In one of the coolest RPGs of the year, former Blizzard and Epic vets use MMO and D&D ideas to tell stories meant to be made and played with friends like Among Us

GamesRPGIn one of the coolest RPGs of the year, former Blizzard and Epic vets use MMO and D&D ideas to tell stories meant to be made and played with friends like Among UsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. GamesRPGIn one of the coolest RPGs of the year, former Blizzard and Epic vets use MMO and D&D ideas to tell stories meant to be made and played with friends like Among UsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Lightforge Games) My first session of Project ORCS was one of the longest and most overwhelming demos of the decade and change that I’ve been writing about games. It’s an upcoming “collaborative storytelling RPG” or “CSRPG” in the works at Lightforge Games, a studio of many ex-Blizzard andEpic Gamesdevs. That includes former Blizzard lead engineer and Epic UI director Matt Schembari, now CEO at his own studio. Schembari also served as the D&D DM-like “Guide” for my session, which I shared with two other people I’d never met before. The RPG side (Image credit: Lightforge Games) There is some character progression through added skills and better items, but it’s more horizontal than vertical, leaning on wider options over pure strength. This is partly to ensure that new players – up to 30 or 40 on one server, all progressing the same Safehold with their own little groups in a way Schembari compares to MMO guilds – can join an in-progress campaign without feeling underpowered. (Likewise, Lightforge is working on a sort of narrative glossary to help catch new players up on what’s happened in a campaign so far.) This also makes it easy to play multiple characters within one Safehold. But most importantly, this system stresses the actual goal of the game – as Schembari puts it, “getting together with your friends and laughing.” I’m reminded of TV series and improv pillar Whose Line Is It Anyway, particularly host Drew Carrey’s iconic motto, “everything’s made up and the points don’t matter.” Project ORCS is notaboutmin-maxing and strategic combat, and I’m such a numbers-driven, gameplay-first person that it took me a while to internalize this. It’s about making something out of nothing. When you go on a quest, you don’t embark on a carefully designed series of encounters, stumbling into fights and conversations with Baldur’s Gate 3-type branches and options. You get a prompt, and then your party, with the help of your Guide,createsthose encounters. You come up with the scenario, the goal, the characters, the landscape, the twists – everything. You can plop down NPCs and buildings and trees with a nifty toolset, tee up dice roll skill checks for the Guide to approve, vote as a group on how to advance the story, and fight enemies of your own design. You don’t follow dialogue options; you write them in real time. Will you be violent? Stealthy? Diplomatic? The game is a primer, a springboard for you to play off of. It gives you tools to create and space to imagine; the rest is up to you. Of course, this requires other people – the only real options for solo play would be managing the Safehold like a diet city builder, or concocting story ideas for the next group session. Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more The collaborative storytelling (Image credit: Lightforge Games) In my party’s case, we don’t even have one of the game’s premade scenarios – a blessing for my fellow uncreative introverts, though Schembari says a totally free run can be easier in some ways – so we blindly head to a graveyard in search of an old sage who could lend their healing talents to our base. In the scenario’s creation phase, we place and edit some skeletons, a lich, a spirit, one giant skeleton, and some spectral flora for good measure. The stage set, our characters approach the graveyard. As a party, we start to feel out what’s going on while Schembari riffs on story ideas. Before long, an idea clicks for the whole room and the first segment of our story is woven. It turns out (read: we decide) this sage needs help dealing with a lich that’s turning normally peaceful skeletal villagers into the aggressive undead monsters that humans know and hate. Being a Spirit Knight versed in the afterlife, I end up playing a pretty big role in our conversations with the sage. My backstory gives me a roll bonus on some related skill checks, letting me glean more from exchanges with the undead. Even if you fail a check, you can still get a sort-of success with a range of possible downsides that you choose between. It’s all very loosey-goosey – the game can be as hard or forgiving as you see fit. While there is a central Guide who makes some judgment calls, the Guide is also everyone While there is a central Guide who makes some judgment calls, the Guide is also everyone I do not have time to recount more than an hour of on-the-fly lore, so I’ll give you the short version. We deduce that this all started with the spirit attached to one of the bodies in the graveyard being corrupted and, in its red-eyed fury, summoning a lich which has now turned some of the other villagers. That spirit’s partner in life wants to see their sanity restored, and I convince them to trust us with a keepsake that we hope will shock the corrupted soul to their senses. We fight the lich – beating it with no deaths and in just a few turns, being careful not to destroy the once-friendly skeletons it’s brainwashed – and save the day with the power of love. Quest complete, sage recruited, job done. The important thing is that none of this stuff existed when we started. Literally all we had was the sage and his graveyard. The entire plot, from character motivations to dialogue, was collectively improvised. The big twist was tied to some ghost trees that we placed while aimlessly experimenting with the edit tool. Another key takeaway is that while there is a central Guide who makes some judgment calls, the Guide is also everyone. All players are encouraged to shape the story, and we all threw out some ideas that ended up in the final cut. On top of that, the game is designed for the Guide role to rotate, giving everyone a turn as Captain Storyteller. And how it comes together (Image credit: Lightforge Games) “We use an analogy a lot that Guiding in our game should be like tanking in an MMO,” he begins. “Yeah, it’s a leadership position in the party. That’s okay. And yeah, you probably need to be a little bit more comfortable with the game. You maybe don’t want to tank your first raid boss the first time you play World of Warcraft, it requires a little more knowledge of the game. But you’re still playing the game. And you can absolutely change roles each time you play, and you ultimately are still playing the same game. But it’s not like you’re in charge of this group for a year and you can’t possibly change, like you might get in D&D. (Image credit: Lightforge Games) You don’t need deep systems and fancy AI and scripting power to allow for unstructured play – you just need fun toys and a basic framework to play within.Matt Schembari You don’t need deep systems and fancy AI and scripting power to allow for unstructured play – you just need fun toys and a basic framework to play within. “When Among Us became popular in the west, we were already committed to this project, so we looked at Among Us more as validation than inspiration,” he says. “One of the bigger inspirations for taking the leap, believe it or not, was Fortnite, specifically Creative Mode. “Some time in 2019 while I was working on Fortnite, my little cousins reached out and wanted to play with me. They were maybe 10 and 11 at the time. I hop into the party with them, and they jump into Creative Mode. What followed was just pure unstructured fun – they were spawning guns, doing their own countdowns or rules management over voice, and changing the layout of the world all in real time. It was play. “Here I was, a dev on Fortnite, where we’re trying to figure out how to build all these game systems and UIs and everything to empower players to make their own games, when meanwhile the kids weren’t using any of it and were just playing. This made me think that you don’t need deep systems and fancy AI and scripting power to allow for unstructured play – you just need fun toys and a basic framework to play within.” This ties into another recurring element from our session: the game does not, and cannot, account for everything players will come up with. The keepsake that was used in our pinnacle purification scene did not exist outside our imaginations. “A game like this is truly, truly open-ended,” Schembari asserts. “You really can take it in any way. And we actually said we’re okay if the game doesn’t have perfect fidelity for the things that you’re trying to do or see. Because what you’re saying and imagining is having just as much