Shroud of the Avatar does not fit cleanly into most existing genre archetypes. We planned and built a game that would have an open multiplayer mode, similar to what was found in many MMOs. Based on our desire to have everyone on a single server though, it would have player limits per zone and unique instancing solutions. We suspected that due to those design decisions, it would be potentially confusing if we pitched the Kickstarter as a traditional MMO. That is one of the reasons we chose early on to try to market the game using the term “Selective Multiplayer”. However, that term was confusing to most people and now we often use the term MMO, despite our design differences from traditional MMOs.We planned and built a game that can be played both online and offline. When playing alone, or with your party, or in the open mode, there is a deep story where each player could have a compelling journey from start to conclusion. That story feels akin to journeys in the Ultima games we created before Ultima Online. Parsing words (or plans) for anything much deeper is fraught with error and risk. We pitched ideas that we knew would evolve with time (stating that as we went), and indeed they did evolve.Many have argued both sides of which type of game is it first. Is it more of an MMO or more of a story driven game? The answer has always been both. It is true that the features matured earlier on the MMO side, but this is just a consequence of the development strategy. The story has always been driving vast swaths of the development goals. The primary cities, main plot NPC’s, adventure maps, all exist to serve the story. We wrote the story and those supporting elements before starting development on most other aspects of the game.While marketing folks have found value in using historical terms like MMO, I have always felt it is a “new type” of experience, this “selective multiplayer”. However, marketeers naturally want to start from a basis that potential buyers can relate to. Therefore you will see traditional terms like MMO in marketing materials that have to communicate in a single line, the totality of expectation. As we mentioned above, our attempts to get people to adopt the term “Selective Multiplayer” were unsuccessful and we have since fallen back to using the term MMO.Our great partners at Travian noted that after people play offline for some time, they very well may enjoy playing online afterward, eventually proceed to play with a party, and then perhaps even advance to playing in open multiplayer. If we can convince people to play all of the modes, it keeps them in our ecosystem, which of course is good for the community and the company.Telling a story in a potentially multiplayer setting does have some challenges. For example, it is more difficult to kill off an NPC in one person’s world, but not everyone’s. We can address this in solo player zones, which we do periodically throughout the game, but we have also explored changing the NPC out ONLY on the screen of the player who expects to NOT see that NPC/State (example in Ardoris). I am pleased with both these storytelling strategies. Over time we will find new methods and get better at the ones we have unearthed in this episode! Tracy Hickman and I are framing book two now and discussions on Episode 2 began long ago.Online and offline are both key areas for development. I did not pick a “favorite child”; we regularly focus back and forth between them. I do think it’s fair to note that we often focus on online during telethons, as they are focused (at least in part) on needed fundraising. We have found backers enjoy the opportunity to find a reason to continue to support the project. We have found more ways to offer “value” to online players, than we have found to offer “upsales” to offline players. While this may feel biased towards online players, offline players also benefit because all those items get added to the offline mode for free and are available for purchase in-game for gold (no real currency required).While I admire and learn from level based games like World of Warcraft, we set out to make a game where all areas are open to exploration at all times, versus being level gated. Parties can be formed with players of highly varied levels who can all play together. I believe we have delivered this very well. I find that my developer-buffed characters can be easily beaten by skilled but lower level characters, and that my low level characters can adventure with high level characters and still be of use.We believe RMT (Real Money Trading) cannot be stopped, and while we will do everything we can to fight illegal behavior, as is often associated with botting, we think the best defense is to be close to that economy, so that we can monitor and influence what goes on. People who want to buy gold, will. Most would rather find a legitimate way to do it that supports the community rather than risk the eBay paths that likely do risk funding illegal activities.I have heard a few of the MMO player types argue for “getting in at the same time as everyone else” and pitch that we should have another wipe at launch. However, a healthy online game will always have new players coming in as old players leave. In the past we always described WoW’s success as a boon to ALL MMOs as they brought tons of new players to online gaming. Each year millions of new players came to WoW and millions of others leave and look for other great online games to play. We cannot cater to only the “I must be there at the beginning” crowd, as they are too small a group and will not stay until the end... a hundred years or so from now.I hope this addresses some of the questions that have been asked. By no means do I expect them to persuade you that we have, or have not, met the goals you think we should have prioritized to make the game what you believed, and hoped, it was intended to become. That is only for you to decide. SotA has been a rare opportunity for players to see how the sausage is made from inception to completion. Because we did it in the open, starting from the design docs, SotA has actually changed far far less than most games during the development process, specifically BECAUSE we already had public expectation, which does not occur with traditional development. I am VERY happy with what SotA has become, I feel it has met and exceeded the plans we set forth five years ago. Of course there have been changes, improvements and omissions, but if anything, “creeping featurism” has been our biggest change. While this has added time and cost, it has delivered a game with far more depth and quality than we could have accomplished in a shorter time or with less money.I do interview, podcasts, and blogs with all levels of press almost as often as I am asked. We are currently planning dedicated press events in the US and Europe, and are happy to include any press in those events. If you or others in the press wish to be included, please contact us at support@portalarium.com , or PM @Berek or @Cerus here in the forums. This includes any requests for interviews.Lord British