What is "Aakrana: The Forgotten Lands"?

Aakrana is a massively multiplayer fantasy game set in a world broken by wars and corrupted by treachery. Players in this world are challenged daily to defend their kingdoms, towns and villages from actively aggressive factions of creatures hell bent on the complete anhilation of the civilized world.

In their world, players are able to cultivate and harvest the resources in their kingdoms to enhance their cities and fortifications but also to fuel the research into new technologies and studies of magics. In order to have their world survive, kingdoms must band together, work in unison to unlock more powerful magics, uncover new discoveries and hopefully, lead the world back into the age of light.


Who is Flybynight Studios?

Flybynight Studios is none other than Mark MacPherson. The studio logo is used for branding and publicity purposes but this project rests wholly in the hands of Mark and will continue to operate in this fashion. Over the years of development that has been the life cycle of this project, many people have been a part in the evolution of the design and creation of new ideas. Due to the nature of this project and it's massive scale it is understandable that people come and go. Although very few pieces of the original design of the game still exist in the core today, all of the contributors to the project remain recognized for their efforts in the credit's page here on the website.


Can this project be successful?

The goal of this project from it's inception was to provide a platform for independent developers to showcase their talents in a professional environment without the pressure or trappings of a mainstream gaming studio. With a heavy emphasis on self improvement and learning the arts of game development it is safe to say that everyone who has been a part of Aakrana has taken something good with them for the experience. From that standpoint this project is already a great success.

If you are wondering if such a small project can become financially viable in today's gaming market the answer is a resounding yes. One of the great advantages of being a small group of developers is that the overhead is very low and the talent pool can be very strong. Being forced to wear many hats as a developer inside a smaller team challenges people to step outside of their comfort zone and become more agile in the skills they currently poses. By creating a truly engaging product and obtaining even a moderate user base of a few thousand players, a smaller studio can most definitely succeed.