Project Gorgon is a MMOG developed by a handful of people from Elder Game, and is currently playable for free in its Alpha version. While the game is clearly inspired by seasoned games like EverQuest and Asheron's Call, it is not above including modern ideas. In this fantasy MMORPG, players can take the role of human, half-feline or elf characters, struggling to recover their past while learning about the marvelous lore of the world before them.
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Like with in other MMORPG, the game starts with the creation of a character, with basic customization options, and the three above-mentioned races to choose from. However, do not let this limited customization fool you. Appearance means nothing in Project Gorgon. Indeed, the title is full of transformation curses/potions/abilities, and every player will at some point find their appearance changed, willingly or not, to something entirely unexpected. As such, it is not uncommon to find players in the form of pigs, cows, spiders, or deers, to cite a few, questing alongside you in the different maps and dungeons. These curses can, in most cases, be removed through the use of a potion or by defeating the boss that inflicted it, with the exception of the werewolf and vampire curses, both being permanent.
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A deep skill system
Another unusual element will the the lack of a class selection. A few minutes in the game will suffice for most to realize that in Project: Gorgon, the notion of a class does not exist. Instead, players can learn "skills", all with a wide variety of unique abilities. While some of these skills will be rather basic, using a sword to obtain sword skills or using a bow to obtain archery skills, the majority will be rather complex, both to learn and master. Fire magic, for example, is one of the most prominent magic casting skill, but will come with a lot of requirements. To begin with, players need to befriend (through favors and gifts) the fire magic tutor to have access to the skill, and learn advanced abilities. And it only gets harder from there, as fire magic is not learned through the conventional leveling way, but by studying it and using recipes. The materials for these recipes themselves get harder to obtain as players go deeper into fire magic.
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Some of these skills also come with consequences and responsibilities. Players that learn necromancy tend to be rather powerful, being able to summon skeleton warriors, archers and mages, but need to deal with certain restrictions. The most notable ones will be that they will not be able to summon their minions if they aren't in a grave or around three tombstones, and that NPC characters will flat out refuse speak to them if they are accompanied by their undead minions. Players that choose to become druids, on the other hand, are also choosing a full-time job as nature's right hand. Occasionally, druid quests will be assigned to the players, and they will be expected to drop everything they are doing to complete them.
Finally, crafting will also come in the form of skills to be learned and level through NPC's and different favors to them. Be it food, armor and weapon crafting, the creation of alchemical potions and even geology/treasure maps leading to rare material and valuable loot, you will first need to befriend the proper character (some of these requiring hours of investment), and further raise their friendship levels for more advanced recipes.
Highly expected changes
Graphically, there is no denying that the game is far behind its time. The Unity engine gives the game a pleasant, but worn look. This is even more noticeable indoors, or within dungeons. On the bright side, a recent successful kickstarter campaign will allow the small team of developers to greatly improve the aesthetics of the game.
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Appealing gameplay elements
Exploration-wise, players will evolve in a world split in different maps, with five being available at the moment. Traveling between these maps will require players to interact with portals (or a sailor for one of them), something that must be done with caution as two of them can be pretty deadly to new players. While the maps are not necessarily huge, they are large enough for their purpose. Dungeons are also non-instanced which while meaning that it can be rather easy for players to find party members, also means that, now and then, they'll have to fight over mobs, or wait for their turn. This rule does not apply to bosses, however, as everyone in their vicinity can obtain loot from them after they are defeated. Some of the quests will also require some thought. Dungeons are effectively full of traps, treasures and secrets that you will need to uncover by solving riddles.
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As for combat, it will be rather basic in Project: Gorgon. You assign a set of abilities to your three different skill bars, and click on them/use the assigned hotkeys to activate them. While it is nothing exceptional and the developers clearly played it safe on this side, it could be a lie to call it boring. Far from it, thanks to how fun the different skills can be. It should be noted that players can use the abilities of two skills, allowing they to run interesting combos, debuffing and damaging, damaging and healing yourself, or using a full DPS build for high bursts. Once foes are defeated, players will be able to interact with the corpses in various ways, conducting an autopsy, butchering them for meat, skinning them for their hide, and so on.
