Shadowbane Overview
Shadowbane, a dark fantasy MMORPG from Stray Bullet Games and Ubisoft, debuted in 2003. Originally developed by Wolfpack Studios, the game was most notable for its open PvP rules and dynamic game world. Players could fight each other openly in almost any location, making Shadowbane one of the first PvP-centric MMOs. Being able to affect the game's world was another salient feature, and player cities, terrain, mercenaries, and other creations were player contributions. Both of these features added to the depth of the game's community, and to its siege battle feature, which allowed players to sack each others' cities and lands.
Players could select from the 12 races of Aelfborn, Aracoix, Centaur, Dwarf, Elf, Half Giant, Human, Irekei, Minotaur, Nephilim, Shade, and Vampire. Although Shadowbane featured a fairly typical class and race system, with hunting and earning XP for leveling and advancement, there were no quests. The game was a mix of PvP and community-oriented content. Since the game world was so dynamic, each server was different and politics sprung up, with players in control. This meant that any sieges or wars that were started were entirely player-driven, and notable player characters could find themselves with much prestige and influence over the game.
Shadowbane had several different servers, with one following a set of rules known as "loreplay." Loreplay restricted a player's ability to join certain guilds based upon factors such as a character's race, gender, or class. The game also saw two expansions, Rise of Chaos and Throne of Oblivion. After going free-to-play with advertisements in 2007, the game was "rebooted" in March of 2008, with all player characters and cities wiped. Shadowbane was shut down in July of 2009.
