Independent game developer ArtCraft Entertainment, Inc. revealed today an ongoing collaboration with renowned MMO designer Raph Koster on the company’s recently announced game, Crowfall.

“Raph and I have been working together for about a year on the design architecture for Crowfall,” explained J. Todd Coleman, CEO and game director. “At the heart of this game, we have two core systems: dynamic territorial conquest and a player-driven economy. Marrying these two concepts is the holy grail of MMO development, and Raph is arguably the best person in the world to help us solve this puzzle.”

Prior to his role as a formal advisor and design consultant for ArtCraft Entertainment, Inc., Koster served as the lead designer for Ultima Online and Star Wars: Galaxies, was the founder of Metaplace (acquired as part of Disney / Playdom studio) and authored the book A Theory of Fun. Koster is widely recognized as an industry leader in game design, and was honored by the Game Developer Conference Online as an “Online Game Legend” in the industry.

Gordon Walton, ArtCraft president and executive producer said, “Raph and Todd are two of the most amazing designers in the history of the MMO genre. Seeing the two of them work together, for the first time, is unprecedented and absolutely fascinating.”

Koster adds, “There isn’t anything on the market like Crowfall, and it has been a long time since some of these design ideas were explored. There’s a very specific audience out there waiting for a game like this – the conflict, the real economy – that has been looking for new steps beyond the games of ten years ago.”

Founded by two of the most experienced executives in the history of online gaming, ArtCraft Entertainment is the combined effort of J. Todd Coleman (director, Shadowbane, Wizard101, Pirate101) and Gordon Walton (executive producer, Ultima Online, Star Wars Galaxies, Star Wars: the Old Republic). The stated goal of ArtCraft Entertainment is to “push the design of Massively Multiplayer Online games in bold new directions.”

More information about Crowfall can be found on the game’s landing page, http://www.crowfall.com.