"A sincere thank you goes out to all our backers for pledging your support to 'Shroud of the Avatar' and helping us raise almost double our Kickstarter goal," developer Portalarium wrote on its Kickstarter blog. "This game would not be possible without your dedication and feedback--what a fantastic experience it#146;s been to interact with all of you, learning what is most important and desired in our new world."

The game .

Shroud of the Avatar is due out for PC by October 2014, though an alpha version will be available to backers by the end of this year. Since the campaign began last month, Portalarium Dragonlance and Deathgate writer Tracy Hickman to the development team.

Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues is the first of a five-game series, referred to as episodes 1 through 5. After the initial launch of Forsaken Virtues in October 2014, subsequent episodes will release on a yearly basis.

For more on Shroud of the Avatar, check out .

From: www.gamespot.com

"By no means did I intend to disparage others who have led the many great games of each era in gaming history," Garriott said. "I was trying to say, and show why finding or growing NEW great game designers is hard!"

"I really do see a major challenge to our art form, specifically in the area of design," he added. "The design of a game is simultaneously 1) the most valuable aspect when it comes to the potential of success of a game, 2) the hardest part of game development to improve over previous efforts because of competition, and 3) the skill set with the least formal and informal training available to game developers."

Garriott admitted that he could have phrased his comments better, but said he stands by his original point: that game design is the most challenging profession in game development to understand and learn.

"And I certainly am not trying to put my own career on some sort of game design high ground. While I have hit occasional home runs, I have made plenty of unforced errors," he said. "I was not attempting to prop myself up with these comments, but rather lament my need#133;our industry#133;s need for proper training in the most important skill required to make a good game."

"I never had any formal training either; I have just had more time to learn from my mistakes than most," he added. "If what comes from all this is a frank discussion and lively debate on how to best address this issue, then hopefully I've accomplished something."

Garriott and his Portalarium development studio are currently working on PC role-playing game .

For more on Garriott, check out GameSpot's interview with the industry veteran regarding how his influenced him creatively.

From: www.gamespot.com