The story of 2023 for Project: Gorgon was a remarkable one to say the least, as it faced possible maintenance mode and serious illness for one of its top devs but was bouyed by player donations that have at least temporarily pulled it from the brink – and easily won our Indie MMO of the Year award. So naturally, Elder Game co-lead Sandra Powers has a lot to talk about in an interview with YouTuber MarleMMO, both in terms of recent events and in regards to her history with MMORPGs past and present.
The interview touches on many topics about Powers’ experience in Asheron’s Call with candid answers about how Turbine handled its sunset, a typical day in the development of Gorgon, and whether she believes her game is akin to a sequel to Asheron’s Call or Star Wars Galaxies in regard to loot systems, class builds, and social features. She also takes some time to talk about some of Gorgon’s more interesting story beats, its iconic animal classes, and how spider roller skates are one of her favorite features.
Unsurprisingly, the financial situation of Gorgon was brought up, with Powers tearfully recalling the massive amount of financial support the game’s community helped raise, which she says will help keep full-time development for the game going for “several months.” She also notes discussions and suggestions within the community to tweak monetization in order to maintain full-time development. “We want people to understand that we will take that support and we will do our best to continue making the best game we can for you because that is what we want to do,” she says at one point.
Project Gorgon took MassivelyOP’s Indie MMO of the Year award for 2023.