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Conclusion
Put simply, Project: Gorgon is the heaven of old-school RPG fans with its large array of features that aim to facilitate the immersion of the players. Granted, certain aspects, and especially the graphics, are not yet perfect, but these should be improved in the near future. A game to look forward to if you do not wish to try it in its current state.
![]()
Like with in other MMORPG, the game starts with the creation of a character, with basic customization options, and the three above-mentioned races to choose from. However, do not let this limited customization fool you. Appearance means nothing in Project Gorgon. Indeed, the title is full of transformation curses/potions/abilities, and every player will at some point find their appearance changed, willingly or not, to something entirely unexpected. As such, it is not uncommon to find players in the form of pigs, cows, spiders, or deers, to cite a few, questing alongside you in the different maps and dungeons. These curses can, in most cases, be removed through the use of a potion or by defeating the boss that inflicted it, with the exception of the werewolf and vampire curses, both being permanent.
A deep skill system
Another unusual element will the the lack of a class selection. A few minutes in the game will suffice for most to realize that in Project: Gorgon, the notion of a class does not exist. Instead, players can learn "skills", all with a wide variety of unique abilities. While some of these skills will be rather basic, using a sword to obtain sword skills or using a bow to obtain archery skills, the majority will be rather complex, both to learn and master. Fire magic, for example, is one of the most prominent magic casting skill, but will come with a lot of requirements. To begin with, players need to befriend (through favors and gifts) the fire magic tutor to have access to the skill, and learn advanced abilities. And it only gets harder from there, as fire magic is not learned through the conventional leveling way, but by studying it and using recipes. The materials for these recipes themselves get harder to obtain as players go deeper into fire magic.
Some of these skills also come with consequences and responsibilities. Players that learn necromancy tend to be rather powerful, being able to summon skeleton warriors, archers and mages, but need to deal with certain restrictions. The most notable ones will be that they will not be able to summon their minions if they aren't in a grave or around three tombstones, and that NPC characters will flat out refuse speak to them if they are accompanied by their undead minions. Players that choose to become druids, on the other hand, are also choosing a full-time job as nature's right hand. Occasionally, druid quests will be assigned to the players, and they will be expected to drop everything they are doing to complete them.
Finally, crafting will also come in the form of skills to be learned and level through NPC's and different favors to them. Be it food, armor and weapon crafting, the creation of alchemical potions and even geology/treasure maps leading to rare material and valuable loot, you will first need to befriend the proper character (some of these requiring hours of investment), and further raise their friendship levels for more advanced recipes.
Highly expected changes
Graphically, there is no denying that the game is far behind its time. The Unity engine gives the game a pleasant, but worn look. This is even more noticeable indoors, or within dungeons. On the bright side, a recent successful kickstarter campaign will allow the small team of developers to greatly improve the aesthetics of the game.
Appealing gameplay elements
Exploration-wise, players will evolve in a world split in different maps, with five being available at the moment. Traveling between these maps will require players to interact with portals (or a sailor for one of them), something that must be done with caution as two of them can be pretty deadly to new players. While the maps are not necessarily huge, they are large enough for their purpose. Dungeons are also non-instanced which while meaning that it can be rather easy for players to find party members, also means that, now and then, they'll have to fight over mobs, or wait for their turn. This rule does not apply to bosses, however, as everyone in their vicinity can obtain loot from them after they are defeated. Some of the quests will also require some thought. Dungeons are effectively full of traps, treasures and secrets that you will need to uncover by solving riddles.
As for combat, it will be rather basic in Project: Gorgon. You assign a set of abilities to your three different skill bars, and click on them/use the assigned hotkeys to activate them. While it is nothing exceptional and the developers clearly played it safe on this side, it could be a lie to call it boring. Far from it, thanks to how fun the different skills can be. It should be noted that players can use the abilities of two skills, allowing they to run interesting combos, debuffing and damaging, damaging and healing yourself, or using a full DPS build for high bursts. Once foes are defeated, players will be able to interact with the corpses in various ways, conducting an autopsy, butchering them for meat, skinning them for their hide, and so on.
Conclusion
Put simply, Project: Gorgon is the heaven of old-school RPG fans with its large array of features that aim to facilitate the immersion of the players. Granted, certain aspects, and especially the graphics, are not yet perfect, but these should be improved in the near future. A game to look forward to if you do not wish to try it in its current state.
