Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of board games experienced a resurgence. They became a perfect way to relieve stress and socialize with your favorite group of friends during times when partying, going to the cinema or a concert was either forbidden or highly restricted. During those times, “Dungeons and Dragons” surged in popularity, attracting many new players.
And while throwing dice and calculating your damage output via complex mathematical calculations on a sheet of paper has its charm, the new generation yearned for something more – an app, a game, a whole engine, something to bring the characters they created in their heads to life. The French game studio NOG took that challenge to heart and is currently working on a world-building engine that aims to be completely free to use.
That’s where NOG Studio’s storytelling engine “Menyr” came in, taking Kickstarter by storm ever since its launch on August 31. The campaign got funded in less than 10 hours.
New Biomes Are Now Unlocked, but What’s Next?
Per their most recent update from September 15, backers have unlocked two additional biomes, that will not be added to the game engine – Coastal Asia and Lava World. There is one last biome backer goal remaining – the Cemetery – which will be unlocked at $200 000. Reaching that goal would leave the path open for further goals, which are crucial to the game – the environment generators. Any player taking the dungeon master role will attest to this, as the responsibility to properly lay out terrain and environments will be absolutely crucial for storytelling and combat. The more tools they will have at their disposal, the more immersive and interesting the story will be, which is the ultimate goal of “Menyr”.
The storytelling engine also offers a variety of exciting virtual tabletop tools (VTTs), including dice-rolling simulation, initiative tracking, square and hex-grids, pen tools and more. “Menyr”’s Custom Game System will allow dungeon masters to modify character stats, spell range and dice macros, which essentially allows for custom game systems. Those can later be shared in the in-game marketplace – either for free, or for a price tag.
The Marketplace is another interesting aspect of “Menyr”. It will allow for players and dungeon masters to see characters, game systems, music, etc, but it will also be used to fund the project to continue operating. Per the Kickstarter campaign: “We take a fair cut to continue developing Menyr and pay our staff. We believe that making the best tool possible accessible to everyone will make this all work.”
That being said, “Menyr” has positioned its Kickstarter stretch goals very cleverly, with their backing goals offering meaningful rewards related to crucial world-building components and themes. This shows that NOG has taken the time to research on what truly matters to a world-builder, which in turn motivates “Dungeons and Dragons” enthusiasts to back the campaign.
“Menyr” is expected to officially release for PC platforms in March 2023, with backers pledging about $20 will get to play the game, with some in-game goodies. Further backing gets you different player classes and cosmetics, but the price will be steep. Be that as it may, never underestimate the passion of a “Dungeons and Dragons” player – some of the backing options (one of which is over $1,000) are no longer available. Clearly, “Menyr” has a passionate community that wants it to succeed.