Want to know a really tricky way to get a ton of people interested in a new game and create a following base without having to do any work? Post up a website, but don’t tell anyone. Yup, you heard me right. You see, us gamers, we just can’t resist the urge to dig around the digital landscape until we find a shiny gold coin we can then show off to the world. That’s exactly how the new MOBA Free-To-Play Dawngate was found this morning by Kotaku columnist Superannuation.
EA and a new company called Waystone Games are behind Dawngate, which according to the site “empowers you to forge the champions you love for the roles you want in a competitive arena, shaped by ever-evolving, community-driven content and story.”
“Forge champions” and “roles you want” suggests some customization, and the game will need it considering Waystone built it to look – in their words – “familiar”. Familiar essentially equals it looks just like every other other game. Cue in interesting abstract weapons that look cool but are probably a bitch to handle. Then add on the usual armor that couldn’t protect you no matter what they were made of (yes, that’s practically a boob escaping there), and you are good to go.
Who is Waystone Games?
Dawngate is Waystone’s first game, and many reputable sites are hinting that this is actually Visceral, creator of the popular Dead Space, via reconstruction. Months ago there was talk about how Visceral opened up job listings for multiple positions including character design, character artist, and Global Community Manager. There has been no actual official support of this claim, however.
On Dawngate’s website, Waystone describes themselves:
We’re sincere students of games; what they are, what they have been, what they can become. And we want to make a contribution.
No matter where you’re going on your own journey in gaming, there are always people who’ve gone before you. They mark the path, leaving waystones to let you know that there’s something good this way: a road worth traveling. That’s our goal: to mark a road worth traveling.
We hope you like our games.
That’s a pretty bold statement given that the game they are presenting thus far is one that is generic familiar. Will Dawngate’s road be worth traveling? Since the game hasn’t been officially announced, we will have to wait and see.
If you are particularly impatient you can try your luck at joining the Beta that is offered on their site. During sign up they will confirm what OS you are running including PC and Mac, and this makes me assume they will weigh in these answers when deciding what platforms it will run on. It sounds slightly like they aren’t even completely sure what their game is yet themselves given all the call for player input, and maybe that’s why both their Twitter account and Youtube account don’t currently have any activity yet save for the basic Profile setup.
Even more proving that this MOBA wasn’t meant to be found yet is the fact that their forums show up with a 404 Not Found despite Dawngate asking you to “Come join the Dawngate Community and help shape the game!” near its Forum button.
That doesn’t stop gamers from doing what they do best – becoming a game fan. Even with no posts, the Twitter and Youtube account both already have around 170 followers, and I will wager that at least as many have signed up for the Beta – this writer included. Despite all its unoriginality, there is something about this shiny gold coin I just can’t resist taking a bite of to see what might lie underneath.
Published: May 16, 2013 10:14 pm