Moonrise

Undead Labs has announced with regret that its "collect 'em all" PC and iOS game, Moonrise, has been cancelled. Undead Labs indicated that the game lacked sustainability and profitability over the long haul. Moonrise has been in beta on Steam for quite some time and in limited release on iOS.

Undead Labs has announced that Moonrise will be entering Steam early access on May 27th. Early Access bundles can be purchased for either $14.99 or $19.99, each with a variety of in game items and boosts.

Moonrise is an upcoming mobile monster collecting MMO from Undead Labs. Much like Pokemon, but with a more teenaged or college years theme, Moonrise has players tasked with unearthing a mystery while battling and raising creatures. It was announced right before PAX that the game will be coming to Steam, so we took the PC beta for a spin and came back with these thoughts on what we've played so far.

PAX East attendees will be handed beta keys for Moonrise and will be able to try out the "creature battler" on Steam, according to a new announcement on the Undead Labs site. The game is expected to be playable on PC and Mac with other platforms to come in the future.

The first thing I thought of when I saw Moonrise, Undead Labs collaboration with Kabam to make an MMO for mobile devices was the usual, “Oh, it's a mobile game? For casuals, then. Not a real MMO.” As I sat in the Undead Labs booth at PAX South, the developers were quick to try and dispel that notion. Moonrise may not quite be World of Warcraft, but it's not Puzzles & Dragons: The MMO either.

Meet the team behind Moonrise and learn more about the game! Become a fan at http://fb.com/moonrisemobile and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/moonrisemobile

In which Ian and Andy discuss how to keep gamers coming back for more delicious story nuggets over the course of hours or years.

This week we’re discussing how to give a voice to the character you play in Moonrise.

In our recent article on building our Quest system, we intentionally left out a big, complicated chunk: pacing. We did this for two reasons. First, it’s really big, messy subject, and second, because we wanted to save it for the folks over here on MMORPG.com, so that you know you are forever precious in our hearts.

Today Andy is joined by Moonrise designer Brian Giaime, and together they’ll discuss the process used to name the many unusual creatures (collectively known as Solari) inhabiting the game world.

I find that most folks assume that writing is a solitary task. They picture a lonely person toiling away in a quiet room, locked away from everyone and everything. While that may describe some writers, it’s definitely not how we’re approaching Moonrise.

Today we’re discussing the tone of our game’s story. Tone is one of the hardest things to define for a game, especially before you start writing. Everyone can sit down, talk about touchstones, and agree on a target, but at the end of the day, tone is something that develops during the creation process, not something you just decide to do in advance.

In Moonrise, your character is a member of the Wardens Guild. In fact, you’re a brand-new graduate of the Warden Academy as the game begins. After a decade of diligent study, you’re finally qualified to fulfill the responsibilities of a Warden. But what does that mean?

The Moonrise team has posted a lengthy article on the Undead Labs site that gives fans an inside look at how combat will play out. The hallmark and unique feature of combat is that every decision truly matters when taking on an opponent and that the balance of power during battle can shift at any time based on a number of factors.

Last week, I shared some details of my process of world-building for this new Undead Labs/Kabam game. This week, Ian leads a discussion about the inspirations that we drew on for building the story of Moonrise, as well as some key themes that our story explores.