At the time of writing, Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen has raised a little over half of its target on Kickstarter with only 24 hours remaining. After a well managed and well publicized campaign, over 3000 backers (including myself) will be disappointed by the result. Of course, that pales in comparison to the feelings of Brad McQuaid and the team at Visionary Realms. All is not lost, however, as the team is committed to seeing their vision come to life. Perhaps Rise of the Fallen will turn out to be an apt name indeed.

So how did we end up in this situation? After the success of Kickstarter campaigns for other MMOs with old-school flavor, one helmed by a titan of the genre like McQuaid seemed to be a sure thing. Maybe that was the problem, perhaps potential backers are just burnt out, unwilling to shell out with so little tangible game to show, or maybe the star billing had the opposite effect on some.

Maybe, just maybe, there aren't that many people who are desperate to play a new game that is just like EverQuest.

You'd be hard-pressed to find two names more storied than Richard Garriott and Brad McQuaid. McQuaid's EverQuest and Garriott's Ultima Online were genre-defining titles that are envied and emulated to this day.

More recently, they've both returned to their roots with new crowdfunded development efforts. Richard Garriott's Shroud of the Avatar funded on Kickstarter last year and recently released its first alpha build to backers. McQuaid's latest effort, Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen, has its Kickstarter campaign currently underway, promising a return to old-school MMO gameplay with modern technology.

Now, these two industry pioneers are teaming up to allow for some creative cross-game crowdfunding opportunities – and maybe even some cross-over content! I had a chance to ask Brad McQuaid a few questions about this collaboration; questions that should make fans of both games, and online gaming in general, very excited!

Visionary Realms and Twitch TV's Rob and Dan Show have paired up to air Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen game creation sessions, starting with a livestream at 4pm PT later today, Monday the 27th. Brad McQuaid will also hold a Reddit AMA on Wedneday, January 29 at 1pm PT.

If you've spent any time at all carousing in MMO circles, you’ve no doubt heard Brad McQuaid’s name mentioned at some point.

Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen launched its Kickstarter this afternoon. The Kickstarter campaign will run for 40 days and seeks to raise $800,000. A $45 minimum pledge will get you an alpha invite plus a digital copy of the game (which means including 30 days of game time, meaning it will likely be a subscription-based model), with an estimated ship date of January 2017. Stretch goals include additional classes, races, features and content. Here is the press release sent out by CCO Brad McQuaid's company, Visionary Realms.

Visionary Realms, Inc. announced today their plans to meet a growing demand in the Massively Multiplayer Online Games market by developing Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen, a game targeted towards the challenge-seeking gamer. The game's design and ideas were inspired by feedback from many MMO communities that have been looking for a return to a classic style of MMO gameplay and group-focused game content.

"I receive emails almost every day asking for this type of game," said Visionary Realms' Chief Creative Officer, Brad McQuaid, who is best known for his critical and early involvement in the forming and influence of the MMORPG genre. "No one else seems to be answering this call. It's the kind of game we've been wanting to play for so long and we're finally getting a chance to make it, thanks to major advances in game development technology and crowdfunding."

Visionary Realms Inc. in launching its Kickstarter campaign, now turns to the public for funding. "We believe there are many, many people out there who have been wanting a game like Pantheon for so long and we're asking them for their help in making it happen," said Director of Development, Salim Grant. "It's the perfect opportunity for us to work with the fans and have everyone be a very real and important part of this exciting project."

Brad McQuaid has been hinting at having an MMO in the works since last year's layoffs at Sony Online Entertainment. With so many developers jobless in the area, he took the opportunity to bring together a team for a still unnamed company and work on his latest vision.

That faceless MMO finally has a name.