impact on the world as what you’re doing with the keyboard and mouse. And I think that changes things.” Noob-friendly (Image credit: Lightforge Games) Compared to D&D, another detail I find appealing is how pick-up-and-play, almost modular, Project ORCS feels. Our scenario took about an hour, but you could easily go much faster once you’re comfortable with the tools, or simply in a shorter section. It’s not something you get locked into for months or years. Again, it’s a party game, something youcouldschedule for hardcore roleplaying sessions, or just pull out for an hour or two of fun when your friends – ideally at least two others plus yourself – hop on Discord. One of the challenges that we’ve had is this question of, is it a tool? Or is it a game, right?Matt Schembari One of the challenges that we’ve had is this question of, is it a tool? Or is it a game, right? “We’re very much focused on bringing people together and having fun, laughing, riffing off each other, that kind of stuff. And that side of it, what we’re calling the collaborative storytelling, that takes a much larger percentage of the experience than the game mechanics, the tactical combat. Tactical combat in our game is intentionally light because we don’t want it to get in the way of the fun, silly kind of emergent things that you can do. “One of the challenges that we’ve had is this question of, is it a tool? Or is it a game, right?” he adds. “Because the more tool-like it is, the more open and flexible it can be. And the more game-like it is, the more structured it is. And finding that answer for different aspects of the game has been a lot of the exploration during development. Looking back at the game structure as well, we had the core session playing really well for a while, but we didn’t really know how to glue it together into a campaign. And so that was a bit of exploration as well. Those are probably the things that stand out the most in terms of getting people to be creative and improvising.” Project ORCS does feel like a game-maker as much as it is a game. Rather than a project to be shared with the world, you’re making a story to share with friends. Will it appeal to fans of traditional RPGs, tabletop games, MMOs, as well as social and party games? I can’t confidently say – again, I’m the worst with this stuff – but it’s such a fresh take on the genre that I’m interested to see how it progresses once Early Access begins on PC later this year. There’s a lot more to it than the usual drawing and wordplay party games, and if it can appeal to someone almost diametrically opposed like me, it’s off to a pretty solid start. 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maintain its hero fantasy while also making balance changes Forget AAA: this year, all I wanted to do was optimize my conveyor belts in Satisfactory 2024 was the year The Legend of Zelda lived up to its name, and the result was a bit like mixing rock salt and floral nectar Amid Oscar buzz, Zoe Saldana opens up on her new perspective on Hollywood and why she’s only really proud of Avatar and Emilia Pérez: “I think I just have to accept who I am as a creative person” The Rings of Power season 2, episode 7 is the show’s version of The Two Towers – and it’s the best episode of TV released all year 32 movies that spawned iconic internet memes GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension"2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package"3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure"4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years"5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths"1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show"2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie"3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action"4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien"5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite"1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat"2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses"3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist"4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands"5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place” GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension"2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package"3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure"4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years"5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths"1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show"2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie"3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action"4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien"5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite"1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat"2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses"3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist"4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands"5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place” GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension"2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package"3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure"4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years"5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths"1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show"2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie"3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action"4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien"5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite"1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat"2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses"3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist"4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands"5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place” GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension"2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package"3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure"4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years"5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths"1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show"2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie"3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action"4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien"5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite"1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat"2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses"3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist"4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands"5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place” GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS 1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension” 1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension” 1 Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension” 2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package” 2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package” 2 Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package” 3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure” 3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure” 3 Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure” 4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 4 Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years” 5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths” 5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths” 5 Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths” 1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 1 Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show” 2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 2 Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie” 3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 3 Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action” 4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 4 The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien” 5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 5 Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite” 1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 1 Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat” 2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 2 Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses” 3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 3 Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist” 4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 4 Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands” 5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place” 5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place” 5 Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”