Many MMO gamers claim to be somewhat burned out on triple-A titles that are constantly pushing to appeal to a new generation of gamers while shifting further away from the genre's original RPG roots. While I would largely agree with that notion, I also feel that there is room for multiple types of MMOs, and that diversity is a good thing for gaming as a whole. Brad McQuaid recently shared his thoughts on this and put it quite well in a recent blog post for his in-development project, Pantheon.

One of the handful of current projects that’s aiming to bring back some of the magic of depth in MMO gameplay is Project Gorgon. As we reported earlier this week, Project Gorgon has recently begun seeking funding via Kickstarter. Within the first week of the campaign the game has nearly reached its initial funding goal, though is still looking for interested backers to help fund the project.

As noted in a recent update for Project Gorgon on the official Kickstarter campaign page:

“This campaign is extremely important to the future of Project Gorgon as it is funding game development in general and not just a few game features. As such, if we are able to surpass our initial goal, we will be able to expand upon current and planned game features! We have great ideas that add unique twists to many of the MMO features that you have come to enjoy, and some new ones that you have yet to experience.”

The update continues with an overview of the current list of playable character races, along with new races planned for the game. The current races include Elves, Humans, and Rakshasa, with plans to add three more – one is TBA, with the Fae and Orc races rounding out the list.

A first look at the character designs for the Fae and Orc races can be seen below, though as noted in the official update the final designs for each are subject to change. As you can see in the renders, the Fae models in particular give a slight nod to one of my favorites from Guild Wars 2, the Sylvari.

Check out the images below, and then be sure to visit the official Kickstarter campaign to learn more about Project Gorgon and decide if it’s a project you find worthy of backing.