Richard Garriott’s Austin, Texas-based game development studio, Portalarium, in collaboration with international partners Travian Games and Black Sun Game Publishing, has released Garriott’s fantasy role-playing crowdfunded game, Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues. Available for Windows, Mac and Linux PC platforms.
Shroud of the Avatar is the spiritual successor to Garriott’s wildly successful Ultima and Ultima Online games, and combines a persistent online world with a deep story and rich role-playing character development.
As an online fantasy multiplayer RPG, Shroud of the Avatar blends together many of the key features that made the Ultima-series popular, including wide-reaching freedom to explore a living, breathing fantasy world enriched by a player-driven crafting and economic system; the ability to create a classless avatar allowing for distinct play styles and uniquely specialized builds; an engaging storyline written in collaboration with celebrated fantasy author Tracy Hickman (Dragonlance) where players are confronted with ethical choices based on Virtues and Principles; and a unique shared online experience where players can opt to play solo or with friends. Players can also complete the story and explore the world offline, in a stand-alone single-player mode that does not require internet access.