG that launched on Kickstarter on September 16 and raised nearly 50,000 dollars in the first 16 hours.
