InSomnia: RPG game’s storyline will change over time [Crowdfunding]

Imagine a game that has a storyline that changes over time, that starts differently based on when you join it. That’s the vision for a new game currently seeking crowdfunding from a team of Brooklyn developers and artists.

InSomnia is a new tactical RPG created by Studio MONO, a twenty person team that has been working on the game for the last year and a half, according to its Kickstarter page. The campaign has raised just under $4,500 toward its $70,000 goal, with its campaign ending on Christmas.

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Features players can look forward to:

• Financial support through purchase of cosmetic in-app items. No free-to-play, pay-to-win models.
• Real time combat system that encourages tactical teamwork between multiple online players.
• A constantly updating storyline.
• Artificial Intelligence powered Non Player Characters for greater challenge and interest.

The storyline is this: you’ve been in suspended animation as your people seek a new planet to start over on. You’ve woken up and other people are waking up at the same time. After that, you have to figure it out as the game evolves.

The idea of constantly updating a story as players join sounds like a monumental task. The Kickstarter video and the page both say repeatedly that players who join at different times will be experiencing a whole different game. It’s a fascinating concept.

The closest allegory Technically Brooklyn can think of is the world of pro-wrestling, which uses hordes of writers to update storylines on the fly based on fan reaction. Moving that concept into a big online role playing game sounds like an enormous undertaking. Here’s how the team describes it on their campaign page:

Player choice may lead to points where players will be required to make difficult decisions that can affect the fate of their characters, their friends in the game, the ongoing story, or the world of InSomnia in general. Tired of MMORPG’s where your character doesn’t really change the world? Now you can, sometimes even if you don’t want to, so be careful!

Either way, InSomnia has a strong look. Check out its campaign video:

[kickstarter url=http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1892480689/insomnia-tactical-online-rpg-in-dark-dieselpunk-un width=640]

Following a successful campaign, Studio MONO expects to open a closed beta in four months and launch the game to the public one year after that.